Bet Phoenix "Cutting it short"

[TomM]

Still see only table 1 open. Hopefully they get #4 open so I can use my real money account there.

Would be nice to have some table selection again, huh?. I guess the bac tables were down for like 4 or 5 days or something? The only thing I noticed different last night was the little feature that auto selects the best connection from the three choices they give. Big whoop there. I have to guess there is more to it than that. Like a said before this outfit is confusing at times and lately is exhibiting characteristics of a joint trying to tighten up their game. I wish they had the stability of like a Dublinbet. Dublinbet shoes look as good to me today as they did when I first started practicing there. The only defensive maneuver that I see there is the speed of the deal at times. However, when I can keep up I still find their shoes quite good for me. The only other thing I can figure is to many good players overplaying Bph for higher stakes. I can’t fault anyone for taking advantage of some of the better shoes. Personally I only intend to play low stakes there at least until I have access to more online casinos. I think it would just be to easy to have your play profiled. If you intend to use online casinos as a money thing in the future you could be in trouble if these various outfits start to share information. If you punch Bph into Alexa.com you see the stats show that about 80% of their business comes from North America. I think like 67% are Americans. Not surprising with the anti-online gambling ban on here in the USA. I’ve heard rumors online that when the large USA based companies are set up for it the laws will change. I think the online market must have outfits like Hurrahs and Caesars and whatnot drooling to get a piece of the USA market down the line. I still would like to know why Betphoenix is the only live table game joint that has flaunted the UIEGA laws. It has got to be a huge boon to their operation to offer live games to any country where online gambling is outlawed. They virtually have that market cornered for now even though the sports bettors have a # of good offshore books to patronize.

The other thing is it is just damn difficult to find any definitive information about their table games. You can get a ton of opinions/ information on Betphoenix from the sports betting sites but almost none of that information applies specifically to the live table games. I know from the sports betting sites that Bph had a major issue when the company that served them folded or bailed last year. They were apparently the only client then, but now have to share servers with all the other outfits in Costa Rica. It least that was the information I read from "Richard". Richard is the BPH rep that runs around to the various sports book forums and calms everybody down when Bph is off the air for any time at all. Those sport betting guys get really PO'd if they can not get their bets down.

Would be nice to get hold of some real financial information as to just how lucrative the live table games have been for Bph. I’m not sure if they are obliged to share that information even with the Costa Rican government, as I hear they run tax-free down there presumably because they hire so many locals.

I find it difficult to believe that they would not have all there table games up and running on a weekend unless they are having some internal problems like server issues or something like that. But as Ellis says never underestimate these guys. They’re very smart.

[TomM]

Once again have to congradulate the chiefs at Bph for hiring Magaly..Sounds Irish but I'm probably wrong. She put the 6 on the bank for a come from behand winner that really helped out in that one.

Poor Girl mixed up a mess, but I forgive her. She inherited most of the that mess.

Edited June 15, 2010 by TomM

[TomM]

Just papered played one shoe on the $50.00 table. T1 & 4 are closed at the moment. The fifty dollar table went well and I clocked +20 , but moved over to the only other table open (dimes), and was going to play but decided to watch and it ended abruptly at hand #40. Draw your own conclusions there.

Update: The dealer waited for the other girls (pit?) to come over and put in the cut card. Looked like she cut off 2 to 3 decks to these tired eyes. Their lucky they have a monopoly on the American players or I think many would take their action elsewhere

Update Part Deau: It occured to me this morning that perhaps this short shoeing or various shuffle procedural changes may not necessarly be at random because they can see who is online at any given time. Think about it. Even if they cannot stop it they may try to slow the bleeding when player #1234321 is at the table for instance. I would think the last thing that an online or B&M casino would want to do is get a reputation for not welcoming all action. From my experience most better casinos don't sweat the action as they believe (rightfully so in most cases) that they will get it back plus in the long run.

Maybe this is just the tip of the iceberg of an attempt at virtual hassling of advantage players.

