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Dieter
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Dieter
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December 21st, 2021 at 8:09:38 PM permalink
Quote: MDawg

Actually on the Daytonas, the bezel does not rotate. Fixed.

The bezel does rotate on the Rolex Yachtmasters and Submariners. Here are a few of mine.
link to original post



That's interesting. Thanks.

I admit that my experience with Rolex is limited to looking at a few system clocks sticking out of airport walls in years past, and that I'm more intrigued by how they implement various features than in actually owning one.

Any insight on why the Daytona is different? Does the "stopwatch" function (not sure if it's called chronometer or chronograph) behave differently?
May the cards fall in your favor.
MDawg
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December 22nd, 2021 at 11:54:34 AM permalink
The Yachtmaster and Submariner models do not have a chronograph (stopwatch). The bezel rotates simply to provide a reference point for when the timing begins.

The Daytona models have a stopwatch, with both hours, minutes and second capability. The fixed bezel allows the stopwatch to calculate speed over a measured mile.
I tell you it’s wonderful to be here, man. I don’t give a damn who wins or loses. It’s just wonderful to be here with you people. https://wizardofvegas.com/forum/gambling/betting-systems/33908-the-adventures-of-mdawg/
MDawg
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December 22nd, 2021 at 11:55:43 AM permalink
Arrived in time to pick up 15K in gift cards. I won't be shopping - the wife will. These are good in the casino's high end stores.

Stand by for session reports (Note: Lately, for security reasons, session reports are not necessarily presented in real time corresponding directly to the day played).
I tell you it’s wonderful to be here, man. I don’t give a damn who wins or loses. It’s just wonderful to be here with you people. https://wizardofvegas.com/forum/gambling/betting-systems/33908-the-adventures-of-mdawg/
Dieter
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December 22nd, 2021 at 12:19:31 PM permalink
Quote: MDawg


The Daytona models have a stopwatch, with both hours, minutes and second capability. The fixed bezel allows the stopwatch to calculate speed over a measured mile.
link to original post



... or any other unit of distance, or frequency/hour in range.

I have a feeling that if the sink was dripping and you timed the drips at "every 20 seconds", the bezel scale would indicate 180 drips/hour.

Or if you timed a measured inch, or kilometer....
May the cards fall in your favor.
Mission146
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December 22nd, 2021 at 1:30:04 PM permalink
Quote: MDawg

Arrived in time to pick up 15K in gift cards. I won't be shopping - the wife will. These are good in the casino's high end stores.

Stand by for session reports (Note: Lately, for security reasons, session reports are not necessarily presented in real time corresponding directly to the day played).
link to original post



I want to ask you a question and preface it by saying that it should not be interpreted as an attack, but rather a question out of genuine curiosity.

When you are looking at your win/loss totals over a given period, how would you count gift cards? Obviously, I think one must concede that they should be considered as having a greater value than nothing (unlike hotel rooms, imo, or food), but what percentage of face value would you value a gift card at?

Personally, I think I would go with the greater of 50% or whatever percentage of face value the gift card can be sold to someone else for. I definitely would not go with the face value of the gift card.

I guess that I also wouldn't technically consider rooms and food worthless, but would give them a monetary value no greater than the cheapest possible alternative for which cash would have to be paid. Generally, I would value a meal at under $10 and a room at under $20...at least, that value on rooms in the Vegas market.
https://wizardofvegas.com/forum/off-topic/gripes/11182-pet-peeves/120/#post815219
billryan
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December 22nd, 2021 at 1:42:36 PM permalink
A friend had a bunch of $500 Tiffany gift cards and I took some, thinking I could flip them but I was surprised how few places wanted them and have heard horror stories about selling them on ebay.
I was disappointed but then I heard my friend forgot he'd given them to me so he was very happy just getting them back and didn't care that I hadn't sold them.
The difference between fiction and reality is that fiction is supposed to make sense.
Mission146
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December 22nd, 2021 at 1:48:40 PM permalink
Quote: billryan

A friend had a bunch of $500 Tiffany gift cards and I took some, thinking I could flip them but I was surprised how few places wanted them and have heard horror stories about selling them on ebay.
I was disappointed but then I heard my friend forgot he'd given them to me so he was very happy just getting them back and didn't care that I hadn't sold them.
link to original post



Yeah, that's definitely the reason for my modifier of 50% or whatever percentage of resale value. I think you could always find someone willing to give you more than 50%, but for high-end specialty shops, it might be difficult just to find a buyer.

It seems that the gift cards for specialty retailers are the most difficult to flip at a decent percentage, while gift cards for grocery stores and gas stations tend to be somewhat easier to flip at a reasonable percentage of face value.

Below grocery stores and gas stations, I would put restaurant gift cards and gift cards for other major retailers that sell a variety of goods, such as major department stores. I guess Amazon gift cards would probably get something pretty close to face value, as well.

