Coug Fan: Signs that you are a successful advantage player

[Coug Fan]

1. You discover that it is not all that easy to keep $10,000 both safe and immediately available.

2. You find yourself looking into the IRS regulations on gambling winnings and losses.

3. You do not think it is strange to carry at least $3,000 in cash at all times.

4. You win $1,000 in 30 minutes at the table, and then spend 5 minutes poring over the McDonalds menu to figure out how you can save 50 cents on lunch.

5. You have to think before answering when someone asks your name.

6. You get physically ill when you see your wife playing a slot machine.

7. You have $4,000 in cash, but skip lunch because you have no money that is not part of your bankroll.

8. It is not possible for you to go into a casino to "have a good time" with your friends. You automatically count cards every time you see a BJ table.

PS: To a fellow counter that I first met when she was still hustling match plays and who left me out of a 2:1 BJ promo - Please send me an e-mail. I seem to have lost your email address, and I compare notes on a couple games with you.

[Sun Runner]

Really good insight! So true.

As a companion thought ...

> It is not possible for you to go into a casino to
> "have a good time" with your friends.

You are walking around with them (my wife now finally get's it) and they say .. 'you gonna play any blackjack or not?' There is no good answer.

And those that regale you on Monday how they were out Saturday night and won $360 playing blackjack. 'What's the big deal!?' is the unspoken question.

> You automatically count cards every time you see a BJ table.

I watch WSOP, see an eight/three off suit on the draw and have to make myself recall why he threw it away!

[Coug Fan]

> Really good insight! So true.

> As a companion thought ...

> You are walking around with them (my wife now finally
> get's it) and they say .. 'you gonna play any
> blackjack or not?' There is no good answer.

My wife took me to a local casino for our last anniversary weekend. We had 30 minutes to kill before dinner so she sat down at a VP machine and I headed off to the BJ tables (all shoes). When we met back up she was amazed that I had spent the whole time walking around the tables and hadn't placed a bet (my entry point was +2 TC). She couldn't get the idea of wonging. To me, I had played 30 minutes and had a zero return, somewhat below expectation, but not very bad.

[Shaggy18VW]

"To me, I had played 30 minutes and had a zero
return, somewhat below expectation, but not very bad."

So true, so true.

-Shaggy

[Francis Salmon]

... just to make it ten:

9.You keep absolutely accurate records of your results.

10.You prefer to talk about your spectacular losses rather than about your winnings.

Francis Salmon

[Coug Fan]

> ... just to make it ten:

> 9.You keep absolutely accurate records of your
> results.

> 10.You prefer to talk about your spectacular losses
> rather than about your winnings.

> Francis Salmon

You could also add:

"An obsession with ten based values."

Just kidding - I actually really like #10. I think this is because my losses are more interesting than my wins. It is not very interesting when I get 2 face cards to beat the dealers face-8. On the other hand, when I have 9 max bets out (including splits and doubles) and the dealer is showing a 6, flips a face in the hole and then hits with the last f***ing 5 in the deck - THAT is memorable.

[Parker]

Losses are always more interesting. After all, we're supposed to win, right? :-)

[Francis Salmon]

An addicted gambler will always talk about his winning sessions. He actually claims that he is winning overall and might even believe so because he doesn't keep any records or stops doing so as soon as he is in the red.

Francis Salmon

[nycfudu]

one more

1. You keep your head down or wear shades when you visit your local bank and you look around the room in a suspicious way if the phone rings while you're at the bank.

[WallStRunoff]

> You could also add:

> "An obsession with ten based values."

> Just kidding - I actually really like #10. I think
> this is because my losses are more interesting than my
> wins. It is not very interesting when I get 2 face
> cards to beat the dealers face-8. On the other hand,
> when I have 9 max bets out (including splits and
> doubles) and the dealer is showing a 6, flips a face
> in the hole and then hits with the last f***ing 5 in
> the deck - THAT is memorable.

Since the topic is so fun, lets go for 21!

11. You pass up a free $400 suite for a mildewed $40/ a night room at the Mogadishu Motel.
12. You go the Carribbean in January only to spend the entire day indoors. And love it.
13. You find $2000 in casino chips between your car seat cushions.
14. Your wallet is so packed with bills it busts at the seams (hopefully not in public)
15. When the table starts to discuss the stupidity of splitting tens you contemplate a remark but decide on saying nothing.
16. You leave the table after winning four consecutive hands.
17. You bet table max on a hunch that you four consecutive losses leave you 'due' for a win.
18. You wonder why in the hell nobody has figured out how to play blackjack correctly.
19. You love the guy who asks to see the burn card.
20. On occasion you find yourself yelling at a another player without uttering a word or demonstrating the slightest bit of emotion.
21. You spend 5 hours running computer simulations even though you already the math and distribution probabilities inside out.

[98%]

> 9.You keep absolutely accurate records of your
> results.

I actively disdain accurate record-keeping and scoff at accurate record-keepers. Then again, I tend to eschew organization in general. This is more a question of personal style than success in gambling.

[Francis Salmon]

[nycfudu]