Worst plays you've ever witnessed
My March trip earlier this year I was waiting for a guy to get off the machine so I could play.
Guy was betting 1 dollar a spin.
Its a 3 buck bet to hit the big jackpot.
My Dad and I were playing a $25/hand 6 deck, hit soft 17 game, and I decide to sit a hand out. The dealer is showing a 9, and my dad gets two kings. He proceeds to split the kings, and receives one more ten card and an 8. At this point, I'm just screaming inside my head, "Don't you dare split again! Don't you dare!". What does he do? He splits again, and gets an 18, a 21, and a 17. Dealer flips over a 3 and draws again to bust. I swear, I nearly pooped bricks.
Quote: strictlyAPprobably me the other day when I got greedy on ultimate x and got dealt 9 ten j q k of club with 12x on every line becuase I got dealt a full house the hand before and I dropped the 9 and went for the royal and didnt even get a single pay not a another club not a nine not an ace nor a queen jack or ten- fml worse play I ever made
I could not have brought myself to do this. Maybe that's why you're an AP and I never will be. I could do it to a flush without a second thought. But a SF x12 xhowever many lines you were playing. Not to rub it in, since you're tanking yourself over it, just that I would have been popping the champagne before I even held all 5 cards. And, with my luck, bump the "Draw" button with the cork and kill it all. lol...
Playing BJ Switch. After seven deals without a single win (not even a win/loss for a net push), I bust my second hand, get disgusted, and leave with my remaining chips. I settle down to a shoe game and a floor manager comes charging at me.
Turns out I entirely forgot that my first hand didn't bust, actually won afterwards, and I left the table with triple-digits sitting there.
Quote: GreasyjohnSay a guy just two days ago double down with a soft 15 against an ace.
Doubling on a soft 15 against anything is unusual but not that crazy. At my casino, I'm more likely to see a flea waive it off - as if he doesn't understand that the whole "you can't bust" and "you now can't win unless the dealer busts" far outweighs "I don't want to mess up my 15."
Quote: hwccdealerSunday was another day on blackjack - figures it comes at a time when I'm having severe back pain, but neither here nor there - and other than one incident, it was an utter letdown. But the one incident adds to this thread.
He's playing three hands, heads-up with me. I have a five up - I deal him:
-Hand 1: Five
-Hand 2: A stiff (15 or 16, I forget)
-Hand 3: Also a stiff (might have been 17)
So naturally he hits his first hand. Gets a three for a total of eight. At this point, he waives me off. I look at his first hand - see that it's an eight. I ask him, "You're standing on this?" figuring that he just wasn't paying attention. Nope - he waives me off again. Waives off all three hands.
I turn up a face card underneath that 5 for a 15. My next card? A four - for 19. And three losses. And, if he had just hit his eight like someone who isn't a complete crap-for-brains, he would have had a 12, waved THAT off, and had greater than a 50-50 shot at busting. But if he wants to be a ploppy, well, nothing I can do about it.
Yeah, I've seen this before too.
FYI, you (the dealer) are not better than 50-50 to bust, regardless of your upcard (ignoring deck composition -- at high counts you can be better than 50-50 to bust)
Quote: AxiomOfChoiceYeah, I've seen this before too.
FYI, you (the dealer) are not better than 50-50 to bust, regardless of your upcard (ignoring deck composition -- at high counts you can be better than 50-50 to bust)
Under normal circumstances I would agree - except I am basing this on the fact that I had a 5 up and a 10 in the hole. Knowing this, the probability of the next card out of the shoe being a 7 or greater is more than 50-50. Just based on the 5 up, I would agree that it's lower than 50-50.
\Quote: hwccdealerUnder normal circumstances I would agree - except I am basing this on the fact that I had a 5 up and a 10 in the hole. Knowing this, the probability of the next card out of the shoe being a 7 or greater is more than 50-50. Just based on the 5 up, I would agree that it's lower than 50-50.
Oh, well, in fairness, he probably didn't know your hole card when he made the decision. If he did, please let me know where you deal!
Anyway, obviously, standing on an 8 is a terrible play, but that has nothing to do with how the cards actually played out.
Quote: AxiomOfChoice\
Oh, well, in fairness, he probably didn't know your hole card when he made the decision. If he did, please let me know where you deal!
Anyway, obviously, standing on an 8 is a terrible play, but that has nothing to do with how the cards actually played out.
