Gambling With an Edge

The World's Greatest Card Counter

rwmunchkin@gmail.com (Bob Dancer & Richard Munchkin) — Mon, 20 May 2013 12:32:49 PDT

The World's Greatest Card Counter by rwm1710 on GoAnimate

Cool new app - at least it's new to me.

rwmunchkin@gmail.com (Bob Dancer & Richard Munchkin) — Sun, 19 May 2013 11:15:57 PDT

This has nothing to do with gambling, but when I find something new that I like I want to pass it along. I got an app today called Paper Karma. Do you get junk mail? Well whip out your phone with this app, snap a picture of the junk mail, and send it off to paper karma and they get the sender to stop sending you junk mail. I have no idea how well this works, but even if it just cuts some of the junk I'll be happy.

Disguise Part 2

rwmunchkin@gmail.com (Bob Dancer & Richard Munchkin) — Fri, 17 May 2013 11:28:39 PDT

In part one I talked about some disguises that didn't work, and a few that did. The bottom line is that everyone I know gave up on them because they were too much of a hassle. Now I want to talk about the things you can do that are more practical. Here are the things to work with: Hair, facial hair, hats, glasses, clothes, physicality, and a few random extras.

First I want to make special mention of your home casino. If you have a home casino you probably spend tons of hours there. When you eventually get backed off there, (which will happen if you are a winning player) it will take a very long time for them to forget you. Do not be the guy who is everyone's friend, the guy who knows every dealer, and boss, and how many kids they have, and what their hobbies are. That guy they are never going to forget even if you come dressed as a Klingon. If you are a guy who keeps his head down, and never talks to anyone you will have a chance of coming back in a year with a change of look. Especially if you avoid certain bosses and dealers.

Hair is your biggest asset since it can be changed the most, and has a big effect on your look. You can play with the length, (from completely bald to "get a job, hippie.") color, and texture. Perms can be a hassle, but once they are done they last quite a while. I think hair that obscures part of your face is much better than long hair pulled back in a ponytail. When it comes to facial hair I think more is better. A thin mustache doesn't change your look much, but a full beard can change the shape of your jaw or chin, and hide a lot about your face.

There is some controversy regarding hats. Some people claim they bring extra heat. Here is my answer - tough. Maybe it is true, but whatever slight amount of heat you avoid without a hat is greatly overshadowed by the difference in the picture they take of you. Have you ever watched surveillance footage on the news? Do you want your flier to look like the first guy, or the second?

By the way - wearing a hat backwards is the same as no hat at all.

By the way, it doesn't have to be a baseball cap. Nothing wrong with these looks in a casino.

Hats should be as nondescript as possible. There is a big difference when one boss tells another, "Hey, watch for a guy in a red hat with Bugs Bunny on it." versus, "Hey, watch for a guy in a black hat." Once you have had any heat in a particular hat get rid of it.

Speaking of nondescript, I ran into an AP in Las Vegas on 3 separate occasions. All three times he was wearing the same shirt. The shirt was meant to be ironic, but it is very memorable. First of all, I hope he does a lot of laundry, and second this is a really bad idea. Anything that makes you memorable is bad. I'm sure if I wrote here what it said on his shirt I would get several emails saying, "I know that guy." Actually, I will probably get several without revealing what it said.

When it comes to glasses bigger is better.

Wear glasses like this and they will remember the glasses, not the face.

What if you knew that sometime in the future the casino was going to take your picture, and distribute it? You do not that! If you are any kind of serious player it is just a matter of time. Have you prepared? You know this is going to happen, so how are you going to change your look? Once you realize this it is kind of liberating, and you can do some serious planning. Every time you walk into a casino it should be with the idea that "today they are going to take my picture." I believe that it is a bigger change if you remove things than add them. You can cut your hair and beard in an hour; you can't grow them back quickly. I would try to grow as much hair as possible, add a hat and big glasses, and when the eventual flier comes, take it all off.

Go from this...

To this.

Regular readers of this blog will know that I always argue against using a players card. All this discussion is mute if you let them scan your ID into their computer when you got that players card, because now they have a full frontal photo of your FACE in the computer from that scan! I hope the free buffet was worth it.

When it is time to change your look remember to change your whole persona, not just your hair, hat, and glasses. If you used to look like a poker scrub then the new look should maybe be business suit. You should also consider your posture, and mannerisms at the table. Try to change those along with the look, and make sure to get rid of any distinctive jewelry. More than one AP has been picked off by a distinctive watch or ring.

Have you ever seen a friend from behind, but you know it is him by the way he walks? Think about changing your walk. In acting classes they teach you to alter your gait by imagining a rope attached to different parts of your body. We have all seen guys who look like they are being pulled forward by their chest; imagine instead the rope was attached to your chin, or your hips.

Here are a few random extra ideas. These include casts, bandages, and fake tatoos. Imagine you are recruited to be a big player for a large team for a weekend. You know that you will be betting huge amounts of money, and you will play until barred. You will get massive exposure, so you want something that will make you look as different as possible so when it is over you still will be able to play. I would consider something drastic. Maybe a fake face tatoo, or a large bandage on one side of my forehead. Obviously you need a story to go with the bandage, but that is no problem. Most people see others in generalities: the guy with the cast, or the guy with the tatoo on his face. A month later when those things are gone you will be hard to recognize.