Of course, the best kind of gift cards to receive would be at places where you can actually use them and have a need to be there. I'd obviously want to buy such gift cards at some sort of a discount, if buying them from someone else, but if I were to receive something like a Giant Eagle, Trader Joe's or gift card for a gas station that is not at all out of my way as a prize---I would consider it almost as good as cash.
https://wizardofvegas.com/forum/off-topic/gripes/11182-pet-peeves/120/#post815219
Ace2
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December 22nd, 2021 at 9:55:18 PM permalink
What value would you place on a $100 gift card for the Pottery Barn?
It’s all about making that GTA
ChumpChange
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December 22nd, 2021 at 11:06:59 PM permalink
I just got a free year of Apple+ TV from my phone company but they raised the bill $5/month, which is the value of Apple+ TV. So I check out the streaming service and just about everything costs money. Tried to watch an episode of The West Wing (from 1999) and they wanted a few dollars for each episode. Tried to watch some new TV series and I could get the first episode free, then it wanted me to subscribe to a pay channel for more money, but I could get a month free, like Starz, or HBO or somesuch. Apple+ TV is just a gateway to paying more for TV shows. They wanted a credit card number. I have $47 in credits on my iTunes account that I bought from the grocery store a long time ago.
I'm starting to run up movie bills on Amazon Prime already. I should check out Red Box online for more recent offerings.
AxelWolf
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December 23rd, 2021 at 6:35:40 AM permalink
Quote: billryan

A friend had a bunch of $500 Tiffany gift cards and I took some, thinking I could flip them but I was surprised how few places wanted them and have heard horror stories about selling them on ebay.
I was disappointed but then I heard my friend forgot he'd given them to me so he was very happy just getting them back and didn't care that I hadn't sold them.
link to original post

I still have $500 - 1k in Tiffany gift cards lying around somewhere from a few years ago. You can get up to 80% if you really try.
♪♪Now you swear and kick and beg us That you're not a gamblin' man Then you find you're back in Vegas With a handle in your hand♪♪ Your black cards can make you money So you hide them when you're able In the land of casinos and money You must put them on the table♪♪ You go back Jack do it again roulette wheels turinin' 'round and 'round♪♪ You go back Jack do it again♪♪
billryan
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December 23rd, 2021 at 7:43:52 AM permalink
Quote: AxelWolf

Quote: billryan

A friend had a bunch of $500 Tiffany gift cards and I took some, thinking I could flip them but I was surprised how few places wanted them and have heard horror stories about selling them on ebay.
I was disappointed but then I heard my friend forgot he'd given them to me so he was very happy just getting them back and didn't care that I hadn't sold them.
link to original post

I still have $500 - 1k in Tiffany gift cards lying around somewhere from a few years ago. You can get up to 80% if you really try.
link to original post



The problem is a $500 gift card for Tiffany is as useful as a $100 gift card at Macy's. Tiffanys seems to mark everything up 500% just because they are Tiffanys.
The difference between fiction and reality is that fiction is supposed to make sense.
MDawg
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December 23rd, 2021 at 8:31:19 AM permalink
Mission146, it seems like you're asking about how I value gift cards received from casinos relative to RFB / spa comps?

If we stay a week or two in a casino in the lap of luxury and I end up losing, I would still view that as a losing proposition. The RFB would not be much of band aid to me. (However, I suppose playing in a casino for a couple of weeks, losing and getting no comps at all, would feel even worse.)

Spa comps I suppose I would rate a little higher than RFB, because she does go to spas whether we are traveling or not, so given that I have to pay for that, I view spa comps as equivalent on some level to cash, although of course typically hotel spas are more expensive than standalone ones for roughly the same sort of treatments.

Gift cards - I have received two types this year. Quite a large sum of them were Visa gift cards. I simply ran these through one of my own merchant accounts and turned them into cash less about 2% (card not present rate). I'd have to say that Visa gift cards, for me, rate just like receiving cash from the casinos.

Then there have been two other forms of gift "cards" received. There are "those" that are redeemable only on a website belonging to the casino. On those websites there are actually some things that we want, and would have bought for cash ourselves, such as very high end Apple products. (We just got a couple of iPhone 13 Pro Max 1Tb via that website, plus stacks of the new 16" M1 Mac Book Pros that I ended up selling - as far as what I sold off, I'd say that I accepted a 20% discount off full retail when liquidating the brand new Apple items we didn't want.)

And then these most recent gift cards, such as the $15K just received, are redeemable only in on site boutiques in the casino itself. These would be mostly very high end stores, yes like Tiffany, Chanel, Cartier, Louboutin, etc. She's going to use those. The value of those depends on if she would be buying items from those stores anyway. She already has so much high end stuff from places like that that the answer would probably be - No, she wouldn't be buying anything more from those outfits, at least not right now, but she's not complaining.

As far as Visa/MC/AMEX gift cards and store gift cards. My experience has been that if you hold on to the Visa/MC/AMEX gift cards too long, the banks start charging monthly admin fees. Recent changes in law at least in our state make it so that the value of all gift cards must remain, but somehow at least with Visa/MC/AMEX gift cards the banks are getting away with "dormant non use" monthly fees after non-use for about a year or so. And if you leave them dormant for too long - they will simply escheat to the state! and you'll have a h. of a time trying to recover the funds, especially if your name wasn't attached to the gift cards. Also sometimes the Visa/MC/AMEX gift cards you receive from merchants such as say - tire retailers who give you a free Visa gift card for buying a set of tires, have a set expiration only six months or so away, after which you will have a very hard time getting a replacement if you forget to use up the card.

