New Blackjack Players

Archive for the ‘Playing Blackjack’ Category

Finally made it to The Spa Casino and ran into my old buddy, the blackjack “expert.” I’d say she’s ba-ack, except she probably never left. So… I’m ba-ack.

This time, in addition to giving advice to everyone on how to play their cards, I learned she also has a strong belief (and opinions) about the table. Apparently, all the spots that are being played when she sits down must stay in play for as long as she sits there, or something bad happens to the deck and “turns the cards.” The monologue titled “How the Table Turns” is carried on in the absence of any player for any reason. If someone leaves the table and she doesn’t win during their absence, it’s all because they left and the “table turned” as a sole result of the absence. If she continues to lose after their return, it’s because they were gone and the table has continued to be “bad” as a result. If she starts winning on someone’s return, then it’s because the tabled “needed” that player so the cards would be “good.” If she continues to lose, she will move to another table, apparently hoping that it’s “good.” But don’t breathe a sigh of relief – she’ll be back. I find it ironic that she’s an inveterate table-hopper.

Folks, try not to be superstitious about blackjack. It’s always good to keep in mind that the strategies and odds are calculated by mathematicians. Since I’m pretty lousy at math, I try not to second-guess them. If the Wizard of Odds says other players don’t affect your win/loss over time – I believe him.

Speaking of which – here’s a  pretty funny thing that happened this trip. The guy playing third base at the table one morning kept signaling to hit a stiff hand against a dealer 5 or 6. The first time it happened, he took the card that would’ve made the dealer’s hand and everyone forgot to yell at him, since it saved the table. The next time he signaled a hit on this kind of hand, the person next to him talked him out of it. Guess what? If he had hit it, he would’ve taken the card that made the dealer’s hand – again. When this happened a third time, I said “quit talking him out of it!” I have seen this man in the casino before and concluded that he’s not a card counter, but I may have to watch him again. If he isn’t, he’s pretty damn lucky!

One thing I started observing this trip is the betting strategy of other players. Or, more accurately, the apparent lack of betting strategy. I’ve watched people bet all over the place, with no apparent rhyme or reason. They rarely bet the minimum but beyond that, anything seems to go. When they win, they usually win big because they’re (apparently) randomly putting out large bets. But their chip count also seems to vary wildly, quickly going up to a couple hundred chips, then swinging just as wildly down to only a couple chips. These are the people that frequently go “all in” after a series of wild swings like this. I’ve seen some win – I’ve seen some lose. For you new blackjack players, I’ll give you the benefit of my observation – people who bet like this seem to hit their wallet more than the people who are careful or seem to be following some kind of strategy.

Never be impressed with the number of chips someone cashes out with unless you know what they bought in for. A guy cashing out $1200 in chips might have bought in for $2000. Someone cashing out for $300 might have bought in for $40.