Note to my female readers. Women have a lot of advantages in the changing looks department. Since I am not a woman I'm sure you already know far more about how to go about what works for you.

I hope some of these ideas have been helpful, and as always I welcome your feedback.

Gambling With an Edge - guest Michael Gaughan

rwmunchkin@gmail.com (Bob Dancer & Richard Munchkin) — Fri, 17 May 2013 08:41:39 PDT

The guest on the show this week is Michael Gaughan, owner of the South Point Casino in Las Vegas. We talk with Mr. Gaughan about legendary owner of the Horseshoe, Benny Binion.

podcast

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The Back Room

rwmunchkin@gmail.com (Bob Dancer & Richard Munchkin) — Sat, 11 May 2013 12:27:39 PDT

The Back Room by rwm1710 on GoAnimate

Our hero finds himself in the back room after winning at craps!

Disguise

rwmunchkin@gmail.com (Bob Dancer & Richard Munchkin) — Fri, 10 May 2013 12:01:30 PDT

When I talk to civilians about professional gambling a question I often get is, "Do you wear disguises?" I have on a couple occasions worn a disguise, and I think the topic of changing your appearance is an important one. My first attempt at disguise was a character I called "The Mover From Vancouver." (This was 30+ years ago.) I had a pair of green coveralls, the kind a mechanic wears when working on cars. I put those on, along with a Red Man (chewing tobacco) hat. I popped the hood of my car and rubbed some grease into my hands, and to complete the look bought a cheap cigar. My story was that I was a truck driver from Canada, and I talked like a real hoser, aye. I played at the old Aladdin in Las Vegas, and the one good thing came out of it. When you chew on a cigar you get little pieces of tobacco in your mouth. I was sitting on first base, and I would turn my head toward the pit, and spit the tobacco flakes. Trust me, no boss hung around my side of the table. The bad thing was they just thought it odd that a guy dressed like me was betting two hands of $500. Later that day I ran into a friend who said, "I saw a homeless guy outside the Aladdin today that looked just like you." Yeah, not the best disguise.

The lesson - make sure your character looks like he can afford to bet big money. And, if you want to keep bosses away, spit tobacco at them.

Around the same time one of my teammates had a lot of heat from the Griffin Agency. He had black hair, and a beard, and almost always wore a suit and tie. He shaved the beard, dyed his hair blond, got a black satin jumpsuit open to the navel, and wrap-around sunglasses. Enter - Neon Leon! To complete the disguise he had a little bottle that he held up to his nose, and pretended to snort cocaine. Today that sounds completely insane, but in the late 70s and early 80s cocaine was everywhere. People wore coke spoons as jewelry. I even saw people wearing crucifixes that were coke spoons! Neon Leon played at the Marina for about an hour, losing a few thousand dollars. On his way to the cage he was grabbed by security, and hauled into the back room. Not for counting! They thought he was there to make a drug deal! Neon showed them he had no drugs, the bottle was empty, and explained that this was all a disguise because he was a famous card counter, and if the pit bosses knew who he was they would not let him play blackjack. The security guards called up to the blackjack pit and told them the story. The pit bosses started laughing, and told them, "Tell him he can come back and play all he wants."

The lesson - make sure your character doesn't look like a criminal.

One friend had a lot of Griffin heat so he got himself a cheap wig, and fake beard. He was sitting on a BJ game in the Silver Slipper where he was very well known. A boss came walking through the pit, glanced at him, and did a 180. He walked over to my friend and said, "Is that a fake beard?" My friend rather sheepishly said, "Yeah." The boss said, "I thought so." and walked away.

The lesson - if you are going to get a wig or fake beard don't get the cheap one.

When I first started playing I had a dark brown, bushy fro, a dark mustache, and rather large tinted glasses with big gold frames. After a while I got pretty well known around Las Vegas, and decided it was time for a major change of look. I got contact lenses, cut my hair very short and dyed it blond, shaved the mustache, put on a neck brace, and walked with a limp using a cane. One day I was playing at the Sands, and I could tell that bosses were having conversations about me. They knew I looked familiar, but they just couldn't put their finger on it. I decided to finish out the shoe I was playing when a woman boss came back from a break. She took one look at me and said, "What happened to you?" I said, "I had a car accident." She said, "No, I mean to your hair!" I told her that I had done it for a part in a movie back in Los Angeles. That story worked with her, but I left before she started describing me to the other bosses.

The lesson - one boss in 500 is just sharp. There are some that just aren't going to be fooled. I tend to think women are more observant than men, but maybe that is just my sexism.

My friend D was very, very well known in Atlantic City after the famed "experiment." He decided to make a serious project out of changing his appearance. He started working out, and lost a lot of weight. He had his name changed, grew a goatee, permed his hair, and dyed his hair and beard black. He then added skin tint to darken his skin to the point that he looked African American. To really seal the deal he went to DMV and had his drivers license photo taken with his new look. He borrowed a full length man's mink coat from a friend. (What kind of friend owns a men's full length mink?) He showed up at Resorts with two young girls, and a Dr's bag. He walked up to a blackjack table, and poured $100,000 out on the table saying, "Boys, I came to play." The disguise worked perfectly, and they treated him like royalty. When the play was over he flew out to CA and I picked him up at the airport. I took him to a car rental place, and the guy behind the counter took one look at his driver's license and said, "You kind of lost your tan." (D had shaved, and was no longer wearing the skin tint, and his hair was back to light brown. He casually said, "Oh, I was wearing makeup when that photo was taken." The guy behind the counter called the police! Fortunately the police weren't interested, and D was able to rent the car.