And then also, with store or restaurant gift cards, even though these typically have no expiration date - still you shouldn't just keep them forever. Sometimes, not for any legitimate reason, but it just happens, they suddenly show zero value. This has happened to me with more than one of these store or restaurant gift cards, and I had to complain to the merchant and go through a process to get them replaced. One of them was for a restaurant chain, and the restaurant was claiming that someone had used the card in some city back East I hadn't visited in years, and it took some time to get it replaced. I got it replaced a couple years ago and still haven't used the card. 😄 I should though before it happens again. Every now and then I sit down and go through all our store or restaurant gift cards to make sure they are still valid. Really, I should just use them up or give them away, but at least I am monitoring them about once every six months or so to make sure they remain valid.
I tell you it’s wonderful to be here, man. I don’t give a damn who wins or loses. It’s just wonderful to be here with you people. https://wizardofvegas.com/forum/gambling/betting-systems/33908-the-adventures-of-mdawg/
Mission146
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December 23rd, 2021 at 10:44:34 AM permalink
Quote: Ace2

What value would you place on a $100 gift card for the Pottery Barn?
link to original post



$50 or whatever I could easily get for it, whichever higher. It's not out of business, is it?
https://wizardofvegas.com/forum/off-topic/gripes/11182-pet-peeves/120/#post815219
MDawg
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December 23rd, 2021 at 5:57:43 PM permalink
She got loads of designer stuff with the gift cards but she also bought a couple items for me. I started protesting saying I already have everything but when I saw what she got - wow, what insight, what taste. I'll be wearing these in Vegas.
I tell you it’s wonderful to be here, man. I don’t give a damn who wins or loses. It’s just wonderful to be here with you people. https://wizardofvegas.com/forum/gambling/betting-systems/33908-the-adventures-of-mdawg/
MDawg
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December 23rd, 2021 at 5:59:08 PM permalink
Day 1 play

Baccarat.

I was down as much as -10K at one point but rallied up pretty quickly back to even and then ahead. A 5000 natural 9 win didn't hurt. After a few week break from casino play I was trying to take it easy, but won nonetheless.

+10000

Note: Lately, for security reasons, session reports are not necessarily presented in real time corresponding directly to the day played.



I'm willing to present a side Challenge. If anyone doubts that any one, just any one of the Session reports I present during this trip is not entirely accurate, throw down a red flag! Put up a mere ten grand in cash, let's work out how to verify the Session to your satisfaction using the Wizard as the judge, and winner takes the twenty thousand.

I'll contribute five hundred from my end for the Wizard's time if the Challenger will do the same, so that's $19,000. to the winner of this side Challenge.

This Side Challenge remains good for the duration of this particular Vegas trip.
I tell you it’s wonderful to be here, man. I don’t give a damn who wins or loses. It’s just wonderful to be here with you people. https://wizardofvegas.com/forum/gambling/betting-systems/33908-the-adventures-of-mdawg/
MDawg
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December 23rd, 2021 at 6:01:53 PM permalink
Day 2 play

Baccarat.

Wasn't down much, maybe four or five thousand at the worst. Gradually got back towards even and then I cut a shoe where Bank was over 5:1 in the first hands - I mean out of the first 33 hands, 28 were Bank and Player never ran more than one.

The pit boss was saying, "____, the way you play you should clear over a hundred thousand here." Still, I did fine. After that initial period the Bank still stayed ahead ending at a ratio of almost 3:1, but the real money portion of the shoe was the first half. Anyone could have cleaned up on a shoe like that.

I have a specific goal in mind to buy something, to make the casino winnings seem more real, and I'm half way there.

+26700

Note: Lately, for security reasons, session reports are not necessarily presented in real time corresponding directly to the day played.



I'm willing to present a side Challenge. If anyone doubts that any one, just any one of the Session reports I present during this trip is not entirely accurate, throw down a red flag! Put up a mere ten grand in cash, let's work out how to verify the Session to your satisfaction using the Wizard as the judge, and winner takes the twenty thousand.

I'll contribute five hundred from my end for the Wizard's time if the Challenger will do the same, so that's $19,000. to the winner of this side Challenge.

This Side Challenge remains good for the duration of this particular Vegas trip.
I tell you it’s wonderful to be here, man. I don’t give a damn who wins or loses. It’s just wonderful to be here with you people. https://wizardofvegas.com/forum/gambling/betting-systems/33908-the-adventures-of-mdawg/
TwelveOr21
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December 23rd, 2021 at 6:22:32 PM permalink
Quote: MDawg



I have a specific goal in mind to buy something, to make the casino winnings seem more real, and I'm half way there.

+26700



$36700 x 2 (cause you are half way there) is a good $73400.
What on earth are you looking to buy to make those wins 'real' at $73,400?