No, he didn't know my hole card, nor did I. But if I share a story about an idiot player, I'm not going to share the ones who win through their extreme ploppy behavior; I'm going to share the ones who would have won had they not played like complete morons.
Quote: FourFiveFaceA few new ones:
Staying on 7-7 against a 6
Hitting 12 against a 6 (and then hitting again after getting a small card)
Doubling down on 5
This happens so many times in the UK
We exclusively seem to use continuous shuffle machines at my local casino for every blackjack game and its usually mortal (drunk for you americans) punters coming in before and after the club making these stupid decisions.
I have seen some wonderful things, like a young scallywag giving it the big I am making these decisions and somehow winning and messing up everyone else's hands until he was up around £500.
He then started playing two hands and lost it all back plus his monthly wage that he had just picked up that day
Karma
Something about this just short circuits my brain. I get "$5 for a chance", I can even understand "$5 for a bad chance". But "$5 for a bad chance at a bad chance"? It's the closest I've ever seen a game come to dividing by zero.
And yes, there was no shortage of tickets that had been purchased.
Quote: DeucekiesPlayer is playing two hands. Hand 1: Soft 17. Hand 2: Hard 12. 8 showing. He doubles.......the hard twelve, staying on the soft 17.
There's a segment of BJ players who think the game is completely rigged so they "mess it up" by doing dumb crap so they can win.
Quote: IbeatyouracesWhat did this player draw? Could've had next card info.
A four.
Craps players:
$5 6&8 place.
$6 odds behind 6&8.
$5 odds behind 5&9.
Even after dealer told them several times how to fix their bets (and fixed it for them, a few times....then he gave up).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K32NMZwbg3g
This guy actually features wizard of odds simulator!
And I have another nominee for worst play I have witnessed. Unfortunately it was sort of me that made the mistake. Played BJ for 3 days, about 30 hours total, a week ago. So lots of bad, very bad play. Saw some weird dealer mistakes as well. Somewhere well into day two, don't remember exactly how the conversation started but the dealer was explaining something to a very new player at a full table when he said to her " you know the first hand from the shoe is always bad, the dealer wins 73% of the time." I said "really?" He looked at me with a straight face and said "yes 73%". I actually backed my bet down on the first hand for each of the next couple of shoes ;-( then I got to thinking, that can't be right. Went back to my normal play. Now this was in Cherokee NC that draws mainly crowds from Alabama, Geaorgia, Tennessee, and the Carolinas, all states known to be chock full of mental giants.
So today as I'm reading all these tales of bad play I think back to what that dealer said. He may have been telling the truth, he may win 73% of every hand in a shoe, on average. So I just realized he just called me and every other player that sits at his table a dumbass, and it took me a week to figure it out. That's pretty bad play;-) 2F
Quote: RSIf i remember correctly, player wins 43% or so of every hand. Loses 49%. Pushes 9%. Sooooo......dealer wins 49% of the time on the first hand.
Only if the average player is not a total retard. :o)
Quote: TwoFeathersATLWell now, that's an eye opening 45 page thread, started it hours ago and have come back several times to read some more.
And I have another nominee for worst play I have witnessed. Unfortunately it was sort of me that made the mistake. Played BJ for 3 days, about 30 hours total, a week ago. So lots of bad, very bad play. Saw some weird dealer mistakes as well. Somewhere well into day two, don't remember exactly how the conversation started but the dealer was explaining something to a very new player at a full table when he said to her " you know the first hand from the shoe is always bad, the dealer wins 73% of the time." I said "really?" He looked at me with a straight face and said "yes 73%". I actually backed my bet down on the first hand for each of the next couple of shoes ;-( then I got to thinking, that can't be right. Went back to my normal play. Now this was in Cherokee NC that draws mainly crowds from Alabama, Geaorgia, Tennessee, and the Carolinas, all states known to be chock full of mental giants.
So today as I'm reading all these tales of bad play I think back to what that dealer said. He may have been telling the truth, he may win 73% of every hand in a shoe, on average. So I just realized he just called me and every other player that sits at his table a dumbass, and it took me a week to figure it out. That's pretty bad play;-) 2F
Every dealer making this claim about the first hand seems to have their own special number, usually between 75% and 100%. Yes, some dealers say they always win the first hand. The ones who use odd numbers like 73% are more believable by some players. After all, they took the time to figure it out instead of just rounding to 75% or 80%. Hilarious. Based on this dealer information, I've seen players who will never play the first hand.