The lesson - If you take the time to do it right disguises can work wonders.

When I was a dealer one night the pit was buzzing. I asked what was going on, and a boss said, "See that woman on table 4? That's a guy!" I remember thinking that this caused such a distraction that players could be doing anything on the other tables and no one would notice. In my interviews John C. of the MIT team talked about playing in drag, and Cat Hulbert tried dressing as a man. Neither of them got away with it for long.

The lesson - Switching gender probably won't work as a player, but might work great to turn the pit for someone else.

The most complicated disguise we tried happened when I was working in the movie business. We hired a special effects makeup artist to make over a teammate. C was a bald white guy. She stretched elastic behind his head, and glued it behind his temples. This pulled his eyes back making him look Asian. She then got very small pieces of plastic tubing and inserted them in his nostrils to make his nose bigger. She topped it off with skin tint, and a black wig. She taught C how to apply all this, and the procedure took about an hour. C thought he looked completely ridiculous, and the casino would spot it immediately. We were playing in Korea at the time, and looking Asian would be a big plus. He put on his getup, and when he stepped into the elevator a guy looked at him and said, "What part of India are you from?" He got a lot of extended life in Korea off that disguise.

The lesson - Paying for professional help can pay off.

My friends have tried it all: wigs, beards, makeup, eye stretching, fat suits, and even dressing up as Santa Claus. Some worked, most did not. Everyone I know eventually gave up on the disguises, even the ones that worked well, because they are just too much hassle. You spend an hour or more applying this disguise, and then go out and sometimes only get to play for 20 minutes. The makeup runs, the tint gets on your hands, and then on the chips. You can't rub your face or scratch your nose without fearing that you smeared something. Eventually everyone gets sick of it. So what's a player to do? I'll talk about that in part 2. Stay tuned.

Gambling With an Edge - guest Brad Fredella.

rwmunchkin@gmail.com (Bob Dancer & Richard Munchkin) — Thu, 09 May 2013 23:45:22 PDT

The guest this week is Brad Fredella, Manager of Gaming Analytics for United Coin Machine Company and the Gamblers Bonus group of properties.

podcast

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The Adventures of Casino ManagerMan

rwmunchkin@gmail.com (Bob Dancer & Richard Munchkin) — Mon, 06 May 2013 18:34:58 PDT

Casino Managerman by rwm1710 on GoAnimate

Gambling With an Edge - guest Anthony Curtis

rwmunchkin@gmail.com (Bob Dancer & Richard Munchkin) — Thu, 02 May 2013 22:58:46 PDT

Our guest this week is Anthony Curtis, owner of The Las Vegas Advisor and Huntington Press publishing. We discuss the new legal online poker in Nevada, and a young player who asks if he should turn pro.

podcast

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Legal online poker started today.

rwmunchkin@gmail.com (Bob Dancer & Richard Munchkin) — Sun, 05 May 2013 08:45:25 PDT

UltimatePoker started online poker for real money today. The bad news is this is only for people in Nevada. UltimatePoker is a subsidiary of Station Casinos. Why in the world would they choose this name? Did they not know that Ultimate Bet was involved in a huge cheating scandal and ripped off thousands of players? What's next, Bernie Madoff Mutual Funds? Well, I wanted to review this software for you all, but the first thing I saw when signing up was that I would have to provide my Social Security Number in order to verify my identity. Are you kidding me? I am going to hand over my SSN to Station Casinos? I know for video poker players, and slot players this is no big deal, but for an advantage player worried about protecting his identity? Forget it!

Personally, I can't see traveling to Las Vegas, and sitting in my hotel room playing online poker. And you can't do this on a netbook because the software requires a bigger screen resolution. I am thrilled that the first crack in the dike is here for legal online gambling. I am eagerly anticipating the day when we can play all casino games on the net, in every state. But for now I will pass.

Gambling With an Edge - guest Nolan Dalla - media director for the World Series of Poker

rwmunchkin@gmail.com (Bob Dancer & Richard Munchkin) — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 20:22:26 PDT

The guest this week is Nolan Dalla, media director of the World Series of Poker.

podcast

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Random thoughts on random posts

rwmunchkin@gmail.com (Bob Dancer & Richard Munchkin) — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 14:18:30 PDT

A couple posts on the blackjack forums caught my eye this week. The first was from a player who asked, "What is the best casinos for APs to play?" I had to laugh. First of all, the answer to the question is going to be completely different for every player depending on his circumstance. A $5 players is going to have better conditions in one casino than a $500 player. A shuffle tracker is going to like a different casino, and a hole card player somewhere else. The other thing that struck me is how incredibly rude this question is. Imagine you owned a business, and I said to you, "I'm thinking of getting into this same business. Can you give me the names and numbers of your best customers?" You really are asking me to just give you money. With newer players I think they don't realize they are being rude. It is just ignorance on their part. But I get emails occasionally from players who should know better - "Hey, I heard there are bags of money laying around. Can you tell me where?" I call these players the "all take and no give" players.

