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[alrelax]

Met someone at the casino last night after the baccarat tournament over at the regular table games section on the main floor.  He was kind of young, probably in his 20's.  He was fuming mad.  I have never seen him before and quite obvious he was new to the game.  He questioned a couple of hands such as Player have the first 2 cards total point value of 6 and the Banker have its first two cards with a total of 7.  And then, when the Players 3rd card was a 7 and the Banker had a two card 6 he yelled at the dealer not to draw.

When the game ended and the dealer was coloring up some chips for players and preparing for the next shoe, etc., this guy tells me how he purchased a system on the internet for about $500.00.  He told me some of the 'moves' it taught him and they were nothing more than someone's fantasy about being able to win anytime with them.  I attempted in brief to tell him, anything could win and anything could lose.  At times there are certainly chances what he told me could prevail and other times--as he just witnessed, those pre-determined wagers would lose.  In short, the so-called system called for wagering on the opposite side after a double of any one side and as well, wager OTL decision when there is greater than 3 single B's and/or P's already on the board.  There were a few other pre-determined wagers he was supposed to make, but every one of them is no more than wishful thinking in the author's opinion.  All packaged up and presented to the novices of the game as gospel and money in the bank. 

[alrelax]

Well that ice storm hit us, not as bad as just to the south of us---but pretty bad.  Started last night around midnight and came down all night.  I left my house at 5 AM for the 15 mile drive to my business which normally takes no more than 20 mins.  I made it in at 7:10 AM. 

We just got about 2/10" to 1/2" of ice.  Some regions are totally 100% covered and others are slightly less.  The interstates around us are bad, but drivable with common sense, 25 to 40 MPH max and don't hit the brakes hard or steady, you are okay.  The metro and side streets are 100% iced without salt or solutions yet, almost impassable.

Today is a federal holiday and lots off the roads, so that helps.  I just don't understand the people out there driving like they are immune to the road conditions.  Gravity and friction are not hard to understand, but I guess that is for those with common sense.  I always say, if you can't walk on it--you will have a real hard time driving on it......

And walking on this.....slow, sure-footed, pick you feet straight up and place then flat footed down.  You cannot walk normal on this. Fun.

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Drug Dealers, LOL-=Don't they go to school or get some training??

Nasty Boy:  Over in Oklahoma at a Burger King fast food place.  Drive up and ask for 'Nasty Boy' and if he is working you would order 'Extra Krispy Fries' and you would get your marijuana in a coffee cup.  Pay at the window.  Busted.  Included the shift leaders.  Punch Line:  The home of the 'Extra Happy Meal', watch out Mickey D's!

Nose Cone:  Jumbo jet liner lands in Miami from Bogotá Columbia.  Was supposed to go into maintenance shop for its scheduled electronics check.  Instead it gets diverted to Tulsa Oklahoma (lots of drugs in Oklahoma all of a sudden) anyway, it goes in for the electronics check it was supposed to get in Miami.  The technician goes into the nose cone and gets to work on the electronics.  He find it highly unusual as to all the new insulation around the electronics.  He goes behind the insulation and find 7 bricks of cocaine.  Bogotá, Miami, LOL.  Some mad people in Miami when that plane went for its check up out of state!


Pizza with a side of Crushed Red Pepper please:  Pizza shop, call up and order a pizza with a side of crushed red pepper instead of red pepper flakes and that was the code word for ordering your sip lock bag of marijuana for delivery with your choice of pizzas.  Only problem was, the local Sherriff calls up and ordered it also.  Unclear if he gave the code phase 'crushed red pepper' or 'red pepper flakes' and received the weed or what?  But when the delivery person arrived and handed him the zip lock bag he was arrested.  LOL.

[alrelax]

What is up with Mini-Vans??  Every time I turn around and read something or hear about a criminal, assault or scam--it almost always involves the people getting away or last seen in a Mini-Van???

Heck, back in high school we had full sized vans, like Chevy C30's I thing they were.  We stripped them out and put shag carpeting in them, built a platform for a mattress up in the read over the wheel wells.  1/4" plywood on the sides and paneling over that.  Painted the side windows out if any and the rear windows inside as well, black.  The colors inside was Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin blues-greens-purples and hazy yellows.  We had a been bag or two and a cooler in the main part.  A couple battery powered lamps attached to the paneling in the corners.  That was the 70;s and early 80's.  We had fun in our vans, after high school we took our dirt bikes out, on weekends we were at the motocross race tracks.  Who the heck stayed in motels, we had full sized vans! 

