Guest Posted October 4, 2012 Report Share Posted October 4, 2012 That is pretty normal for the high stakes room. But none of this tightening of the spreads should bother you in the least because our progs never exceed a 6 to 1 spread. Our max spread is the 1,4,6 prog. But I wonder why they are tightening their spreads??? Everyone else is doing the opposite. Could it be that the Canadians are afraid of card counters? Could they be that far behind the times? I'm pretty sure that Canada is also in the 21st century, right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 4, 2012 Report Share Posted October 4, 2012 I find 6 deck more of a hit and run and that's if you decide to play. Most times not. I don't don't know why 6 decks has these traits you mentioned. 4 deck is fine. 8 deck is great! Shuffle machines are also good. But 6 deck? Hmmmmm???Hit and run for 6 deck. That's a very good idea! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aegis21 Posted October 21, 2012 Report Share Posted October 21, 2012 It was great meeting everyone who attended the seminar. I am still in AC and so far doing very well at the tables. I'll give a full report when I get back home wed.John Quote "If you don't think too good, don't think too much!!" ----------------------- John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 23, 2012 Report Share Posted October 23, 2012 (edited) It was great meeting everyone who attended the seminar. I am still in AC and so far doing very well at the tables. I'll give a full report when I get back home wed.JohnWe couldn't find anything worth playing on Fri or Sat nights which is extremely common for A.C. on those nights. Monday mornings are iffy too - too many stragglers left over from the weekend. But Tuesday mornings are the best time to play. Hope you got up in time.There is more to it than just the crowds Fri and Sat. The dealers have a whole different expression and body language. They KNOW they are going to win. It's like they know something we don't know. Yes they have special weekend shuffles and maybe special card preps too. But there's got to be more to it than that. I've never studied it because I knew better than to play on Fri or Sat just as I knew to stay away from red tables like the plague.Sat night I was getting better than a 50% hands won rate but could not get substantially ahead because there were sections of the shoe where you get 7 or more class C hands in a row. Class C hands are hands you can't win no matter how you play them. They are a good way to judge the quality of a table. For instance at the Flamingo I was getting almost no Class C hands. Normal is about 10%. At the high stakes pit I was getting far more than normal but that wasn't the problem. The problem was they were all coming in a row. You win 7 in a row but then you lose 7 in a row. I've never seen either before. But this was happening every shoe no matter the table. That's a new trick and I have no idea of how they pull it off. But they have full time guys who just study shuffle technology day after day.There were no shuffle machines on any table I played. But there was also no 8 deck games in the high stakes rooms of any of the casinos Keith called. Strangely, it appears that while Vegas is going from 6 to 8 deck, AC is going from 8 to 6. I have never liked 6 deck BJ because good games never last.But anyway, I say again with feeling, never play BJ in AC on Fri or Sat night. That was my first exhibition loss in 25 years after winning over 300. Edited October 23, 2012 by Guest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kramden Posted October 23, 2012 Report Share Posted October 23, 2012 Hello all,Just want to say thank you to Ellis and Keith (and all)for a Great seminar. I learned alot and see that you guys really know your stuff. It was equally great meeting the other members who attended and "breaking bread" with you guys. I must say that those tables Sat. night were "bootleg" to say the least. Not a winner to be found, and countless sad faces throughout the casino.(but I think a couple of you won a few bucks though?) You put up a great fight in order to demonstrate for us though.I will post more when I have more time. I am formulating many more annoying questions while you are reading this. Hah.Bluetri, did you make it home OK?Talk to you guys soon...kramden Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aegis21 Posted October 27, 2012 Report Share Posted October 27, 2012 Atlantic City Trip Report 10/20/12 thru 10/22/12Overall it was a very successful trip. One good part of the trip was winning the first game I played. The other was spending time with old friends and meeting new ones. Having to start the trip on a Sat. Night in AC is like going to a gun fight with a pocket knife. Unless you plan extremely well and get a little lucky you will get shot down real quick. I had more luck than planning and I am always thankful for some good luck. My tendency was to jump in the same game that Ellis and Keith started playing. There were two reasons I did not, first and foremost the number of players in the game would have been at five but six spots would have been played. (one player, playing two spots) The second