Update Part III: One other dime shoe ended at a record hand #38 last night that I was playing. If they keep this up I may have to adjust my play to unknown shoes (unseen cut card) such as looking to strike early or early lock up if I don't know where the cut card is. I don't think it will adversely effect most of our players but I would be surprised if they do not raise the ire of many others that just want to play a regulation shoe. Look at Dublinbet. Still going strong after all these years.

Edited June 18, 2010 by TomM
Additional thoughts

[gablaw]

Seems like lots of 1221s after it went back online----or am I just being paranoid?

[MVSeahog]

Seems like lots of 1221s after it went back online----or am I just being paranoid?

No, it looks like that to me too.

Just got knocked out of my game a few minutes ago at hand 27. The last hand got dealt, I lost a 1 unit wager and the next thing I know the "dealer is offline" as was the game!

Up until that time the shoe went

P3111112122131

B211111

Ran basically F2 on it from hand 10 onwards. The "Anti-RD1" count was 18 to 8!!

MVS (got a +4 out of it anyway)

[gablaw]

Yeah, I meant 121s.

Btw, what's the easiest way to deposit money with BPH?

[nizm0racer]

Western Union or Moneygram(they prefer moneygram cause it's cheaper)

[nizm0racer]

I noticed again some of the dealers cutting about 3 decks in. I called in and Roslyn changed it right there and then and moved the joker card for me. This was on table 4 by the way. She just told me that since it's a 24 hour operation that sometimes they might make mistakes (other supervisors not enforcing it). So I say just make sure you see the cut before jumping into a shoe.

[MVSeahog]

Yeah, I meant 121s.

Btw, what's the easiest way to deposit money with BPH?

I used my VISA card but it gets billed as a cash advance, which is expensive no matter how they try to dress it up.

It goes through a third party which is why it doesn't get flagged by VISA like it used to.

Luckily I've only had to make one deposit!!

MVS

[TomM]

No, it looks like that to me too.

Just got knocked out of my game a few minutes ago at hand 27. The last hand got dealt, I lost a 1 unit wager and the next thing I know the "dealer is offline" as was the game!

Up until that time the shoe went

P3111112122131

B211111

Ran basically F2 on it from hand 10 onwards. The "Anti-RD1" count was 18 to 8!!

MVS (got a +4 out of it anyway)

I am seeing more shoes where anti betting and more 4 0pposites (counted correctly) are switching the strong side every 10 hands or so. They are ironing out BP disparity in the process. No doublt their occasional wash and goofy shuffle procedures are contributing to this. The way they load the shoe with the picks almost makes me think they are weary of some kind of shuffle tracking. If by hand 7 or 8 of the shoe it looks more OTB4L I start in with SKOR/KS. Yeah it is close to betting TB4L VS. OTB4L but I see the shoe really well from that progression. If the shoe is presenting longer straight runs I move right to Maverick same if it is mostly Anti betting. If it is jumping around from short opposites to short repeats I will hang with skor /ks until F/x takes over. I prefer to stick with Maverick if the progression isn't losing to many bets in a row though. KS loves to flat bet prefers OTB4L favorable shoes but picks off TB4L with low risk usually snagging 4 or 5 units per column when conditions are good for it.

I think they are profiling winning players. I'm throwing in as many monkey wrenches as I can.

Update: The last shoe before the midnight server reset thing on T-4 was classic of the shoes the new shuffle produces at times. Far more 2's 24 SAP in this case. Playing KS/kMav in these things with conservative betting 1, 1.5, or 1,2 made 14 units on that just watching for the game to change every ten plays. playing closer to OTB4L in sections with out straight runs works good. I only needed 1 chip to gross 14 flat betting mostly. Keep an eye on OT to TBL switches and refuse to lose the switch bet, betting down only if it looks like it may run. I'll post this shoe tommrow in M&M bell just rang.

Update: lot ot OTB4L in there... don't beieve I have ever seen that many 4 in a rows in a session in a long time. But it was ok session with little tweaking here and there.

Edited June 19, 2010 by MVSeahog
Session Update SAt morning

[MVSeahog]

Another good shoe, correct size and all that at BPH tonight. 70 hands.

P2112185

B61111112213

B111211134131

P3142

I exited at hand 39 with the descending +15. It went on to +25 to finish under Maverick.

