odiousgambit's Blog

Allen Iverson has a notrious gambling problem. He went to Atlantic City a lot while he was in Philly, and he was thrown out of the Detroit casinos at least once while playing for the Pistons. I'm not sure how he's doing in Denver (Blackhawk?) A lot of athletes have had gambling problems (Barkley, A. Walker) but usually it's after their playing careers are over. If I were him I would self-exclude myself from the Missouri/Illinois casinos before the season started.

I'm sure you know this already, but SJ is from Vegas.....



I live in St. Louis, and haven't heard a peep of him hanging out in the casinos around here.



You may be right, but I wouldn't judge him just because he's from Vegas.

I'm glad you liked the game. It's a nice way to unwind without sitting at a slot machine. I'm never sure what to think about the bonus bet. It seems like there's a very strong negative correlation between when I play the bet and when I get a bonus hand.

Also wanted to comment on banking. It's true that some other players will react negatively if you want to bank their play. That said, your edge is better the more players' hands you bank. If you have thick enough skin to play the DP in craps, you would probably be able to shrug off the reaction to you banking here.

edited my long term condition, it was bugging me to make it look so "loser" when actually I'm doing good long term.



regarding grief about banking and about playing the DC, I'm fairly determined to learn how to do these things and just manage the problem, especially since I think I will go darkside when shooting Craps next time around. For Gai Pow Poker, I'm going to try starting the table me and dealer only, then when someone sits down tell them I'm banking and act like that courtesy should be enough and go on. If an a-hole makes a huge bet I'll just wait him out or watch in awe if he can keep it up.



Thanks for the encouragement.

Did you mean Pai Gow? It is a nice, slow game. Also Pai Gow Tiles is a good game and even slower than poker. Where I play if you bank, the other players will sit out the hand.

"Did you mean Pai Gow?"



What a hilarious mistake! Didnt realize I was doing that till you pointed it out!

That's funny.



I thought "Gai Pow Kapow!" was an intentional play on words, reflecting how the session went.

Recently a Baccarat dealer at Tampa pushed 1200 dollars out to a player and, not getting a tip he felt moved to refer to the player in a manner that I shall type as Cork Sucker. The Floorman who had just recently moved up from Baccarat Dealer very loudly asked the Dealer "Which Cork Sucker?". This seems to have prompted all the players at the table to color up and leave. Now you can have whatever views you choose to have on the propriety of the employee's behaviors, but you surely know that its the Seminoles, not the employees, who are making the money at those casinos!! They are terribly run and still they are profitable beyond belief. Craps? Don't worry: Six will get you five that its craps within a year!



I'm told that players can engage in just about any behavior they wish to and will not be at risk of casino intervention unless the dealer lies and tells a manager that the player made a derogatory comment about Indians.



So its definitely generating a great deal of money for the tribe.

If you take a look at the Seminole's bus program you will see that Florida gamblers are willing to trek great distances and get almost zilch in the way of comps. Drinks? The Seminoles have ONE liquor license. High Rollers get comps. Thats about it. (by the way, the HOT chocolate is. Very hot!).

The Seminoles have been hiring "blackjack" dealers that fit into certain sized uniforms and certain sized fish-net stockings, but have not yet installed any poles anywhere. So maybe those Seminoles are learning how to run a casino?

I played for about 30 min @ Seminole Hard Rock--Fort Lauderdale on Sunday 6-20-10. We were headed to the airport for our return to Houston from a trip to the Keys and I thought my wife would enjoy some slot action.



The major change to the casino from our last visit a couple of years ago was the addition of table card games (no dice games) instead of just poker. It looks like they have tables in each direction off of the main bar. It is a decent layout.



I played mini-bac ($25 minimum) and 3 card poker during the short visit. I broke even on mini-bac and lost about $40 on 3 card. My wife lost $8 on slots...



I was offered drinks three or four times in that short period of time. That is very good cocktail service, but it was a Sunday morning and the slots were empty. 2 of 4 mini-bac tables were full. There were a good number of blackjack players and also several tables full of 3 card players. The tables were fare from full; it just seemed everyone was playing at the same tables as opposed to spreading out more.



We'll visit again next year...

"I was offered drinks three or four times in that short period of time."



so was I, but there was some sort of charge i didn't investigate. Did you in fact get free drinks? If so, it indicates they are hungrier for business there.

Tampa hard rock is the only casino ive been to in my life- and I enjoy it.. shows how much im missing out on in vegas hu? lol



I have no problems getting a comped meal about every other visit- they will give me a comp of 25 to 36 bucks. I dont drink alcohol so the drinks are free for me... the dealers Ive come across are friendly and talkitive- then again I know who im looking for to get that- I got a few favorites- and others that are real downers. Some of the bit guys are selfish on comps and others will really try for you.



No dice and no roulette cause the current state legislation only agrees to card games- and does not allow for dice, ect. it was a huge step forward though- and id expect less limiting establishments in 6 or so years.