reason was due to my not being up to top/peak performance. See I started that day leaving Ct. @ 8am driving 3-4 hours, attending a seminar, checking into a hotel and then meeting everyone at the casino. I certainly was not at my top game for sure, so I didn't want to embarrass myself in front of Ellis, Keith and the rest of the casino. After I saw Keith and Ellis doing ok at that table I scouted the area and found a decent game for a firstbase try. I bought in for one pile of chips and started playing. (normally a foolish move on my part) Like I said, I got lucky with that game, it went back and forth for a shoe and a half and then it went to head to head. That was good for me for two reasons, one it kept me on my toes and my adrenalin kicked in to play head to head. It was a good head to head game and I almost made a pile of chips in one shoe. This was a no mid shoe entry game and I was able to play out that shoe head to head. At the end of that shoe two players entered the game. At this point I realized my limitations and with Keith saw I was doing well and jumped in the game, an always welcome addition. He saw me make two mistakes and I decided to end that game up one pile. Sorry for the mistakes Keith.... Although one I had a reason to make, tens were following aces almost 90% of the time in that game. I thought that was the case and stopped hitting when I got an ace for a total of 14. Of course the next card made the dealer hand and I would have made a pat hand and broke the dealer. So it was high time to leave that game. Now I had a buy in for the next day supplied by the casino! Much more relaxed way to play the game on their money instead of my money! Next day I called Keith and Ellis to meet up for breakfast and some play, Keith did not answer his phone so I decided to walk the boardwalk on a beautiful sunny day. I would of course stop in a casino and check out the pits and mentally record which ones were open and which were closed. I though I may use this info later to find games with new cards. It was now about 10am and I was at the tropicana and walked into a pit that looked like it just opened. One table at the end was still doing card prep. I sat down on a corner table and asked the dealer how long the game was opened and how did people do? She nicely replied that it was open for an hour and it wasn't a bad game. I asked why no one was playing and she said three people started the game and left breaking even. So I decided to give it a try myself, I bought in for a pile and commenced to play head to head. The game wasn't particuarly good but not bad either, I would go up a couple of chips and then even for almost two shoes. I then started to recognize that I wasn't losing three hands in a row and installed a neg. prog. to my firstbase head to head strategy. This worked out quite well and I was up a pile and a half in the next shoe. At the end of that shoe two players got into the game and played safe strategy with lows running and dealer strategy when highs were running. This not only had them losing several hands in a row, it started the dealer on a small non breaking streak. I decided it was lunch time and I would leave this game up one pile of chips. Not the big win I was thinking about two shoes ago but still a win. Most of the trip went along this path as I am a conservative player normally and the conditions lent themselves to a hit and run style. The couple of shoes I did lose, I never had a chance. Using the same table selcetion and strategy decisions (first or third) I had a difficult time winning any hands in those games. The games I won, usually had areas that were very easy to play/win. I only won one game that was a real struggle... That sums up my trip to AC this past weekend, if Sandy wasn't so threatening I would have made a trip to foxwoods or Mo-sun this weekend.Good Luck AllJohn Quote "If you don't think too good, don't think too much!!" ----------------------- John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 28, 2012 Report Share Posted October 28, 2012 An excellent trip report John and good strategy all the way. Somehow we've got to figure a way to do these seminars while avoiding Sat night play. I was lucky at Flamingo because I could still get new cards even at the late Sat and Sun night hours. Avoiding Sat nights was one of the first things I learned in BJ. Sorry I couldn't get more play in with you. But Keith and I were making a BJ sales movie back in PA. Keith in in the process of splicing and editing and we should all be able to view it soon. Sort of The basic NBJ foundation. I thought it was a pretty rough first attempt but the guys seem to prefer it rough - more credibility. Let me know what you think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aegis21 Posted October 29, 2012 Report Share Posted October 29, 2012 I see they shutdown Atlantic City, They were afraid we were going to return! LOL!!!! Quote "If you don't think too good, don't think too much!!" ----------------------- John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baccarat Hall of Fame Member kachatz1 Posted October 30, 2012 Baccarat Hall of Fame Member Report Share Posted October 30, 2012 Atlantic City