Where do these dealers get their information? From equally clueless players of course. It's repeated so often that they actually believe it. When a dealer is asked where they get their figures from, the answer is always the same. "I've been dealing for x number of years". "I see it every day". "I've been at this a long time" etc.
It's all part of the game of blackjack and savvy APs know how to use even something like this to their advantage.
Quote: 1BBBased on this dealer information, I've seen players who will never play the first hand.
I could imagine a situation going down like this:
*DD game, NMSE*
Dealer: "On the first hand, dealer wins 99.54% of the time."
Player: "Ok, I'll sit out the first hand."
*Deals out first hand to players in game.*
*Dealer wins first hand.*
Dealer: "See, dealer always wins the first hand!"
*Player puts chips in circle to play 2nd hand.*
Dealer: "This is a no mid-shoe entry game. You gotta wait till we shuffle."
Player: "Ok"
*Deck ends, dealer shuffles.*
Player: "Ok, I'm in now!"
Dealer: "Alright everyone ready, who's got the lucky cut? Last time you cut it, I won the first hand."
*Player cuts the cards*
Player: "Oh no, he cut the cards? He doesn't even know what he's doing!! Dealer always wins the first round when he cuts!! I'm sitting out the first round."
And the process continues.
-----------------------
I hear conversations frequently in the break-room, one went like this:
Boss: "Alright, I'm putting you on BJ-18 when you get back from break."
Dealer: "Isn't that the reserved table for John [a big player]?"
Boss: "Yeah, and you always seem to kill him."
Dealer: "Yeah, that guy sucks, he can't beat me."
Another:
Dealer: "That guy on BJ-5 is such a moron. Every time I deal to him, he loses his a**. He should know not to play against me. I'm too good."
Other dealer: "Heh that's weird, I always seem to pay him out all the time."
First dealer: "Oh, well here's a trick. When the players are hot, just change up the shuffle. Instead of stripping from the top, alternate from top/bottom/top/bottom when stripping. Or if you're stripping from top/bottom/top/bottom and they're winning, then switch and just strip from the top."
Other dealer: "Yeah, that makes sense. Because it changes up the order of the cards right?"
First dealer: "Uhh......yeah....duh!"
But the best:
Dealer: "This guy is so bad!! He's hitting his 17's, doubling down on 7 or 8 against my ten....splitting 2's against my tens or 9's....etc."
Me: "So....he's losing?"
Dealer: "Nah, he's winning a whole bunch. But he'll give it all back."
Me: "Yeah, that's true. What else he doing?"
Dealer: "Well he's betting 2 hands of $200.....so it'll go quick. But he'll double down his 17vsTen for $25 when he's got $200 out there! Then other times he'll stand on 12 or 13 against a Ten or some high card......he's just gonna give it all back like an idiot.....because he's not being consistent."
Little did the dealer know, [and speculation on my part], it sounded like the player was hole-carding!! hahahaa
Then three drunk bros sat down... I never saw someone double down on a 14 vs 5 before. I've heard of splitting 10s, but never saw it. I watched one of them continually hit 13-16 against a dealer 6, like he was trying to get a 21 rather than just beat the dealer. And his buddies were no better. One of them got kicked from the table for constant texting and using his phone. The other one started ridiculing the other for his play, then split 5s. A couple times they asked me what they should do, I just told them I had no idea, that I don't really know how to play blackjack.
It was a bloodbath, as it should have been. No one got lucky for playing against the stream, in fact it was just about the most "chalk" night of blackjack I've ever played, with almost every recommended play working the way it should. You got a soft 17, the next card was invariably a 3 or a 4, and if it wasn't the dealer had a 10 up and a 5 down. Doubled an 11 vs a 5 and got an A? No worries, that was a 10 underneath, and oh! Look at that 8! High fives all around!
The bros dug into their pockets repeatedly for Benjamins and finally left in disgust. When they left I said to the dealer that some of that was really hard to watch, and he said yeah, some of it was really hard to deal, too.
Here's how chalk it was: $10 table, played from 8 until 11. I bought in for $300 and cashed out for $775, not counting but paying attention and varying bets between 10 and 30, once doing 40 for blackjack (cool, lucky). Dad (on his 87th birthday, go Dad!) bought in for $200 and cashed out exactly $400, flat betting.