I am a pretty open guy. I give people information if I think it can help them, or if it is the type of game I know they play that I don't. But I expect that they will do the same for me. I had one friend, Joe, who I literally gave 6 figures worth of info to over a period of years. I mean, I know he won 6 figures off the info. What I would get in return was, "Oh there was a really great game in X, but it's dead now." Or I would hear from mutual friends about an opportunity, and they would say, "Oh yeah. Joe has been pounding that for months."
Needless to say I don't talk to Joe much anymore.

The other post that caught my eye asked (paraphrasing), "What ratio of expenses to ev is acceptable for a blackjack trip?" Many responders answered that this is really a personal choice, but it brought to mind another question I was asked. After one of our radio shows Bob and I went out with friends. One of them asked us "What is your favorite game to play?" Bob's answer was simple. "Whichever game has the highest ev." My answer is a bit more complicated. When I consider what trip to make, or what game to play, the expenses really don't enter into it much. These are the factors I consider:

What do I think the game is worth in dollars per hour? Obvious right? But just because a game is worth the most money doesn't mean that is the one I would choose.

Where is it? If the game is in Minnesota in the middle of winter, or in a country I consider dangerous, well there better be extra reasons for going. By the way - I am not one of those people that thinks other countries are scary places. I like traveling to new places, but I have done a lot of it. I like living out of a suitcase less, and less. Russia = scary. Columbia = scary. Korea = not at all. Is it a place I want to visit anyway? This summer I plan to hit Singapore, and Philippines. I have family in both places, so if I don't find a game to play that is okay.

Who is going? This is actually a really important factor for me. Some people just make a trip more fun. I know I am going to do more laughing if Max Rubin is on the trip. Even though he snores, bursts out laughing in his sleep for no known reason, and somehow leaves chips under the dresser or in the shower. With a certain other person I know we will all make more money. He may work you 18 hours a day with no breaks for food, but the bottom line will be much higher.

What is the heat situation? Some places are really steamy, some are very cool. Obviously I like the cool places even if they are not the highest dollar-per-hour.

What game are we going to play? I have played many different table games in casinos. I like to play games that involve 2 or more team members at the same table. Bonus points if we can all act like we know each other. Counting something by myself, even if it is a new game or side-bet - this is misery for me.

Throw all those factors in the blender, add some secret sauce, (usually having something to do with what my wife says) and you get my formula. Want me to go count some new game in upstate NY in the middle of winter? It better be worth $1,000 an hour with little chance of getting backed off. They opened a casino in Bali, and a bunch of friends are going. It might be worth $100 an hour? Deal me in.

Gambling With an Edge - guest Ken Adams

rwmunchkin@gmail.com (Bob Dancer & Richard Munchkin) — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 20:29:43 PDT

The guest this week is Ken Adams. Ken is a prolific writer about the gambling industry. You can read his work at cdcgamingreports.com

podcast

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Shuffle Tracking & Ace Sequencing

rwmunchkin@gmail.com (Bob Dancer & Richard Munchkin) — Sun, 14 Apr 2013 19:28:23 PDT

Card counters spend a lot of time learning to count. They memorize basic strategy, then slowly learn to cancel the pluses and minuses. Next they learn to estimate the number of cards in the discard rack, and adjust their running count to a true count. They memorize index plays so they know when it is correct to double 9 vs. 7, or A6 vs. 2. They then venture out to casinos where they have to put this all together. The dealers are faster than they practiced at home on the kitchen table. Cocktail waitresses are pestering them for drink orders, tourists are blowing smoke in their faces, pit bosses are asking them questions, and slot machines are dinging, and gonging, and clanging. Finally they get to the point where they can do it. They can count, and adjust for true counts, and make index plays. They get home from their weekend in Vegas, and... it's over. They spent dozens if not hundreds of hours practicing, and now what? How do they fill that time at home that used to be devoted to practice?

Some people veer down a cul-de-sac of "stronger counts" and even worse - "side counts." I have already written about my feelings for stronger counts here - Advice to new card counters, but going after a side count of 7s or some other side count is nothing more than mental masturbation. There is nothing wrong with mental masturbation; I do the occasional Sudoku or computer solitaire, especially when I'm trying to avoid writing. But don't fool yourself into thinking that this is the road to where the money is hidden. When Atlantic City opened in the late 70s it birthed a new generation of card counters. There was one set that everyone ran into called "the multiparameter jerkoffs." They would stand behind a table looking like they had a serious physical disability. The left foot pointed one direction, the right pointed 210 degrees away, the left hand tapping their stomach as if scratching fleas, while the right hand fidgeted on the back of their neck. They would bend your ear telling you how they were the greatest card counters in the world because they were using the Hi Opt2, counting aces on the left foot, 7s on the right foot, deuces on the left hand and 8s on the right. Then when the count was right they would spring onto the table with their max bet... of $50. I did describe Peter Griffin, author of The Theory of Blackjack, playing in this manner here, but that was 30+ years ago when single decks games were still readily available. I do not know any full-time professional advantage player that makes his living in this manner. None. Zero. That doesn't mean one doesn't exist, it just means I don't know them. (And I believe I know more professional APs than most people writing on the internet.) Remember, masturbation will make you go blind, so stop this once you need glasses.