I don't know how I'd be with $30000 in win money, but.. I don't really believe I would be chasing $70000.
Ace2
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December 23rd, 2021 at 8:39:56 PM permalink
Quote: MDawg

She got loads of designer stuff with the gift cards but she also bought a couple items for me. I started protesting saying I already have everything but when I saw what she got - wow, what insight, what taste. I'll be wearing these in Vegas.
link to original post

Diamond earrings?
It’s all about making that GTA
MDawg
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December 23rd, 2021 at 9:20:29 PM permalink
Haberdashery, of course.
I tell you it’s wonderful to be here, man. I don’t give a damn who wins or loses. It’s just wonderful to be here with you people. https://wizardofvegas.com/forum/gambling/betting-systems/33908-the-adventures-of-mdawg/
MDawg
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December 23rd, 2021 at 9:24:24 PM permalink
$73K isn't an unrealistic goal. I've passed that many times, in just one session.

But of course nothing is guaranteed. The way I play, thirty forty K could be lost in one session just as easily as won.

Anyway, I agree with the Napoleon Hill concept of transmuting a burning desire into a tangible result. The more real and precise the exact intended end result of the $73K win, the easier I think it will be to achieve. More simply put, just tossing more cash into the winner's pouch or depositing another winner's check doesn't have much, if any, tangible result. It's more money where there was already money. But ending up with this tangible and precise end object, ah, now that will be something.

I did this exact same thing over a decade or so ago where I needed about $150K to buy something specific. I actually ended up winning even more than $150K, over triple that, on that trip. But the interesting thing was, after I ordered the object that I wanted, and it arrived, I didn't even want it anymore and let it go. Somehow, in that case anyway, the burning desire to get it exceeded by far the satisfaction of obtaining it.
As Spock put it, "After a time, you may find that 'having' is not so pleasing a thing after all as 'wanting.' It is not logical, but it is often true."
I tell you it’s wonderful to be here, man. I don’t give a damn who wins or loses. It’s just wonderful to be here with you people. https://wizardofvegas.com/forum/gambling/betting-systems/33908-the-adventures-of-mdawg/
Mission146
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December 24th, 2021 at 8:23:58 PM permalink
Quote: MDawg

She got loads of designer stuff with the gift cards but she also bought a couple items for me. I started protesting saying I already have everything but when I saw what she got - wow, what insight, what taste. I'll be wearing these in Vegas.
link to original post



Thanks, and I genuinely appreciate your detailed response. It didn't answer the question that I thought I was asking, at least, not in the way that I thought I was asking it, but was clearly very well-considered and well detailed. Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Boxing Day or just best wishes leading into the New Year, whichever of those may be of the most meaning to you.
https://wizardofvegas.com/forum/off-topic/gripes/11182-pet-peeves/120/#post815219
MDawg
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December 25th, 2021 at 7:41:35 AM permalink
Day 3 play.

Baccarat.

Heavy action. Lost a grip one session. Rather quickly. Resumed play later, took hours including a dining break, and won it all back. Wasn’t easy and there were some very big bets along the way. Once I passed just over even at the end of the second session I called it a day.

I just couldn’t bear the thought of moving backwards today. Losing in the first session was definitely easier than winning in the second!

+730

Note: Lately, for security reasons, session reports are not necessarily presented in real time corresponding directly to the day played.



I'm willing to present a side Challenge. If anyone doubts that any one, just any one of the Session reports I present during this trip is not entirely accurate, throw down a red flag! Put up a mere ten grand in cash, let's work out how to verify the Session to your satisfaction using the Wizard as the judge, and winner takes the twenty thousand.

I'll contribute five hundred from my end for the Wizard's time if the Challenger will do the same, so that's $19,000. to the winner of this side Challenge.

This Side Challenge remains good for the duration of this particular Vegas trip.
I tell you it’s wonderful to be here, man. I don’t give a damn who wins or loses. It’s just wonderful to be here with you people. https://wizardofvegas.com/forum/gambling/betting-systems/33908-the-adventures-of-mdawg/
MDawg
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December 25th, 2021 at 7:44:09 AM permalink
I tell you it’s wonderful to be here, man. I don’t give a damn who wins or loses. It’s just wonderful to be here with you people. https://wizardofvegas.com/forum/gambling/betting-systems/33908-the-adventures-of-mdawg/
pwcrabb
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December 25th, 2021 at 5:51:31 PM permalink
After digging a deep hole, one may Get Out only with arduous and uncertain struggle. Success is very much strategically equal to a session win.
"I suppose I was mad. Every great genius is mad upon the subject in which he is greatest. The unsuccessful madman is disgraced and called a lunatic." Fitz-James O'Brien, The Diamond Lens (1858)
MDawg
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December 25th, 2021 at 10:45:26 PM permalink
No matter what the game: It's in general easier to lose than win, because it's easy to settle back and not take advantage when the going's good and then push the pedal to the metal when nothing is working, expecting (or hoping) that things will turn around.

Similarly you also have scaredy type players who are afraid to spread to a high level when the going's good.


There is a tide in the affairs of men.
Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune;
Omitted, all the voyage of their life
Is bound in shallows and in miseries.
On such a full sea are we now afloat,
And we must take the current when it serves,
Or lose our ventures.
I tell you it’s wonderful to be here, man. I don’t give a damn who wins or loses. It’s just wonderful to be here with you people. https://wizardofvegas.com/forum/gambling/betting-systems/33908-the-adventures-of-mdawg/
MDawg
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December 25th, 2021 at 10:53:50 PM permalink
One thing Vegas is, on Christmas Day, is very busy.