#1) Don't drink and gamble, unless you can function bombed, or don't like your money.
#2) If you're going to play, get a semblance of how to play the game first. They give out strategy cards for free, ferchrissakes
#3) Strike when the table is hot. Blackjack isn't really my game, but it is fun as hell when you're winning. We'd have stayed all night but Dad was tired.
Quote: 1BBHere's a funny, or not so funny, thing that I'm sure most of us have seen. I've played with the guys that you describe, Mosca, and watched them win hand after hand while I, the "expert" lost hand after hand. High counts, juicy doubles and splits, none of it mattered. When the dealer broke it was usually after I did. All it does is embolden them and cause them to ultimately lose. This game can have you scratching your head no matter how long you've been at it.
Absolutely. The most fun thing about the night was the number of times Dad and I said to each other, "THAT is the way it's supposed to happen!" Because god knows, it often doesn't work that way.
Quote: TwoFeathersATLWell now, that's an eye opening 45 page thread, started it hours ago and have come back several times to read some more.
And I have another nominee for worst play I have witnessed. Unfortunately it was sort of me that made the mistake. Played BJ for 3 days, about 30 hours total, a week ago. So lots of bad, very bad play. Saw some weird dealer mistakes as well. Somewhere well into day two, don't remember exactly how the conversation started but the dealer was explaining something to a very new player at a full table when he said to her " you know the first hand from the shoe is always bad, the dealer wins 73% of the time." I said "really?" He looked at me with a straight face and said "yes 73%". I actually backed my bet down on the first hand for each of the next couple of shoes ;-( then I got to thinking, that can't be right. Went back to my normal play. Now this was in Cherokee NC that draws mainly crowds from Alabama, Geaorgia, Tennessee, and the Carolinas, all states known to be chock full of mental giants.
So today as I'm reading all these tales of bad play I think back to what that dealer said. He may have been telling the truth, he may win 73% of every hand in a shoe, on average. So I just realized he just called me and every other player that sits at his table a dumbass, and it took me a week to figure it out. That's pretty bad play;-) 2F
Happy 2 year anniversary as a WoV member
Me: two hands out at max bet. Dealer: ace up. First hand blackjack - even money taken. Second hand is 11. Lose insurance bet and double down. The other guy at the table is flirting with the waitress and waves off his 12. I get a 5 on my doubled 11. I gotta say, I'm a little concerned. Dealer breaks. That's great but even greater was the fact that I would have lost it all had the guy been paying attention! See, it does happen. The guy was grossing her out so thanks waitress. Thanks for hanging in there and taking one for the team.
Did I tip her? Of course. I always tip the hard working servers, male and female, often without ordering a drink. It drives the dealers crazy.
Quote: HubombaI played a few weeks ago and a woman next to me was playing 2 hands a piece and was doubling on hard 5s and hard 7s. I couldn't believe it.
I deal and play a lot on the east coast, I see this fairly often. It seems to be much more common then in Vegas.
Most players have a fundamental misunderstanding of what a "bust card" is. Most think a dealer will bust with a 3-6 showing over 50% of the time, so they try to get more money on the table anyway they can.
I've seen many terrible plays whIle dealing. Hitting 16s vs 5/6 showing, surrendering 6s and 7s with a face showing, etc...
The worst has to be recently a guy was betting 300 on 2 spots and was doubling any hard 12-16 every time no matter what. "I'm gonna hit it anyway, mine as well double" He lost around 7k in less then hour. It was unusual because most who bet that much play close to basic strat. My boss loved him and he got comped a bunch.
Quote: cmill72....I've seen many terrible plays whIle dealing. Hitting 16s vs 5/6 showing, surrendering 6s and 7s with a face showing, etc....
This very well could be advantage play. Maybe not against you, but other dealers.
Quote: IbeatyouracesThis very well could be advantage play. Maybe not against you, but other dealers.
Holecarding?
Loose Lips.......Quote: IbeatyouracesThis very well could be advantage play. Maybe not against you, but other dealers.
Quote: cmill72
I've seen many terrible plays whIle dealing. Hitting 16s vs 5/6 showing, surrendering 6s and 7s with a face showing, etc...
.
This is why I don't understand why all casinos don't offer surrender. When i surrender for the first time, everyone goes, 'durrrr, what is that'. so I tell them. Next thing you know, you got one or two guys who start surrendering 12s and 13s vs. 10. Come on casinos, get with it. You and I could be making money together!
