Hi, everyone! New poster to the forums, but have read for quite some time on and off (and am planning on subscribing to the premium ones soon).
I'm not new to AP, though I am new to pursuing it more diligently. And, full disclosure, at this point I am using Red 7, though am planning to move to a better balanced count at some point in the not-too-distant future.
I spent some time in AC these past couple weekends, going between various casinos. My persona at the table is not far from my one in real life (makes it easier to maintain); friendly, funny, and happy to be playing, though quick to start steaming (not really, just in appearance) when runs of bad luck come which allow me to raise bets fast "in frustration" when the count demands it.
I was interested in some input from all of you experienced APs on something I was trying, to see if I'm way off base mathematically, or if this actually is something that I should continue keeping in my quiver (I actually nearly doubled my trip bankroll, though that obviously could have been due to variance, not technique). One of the things I was doing with some success (I think) was trying to keep my options open with two hands (so I can get more money on the table faster if the count wants me to). It also (I think) helped with camouflage in the way I did it. First thing to note, not once did I have any trouble playing two hands at the minimum bet; this was at several different stakes. None of the dealers nor pit bosses seemed at all surprised or bummed that I was doing it at minimum instead of double the minimum bet; this was at all 5 casinos I visited. So, the way I took advantage of that was this:
If a boss seemed interested in my play, and I was minimum betting low counts, if I lost a hand or two in a row I would often switch to two hands "to try and fix the flow of the cards". I would especially try to do this after a hand with a lot of high cards (so anyone who knows anything about counting would see that the count just decreased). As I understand it from the reading I've done (though not calculations... I'm purchasing the QFit software soon to start being able to run sims), the disadvantage of one versus two hands at minimum bet is not significant. This would, to a pit boss of low experience, look like I was putting more money on the table after the count just dropped significantly, though I actually I was just adding a hand at minimum bet; that is a decrease in EV, but not a _big_ one, right?. I would also try to do this if the count was approaching the pivot point from below, so that I could quickly raise the bets and have two hands on the table instead of one at a higher count, without making it look like I was adding a hand _because_ the count was high. Lastly, if the count was low, or dropped significantly, and I lost a hand (and wanted to get more money off the table), I could switch back to one hand, and it would not look suspicious, since I was just a player that frequently switches between one and two hands without apparent reason, other than wanting to "fix the flow of cards". Boy did it piss off some other players who were superstitious, but other times when it "worked" they would be more grateful, if surprised lol; either way, no skin off my back.
So, I'm curious what you guys think of this, and if it is actually way worse for my EV than I think it is. Again, I haven't run the numbers, though am hoping to figure out how to create a sim of this in the near future.
Thanks so much! I'm glad to be aboard the forum.
Also, if there are parts of this post I should edit out, or delete entirely, since it is public, let me know.
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