The techniques that get asked about the most are shuffle tracking, and ace sequencing. Let's start with shuffle tracking. In the 70s Las Vegas casinos started introducing more shoe games. Many of the people working in the casinos believed that no one could count a shoe. Teams quickly realized that there was much more money to be made at the shoe games because they could play with far less heat. The shuffles were as simple as you could possibly imagine. They put the discards on top and did a one pass R&R. (Riffle and Restack) Many people started realizing that these shuffles were not hard to keep track of. I joined a team that was entirely devoted to shuffle tracking. People were starting to get heat playing shoe games, but if you bet big off the top the casinos they left you alone. Ken Uston decided that it was impossible to be accurate using this technique. You might be playing a losing game, and not even know it. He threw players off the team for attempting it. The players on our team all supported Ken's view in public. Don't even try it. You will lose all your money. We were hoping to prevent competition. Not everyone fell for our story, and slowly but surely more people were doing it, and the casinos started changing their shuffles. Remember my axiom:

Nothing lasts forever.

In 1994 Arnold Snyder wrote The Blackjack Shuffle Tracker's Cookbook, and then in 1996 George C wrote, Shuffle Tracking for Beginners, but the end was already in site. All the casinos were switching to two-pass shuffles, and the casinos that were extra paranoid would bar ploppies that won, and claim they must be shuffle tracking.

The bottom line is I do not think shuffle tracking is worth learning for 2 reasons. One - shuffles worth playing are very few and far between. The current shuffle in Las Vegas (and most of the rest of the US) is a 2 pass step ladder followed by an R&R. If those terms confuse you they are fully explained in Arnold's book. This shuffle is garbage for a tracker. Yes, it is possible to get a small clump at the bottom of the discard rack, or the last couple rounds before the cut card came out, but to go after this shuffle is a recipe for disaster. I would not play any 2-pass shuffle as a tracker. There are much better opportunities out there than this.

The second reason I would not pursue tracking is that is too easy to fool yourself into thinking you have an edge when you don't. (This is the same trap many poker players fall into.) Say that you follow your clump, and are expecting a drop of -5 over one deck. You put out your big bets and at the end of the deck the count is plus 2. (This has happened to everyone who has shuffle tracked.) What happened? Did the dealer grab differently than I thought? Were there lots of extra little cards in the unknown sections that got shuffled into my clump? Did I cut in the wrong place? Did you take insurance while playing that section? Just how big was the disadvantage you were playing? If you are counting cards it is very easy for someone to watch you and objectively tell you whether you were playing with an edge. This is much harder with shuffle tracking.

I know what you're saying, "Wait a minute. Isn't this the same BS you were feeding to other players back in the day?" Yes, but this time I mean it. The big difference is the shuffles. If you find a one pass shuffle then by all means give it a shot. Arnold's books are always worth a read. Just don't waste your time on those 2-pass garbage shuffles. Once you do some scouting, and realize how rare one pass shuffles are I think you will agree that this is not worth your time.

What about ace sequencing? In the late 90s Al Francesco came out of retirement. (If you don't know he is check out - podcast, interview, and The Big Player.) He formed a team specializing in ace sequencing, and I was fortunate enough to be recruited for that team. The idea is to remember "key cards" that go on top of the ace in the discard rack, and after the shuffle when you see those key cards come out together you make a large bet hoping to catch the ace. A good sequencer can memorize a dozen or more sequences per shoe. The problem for the avid student is that no good book on how to do this exists. There is one book called Blackjack Ace Prediction, by David McDowell. When the book came out Arnold Snyder reviewed it, and after reading the review, and talking to other sequencers who had nothing good to say about it, I just didn't bother. We had a good run with this team, but by 2000 the good games were gone. Since that time I have found 4 games that were worth sequencing, and one of those was not in the US.

Sequencing is a valuable skill to have. Unlike shuffle tracking, you can tell absolutely whether or not you have an edge, and the edge you do get is much higher than that of a shuffle tracker. The problems are: it is time consuming to learn, there are no good books on the subject, and once learned you may never get an opportunity to use this skill. If you are one of those players obsessed with questions like, "What is my edge? What is my risk of ruin? How big a bankroll do I need?" Forget it. You aren't going to find those answers in print. If you do decide to take this on there is a book on memory that I liked. Check out Moonwalking With Einstein.

Does that sound like it is worth your time? Only you can answer that. But here is what I don't understand. The message boards are filled with threads about stronger counts, side counts, shuffle tracking, and ace sequencing. Why aren't they asking about Spanish 21 or Blackjack Switch? Those games are everywhere. If I was devoted to counting cards that is the road I would investigate.

Gambling With an Edge - guest Cat Hulbert

rwmunchkin@gmail.com (Bob Dancer & Richard Munchkin) — Thu, 11 Apr 2013 20:00:26 PDT

Our guest this week is Cat Hulbert. Cat was a professional blackjack player 30+ years ago. She played with the Czechs, and on the Ken Uston team in Atlantic City. She then turned to professional poker. She is the author of Outplaying the Boys, and is featured in Gambling Wizards.

podcast

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Gambling With An Edge - guest Mark Billings

rwmunchkin@gmail.com (Bob Dancer & Richard Munchkin) — Fri, 05 Apr 2013 00:03:08 PDT

The guest this week is Mark Billings, author of The Ultimate Edge. The book talks about blackjack in the 1980s.

podcast

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Response to some emails

rwmunchkin@gmail.com (Bob Dancer & Richard Munchkin) — Mon, 01 Apr 2013 15:41:17 PDT

I've had some emails that I wanted to respond to, and now is as good a time as any. The first was from a new player that had a pit boss accuse him of counting cards. He wanted to know how he should handle that, and he had a concern about being flyered. He has heard that casinos will send out flyers about advantage players and he wants to be sure that it doesn't happen to him.

