Getting caught counting cards?

[MrJ]

I have a question/concern regarding being CAUGHT counting cards and counting cards in general.

Is it not an assumption by the casino that you are counting cards?

A person does not wear a sign around their neck stating they are counting cards and I'm sure one would not admit it so HOW does a player "get caught"?

Just so I understand this......you are doing VERY WELL at blackjack so pit might say, you MUST be counting cards, time for you to leave, you are banned. I dont get it?

Ken

[GLC]

Astute observation Ken. 

I got banned back in the early 70's at Circus Circus for counting cards.  It was one of the few casinos left that offered  single deck blackjack.  They only dealt a little over half the deck, but that still gave a pretty good edge at times.  I wasn't really betting that much but happened to be winning pretty regularly.  They said that they knew I was counting cards because they had someone counting the decks and my bets increased any time the deck was rick with Aces and face cards.  It wasn't a big scene.  When it happened it was in the middle of the night, few other players in the casino.  I was playing heads up with the dealer and playing 4 hands at a time.  I was on a really good run and they just walked up, closed the table and told me that they knew I was counting cards and I wasn't welcome there in the future.

It was one of the few periods when I was doing really well.  There were still plenty of double deck games and if you know much about the odds in blackjack, you know that double deck games pretty much cut your advantage in half.  I estimated on single deck games I had about a 3% advantage.  On double deck games it was cut to about 1.25% advantage.

I lost my job and took what money I had saved, which wasn't really enough, and moved to Vegas.  Checked into a cheap motel that rented by the month and started playing about 8 hours per day.  Pretty darn hard work as I look back on it.  Pretty exciting though.  At that time I was in my mid 20's.  I did okay for about 6 months but couldn't seem to hang onto my winnings long enough to build by bankroll.

I finally hit a really bad couple of weeks and went bust.  Headed home with my tail between my legs, moved in with my brother and never went back.  They kept making counting harder and harder and I just didn't have the heart to try again.

I used the Revere Advanced Point Count system.  It's a very powerful method of play.  I practiced for a year before making the big move.  The gambler's ruin formula got me.  I didn't have enough units to survive a big draw down.  As you know, your wins vs losses is like a big wave up then down then up then down then up etc...  Always creeping up and up as your small advantage works for you.  But finally one of the bottoms of the wave went too low and I sat there looking pretty much like every other loser looks as reality slowly dawns on them.

That's why, on this forum, I stress so much not playing with scared money.  If you have a 1% advantage, you need a couple thousand units to have a 99.99% chance of never going broke.  Think how many you need with a 2-5% disadvantage.  I only had about a thousand units and I had to live on most of the winnings.  How green can you be?  I can tell you I ate plenty of the $1 quarter pound hot dogs at the Fremont.  Actually, food was almost free in a lot of the casinos.  Not exactly a vegan diet, but it kept me alive.

Hey, it was a learning experience.  I wouldn't trade those 6 months for anything.

Sorry for the bloviating,

GLC

[MrJ]

Very, very good post GLC. Thanks for sharing so much about yourself.

Ken

[GLC]

Another thought before I go to bed.  Learning to count cards and play the advanced point count strategy is where I learned what it takes to really study and learn a new subject.  As a matter of fact, I had flunked out of college my first attempt after struggling for 3 years.  But after my blackjack adventure I went back to college and graduated 2nd in my class.  So, the moral of the story is that a lot of good can come from being motivated by greed to learn what you think is an easy way to win money.   What I learned was that you have to put in the time and pay the price to learn any difficult subject.  That's why so few do well in math, they aren't willing to put in the time and pay the price.

For all you young guys out there, think about it!!

GLC

[MrJ]

"you have to put in the time and pay the price to learn any difficult subject" >>> Very true and I have paid my dues. Trial & error, anything related to casino life.

Every losing day at the casino is a *GREAT* learning experience. If a person learns nothing after losing, I suggest they never play again. I dont care if you gained an edge of only 0.002% after studying the whys of how you fu***d up that day, 0.002% is better than nothing. Baby steps (in any aspect of life) is the key guys.

Aim for progress, not perfection.

Ken