Hi.

Welcome to my blog. Herein, I document my adventures in various casinos. Hope you have a nice stay!

Retro Report #50 Memorial Day 2015

First hand of the weekend (sorry for the blurry pic but they frown on taking photos of the blackjack table) 2AA9AA6

Went up a quick 1k - The next shoe it went right back in ten hands - Dealer made 20 on first nine hands followed by a blackjack - Switched tables and got it back - Trip is +1k

Just lost 15 of 20 hands to start the shoe - Trip -1k

I asked for a shuffle and lost first 7 hands - There is no way variance should be this horrific for me over the past 5 weeks - Just lost EVERY hand but 2 wins and 3 pushes in a shoe -Trip -4k

It's getting to the point of retiring from casino life

Won 3 hands in a row - dealer change they burn an Ace I got up and walked away - every time they change dealers they burn an ace on me

Just got 2k back in ½ shoe - Trip is -2k

Dinner break

Just lost 1k back - lost 5 doubles in the first 7 hands

Guy just buys in at a 100minimum table with five $20s says he will let it ride "BIG TIME" -- naturally, he lost the first hand and was gone

I hate pushing on naturals when dealer has ten value up card - Got 500 so now down only 1500

Picked up another 200 after losing back 1k - Trip -1300

Trying to gain some momentum - Had a few roller coaster shoes with a dealer I never played with but at least he was personable and talkative - very much rooting for me (a few dealers today didn't even say hello until I said it to them) Got another 300 - Trip -1k

I am grabbing some pizza and heading to the room to watch tv, relax and go to sleep - It's a 3-day weekend so trying to pace myself

After a good start, followed by a horrendous middle, the closing sessions were good...building positivity for tomorrow to finally get out of this variance rut and actually start using the + sign on these trip reports again!!!!!

Just lost every single hand save for 4 pushes in half a shoe - down 3k - Asked for a shuffle lost all hands but 5 pushes in ½ shoe again

I'm done, the game of blackjack has scrubbed itself of any luster it once had -- variance does not exist as it once did - it is loss upon loss upon loss upon loss - dealers make 21 at will - Dealer just made 20 on 11 of 21 hands

Ok so decided I would do another 5k and if that is lost, I will retire from the game of BJ other than Vegas next month for the $100k BJ tournament I was invited to

Sat down and played back and forth for a shoe then lost 8 hands in a row - Switched tables lost 7 of 9 - Shuffled and Won the first 6 Then lost - Trip is -6.5k with 2.5 available to play--if that goes, I will retire except for the Vegas tournament

I am going to see what happens after dinner and, as previously stated, going to attempt blackjack retirement if I cannot get some of this week's losses back. It is becoming a chore rather than something that used to be fun for me

Playing one shoe at a time - picked up another 500 - Trip -5.5k

Sat down won the first 4 hands followed by 6 losses , a push , 5 losses, a win, a push , 7 losses - Amazing - Finally went on a nice run and got it back - People at the table got mad I left mid shoe (dealer pulled a blackjack the first hand after I left so they all gave me dirty looks) Trip once again -5.5k

Played a ¼ shoe and picked up 500 - Thinking positively - Trip -5k

Sat down - played about 10 hands and came away with another 500 - Trip -4.5

Faux pas of the night:

I wished an older guy wearing a U.S. NAVY hat a happy memorial day and thanked him for his service. He was with a woman that looked about half his age and he told me he didn't re-up for Vietnam as his wife just had their first child - so I turned to the woman and said "you must be that child" - the guy laughed and said "no, that's my granddaughter" so I then remarked to her that "she should be proud of her grandfather" - she laughed and then he said "that may be somebody's granddaughter but she's not mine" WTF? Who was she?

YIKES! Don't know what got lost in translation but I eventually read it loud and clear lol

Got a quick 400 - Trip -4.1k

Just lost or pushed the first 9 hands of a new shoe!!!!! Trip -5.5

again, I ran into some bad cards and am now going to bed -7k after being at -4k along the way

I was playing slow and steady grinding it out and then WHAMO hit in the face with a frying pan - it just doesn't seem like the same game I started playing 6 years ago - something has changed - yeah there were weeks of losing but never like this - never where the dealer routinely makes 21 or pulls 6 Blackjacks in a shoe repeatedly - it's not only me - others I have known for a long time tell me it feels different to them as well - I know mathematically it is the same but it definitely "feels" different - cannot explain it any other way

 Ok have 350 match play - used 250 of it so far - Got a nice little run of +650 - Trip -6350

Just won 6 of 8 hands - Got another 850 - Trip -5.5k

Just lost first 5 hands in shoe then won next 6 of course scared money - Left with another 100 lol

Mini-incident:

I sat down at a table - there was a SURRENDER sign on the table - some guy sitting there says - there is no surrender anymore - I ask PB - he says that's true even though the sign is there - I tell PB that DGE might have something to say about that - schmuck at table chimes in saying "Surrender is for suckers" - I walked away

Played about half a shoe and picked up another 500 after the "surrender is for suckers" incident - Trip -4.9k

Played a half a shoe - lost the first 6 then win 5 then roller coastered through to the end and picked up 600 - Trip -4.4k

Sat down and was ahead a few chips for the session then got a 9,9 v dealer 8 - I split and the dealer told me the book says to stay - I told her I was splitting and she looked annoyed that I didn't listen to her - Lost the hand anyway - Then got on a serious backslide losing 2k - Then got 1k back - Trip once again -6k

Got a quick 500 - Trip -5.5

Played another shoe - dealer admonished me that I was "playing scared" - I invited her to put up extra chips of her own - she said she does not play blackjack lol

Just picked up another 500 - Trip -4.6k

Had dinner and made a nice run - Trip -3.9

That ended the weekend for me - I figured I would avoid the roller coaster and attempt to actually enjoy a Memorial Day for a change. After this, I stopped blogging for a few months as I thought that, perhaps, I should pay more attention to living life than writing about it - but, that did not last long as I started back up again.

Retro Report #51 Nov. 2015

Retro Report #49 May 2015 BJ Tourn.