Trip Report 10/20/12 thru 10/22/12Overall it was a very successful trip. One good part of the trip was winning the first game I played. The other was spending time with old friends and meeting new ones. Having to start the trip on a Sat. Night in AC is like going to a gun fight with a pocket knife. Unless you plan extremely well and get a little lucky you will get shot down real quick. I had more luck than planning and I am always thankful for some good luck. My tendency was to jump in the same game that Ellis and Keith started playing. There were two reasons I did not, first and foremost the number of players in the game would have been at five but six spots would have been played. (one player, playing two spots) The second reason was due to my not being up to top/peak performance. See I started that day leaving Ct. @ 8am driving 3-4 hours, attending a seminar, checking into a hotel and then meeting everyone at the casino. I certainly was not at my top game for sure, so I didn't want to embarrass myself in front of Ellis, Keith and the rest of the casino. After I saw Keith and Ellis doing ok at that table I scouted the area and found a decent game for a firstbase try. I bought in for one pile of chips and started playing. (normally a foolish move on my part) Like I said, I got lucky with that game, it went back and forth for a shoe and a half and then it went to head to head. That was good for me for two reasons, one it kept me on my toes and my adrenalin kicked in to play head to head. It was a good head to head game and I almost made a pile of chips in one shoe. This was a no mid shoe entry game and I was able to play out that shoe head to head. At the end of that shoe two players entered the game. At this point I realized my limitations and with Keith saw I was doing well and jumped in the game, an always welcome addition. He saw me make two mistakes and I decided to end that game up one pile. Sorry for the mistakes Keith.... Although one I had a reason to make, tens were following aces almost 90% of the time in that game. I thought that was the case and stopped hitting when I got an ace for a total of 14. Of course the next card made the dealer hand and I would have made a pat hand and broke the dealer. So it was high time to leave that game. Now I had a buy in for the next day supplied by the casino! Much more relaxed way to play the game on their money instead of my money! Next day I called Keith and Ellis to meet up for breakfast and some play, Keith did not answer his phone so I decided to walk the boardwalk on a beautiful sunny day. I would of course stop in a casino and check out the pits and mentally record which ones were open and which were closed. I though I may use this info later to find games with new cards. It was now about 10am and I was at the tropicana and walked into a pit that looked like it just opened. One table at the end was still doing card prep. I sat down on a corner table and asked the dealer how long the game was opened and how did people do? She nicely replied that it was open for an hour and it wasn't a bad game. I asked why no one was playing and she said three people started the game and left breaking even. So I decided to give it a try myself, I bought in for a pile and commenced to play head to head. The game wasn't particuarly good but not bad either, I would go up a couple of chips and then even for almost two shoes. I then started to recognize that I wasn't losing three hands in a row and installed a neg. prog. to my firstbase head to head strategy. This worked out quite well and I was up a pile and a half in the next shoe. At the end of that shoe two players got into the game and played safe strategy with lows running and dealer strategy when highs were running. This not only had them losing several hands in a row, it started the dealer on a small non breaking streak. I decided it was lunch time and I would leave this game up one pile of chips. Not the big win I was thinking about two shoes ago but still a win. Most of the trip went along this path as I am a conservative player normally and the conditions lent themselves to a hit and run style. The couple of shoes I did lose, I never had a chance. Using the same table selcetion and strategy decisions (first or third) I had a difficult time winning any hands in those games. The games I won, usually had areas that were very easy to play/win. I only won one game that was a real struggle... That sums up my trip to AC this past weekend, if Sandy wasn't so threatening I would have made a trip to foxwoods or Mo-sun this weekend.Good Luck AllJohnCould not make the HighStakes seminar, but did attend TeamPlay seminar in Vegas several months ago...At the Mandalay Bay in Vegas Friday night ( really Saturday am) several days ago and just played I-on-1 against the dealer at Quarter table....played one, two or three hands bases on my opinion of where high cards and low cards were "running" , and in less than 1 hour up $1900 ( exactly) and time to hit the hay for a few hours before 10am tee time!Varied my bet size, varied my bet selection ( one, two or three hands), just me and the dealer ....My friends, I can tell you that proper( and fortuitous) table