Yesterday I went to the casino for the first time after training extensively for the past month and a half. I knew I wouldn’t be ready to play at the casino, but the anticipation of what it’s actually like was killing me. I learned a lot, but probably not worth a $95 price tag on that info. This is relatively small to my bankroll size, but it still hurt a little.
I chose to play the best game in my area at one of two urasillygoose casinos. This game offers double after split, resplit aces, and surrender. Surrender by itself greatly slashes my risk of ruin and pads my expected value as well. This will help cut my losses a bit while I’m still getting up to speed. The table minimum was $15 and the max was $500. I had heard that during the weekdays the minimum was $10, so I was hoping I could bet less.
I want to avoid giving my ID as much as possible to remain anonymous. If they don’t know who I am, they can’t share my info to the other casinos in the area. All they will have is a picture from surveillance which they can share. These are forgotten after the span of 2 weeks. It’s not worth it to give up my information, and I’m playing at such low stakes that they really shouldn’t care too much.
At first, I was extremely nervous about sitting at a table. I nervously hung out at a bar next to the tables looking to get a beer. I wanted a drink partially to calm my nerves and also so they didn’t ask for my ID at the table. This is somewhat of a rookie mistake, as drinking and counting cards doesn’t mix very well. You need to be able to focus. Drinking and playing is great cover if you can handle it, but as a fresh first-timer, it definitely hurt more than it helped. I ended up not having to give my ID, so at least that part worked.
I got my beer and headed to the tables. I picked the first open table I saw, sat down, and bought in for $200. I was playing a higher minimum than I was comfortable with, but at least I could play heads up (1v1 against the dealer). Playing heads up is extremely advantageous to a card counter because we get in more rounds per hour, which results in more expected value.
The pit boss asked if I had a players card, which I declined, and they had no issue with me betting $15 unrated. The fact that they were letting me play without giving them any personal info was a lot off my shoulders. The cards started coming out, and I was so nervous that I quickly lost it after about 2 decks dealt. I knew I was off by 1-3, but the count was so negative I was just hoping to get through the shoe quickly so that I could start another one. At nearly the end of the shoe I was up, and another person sat down. The count was very negative, but I was willing to play through to see the next shoe.
The guy next to me was betting these weird side bets that the new dealer was taking forever to check and payout. He kept winning them, stacking up quite a bit of chips. The new shoe instantly went negative, and on top of it, another guy sat to my left, so I was like, fuck it, I’m leaving. They were both playing the side bets, and it was just taking forever to get rounds in. The count dropped below true -1 and I dipped. I was up $50 despite playing through some pretty rough shoes. I tipped $2.50 to the dealer, which I probably could have not done. They appreciated it, but I wasn’t really playing a winning game, and that was probably my edge on that game.
I walked around for a bit checking out the interesting crowd around roulette and trying not to look at the people mashing buttons on the slots. Sometimes you see people playing that you can’t help but question their decisions.
I found another table to play heads up at and sat down. I was playing better than the first table I sat at and even did a few deviations this time. The dealer complimented my surrenders. I ended up tipping this dealer $5 as well. I wasn’t there to make money, so to speak, but I really need to stop doing this. Bad habit I gotta break. Working in the service industry just makes you think a certain way.
I got through a whole shoe by myself, which was nice, and then immediately after a few hands of the next one, another person sat down next to me. This guy was a regular and had apparently been losing quite a bit that day. I’ve noticed that the younger guys tend to sit next to me while I’m playing. There were probably 4 of us in our 30s in the pit compared to 25+ people over 60. He was min betting $50, which took all of the heat off my measly $15 min bet. Nobody is looking at me if he’s betting 5x what I have down. He ends up splitting a 6 against a 6 three times with one double on the table. The dealer draws inevitably to 19 off a 6, which blows both of our minds, and he loses $300 on one hand starting with a $50 bet. He complains that he’s going to go home broke and tosses out a $100 bet on the next hand. Apparently the degenerates are out on a Sunday afternoon. I don’t know anyone my age that would be comfortable wagering that kind of money and that casually.
The count went up to a true 1, and I put out two bets of $40. Both lost, unfortunately. At this point I was down $95 and decided to call it. The dealer after the switch was dealing blazing fast. I had honestly not seen anything like it. Cards were flying out so quick that I could barely keep up. I knew I was going to miss a card, so I was out. Now, if I could get that dealer a few months from now, we could generate some serious EV.
I got what I went for, but as stated above, it probably wasn’t worth the cost of $95. I now know that I need to be quicker at all aspects of my game—especially running count when playing with other players. I can set the pace easier when it’s just myself. I won’t be able to play heads up all of the time. I need to get quicker at my decision-making and be confident in my decisions. I was staring at the cards too much and was too slow to make my decisions. On the first shoe I was dealt a soft 13 that I was going to double against a 6, but I wasn’t sure. I’ve done so much basic strategy training I don’t know why I hesitated. The guy next to me said “don’t do it” and I pulled it back. I need to focus on my game, not let anyone play for me. Next time I will be more confident, quicker, and more decisive.
After playing, I was happy and a tad disappointed with losing, but not enough to tank my mood. I had just played for the first time! I got some drinks and wings with my roommate at our favorite dive bar close by. I filled him in and we both had a good time celebrating and just catching up in general.
Later that night, another friend came over and said he would deal me a 6-deck shoe. He didn’t really know how to deal, so I was having to count cards while explaining to him how the game worked. I was probably off on the count because of this and definitely because at this point we had shared quite a few beers. The count went up astronomically, which was a good time to show him what it means to have a high count. The blackjacks were flowing, and the insurance bets were being paid out. Good times.
In conclusion, I’m sort of glad I went to play. I know what to focus on and how good I’m going to have to get. I’m committed to the grind, and I know that with enough practice I can make this a reality. Besides, I’m having a lot of fun so far.
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