I'm not sure I recall Vegas being this busy on Xmas in years past?
I tell you it’s wonderful to be here, man. I don’t give a damn who wins or loses. It’s just wonderful to be here with you people. https://wizardofvegas.com/forum/gambling/betting-systems/33908-the-adventures-of-mdawg/
MDawg
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December 26th, 2021 at 2:58:31 PM permalink
Day 4 play.

Baccarat.

Wasn't easy, played just a couple of shoes - one or two large bets, lots of smaller ones, fair amount in between, but I managed it.

+10725

Note: Lately, for security reasons, session reports are not necessarily presented in real time corresponding directly to the day played.



I'm willing to present a side Challenge. If anyone doubts that any one, just any one of the Session reports I present during this trip is not entirely accurate, throw down a red flag! Put up a mere ten grand in cash, let's work out how to verify the Session to your satisfaction using the Wizard as the judge, and winner takes the twenty thousand.

I'll contribute five hundred from my end for the Wizard's time if the Challenger will do the same, so that's $19,000. to the winner of this side Challenge.

This Side Challenge remains good for the duration of this particular Vegas trip.
I tell you it’s wonderful to be here, man. I don’t give a damn who wins or loses. It’s just wonderful to be here with you people. https://wizardofvegas.com/forum/gambling/betting-systems/33908-the-adventures-of-mdawg/
MDawg
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December 27th, 2021 at 10:23:19 AM permalink
Given how unusually busy Christmas Day was, New Year's in Vegas this year might be a madhouse!
I tell you it’s wonderful to be here, man. I don’t give a damn who wins or loses. It’s just wonderful to be here with you people. https://wizardofvegas.com/forum/gambling/betting-systems/33908-the-adventures-of-mdawg/
MDawg
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December 27th, 2021 at 6:47:43 PM permalink
Day 5 play.

Baccarat.

It was up and down for a bit, with a couple of big bets, but where the gravy started flowing was on a pattern sequence where I pressed into it and benefitted mightily. Just - seriously - anyone who keeps bleating nonstop about how Baccarat is all about nothing other than random arbitrary hand choices should avoid the game and stay home. Which is about what most all of them, I imagine, do.

What is their point anyway? We get it, you don't think the game is winnable, fine, leave us alone to rake our chips. Saying your peace once twice even thrice, fine, but eventually if repeated ad nauseam it becomes akin to bleating. And it's not just about Baccarat either. I win at Blackjack, some other stay at home Senator comes with a line about "that's not the way Vegas works." Well, kiss my sharries! (and my piles of winning chips). I'm the Pope of Las Vegas.

+21800

Note: Lately, for security reasons, session reports are not necessarily presented in real time corresponding directly to the day played.



I'm willing to present a side Challenge. If anyone doubts that any one, just any one of the Session reports I present during this trip is not entirely accurate, throw down a red flag! Put up a mere ten grand in cash, let's work out how to verify the Session to your satisfaction using the Wizard as the judge, and winner takes the twenty thousand.

I'll contribute five hundred from my end for the Wizard's time if the Challenger will do the same, so that's $19,000. to the winner of this side Challenge.

This Side Challenge remains good for the duration of this particular Vegas trip.
Last edited by: MDawg on Dec 27, 2021
I tell you it’s wonderful to be here, man. I don’t give a damn who wins or loses. It’s just wonderful to be here with you people. https://wizardofvegas.com/forum/gambling/betting-systems/33908-the-adventures-of-mdawg/
MDawg
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December 27th, 2021 at 6:58:57 PM permalink
Quote: MDawg

I have a specific goal in mind to buy something, to make the casino winnings seem more real, and I'm half way there.
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I'm now about there. Just shy.

I should just pull the trigger and buy the thing now. HOWEVER (as they say in Baccarat after the opposing side opens a Natural 8),
Quote: MDawg

As Spock put it, "After a time, you may find that 'having' is not so pleasing a thing after all as 'wanting.' It is not logical, but it is often true."
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Last edited by: MDawg on Dec 27, 2021
I tell you it’s wonderful to be here, man. I don’t give a damn who wins or loses. It’s just wonderful to be here with you people. https://wizardofvegas.com/forum/gambling/betting-systems/33908-the-adventures-of-mdawg/
ChumpChange
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December 28th, 2021 at 11:33:04 AM permalink
If I was winning like you I might be 2,500 base bets up, that would give me 100 x 25 unit buy-in sessions.
MDawg
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December 28th, 2021 at 1:49:55 PM permalink
You really have to be IN the game of Baccarat to win. Observing from the outside I suppose it might seem like there is not much to it. But, the winning chips I pull from those tables, consistently, is proof that there is more to the game than just luck.