selection late in the day ( in this case the "wee hours") can and will yield CLUMPING!I started with $200 and never went below that amount...did get up over +$2300, but another 10 hands or so and I was back to +$1900...time to color-up, and I did just that....Took me less than 1 hour, and was I lucky? Of Course.But luck alone did not account for my $1900 win-fall. Plain and Clear, it was my observation of shoe CLUMPING and fortuitous 1,2,or3-at-a-time hand play selection from this observation that got me in the big money....not sure of my hand wins% rate as the play was fast and furious...just me and the dealer...but it was SO EASY for me to keep track of 1-8's as low cards, 9-10,JQK as high cards and Ace high or low depending on what it followed, that resulted in most of the win....In summary, it was the DISCIPLINE of playing this way that got me the big win.And I was the only person on the team....Thanks, Ellis and Keith. Long live the Kings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 30, 2012 Report Share Posted October 30, 2012 Could not make the HighStakes seminar, but did attend TeamPlay seminar in Vegas several months ago...At the Mandalay Bay in Vegas Friday night ( really Saturday am) several days ago and just played I-on-1 against the dealer at Quarter table....played one, two or three hands bases on my opinion of where high cards and low cards were "running" , and in less than 1 hour up $1900 ( exactly) and time to hit the hay for a few hours before 10am tee time!Varied my bet size, varied my bet selection ( one, two or three hands), just me and the dealer ....My friends, I can tell you that proper( and fortuitous) table selection late in the day ( in this case the "wee hours") can and will yield CLUMPING!I started with $200 and never went below that amount...did get up over +$2300, but another 10 hands or so and I was back to +$1900...time to color-up, and I did just that....Took me less than 1 hour, and was I lucky? Of Course.But luck alone did not account for my $1900 win-fall. Plain and Clear, it was my observation of shoe CLUMPING and fortuitous 1,2,or3-at-a-time hand play selection from this observation that got me in the big money....not sure of my hand wins% rate as the play was fast and furious...just me and the dealer...but it was SO EASY for me to keep track of 1-8's as low cards, 9-10,JQK as high cards and Ace high or low depending on what it followed, that resulted in most of the win....In summary, it was the DISCIPLINE of playing this way that got me the big win.And I was the only person on the team....Thanks, Ellis and Keith. Long live the Kings.WOW! An excellent performance! Head to head is best. Just takes a little confidence and knowhow.Try 1-7 low and 8-K high. That works even better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest CarlosM Posted October 30, 2012 Report Share Posted October 30, 2012 Kachatz1 nice job! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 30, 2012 Report Share Posted October 30, 2012 I see they shutdown Atlantic City, They were afraid we were going to return! LOL!!!!I was there for two previous hurricanes. You have to play really fast before the cards float away!I was staying on the top floor of the Showboat. It was swaying back and forth a good foot. You had to hold on to the wall walking down the corridor. Made for exciting elevator rides! Of course the wine didn't help. Hmmm, or maybe it did! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baccarat Hall of Fame Member kachatz1 Posted October 30, 2012 Baccarat Hall of Fame Member Report Share Posted October 30, 2012 WOW! An excellent performance! Head to head is best. Just takes a little confidence and knowhow.Try 1-7 low and 8-K high. That works even better.Thanks, EllisAt the teamPlay seminar we focused on 1-8 low, 9-10,JQK high and Ace hi-low depending on what it followed...have to agree "8" is a pivot card...All BTC members, read ANY of my posts and you will get a sense for me liking best to play 1-on-1 with the Dealer, both BAC and BJ, and playing as fast as possible.Here's why:1) Both games, I can block out any/all outside influences ( smoking, slow play, music, Tv, cocktail waitresses, etc, etc...oh, did I mention obnoxious players?)2) If you are really on your game, you will quickly decide whether the " game at hand" is favorable to you or the Dealer ( or, in BAC, whether it is S40, F2/3 or neutral favorable )3) Playing alone gives you total control over BS, MM, pace of play ( I like fast) ... No excuses...you are on your game, the game is NOR - favorable, or BJ " clumped", etc....just IMHO, but no need to take a bunch of time to "decide".....2MuchANALYSIS = PARALYSIS , so far as I am concerned4) There are no strings attached...nobody to look out for except yourself, no snide remarks from the peanut gallery when you split tens or stand on 9, no table-full of people just waiting to bet against you in BACOf course, there are many other ingrained habits, superstitions, trigger plays, etc. enter my mind while playing...but the bulk of WINNING STRATEGY is confined right here in these BTC forums...My next post I will add a few things I have observed from playing many hundreds of BAC shoes, and they all relate to how/ when/ where and why NOR is the closest thing to your own personal ATMgood luck to everyone! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aegis21 Posted October 31, 2012 Report Share Posted October 31, 2012 Great Job on that game! I understand your reasons for head to head play. It helps out here if they have no mid shoe entry, there are lots of people that will table jump, even in the high stakes pit! Sheesh! Quote "If you don't think too good, don't think too much!!" ----------------------- John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baccarat Hall of Fame Member kachatz1 Posted November 1, 2012 Baccarat Hall of Fame Member Report Share Posted November 1, 2012 Great Job on that game! I understand your reasons for head to head play. It helps out here if they have no mid shoe entry, there are lots of people that will table jump, even in the high stakes pit! Sheesh!MidShoe entry WAS available at the time...but since it was way,way past the (be)witchy gal hour ( 4am) only thing I was looking out for we're a few inebriated players lurking the tables across from me...I even figured in advance that if they came over, I would "play right into" their worst nightmare ( someone acting out/seemingly oblivious to what they might have defined as " foolish play". Like splitting 10's, stand on 8/9, etc...)Figured to myself not only would I get rid of them quickly, it would help me since I WAS ALREADY DOING THAT anyways!One think I like about playing 1,2,3 hands heads-up with the Dealer is since I many times have 3 decisions to make, especially at 4 am, it's real, real simple to make it " appear" like I am playing with no regard to my bankroll, the cards, the hour-of-the-day, etcThe faster I play, the more I switch between playing 1,2,3 hands, varying the bet sizes on each hand , the more frequently I make those anti-BasicStrategy ( did I just say anti-BS?) moves, the easier it is to navigate under anyone's radar...A few times I will ask the FloorManager/PitBoss " what would U Do?". ( hit, stand, split, double, etc) and it never ceases to amaze me how quickly after a little small-talk and some comments about " should of quit while I was ahead/ Or remark to them " don't quit your day job" ", yada yada, they walk away!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted November 2, 2012 Report Share Posted November 2, 2012 Thanks, EllisAt the teamPlay seminar we focused on 1-8 low, 9-10,JQK high and Ace hi-low depending on what it followed...have to agree "8" is a pivot card...All BTC members, read ANY of my posts and you will get a sense for me liking best to play 1-on-1 with the Dealer, both BAC and BJ, and playing as fast as possible.Here's why:1) Both games, I can block out any/all outside influences ( smoking, slow play, music, Tv, cocktail waitresses, etc, etc...oh, did I mention obnoxious players?)2) If you are really on your game, you will quickly decide whether the " game at hand" is favorable to you or the Dealer ( or, in BAC, whether it is S40, F2/3 or neutral favorable )3) Playing alone gives you total control over BS, MM, pace of play ( I like fast) ... No excuses...you are on your game, the game is NOR - favorable, or BJ " clumped", etc....just IMHO, but no need to take a bunch of time to "decide".....2MuchANALYSIS = PARALYSIS , so far as I am concerned4) There are no strings attached...nobody to look out for except yourself, no snide remarks from the peanut gallery when you split tens or stand on 9, no table-full of people just waiting to bet against you in BACOf course, there are many other ingrained habits, superstitions, trigger plays, etc. enter my mind while playing...but the bulk of WINNING STRATEGY is confined right here in these BTC forums...My next post I will add a few things I have observed from playing many hundreds of BAC shoes, and they all relate to how/ when/ where and why NOR is the closest thing to your own personal ATMgood luck to everyone!Regardless of what I may have said (I was on pain pills at the TP seminar so I could walk a little) I should have said 2-7 low; 8-10 high and Aces swing.There are also important technical advantages to head to head play.You can sit anywhere and play either NBJ First base for clumped cards or 3rd base for new/random cards. I always sit at 3rd because:Head to head play will always randomize the cards because the dealer always picks up the cards the same way whether you break or not. 2 players also eventually randomizes the cards. Third base puts you into position to switch to NBJ 3rd base once the cards are randomized. You are in the right position should other players get in the game.NBJ 1st base needs the right number of players for the game at hand. Even when you are getting your first card tens as predicted, your second card depends on the number of players in the game. But in head to head, your second card is dealt out of the same clump so a good second card is virtually guaranteed.For these reasons head to head play gives you a higher hit rate especially on your high bets.Head to head eliminates chicken hitters from screwing up your game. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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