Let's start with the first question. What should you do when a boss comes up to you at the table, and says something like, "How long you been counting?" or "What count are you using?" Usually when a boss does this he is fishing. He suspects you are counting, but isn't sure so he wants to gauge your reaction. Many people strive for the clever response like, "Yeah, I counted them all and there are 316 cards in there," or "8 and 6, I got 14." Some people opt for the long story, "Yeah, I read one of those books, but it put me to sleep." I think the less said the better. You don't want to say anything that will make you memorable, and you want to leave as soon as possible without looking like you are running away. I think the complete non sequitur is a good choice, as if you didn't really hear or understand what he said. "Yeah, she should be here any minute but she is always late." That's a good time to receive a fake phone call and get up from the table. Pick up your chips while talking on the phone and head for the door. I think it is a bad idea to hang around and "convince" the boss that you are just a ploppy. The reason this is a bad idea is it gives the boss an opportunity to point you out to other bosses and compare notes. Nothing good can come of this. Just hit the door, and avoid that shift for a while.

You want to avoid getting flyered? I hate to break it to you, but if you play for any serious money there is no way to avoid it. Back-offs, barrings, and flyers are just a fact of life for anyone who bets serious money. If none of this is happening to you, then take a serious look at your game. You probably aren't a winning player.

Another player wrote to say he was accosted by security in one of the large chain casino in Las Vegas. He wasn't playing, just scouting games, and they said he had been 86ed. He argued that this was not true, and he had no idea what they were talking about. They gave him a name, and he said, "That isn't me. My name is X." He ended up showing them his ID, and they were now confused, and they let him go. So what happened? I am pretty sure this was a case of the writer looking a lot like someone else. In poker we would call this a bad beat. The only thing you can do at that point is change your appearance as much as possible so you don't look like that picture floating around out there. Cut your hair, grow a beard, get contact lenses.

Many years ago in Korea my partner was pulled aside by a manager. He said, "We know who you are." My friend said, "What do you mean? Who do you think I am?" The manager said, "Steven Michael Goldberg." Now the old timers in the room will be laughing at this point. There was no greater insult this boss could have come up with. Steve Goldberg was the most vile, and reviled man in blackjack. His name came up a couple times in Gambling Wizards, and I referred to him as Ratso because he was still alive at the time. The name Ratso was due to a pet rat that he would allow to crawl around on him while conducting business. Anyway, our team had many a laugh over our member being barred as Steve Goldberg.

One more story. About 30 years ago my brother Jake was sitting on a blackjack table in the Tropicana in Las Vegas. He was betting quarters, and there was another guy at the table betting heavy black. The shift boss had come over and was talking to the big bettor. At one point he turned to Jake and said, "Are you a card counter?" My brother looked taken aback and said, "No, why would you say that?" The boss pointed at the other bosses in the pit and said, "Those guys think you're a card counter." Jake said, "Why do they think that?" The shift boss said, "I don't know. I'll go ask them." The shift boss came back with a Griffin flyer with a picture of Jake. The boss handed it over and said, "They think this is you." Jake's look was not what you would call nondescript. Think Santa Claus before his hair turned white. Jake said, "Well that kind of looks like me, but that's not me." The boss handed the flyer to the high-roller. "What do you think?" The high-roller said, "That looks like him." The boss said, "This isn't you?" "Nope." "And you're not a card counter? "Nope." "Do you swear you're not a card counter?" "Yep." "Okay, stand up and raise your right hand." Jake stood up and raised his right hand. The boss said, "Repeat after me. I swear I'm not a card counter." Jake said, "I swear I'm not a card counter." The shift boss said, "Okay, that's good enough for me," and walked away! One of my team mates happened to be in the Tropicana when this happened and witnessed the whole thing, so we had all heard the story already when he burst through the door saying, "You're never going to believe what just happened to me."

Keep those cards and letter coming.

Name that casino

rwmunchkin@gmail.com (Bob Dancer & Richard Munchkin) — Fri, 29 Mar 2013 10:41:57 PDT

I know what you're thinking, and that's not it.

Gambling With an Edge - guest Michael Shakleford

rwmunchkin@gmail.com (Bob Dancer & Richard Munchkin) — Thu, 28 Mar 2013 19:50:07 PDT

Our guest this week is Mike Shakleford aka "The Wizard of Odds." We talk about his casino fact finding trip to Costa Rica, and advantage bingo.

podcast

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Gambling With an Edge logos

rwmunchkin@gmail.com (Bob Dancer & Richard Munchkin) — Fri, 05 Apr 2013 15:52:27 PDT

A couple weeks ago I mentioned on the show that iTunes now wants a 1400x1400 pixel logo for the podcast. Sort of like an album cover they display in iTunes We invited people to send submissions if they were feeling in a creative mood. We got a couple submissions from Tim at Park Printing in Palos Hills, IL so I thought I would put them up here and get some feedback.

This was the first attempt. I like the idea of trying to incorporate the letters in the backs of cards, but not quite there.

I like the chips and mic, but I think the font makes this look a bit cartoonish.

Here are a couple from DJTeddybear.

A late entry.I'm liking this one best so far. This is from Nicholas S. in Los Angeles.