Ran the whole shoe under RD1/H. F2 would have beat it up pretty good also.

MVS

[MVSeahog]

Darn it!

Just jumped over to BPH to get today's session in, saw an excellent setup on table 4 and it looked pretty streaky. Got a sheet printed up (I was out, of course) jumped into the table, got ready to bet and the "dealer is offline" message came up.

Arrrrrrrgh.

Oh well, maybe it's just me.

MVS

[Norm A]

Darn it!

Just jumped over to BPH to get today's session in, saw an excellent setup on table 4 and it looked pretty streaky. Got a sheet printed up (I was out, of course) jumped into the table, got ready to bet and the "dealer is offline" message came up.

Arrrrrrrgh.

Oh well, maybe it's just me.

MVS

I think they saw you comeing. LOL

[MVSeahog]

I think they saw you comeing. LOL

Yeah. They probably see one of us coming in and say "Here comes another one of those BTC guys. Quick! Shut down the tables!!"

MVS

[Guest NBAProCapper]

Guys word of caution, Make sure you log into your BP account and check the balance daily, also change your password about once a week if you a have big balance in there.

There have been people reporting on SBR (sportsbookreview) that their accounts have been hacked etc. Its always better to stay cautious

[MVSeahog]

Guys word of caution, Make sure you log into your BP account and check the balance daily, also change your password about once a week if you a have big balance in there.

Hmm, thanks for the update. As I'm one of those people who haven't changed my PW there since I started, I guess I should think about doing that today!

MVS

[nizm0racer]

Looks like tables 3/4 are going to be down for the next few days...

[gablaw]

The $5 game is at the $50 table and the $500 game is at the $10 table. Go figure.

2s were a 26 SAP count at the $5 table this afternoon. Go OTB4l!

[MVSeahog]

gablaw,

You're right! Just looked and jumped in late in a shoe that looked like a quick F2 run at the end. It was. A quick +4 in less than 10 hands.

Shuffling as we type.

MVS

[TomM]

Hmm, thanks for the update. As I'm one of those people who haven't changed my PW there since I started, I guess I should think about doing that today!

MVS

On so many levels, how do you figure Bph ? When I signed up there originally last year used a default cheesy password that I use (easy to remember) if it is a usual no money situation or anything I would not worry about if someone hi-jacked it.

It took me a while to warm up to Bph I guess because of the big cards and the exaggerated presentation by the dealers looked so fakey. Anyway, after I warmed up to the idea and made a small deposit I asked on phone about changing my password and the representative said sure let me have it. I thought that was a little weird as I was thinking my password would be input online and known only to me. As it was I made a deposit with moneygram and the reciever was somebody in Nicaragua. Everything went smoothly and the money was in my account in less then a hour I believe.

Can you change your password there so that only you know it (as entering it online) or do you have to tell the rep on the phone, or can you enter it in chat mode so that everyone in Costa Rica and the surrounding countryside do not have your password ? Maybe I missed something there. I mean what's the point of changing the password if you are verbally telling the representative.

Can anyone enlighten me on this ?

[nizm0racer]

TomM you can do it on the site page. You have to sign in and go into your preferences I believe and change it there. Even if they ask you for the password(whomever is on the phone) they can still see what it is as it is on their computer screens.

[TomM]

TomM you can do it on the site page. You have to sign in and go into your preferences I believe and change it there. Even if they ask you for the password(whomever is on the phone) they can still see what it is as it is on their computer screens.

That is not normal in the context of password protected is it ? I am ignorant of the password protected things in computerland but I assumed a password was in most cases only known to the client, if it is a financial thing, ie Swiss numbered bank account. I guess I am wrong on this ?

Oh if you are having trouble accessing Bph website you might want to try Bogarts but I see the $50.00 minimum table is the $5.00 table tonight anyway. What's up with these guys ?

On another note I recieved a free $50.00 dollar chip from the other BPH site betphoenixcasino.com that says maximum withdraw is $100.00 winnings on the free $50.00 chip with a 20X rollover or something. Has anyone opened an account at that place with that chip and if so do you have to make a cash deposit in order to get the free chip. I guess I could go back and read the email that it came with but that would be to easy lol.