Lots and lots of slots- and i enjoy them some too. When in the tampa one try out the green room. The nacho dish is awseom and huge- and I really enjoyed the battered fish.



the hotel stay is a bit pricy- usually $120 to $210 a night.



Typical table minimums are $15. Almost any time you can find $15. the $10 tables they keep for blackjack, but they get lines on the busy times. $20 pai gow is very very typical but you can find it for $10 when you look at the right times. On the busy nights you may see alot of BJ tables at $25 and bac at $50. The pai gow and asia poker tables can soar to up as mcuh as $100 min. out on the floor- much less the high limit room. But its rare for me ot see it that bad.



My typical every trip experiance is BJ at $15, Pai Gow at $20, Bac at $50, and most everything else staying at $15. They do not have $5 never have and never will. $10 min on the slow days.



BJ uses 8 decks- and if your willing ot do $25 or more per bet you can get a shoe instead of the auto-shuffle.- if you look in the right places.



Security is pretty high there too- they keep all the more stringent security standards (own PD, no resale of used cards, dealers cant mention they work there when not working, even some proceedural errors if you keep doing them will get you backed off at the least; people on voluntary removal they have no problem arresting you for tresspass after warning (mind you this is volunteery removal on your own will) whereas others will mostl likely ask you to leave and not cash you out and bar you from tables, ect. they use the full tresspass after warning bit.

Oh and I forgot to mention- dont even think you can get your room comped- not going to happen.



thier points seem to be based on a point per $2 on slots- or something to that effect- with per bet and buy in tracking at the table games. The points are kept for a HORRIBLE 3 month day to day rollover (not use to use even.. much less the typical 6 month to a year most places have)... at $2 being 1 point- their highest of three card levels reqires 100,000 or more points in a 3 month period (I thin its 100,000+ .. could be more)... so the card points back SUCKS BIG TIME IMO.

I can't tell you whether or not there was a charge for drinks @ Ft Lauderdale Hard Rock...they were offered often but no one was drinking.



I also don't know how their crowds are--it was very sparse on Sunday morning, but I would think that was pretty normal. Minimums did seem high, on average, for the crowd on hand and the time of day.

Raising the table limits at noon, without having full tables, sounds like they were following someone's prescribed guidelines without putting thought into it.



Maybe you shouldn't cross them off your list just yet.



Give them a little time, and once they have a meeting between management and floorpeople, that noon guideline will go out the window.



Probably....

I'm wondering if all the Delaware casinos are following the book - someone asked about table limits at Dover Downs on their facebook page, and their response was $5 limits during the initial test and $10 and up once state approval sets in on June 21. To me, $10 limits is not worth the 1hr less drive to AC - I'll just keep going if that's the case. I'm awaiting July and Charles Town as well!

Re: "But she meant, did you want to just leave the bet in the DC box, start it over and don't go for the point resolved."



Over many years of using a system to hedge by laying the point while going through the don't come, I use my order to take down my lay bet (after getting up behind the line) gauge dealers' competency and attention, as well as tipping. New dealers, especially, are eager to take down the established don't bet behind the line. It's not clear whether it's a problem of trying to decrease the player advantage at that or a lack of appreciation of the don't side. The latter is a major factor causing problems in Caribbean casinos.

OG, I was there Saturday at the Racebook for the Belmont (btw proud to say my horse won) and went to the table games area afterwards; the main area was packed, the poker room had a wait list, the high limit room was vacant. I'm most familiar with blackjack so it garnered most of my attention.



1. We saw one dealer, clearly a beginner (and rattled), at a $25 table. She tried hard but made some pretty basic errors (e.g. she had 9-9-2 and started to clear the chips from a guy who had K-J).



2. At two different $15 tables within a 5 minute time period, we saw one bloke stand w/A-5 versus a 10 showing; and then we saw a gent w/5-5 v. 5, hit, get a 3, then hit again. I seem to recall during my one/only trip to Vegas that these kind of plays would have drawn at least a pause from the dealer.



Seems like there's a lot to be learned for a lot of folks.



Do you think your dealer may have been trying too hard?

"Do you think your dealer may have been trying too hard?"



I don't think she was getting her Jollies by trying to screw us, exactly, but maybe trying to show she knew how to milk the crowd generally. She seemed to be proud of knowing that some knuckleheads "don't want that action" on the DC with a point of 6 or 8. Of course anyone working the dark side is hoping to get to lay odds on 4,10,5 or 9 instead of 6 or 8, but why would you ever give up anytime you have an edge to go back to House Edge?



Just this aggravation wouldnt keep me from going back by itself. I think I needed the practice of dealing with dealers, including this type.

not to mention that laying odds on 6 or 8 pays better, so nothing wrong with working that really anyway.

Its foolish for a player to call No Action when his Dont bet would result in a wager against the Six or Eight, but that is clearly what she meant when she asked Do You Want Action. If she meant odds, she would have said it or asked Anything behind it or something to that effect.



Its sometimes hard for dealers to avoid too much chatter, but if they have a question its best that they do speak up and then learn what you will probably want the next time.

Quote:

Putting Craps Tables ON NOTICE