At the same time, it's often the shoes after I have observed, _______ and cut 😉 that garner the best results for me.
I tell you it’s wonderful to be here, man. I don’t give a damn who wins or loses. It’s just wonderful to be here with you people. https://wizardofvegas.com/forum/gambling/betting-systems/33908-the-adventures-of-mdawg/
MDawg
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December 29th, 2021 at 10:10:50 AM permalink
It's been col' but not windy past couple days in Vegas.
I tell you it’s wonderful to be here, man. I don’t give a damn who wins or loses. It’s just wonderful to be here with you people. https://wizardofvegas.com/forum/gambling/betting-systems/33908-the-adventures-of-mdawg/
MDawg
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December 29th, 2021 at 4:07:30 PM permalink
At least one of the majors in Vegas is requiring a negative COVID test within 24 hours of the New Year's Eve party for entry.
I tell you it’s wonderful to be here, man. I don’t give a damn who wins or loses. It’s just wonderful to be here with you people. https://wizardofvegas.com/forum/gambling/betting-systems/33908-the-adventures-of-mdawg/
MDawg
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December 29th, 2021 at 7:53:31 PM permalink
Day 6 play.

Baccarat.

Got a longg Bank run! after a not so bad period in the shoe to begin with, and pressed some, not mightily, but easy pickings, then left. Played maybe - half an hour.

But here's what is interesting. I let a friend play at my table, and this player chose to bet exotics alongside the Bank, and ate up everything was winning (and then some) to the tune of ended up losing something like sixty K! (This one was betting much bigger than I was - but, who ended up ahead? I did, the friend did not. )

+17500

Note: Lately, for security reasons, session reports are not necessarily presented in real time corresponding directly to the day played.



I'm willing to present a side Challenge. If anyone doubts that any one, just any one of the Session reports I present during this trip is not entirely accurate, throw down a red flag! Put up a mere ten grand in cash, let's work out how to verify the Session to your satisfaction using the Wizard as the judge, and winner takes the twenty thousand.

I'll contribute five hundred from my end for the Wizard's time if the Challenger will do the same, so that's $19,000. to the winner of this side Challenge.

This Side Challenge remains good for the duration of this particular Vegas trip.
Last edited by: MDawg on Dec 30, 2021
I tell you it’s wonderful to be here, man. I don’t give a damn who wins or loses. It’s just wonderful to be here with you people. https://wizardofvegas.com/forum/gambling/betting-systems/33908-the-adventures-of-mdawg/
mwalz9
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December 30th, 2021 at 11:42:27 AM permalink
So are you saying the side bets aren't a good idea?

Im trying to learn baccarat and MarcusClark who has learned from you plays the side bets.

Im confused.

This baccarat stuff is hard!
Marcusclark66
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December 30th, 2021 at 1:38:45 PM permalink
Quote: mwalz9

So are you saying the side bets aren't a good idea?

Im trying to learn baccarat and MarcusClark who has learned from you plays the side bets.

Im confused.

This baccarat stuff is hard!
link to original post



I play some of them, some of the time.

There are different versions one is the Panda 8 with the Fortune 7 and the tie, possibly with or without the dragon bonuses. Then there is the Five Treasures Baccarat game which has all those plus additional ones.
Marcus Clark. Real Person; AKA MarcusClark66. *Professional Casino Security Expert. *Certified EMT *Certified Company Firearms Instructor. *Certified Gaming Regulations Interpreter for Corporate Applications. *Domestic UrbanTactical Combat Casualty Expert. *Tic-Tac-Toe Expert (Real Competitive Versions) & Mastering Chess. *Honorary & Official #1 Fan of the MDawg Adventures Club. *Mastering Cracking it. Bit-by-Bit, Piece-by-Piece Crediting Forum Members. *Certified Casino Property Entry & Exit Point Analyzer *Baccarat Winning Session Record: 12 out of 12 & 1 out of 1 Mini Session. Baccarat Losing Session Record: 2 Losing Sessions.
ChallengedMilly
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December 30th, 2021 at 3:08:44 PM permalink
I wonder if someone compiled all of MDawg's baccarat and general gambling wisdoms into a novel or players guide if they could sell it on the strip or amazon for lots of money.
mwalz9
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December 30th, 2021 at 8:13:24 PM permalink
I imagine itd be as profitable as the CD sellers, club promoters and 3 card Monte/shell guys.
Marcusclark66
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December 31st, 2021 at 5:28:36 AM permalink
Quote: mwalz9

I imagine itd be as profitable as the CD sellers, club promoters and 3 card Monte/shell guys.
link to original post



The Three card monte guys is a great example of team work the poker newbie falls prey to most of the time. Whom do you think comes from the gathering of on lookers at the three card monte show and gets his guesses correct?
Marcus Clark. Real Person; AKA MarcusClark66. *Professional Casino Security Expert. *Certified EMT *Certified Company Firearms Instructor. *Certified Gaming Regulations Interpreter for Corporate Applications. *Domestic UrbanTactical Combat Casualty Expert. *Tic-Tac-Toe Expert (Real Competitive Versions) & Mastering Chess. *Honorary & Official #1 Fan of the MDawg Adventures Club. *Mastering Cracking it. Bit-by-Bit, Piece-by-Piece Crediting Forum Members. *Certified Casino Property Entry & Exit Point Analyzer *Baccarat Winning Session Record: 12 out of 12 & 1 out of 1 Mini Session. Baccarat Losing Session Record: 2 Losing Sessions.
MDawg
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December 31st, 2021 at 8:59:56 AM permalink
It isn't that Baccarat side bets are intrinsically bad (although, yes they all tend to have a high house edge), because many of these bets are actually countable to give the player an edge (especially at a casino where, say, the three card Bank win 6 pays 50:1), but what that player I describe in the Day 6 play was doing was laying even more money out on side bets, and EVERY SINGLE HAND, than had on the primary bet such that unless a side bet hit, even winning the primary bet netted nothing or even resulted in a loss.