This one came in from Richard Knight.

Okay, so I hope I have sparked people's creative juices here and we get some more submissions.

Gambling With an Edge - guest Bob Nersesian

rwmunchkin@gmail.com (Bob Dancer & Richard Munchkin) — Thu, 21 Mar 2013 23:17:36 PDT

The guest this week is Bob Nersesian. Bob is a frequent guest to the show, and always entertaining. Bob is the lawyer who advocates for the players against the casinos, and has successfully sued many Vegas casinos on the behalf of players. He is also the author of Beat the Players.

Bob Nersesian podcast

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Name That Casino 3

rwmunchkin@gmail.com (Bob Dancer & Richard Munchkin) — Mon, 18 Mar 2013 10:09:44 PDT

There is still one casino unidentified from my original name that casino. It is this one.

So it is time for one last hint. I was going to go with something hard, like this...

But I thought that might still be too tough. So this next one should be enough to get it.

Gambling With an Edge - guest Barry Meadow

rwmunchkin@gmail.com (Bob Dancer & Richard Munchkin) — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 20:22:25 PDT

Our guest this week is Barry Meadow, author of Blackjack Autumn. The book chronicles Barry' trip to play blackjack in every casino in the state of Nevada.

podcast

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A couple random thoughts

rwmunchkin@gmail.com (Bob Dancer & Richard Munchkin) — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 15:11:42 PDT

I read a couple things that caught m eye this week. First there is this. 7 rules for recording police. Professional gamblers may have to deal with police in several situations. The first is when driving with large amounts of cash. In the past I have advocated recording the police in these situations. Laws vary from state to state, but as you will see in the article it is legal to record the police in 38 states, and even some states that do not have laws permitting it classify it as a public conversation so you are still protected. The two most important states for me are Nevada and California, but take the time to research your own situation. Two other situations that come to mind are dealing with police in airports, and in casinos when they have been summoned by security. Be aware, just because you are not breaking the law doesn't mean you may not get arrested. Anyway, it's a good article so check it out, and know your rights.

The second article was Bob Dancer's weekly article at the Las Vegas Advisor. There Should Be a Limit.
In Bob's case it involves an annoying fan talking to him while he is trying to work, but for blackjack players this is a much bigger deal. You should never, ever, talk to another advantage player inside a casino. NEVER. I don't care if you think you are in good, or "it's not a big deal," or, "I haven't played here in months." You don't know if you have heat. You don't know if the other person has heat which now may transfer to you. I was 86ed because of exactly this kind of careless behavior. An AP came up and talked to me, it turned out he had a lot of heat, and because surveillance was watching him I was infected, and then 86ed. This happened even though when he talked to me I looked at my watch, and said, "Get away from me" as if I was telling him the time. Some people will talk in the bathroom where there are no cameras, but even then you don't know who may be in a stall and hear you, or who may walk in and see you together. So if you see me in a casino, send me a text, or an email, but please don't come over to say, "hi."

Gambling With an Edge - guest Laurance Scott

rwmunchkin@gmail.com (Bob Dancer & Richard Munchkin) — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 00:08:23 PST

Our guest this week is Laurance Scott, author of Professional Roulette Prediction. Laurance has developed a way to beat roulette by visually tracking the speed of the ball, and the wheel, and then predicting where the ball will land. Sound crazy? Give it a listen.

podcast

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You can read my review of Scott's book here. Review.

Professional Roulette Prediction by Laurance Scott

rwmunchkin@gmail.com (Bob Dancer & Richard Munchkin) — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 00:09:56 PST

Professional Roulette Prediction, by Laurance Scott was originally written in 1990, and then revised and re-released in 2005. The book presents a method for beating roulette through visual prediction. Scott presents a method for timing the speed of the ball, and the speed of the rotor, and using the relation of those two speeds you can predict where the rotor will be when the ball leaves the track. There is then one more variable to deal with, how much the ball bounces once it hits the track. When Scott first wrote this book, wheels with deep pockets were common.

Unfortunately these type wheels are now rare. They started being replaced by "low profile" wheels like this.

Low profile wheel

And then it got really bad. Many modern wheels look like this.

What this means is that predicting how much the ball bounces around when it hits the numbers is much harder than it used to be. Does it work? Yes. I am a 100% believer that visual roulette prediction is possible at least on the old deep pocket wheels. But let's talk about the negatives.

This is very difficult to learn. In the book Scott estimates 40 hours. I think that estimate is way low. I believe his estimate was with him teaching his son who had the benefit of having his father there to teach him.
You probably need to buy a roulette wheel to really practice. Cost, $3,000 - $4,000.
Good wheels are harder, and harder to find.
The dealer can take away your edge very easily. For this method to work you need to bet late into the spin. Now this is common for roulette players but once you start winning many dealers will just start calling "no more bets" earlier, and earlier.

When I wrote about "dice control" I said that even if you could learn to do it I didn't think you could make any money at it. It is so obvious what you are trying to do that the casino will shut it down right away. This is the opposite. I think if you can learn to do this there is a lot of money to be made, but probably not in the US. In other countries roulette is much more popular, late betting is common, and they have conditions that help, like being able to make "neighbors bets."