Quote: IbeatyouracesThis very well could be advantage play. Maybe not against you, but other dealers.
But he's dealing in PA. They only have shoes. What do you think is more likely, an idiot or someone catching the hole card? I have never seen the hole card on a pitch or shoe game. If I ever found one, I predict that will most likely be a pitch game. a dealer's got to be really incompetent to flash on a shoe.
Quote: HunterhillLoose Lips.......
LOL, probably nothing to be found....but if there was, well Ibeatyouraces probably killed the play. the dealer is going to be very cautious now.
Quote: AvincowLOL, probably nothing to be found....but if there was, well Ibeatyouraces probably killed the play. the dealer is going to be very cautious now.
Actually no, I didn't kill anything 0:-)
I've gotten out of table games.
Y?Quote: IbeatyouracesActually no, I didn't kill anything 0:-)
I've gotten out of table games.
Another time I see a guy get dealt something like 2-2-7-7 and he's like " FINALLY YES!!!" (this was on a bonus / DB / DDB game). I was like "huh? Two pair?" And he's like "NAH I GOT DEUCES!!!" holds the 2 deuces, discards the 7's, then gets quite upset when his 2-2 didn't connect to four of a kind.
Quote: IbeatyouracesThis very well could be advantage play. Maybe not against you, but other dealers.
Absolutely, after reading the post a few pages up about the guy who was talking to another dealer and she didn't realize she was being hole carded, it makes me wonder if they aren't so stupid. I'm extremely careful about protecting the hole card myself. Yes advantage players use cover, but you can tell when somebody is just dumb or truly a newbie at blackjack. Some ridiculous form of logic usually follows the plays and eventually they do something that can't possibly be advantageous in any situation.
As for a holecarding in a shoe game, the only way I've heard is if the dealer is cramped around first base either because poor table design or if a dealer bet is placed far out in front of the circle. This will sometimes make the dealer slide his bottom card over the raised edge of the chip rack and the person at third base can catch a glimpse of it. It can happen.
Quote: cmill72Absolutely, after reading the post a few pages up about the guy who was talking to another dealer and she didn't realize she was being hole carded, it makes me wonder if they aren't so stupid. I'm extremely careful about protecting the hole card myself. Yes advantage players use cover, but you can tell when somebody is just dumb or truly a newbie at blackjack. Some ridiculous form of logic usually follows the plays and eventually they do something that can't possibly be advantageous in any situation.
As for a holecarding in a shoe game, the only way I've heard is if the dealer is cramped around first base either because poor table design or if a dealer bet is placed far out in front of the circle. This will sometimes make the dealer slide his bottom card over the raised edge of the chip rack and the person at third base can catch a glimpse of it. It can happen.
Remember, I said it "could" have been. Very doubtful though. I've seen players play at worse and they weren't AP's. And the chip rack has nothing to do with it.
Quote: RSOccasionally when walking the video poker aisles, a previously played hand will catch my eye. Plenty of times I'll see some one hold something like 9-9-Q. I was at a bar once and I player asked me if he should do that. I said no just hold the 9's. And he said "but if I get a pair of jacks or better, I win". I gave him a few pointers, and he was playing pretty well within the next 5-10 minutes.
Another time I see a guy get dealt something like 2-2-7-7 and he's like " FINALLY YES!!!" (this was on a bonus / DB / DDB game). I was like "huh? Two pair?" And he's like "NAH I GOT DEUCES!!!" holds the 2 deuces, discards the 7's, then gets quite upset when his 2-2 didn't connect to four of a kind.
This made me LOL
Quote: RSAnother time I see a guy get dealt something like 2-2-7-7 and he's like " FINALLY YES!!!" (this was on a bonus / DB / DDB game). I was like "huh? Two pair?" And he's like "NAH I GOT DEUCES!!!" holds the 2 deuces, discards the 7's, then gets quite upset when his 2-2 didn't connect to four of a kind.
Sure that wasn't Singer? And no, I'm not ragging on him. It's just a play he'd make when in the hole.
Quote: AvincowThis is why I don't understand why all casinos don't offer surrender. When i surrender for the first time, everyone goes, 'durrrr, what is that'. so I tell them. Next thing you know, you got one or two guys who start surrendering 12s and 13s vs. 10. Come on casinos, get with it. You and I could be making money together!
This is soooooooo true.