Imagine laying 5000 on Bank and say, 7000, on side bets and hitting the Bank and still losing -2000, or putting 10000 on Bank and 14000 on side bets and losing -4000 even when the Bank hits. That sort of thing is what that player was doing.

Pretty much the only side bet I do, and I do it rarely, is the Tie and I'll put maybe 1/5, if that, of what I have on the primary bet (Bank or Player) on the tie.
I tell you it’s wonderful to be here, man. I don’t give a damn who wins or loses. It’s just wonderful to be here with you people. https://wizardofvegas.com/forum/gambling/betting-systems/33908-the-adventures-of-mdawg/
MDawg
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December 31st, 2021 at 9:00:27 AM permalink
Day 7 play.

Baccarat.

Consisted of about seven hours of play up and down up and down finally just stopped rather tired. I was down as much as -30000 and up as much as +24000. Didn’t end well. I was just trying to win too much all at once, could've walked with twenty K at least three times I was up that much after being even or down.

-12000

Note: Lately, for security reasons, session reports are not necessarily presented in real time corresponding directly to the day played.



I'm willing to present a side Challenge. If anyone doubts that any one, just any one of the Session reports I present during this trip is not entirely accurate, throw down a red flag! Put up a mere ten grand in cash, let's work out how to verify the Session to your satisfaction using the Wizard as the judge, and winner takes the twenty thousand.

I'll contribute five hundred from my end for the Wizard's time if the Challenger will do the same, so that's $19,000. to the winner of this side Challenge.

This Side Challenge remains good for the duration of this particular Vegas trip.
I tell you it’s wonderful to be here, man. I don’t give a damn who wins or loses. It’s just wonderful to be here with you people. https://wizardofvegas.com/forum/gambling/betting-systems/33908-the-adventures-of-mdawg/
OnceDear
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December 31st, 2021 at 5:21:06 PM permalink
Quote: Marcusclark66

Quote: mwalz9

I imagine itd be as profitable as the CD sellers, club promoters and 3 card Monte/shell guys.
link to original post



The Three card monte guys is a great example of team work the poker newbie falls prey to most of the time. Whom do you think comes from the gathering of on lookers at the three card monte show and gets his guesses correct?
link to original post

Hi Marcus,
Good question. I was not familiar with three card monte as a legit poker game, but rather as a confidence trick played out on the street by criminals and con artists.
I had to google it to get the right word for the guy that guesses correctly. My first thought was 'stooge' but apparently the guy is called a 'shill'
shill: ...
"... leading the mark to observe that easy money may be had."
Psalm 25:16 Turn to me and be gracious to me, for I am lonely and afflicted. Proverbs 18:2 A fool finds no satisfaction in trying to understand, for he would rather express his own opinion.
MDawg
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January 1st, 2022 at 9:49:59 AM permalink
I've seen that in action once I think it was about two years ago. Not recently though. It was at the end by the Cosmopolitan of the Strip bridge that crosses to the Planet Hollywood side. There were a man and a woman staging the three card monte, with the man the operator and the woman loosely associated with him, and a second man who was clearly the shill. The operator would demonstrate the three card monte on a fold up portable table and then ask who wanted to try, and the shill would step forward enthusiastically with a bill and said, "I will!" at which point the woman would scream, "Go for it!" I didn't stick around to watch the shill's inevitable win.
Last edited by: MDawg on Jan 1, 2022
I tell you it’s wonderful to be here, man. I don’t give a damn who wins or loses. It’s just wonderful to be here with you people. https://wizardofvegas.com/forum/gambling/betting-systems/33908-the-adventures-of-mdawg/
MDawg
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January 1st, 2022 at 9:56:14 AM permalink
As far as unpaid markers, while it is only since about 2000, that the casinos have gotten away with prosecuting them as bad checks, there are unsubstantiated rumors of people being offed for casino debt from the before that time. According to my family, a doctor we knew refused to pay a large sum of markers to the Vegas casinos in the early 1980s and he was mugged and murdered near where we lived, which was to this day a rather uncharacteristic crime for that very affluent area. They eventually caught the person who did it but he had no connections to the area and it made no sense that he would have come there for a mugging, it seemed clear that he had been hired. He wasn't mob or mob connected but rather some low level criminal who, the rumor was, had been paid to do the job.
I tell you it’s wonderful to be here, man. I don’t give a damn who wins or loses. It’s just wonderful to be here with you people. https://wizardofvegas.com/forum/gambling/betting-systems/33908-the-adventures-of-mdawg/
MDawg
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January 1st, 2022 at 10:23:20 AM permalink
We spread ourselves a little thin between a few casino NYE events last night. I'd have to say that one of the casinos put on the best show as far as elaborateness and decor, although one of the other casinos had the best fireworks viewing, and another at a private event the best food.