Bottom line - this is no get rich quick scheme. It is very difficult to learn, much more difficult than counting cards. But it is a legitimate advantage play, so if you are interested in roulette, and are willing to shell out $90 for volume one then check it out. His entire package costs about $650 and includes some practice DVDs, but if you are really interested I would start with just book 1 so you get an idea of just how much work is going to be involved.

Here is a link to the book. Professional Roulette Prediction.

Here is a link to the podcast of Laurance Scott on Gambling With an Edge. - podcast

Ping Pang Pong revisited

rwmunchkin@gmail.com (Bob Dancer & Richard Munchkin) — Fri, 01 Mar 2013 13:59:55 PST

I had quite a few comments about my review of Ping Pang Pong, so this week I headed back for another try. They are open from 10 am to 3 pm for Dim Sum, but I missed that. They open again at 5:00 for dinner, and I arrived just as they opened.

I guess they forgot to sweep.

If this is what the floor looks like when they open you can imagine what it is like at midnight. But hey, I'm not eating off the floor. Bring it on. Many of the comments I have read said you have to try the regional dishes, this is where they excel. Okay, I tried the salt and pepper frog legs.

These were quite good. I don't know why people say, "It tastes like chicken." I think it tastes a lot closer to pork.

I think people got the impression I hated this place. I don't. It's not horrible, it's... adequate. If I were with a group of friends at the Gold Cost and they wanted to eat here I wouldn't object. But for Travel & Leisure to name it one of the best Chinese restaurants in the U.S.? I think they were licking the hallucinogenic frogs, not eating them.

Gambling With an Edge - guest Mike Aponte of the MIT blackjack team

rwmunchkin@gmail.com (Bob Dancer & Richard Munchkin) — Tue, 05 Mar 2013 11:06:18 PST

This week our guest is Mike Aponte, former member of the MIT blackjack team featured in the movie 21, and the book, Bringing Down the House.

podcast

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Becoming Bobby by Michael Konik

rwmunchkin@gmail.com (Bob Dancer & Richard Munchkin) — Tue, 26 Feb 2013 13:24:41 PST

Becoming Bobby

When I was 13 I worked for a summer in my Father's law office in downtown Chicago. I would take the Chicago & Northwestern train down to the city. When you exited the back of the Northwestern station you were faced with the Chicago River. People streamed to the left, and right to walk across the bridges which fed them into The Loop. I remember standing outside the station watching thousands of men and women in their business suits, carrying briefcases, marching like ants across those bridges, and thinking, "I am never going to end up like these people."

The main character in Becoming Bobby never had that epiphany. We find him in his late 50s, working at a job he calls his prison, with an eight hour sentence each day. He's in an awful job, and a loveless marriage, and he dreams of becoming Bobby. Bobby is his manifestation of the guy every man wants to be, and every woman wants to screw. There is not much plot here. Perhaps our main character (his name is never given) is descending into madness, but as he becomes more like Bobby he goes in to see his boss, and demands that his salary be doubled. This is a salesman that hasn't added any new accounts in years. Bobby gets fired, leaves his wife, and heads off to Vegas.

Konik uses some odd writing conventions in this book. First of all the main character is never named, and neither is anything else. He doesn't go to Las Vegas, he goes to "the desert." There are no names of anything you would recognize. He doesn't drink a Coke or 7 Up, he drinks a "Fizz." Movies, TV shows, actors, everything is unrecognizable. This seemed odd to me and constantly pulled me out of the story. The story is told in a first person, stream of consciousness that made me feel like a psychiatrist listening to the ramblings of a stoned patient.

Everyone I know who has read this book agrees about one thing. The book really picks up steam when Bobby gets to Las Vegas. We recognize the craziness of both the casinos, and the "ploppies" like Bobby who thinks he is an expert slot player. I wish the first part of the book, the part about his boring awful life, was half as long, and the Vegas section were doubled. Make no mistake, Konik can really write. I have been a big fan of his non-fiction work for years. Fiction is a very subjective thing, and the satire on mid-life crisis really isn't my thing. On the other hand, satire on Las Vegas is. I give it...

2 1/2 aces

You can buy the book here. Becoming Bobby

Ping Pang Pong

rwmunchkin@gmail.com (Bob Dancer & Richard Munchkin) — Sat, 23 Feb 2013 10:50:02 PST

I saw an article this week, Chinese restaurant in Las Vegas named one of nation’s best so I had to try it. Hong Kong is one of my favorite cities, and the best food city I have spent any time in.

Thursday after the show my wife and I headed over to Ping Pang Pong, located in the Gold Coast Casino. We went with Bob Dancer (who had a comp of course) and Peter Liston, our guest from that night's show.

When we entered the casino my wife commented, "This is the dirtiest casino I have ever seen." Now in Hong Kong it is common to have really dirty restaurants that serve tremendous food, so I thought maybe they were setting the stage. This is not a food blog, so I am not going to spend time describing all the dishes. I will just say that the food was one step above Panda Express. Now I eat Panda Express occasionally, but if they think this is one of the best Chinese restaurants in the US then there is a huge market waiting to be exploited. There was one thing very reminiscent of Hong Kong. The service was terrible. Lots of waitresses running around ignoring the gweilos.

I went back and found the original article in Travel and Leisure and they mentioned the regional favorites, like frog legs, which we didn't try. And they loved the Dim sum. I love Dim Sum, but that is a brunch thing so it wasn't available. If you get a late-night craving for Chinese food, head to China Town, and give Ping Pang Pong a pass.