Nizm: Ok I read your post in haste. I guess you can reset your password from their website and it is actually encoded or something so that everybody in Central America does not have it. I'll try that.

I just went over to Bph and the feed is a slow as I have ever seen it. If your into practicing or like pondering your decisions you'll love it there. They just went to reset their server at 10 minutes before midnight EST so hopefully when they come back it will pick up a little.

Yesterday I dropped in on Bph and thought their minimum was $50.00 and $500,00 so I checked on roulette. It is $10.00 minimum and $300.00 maximum so I played three "shoes". I fake it and if the trend is all over the place I stop at hand #70. If I am on a run I will go past #70 until the trend ends into the next scorecard. I was insuring every hand on the split 0/00 so that I would not get burned on those. The first shoe was a mess chop city but had a few green hits that helped. I made some mistakes as I was just winging it but ended up a few bucks to the good (not much). The next to "shoes" were streakers RD-H all the way I think and would have payed well except that their were only 5 green hits so my "commission" was high like $77.00 bucks on one and about the same on the other. I still made slightly over a hundred on the two good shoes after vigorish playing nickels with a 23456. I hit the 6 unit bet 3 or 4 times.

It is slightly slower than baccarat there and I don't like playing 0/00 wheels because of the extra vigorish if green doesn't hit occassionally on the 3 or 4 dollar insurance bets. I was in fun mode and it was an interesting test. If they had a french wheel I might try it for real $. However on a small test Maverick held up well on the live wheel. I wonder ?

I tied this once in the casino on a 0/00 wheel in the early 90's with one of Ellis' chop systems but the bets got a little high and I did'nt like insuring the 0/00. Once I got back to even I bailed and went back to bac.

Anyone else give the wheel a shot with Maverick or ADOT or any of the newer systems?

P.S. I've tried playing all even money bets on three cards on an RNG in the past with not so good results. I can't remember what system I was using. I beleive I played at Bodog RNG wheel.

Edited June 22, 2010 by TomM

[gablaw]

Copy of an email that didn't go through

Attn: Jack

This is my first day playing for real money with Bet Phoenix. There were 2 baccarat hands with problems.

1. Game 043MIL: I bet $5 on Banker. The video showed 9-7 for Player and A-7 for Banker. A message came on the screen saying there was a "dealer error" and the hand was canceled and my bet refunded. I saw no error other than the display showed different cards. I feel I should have won based on the cards actually dealt.

2. Game 046MIL: I bet $5 on Banker which lost. A message came on the screen saying due to some problem my bet was not accepted and would be refunded. But it was not.

I do see that the games were down shortly thereafter but I wonder if I can really trust playing with Bet Phoenix. The amount in dispute is only $10 but it's the principle. I'm afraid to make bigger bets in the future.

I understand you can view the video to judge for yourself. I would appreciate it.

Gerald Becker

[TomM]

Copy of an email that didn't go through

Attn: Jack

This is my first day playing for real money with Bet Phoenix. There were 2 baccarat hands with problems.

1. Game 043MIL: I bet $5 on Banker. The video showed 9-7 for Player and A-7 for Banker. A message came on the screen saying there was a "dealer error" and the hand was canceled and my bet refunded. I saw no error other than the display showed different cards. I feel I should have won based on the cards actually dealt.

2. Game 046MIL: I bet $5 on Banker which lost. A message came on the screen saying due to some problem my bet was not accepted and would be refunded. But it was not.

I do see that the games were down shortly thereafter but I wonder if I can really trust playing with Bet Phoenix. The amount in dispute is only $10 but it's the principle. I'm afraid to make bigger bets in the future.

I understand you can view the video to judge for yourself. I would appreciate it.

Gerald Becker

You have the play number. Just call or chat representative and I'm sure they will refund you the $. They are having server problems tonight. They got a 5 spot of mine but I didn't catch the hand # so I will just blow it off. This is pretty unusual for me. Slow server sometimes but I never had a bet snagged before.

[Guest NBAProCapper]

ToM the employees have your password regardles how you change or resset it. They need to know your password cause with phoned in sportsbet you confirm the bet by saying your password standard and scary at the same time