VEGAS
OK , I fell asleep last night right after dinner as the jet lag really hit me – started this morning at the tables for my first session:
$100min6DeckS17DASDOA
Shoe #1 was up and down, could not get a good rhythm or a good count
Shoe #2 was more of the same – in 3 in a row, lose 3 in a row
Shoe #3 – got into trouble here as, the count went in my favor – however, it helped out the dealer more with 3 blackjacks for the dealer, end of shoe was -$800
Shoe #4 – opened the shoe with a $200 bet – got dealt an 8,3 – double down (face down) – against dealer 5, dealer flips over a 7, then takes a 6 for an 18, drum roll on my double down – turn over a 6 for a 17 ughhhh oh well– continuing that shoe – another double down situation (face down) – 5,5, against dealer 3 – dealer turns over a 4, then takes a hit of an Ace – my card was a 3 ughhhh againend of shoe #4 down another $800 for a total of negative $1,600table switchShoe #5 at a $200 minimum table –first hand for me – natural blackjacksecond hand for me – natural blackjackgreat – now I am only down $1kshoe continues back and forth – still hovering around negative $1kthen the count got in my favorlost two hands then won 5 hands in a rowso, now down $400Shoe #6: won the first two hands then got up and now having lunchso far for the trip for blackjack: even stevenhowever, I did place $100 win bet on the Mets at +115so, for the trip I am +$115
Session #2: same rules as earlier
The shoe started out great – dealt two Aces against dealer 4 – split Aces – dealer paints both of them – dealer ends up busting anyway – nice start to the shoe before losing the next two hands – still up $200 for the shoe – then the usual up and down, no count good enough to press — end of shoe still up $200 for the session
Next shoe more of the same – up and down – a few win streaks of 3 hands – but, yet again, losing streaks of 3 or 4 hands
Shoe # 3 comes and lady variance (plus the count) are in my favor and I get out ahead with a few double downs that finally go my way and not the dealer’s – new guy jumps in for last hand of the shoe and dealer gets blackjack LOL – session now +$800
Shoe #4 – more of the same up and down, down and up – shoe ends without much to write home about session now +$600shoe #5 – things are going ok – get up another $300 for a +1100 session HOWEVER – dealer goes on an insane run – I lost 3 doubles, a split, and 5 other hands in a row to end the shoe evenI decided to go write this post and take a mini-napmore later…still +$115 (Let’s go Mets!!!) for the trip
Super short seasion #3: Won $1k in 10 hands (including a $300 bet plus $300 double down 8,3 versus dealer 9 … dealer turns 19 an my face down card was a 10)doubled my buy-in and got up — total trip +1,115
They have had only one $100 table open in the high limit room all day and it has been occupied at all times I have tried to get in there. The reason only one table at $100min has been available all day is because every other BJ table therein is RESERVED – approximately 6 tables – half of which are actually occupied by players playing anywhere from $2500/hand to $10k per hand. As it is Friday night, I am sure that the one $100 table will turn into a $500min table and I will be forced to venture outward on the Strip. As it was 105 degrees today I did not feel like walking anywhere. However, let’s see what the evening has in store
Ok saw Absinthe then scoped out the high limit tables – they opened a whole new area of $100min games so I sidled up and played an amazing shoe…It was one of those shoes where I think I only had to take a hit on a couple of hands – I pressed and spread more than normal and ended up +3k for the shoe. Of course, hindsight being what it always is, I should have spread higher and higher BUT, we all know I’m conservative so total for the trip is +4,115
I slept in and the $100min table in the high limit room was taken all day and, par for the course, other tables were $500min(2D, H17, noDAS, no re-splitting) or $1,000min 6deck games or RESERVED. When seats finally opened at the $100min table, management made it a $200min table. I am heading to a show later and will check out conditions other places and also see if they open the additional high limit pit here afterwards
.I was watching a reserved table earlier – guy was betting $5k to $25k per hand – had a great hand where he had $21k out – he doubled down on 7,4 against a 6 – of course he won – very nice!!! But, it is all relative to bankroll…as the guy at the reserved table next to him was playing $50k per hand.
I am heading out to grab a cab to the show and then will be back playing tonight – if I have to play $200min I will – if i was forced to play that last night I’d be up a hell of a lot more——-So I sat down to play earlier (as it is my last day of the trip and I did not play yesterday) – right off the bat, dealer gets 2 naturals in a row, followed by a 4 card 21 followed by another blackjack – once this storm passed, the shoe was up and down and I ended the shoe minus $1k. A dealer change happened prior to the new shoe (a guy I had played with before who usually deals some good cards my way) – by the end of the shoe I got back $500.
Annoying side note before the next shoe and after the shuffle a “high roller” asian guy sits down with his wife and someone I assume is either a relative or hanger-on and whips out a stack of hundreds – the dealer and pit boss get through the $10k in bills and IRS information and it turns out the guy was NOT EVEN GOING TO PLAY BLACKJACK – he was waiting for the Pai Gow table he reserved to be ready for his play and decided that he might as well interrupt another table to get his chips rather than wait for his reserved table to be ready- WTF?!?
For some reason, another dealer change (oh, yeah, the reason being the money counting for Mr. WTF! took almost 20 minutes – and, lo and behold it is the original dealer Mizz Natural Blackjack-however, the cards, but not really the count, were nicer to me and was $100 down on the last hand of the shoe – got my own natural – boom – lol – up $50 for the session after all the nonsense the trip is +4050 (BJ) minus $85 sports betting/horseracing.
Another session: Mizz Natural Blackjack has a competitor in Mizz Blackjack II – who dealt herself 4 naturals in a row – then it got better and I was up for the shoe – then down, then up, then down, then down, then down – down about $1k – then the count got slightly good and I got back to even steven for the sessiontrip +4050 (BJ) minus $85 sports betting/horse racing.
In the “you don’t see this anymore” – I was walking in the casino and happened upon an elderly couple – the man walking with a cane, the woman hunched over – yet they were holding hands. They were only walking at about 1/100mph so, as I passed them I asked them how long they had been together – the woman replied immediately (as I am sure they had been asked the same question many times before) with an amazing number 67 yearsWOW!!! Simply amazing! Their marriage has survived variance and led to positive EV.