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Mike gave the okay for me to plug my new blog here.
A few days back, I started a new blog: A.P. Heat!. To begin with, I'm going to be re-posting many of my articles to make them easily available at one place. After that, I'm going to share my thoughts on a wide range of game protection issues about casino table games and side bets. I'm convinced that many in table games management and surveillance have little understanding of the magnitude of the problem.
Your comments on site design and ideas for content are welcome.
You are cordially invited to stop by.
I used to read Catwalk but got turned off by some really bad
info there awhile back, not yours of course. I already bookmarked
your new blog.
I disagree somewhat that distributors and designers are always weak in the AP protection area of a game, though dealers often are. I review discountgambling on a regular basis, and will be perusing Eliot's latest.
AP play and counting is such an important factor that for ANY game I design (that has multiple rounds from a deck or shoe), I have CRM do a full "count-ability" report on it, lest teliot later skewer the thing... :)
Sometimes things get absurd, such as the procedure for firing artillery which had two soldiers standing at attention off to the side, a practice traced back to the days when those two men were tasked with holding the horses. Or a Spanish fort that had a guard posted at an interior bench for decades until some utter fool asked why and it was discovered that forty years earlier the bench had just been painted and thereafter orders had simply been renewed.
casinos have rules about which hand is used, how things are proved or counted out in a specific area of the table and how arms are not permitted to block a box man's view. Blackjack dealers often have instructions about which hands to use for which spots and how to "walk their game" by shifting position slightly so that supervisory views are not obstructed and chip trays are always visible.
But just as generals are always fighting the last war, not the newest one... casino security is poised to strike at known culprits of the past. It didn't take casinos long to watch for "toe tappers" when early blackjack computers started appearing in shoes. Its standard to watch for females with makeup trying to daub cards. These procedures may get sloppy from time to time but one visit from some crossroaders can smarten a casino up but good.
Thank you for all your excellent work.Quote: teliotToday's entry covers "edge sorting." If you've never heard of it, you may be surprised at this unexpectedly powerful and little known method.
Adding a turn to a shuffle goes way back.
In the 90s in Reno, at least half of the casinos had a turn in their shuffle procedures.
I would ask dealers if they knew why the procedure was there and no one ever knew.
I even taught this in Dealers school.
At the Indian Casinos in CA, I still ask the dealers that do turn 1/2 deck during the shuffle, even with shuffle machines, why they do it.
"Just a procedure" they reply.
They really do not understand.
Casinos that do not use a turn in their shuffle with these type of cards, are just flat out dumb and deserve what they get.
And to think that I thought that the turn was so that all four corners eventually got more-or-less the same amount of abuse during hand shuffles.
As far as "edge sorting," yes this is a powerful method. Imagine if a shoe was brought in to play in baccarat that was pre edge-sorted, with the cards A,2,3,4,5,T one direction and the cards 6,7,8,9 the other. Call these L (low) and H (high). Then there are 9 possible permutations of player vs. banker cards. For example, LL vs HH or LH vs. LH. Each of these is positive EV for either the banker or player bet. Some of these EVs are very high. This is not fantasy.
Keep the good stuff coming!
My long-term goal is to write articles on everything I can figure out or can find out about how APs are beating table games and promotions, with the sole exception of blackjack card-counting. I hope to make it one of the key resources for information on advantage play at table games on the Internet.
Enjoy
Quote: teliotGreetings, I'd like to invite you back to visit my blog AP HEAT! a second time.
My long-term goal is to write articles on everything I can figure out or can find out about how APs are beating table games and promotions, with the sole exception of blackjack card-counting. I hope to make it one of the key resources for information on advantage play at table games on the Internet.
Enjoy
Been there, doing that on a regular basis. THANKS
PS: well, also the Las Vegas Club with that smudge. Otherwise, someone might clue me in, as it looks like a rotated card would look the same.
PPS: I finally get it now. Maybe I should leave this up. Takes a very careful look to see how the patterns are cut.
Let's please keep a lid on sort and edge play.
Quote: KeyserGuys,
Let's please keep a lid on sort and edge play.
Oh, they already know. That Australian dude told them awhile back.
Quote:The Card Security Conversation: What are Card Manufacturers Doing? - Jason England, Willy Allison, Dr. Eliot Jacobson, George Henningsen
In this panel discussion we evaluate the performance of card manufacturers. Why has there been a reported increase in badly cut cards? Could the Golden Nugget fiasco happen to your casino? How do we protect ourselves?
I disagree that it is well protected. Any blemish or smudge left from players touching the cards will be clearly visible.Quote: IbeatyouracesMain Street Station has the best protected cards. All white backs (no patterns) with just their name on each end. Maybe someone will post a picture.
In my collection, I have white-back cards from these Las Vegas casinos (these cards may not be the current ones used):
Arizona Charlies
California
El Cortez
Freemont
Gold Coast
Imperial Palace
Las Vegas Club
Main Street Station
Palace Station
Rio
Sam's Town
Suncoast
The Orleans
Quote: teliotAt this year's World Game Protection Conference, on Tuesday, February 26:
Quote:The Card Security Conversation: What are Card Manufacturers Doing? - Jason England, Willy Allison, Dr. Eliot Jacobson, George Henningsen
In this panel discussion we evaluate the performance of card manufacturers. Why has there been a reported increase in badly cut cards? Could the Golden Nugget fiasco happen to your casino? How do we protect ourselves?
FYI: At G2E 2012, I had a conversation with a Casino Director of Table Games who hadn't even HEARD about the Golden Nugget fiasco...
In terms of layout, this is just my two cents, but I would consider moving the "Last 25 Posts" (at least) above the recent comments section. My logic is that the "Last 25 Posts" are more indicative of the quality and content of the blog that the "Recent Comments" will be, in general. No disrespect to your audience is intended, rather I am praising the quality and consistency of your work/blog.
On my monitor, I have to scroll down to see the most recent blog posts. Since posts are likely more indicative of the content of the blog than comments, allowing visitors to see that without scrolling would be preferred, in my opinion.
If you really feel that comments are important, but the 25 posts is too long, you can always cut it accordingly to 15-20.
Thanks. I'll do just that.Quote: deedubbsExcellent site and info. Thanks for all of your work.
In terms of layout, this is just my two cents, but I would consider moving the "Last 25 Posts" (at least) above the recent comments section. My logic is that the "Last 25 Posts" are more indicative of the quality and content of the blog that the "Recent Comments" will be, in general. No disrespect to your audience is intended, rather I am praising the quality and consistency of your work/blog.
On my monitor, I have to scroll down to see the most recent blog posts. Since posts are likely more indicative of the content of the blog than comments, allowing visitors to see that without scrolling would be preferred, in my opinion.
If you really feel that comments are important, but the 25 posts is too long, you can always cut it accordingly to 15-20.
I added the "Index" page to make it as easy as possible to find the information you want. The last 25 posts are not as important as the ability to find exactly what you want.
If a visitor knows exactly what they want to search for, they'd use the search box.
If not, they can see what categories are available and that might induce a search or browsing.
If not, the 25 most recent posts and that might induce a search or browsing.
If not, they can see what has been of interest to other visitors and that might induce a search or browsing.