I've had $150. per ounce Japanese Wagyu beef before, but this Hokkaidu Prefecture with white truffles on top took the prize. It was in fact the best steak ever had in our lives.
Why Hokkaido Wagyu is the Ultimate Beef to Consume
And it was all you can eat of that level of steak too, along with unlimited caviar seafood and anything else you wanted to order off a special menu, can you believe that? This was a private event limited to a few dozen of their highest rollers.



We were at the VIP section of this other casino's party, with a sit down dinner, but besides the special food for the VIPs there was great buffet food (not Wagyu though! but still excellent).



What's the deal with PitBull? He seems quite ordinary to where you'd walk past him on the street without giving him a second glance. How did he get to be so famous?









Most impressive towers of seafood I've ever seen, and this was a few hours after the event start - and still fully stocked!




Those are all bottles of Dom!



And finally, fireworks and unicorns!






I tell you it’s wonderful to be here, man. I don’t give a damn who wins or loses. It’s just wonderful to be here with you people. https://wizardofvegas.com/forum/gambling/betting-systems/33908-the-adventures-of-mdawg/
Marcusclark66
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January 1st, 2022 at 12:17:31 PM permalink
I just wrote a post in my thread with the full story, but because of my thinking and as well, my beliefs from you, my wife and myself wagered one 2022 turn of the New Year’s table max wager. Took the players side and believe me, there was much to do as the cards came out.

Snuck a picture, here it is.

Marcus Clark. Real Person; AKA MarcusClark66. *Professional Casino Security Expert. *Certified EMT *Certified Company Firearms Instructor. *Certified Gaming Regulations Interpreter for Corporate Applications. *Domestic UrbanTactical Combat Casualty Expert. *Tic-Tac-Toe Expert (Real Competitive Versions) & Mastering Chess. *Honorary & Official #1 Fan of the MDawg Adventures Club. *Mastering Cracking it. Bit-by-Bit, Piece-by-Piece Crediting Forum Members. *Certified Casino Property Entry & Exit Point Analyzer *Baccarat Winning Session Record: 12 out of 12 & 1 out of 1 Mini Session. Baccarat Losing Session Record: 2 Losing Sessions.
MDawg
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January 1st, 2022 at 6:55:28 PM permalink
Yes definitely I’ve had a few crazy hands like that lately. I had a $15,000 hand where I hit my Player side started 2 to a 1 with a 9, and Bank starting with 2 reduced to 0 to give me the win.

Another recent hand for $15,000 I started with 4 on Player side drew a 7 reduced to 1 Bank started with 2 drew an 8 to give me that win.

Another I started with 1 on Player side, drew a 9 to reduce to 0, Banker started with a 2 and reduced to zero to give a tie and preserve a different $15,000 bet.

Also had a $22,000 mandatory six card draw where my Player side bet was reduced to 3 from a starting 5 and the Bank’s starting zero increase by only an ace.

I had a forty thousand dollar Bank win last trip with Bank two card 7 Player starts with zero drew a 6.

However I also recall a recent bad beat of over thirty thousand dollars losing natural 8 over 9.

Yes Matt Damon said

In Confessions of a Winning Poker Player, Jack King said,
"Few players recall big pots they have won, strange as it seems,
but every player can remember with remarkable accuracy....
the outstanding tough beats of his career."

Seems true to me. 'Cause walking in here,
I can hardly remember how I built my bankroll,
but I can't stop thinking of how I lost it.


but I definitely recall all my big wins along with my big losses. I have a near photographic memory and recall most everything from my past.


By the way, one of those New Year's Eve parties we attended. How much did it cost the casino to put it on? Six million. That makes any party I have ever thrown and I have thrown some very big ones, pale in comparison.
I tell you it’s wonderful to be here, man. I don’t give a damn who wins or loses. It’s just wonderful to be here with you people. https://wizardofvegas.com/forum/gambling/betting-systems/33908-the-adventures-of-mdawg/
MDawg
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January 1st, 2022 at 7:18:03 PM permalink
For those who might think, what difference does it make - winning Baccarat hands by 1 point or by 9, consider Blackjack: you're winning all night getting 12s and 13s versus winning all night getting 20s and 21s - which is more remarkable?
I tell you it’s wonderful to be here, man. I don’t give a damn who wins or loses. It’s just wonderful to be here with you people. https://wizardofvegas.com/forum/gambling/betting-systems/33908-the-adventures-of-mdawg/
Ace2
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January 1st, 2022 at 7:41:14 PM permalink
Quote: MDawg

As far as unpaid markers, while it is only since about 2000, that the casinos have gotten away with prosecuting them as bad checks, there are unsubstantiated rumors of people being offed for casino debt from the before that time. According to my family, a doctor we knew refused to pay a large sum of markers to the Vegas casinos in the early 1980s and he was mugged and murdered near where we lived, which was to this day a rather uncharacteristic crime for that very affluent area. They eventually caught the person who did it but he had no connections to the area and it made no sense that he would have come there for a mugging, it seemed clear that he had been hired. He wasn't mob or mob connected but rather some low level criminal who, the rumor was, had been paid to do the job.
link to original post

Seems like fair justice for someone who refuses to pay their markers
It’s all about making that GTA
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