Such memories. 

[alrelax]

Seriously---driving people!  Why in tarnation do people driving onto interstates and controlled access divided highways via entrance ramps----not adjust their speed?  I cannot and do not understand this.  I remember to this day back in drivers education in highway school.  It was drummed into us about entrance onto an interstate or controlled access highway.  You must adjust your speed and yield, it is not the duty or the responsibility of the person in the number 1 lane to adjust theirs.  They might be involved in an accident if they do.  You can stop if nothing else at the end of the ramp. 

What I observe, every day, day in and day out.  Is people and the highest majority of them, not even looking towards their left, to the number one lane of traffic until they are actually merging and then BOOM!  All of a sudden the auto coming on sees traffic!  The highest majority are either texting or talking on their phones as well.  Then the fight begins and the hands waving and middle fingers flashing from the auto entering as they felt the traffic already on the highway got in their precious way.

Someone has to clue me in.  Really.

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I have some local casino friends of course, most of us do.  I love these people. So strong and obnoxious when they buy-in.  They ask what to do at times, then when you tell them and show them what you think--they go against it.  Then if they lose they get even more head strong, etc.  Then after they lose their buy-in and re-buy in's they come around again with the questions.  Now, I am up and getting ready to sit idle for a while or possibly leave.  They get to the point of seriously asking and I am usually out of answers or at that point I can't second guess with any kind of accuracy any longer, if you know what I mean.  LOL, it is like a repeating sitcom all the time.  Doesn't change much.   

[ADulay]

What is up with Mini-Vans??  Every time I turn around and read something or hear about a criminal, assault or scam--it almost always involves the people getting away or last seen in a Mini-Van???

Heck, back in high school we had full sized vans, like Chevy C30's I thing they were.  We stripped them out and put shag carpeting in them, built a platform for a mattress up in the read over the wheel wells.  1/4" plywood on the sides and paneling over that.  Painted the side windows out if any and the rear windows inside as well, black.  The colors inside was Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin blues-greens-purples and hazy yellows.  We had a been bag or two and a cooler in the main part.  A couple battery powered lamps attached to the paneling in the corners.  That was the 70;s and early 80's.  We had fun in our vans, after high school we took our dirt bikes out, on weekends we were at the motocross race tracks.  Who the heck stayed in motels, we had full sized vans! 

Such memories.

Oh My God.  You just described my C10 Chevy Van that I had "way back when" almost exactly, right down to the battery powered lights!!!

AD

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Mine was dark blue and it was in Hollywood, FL.  I think, not sure it was a C-30??  Didn't have enough money for nice wheels, had those steel ones with the smaller chromed center hub cap (dented), god hated those wheels.  The wheels were painted white. LOL.

[alrelax]

WOW, this could be the world's absolute largest casino!  Someone just needs to step in, make a deal and renovate it!

Greece....The land of 'ruins', no???  What were they thinking?  Perhaps, and I am pretty sure--this is the world's largest blunder and waste of money! 

Anyway, this is really a great 'world's largest' casino in the making.  Huge casino floors, swimming pools and sun lounging.  Huge event center with tons of seating.  Oh well, just a thought.............

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2723515/Athens-Olympics-leave-mixed-legacy-10-years-later.html

[alrelax]

So my partner calls me up this morning, here is the way the conversation went:

What are you doing?

Doing Stuff.

Ahh--Goofing off again?

No, getting stuff done.

Like What?

Important stuff.

Would love to know what the stuff is.

Well, if I have to tell you-you wouldn't understand.

So, you are saying I am unintelligent?

No, I didn't say that, you did.

Okay, if you must know--it's about placement of stuff, things like that, okay.

Placement of what stuff?

Huh?

Placement of what stuff, I said?

Just stuff.

I want to know, really.

Why?

Good lord. you can't ever answer a question can you?

Okay--baccar (cough-cough) Um, Ummm, Traffic control devices and stuff like that.

Oh-Okay, talk to you later.

Yeah--bye.

[alrelax]

All I can say, is I have always flown Delta and always will.  Period.

It will all blow over and no one will even talk about planes again until here is a crash or something, LOL.

[alrelax]

Funny as heck how in business and other 'non-gambling' areas, how most of us tend to desire to learn-profit and get some real knowledge and apply it from others.  Whether that is from attending courses, training or technical get-togethers with others.  But in gambling the majority of us and I mean the upper 90 percentile, IMO, will not listen to and whole heartedly take the advise and reasoning with true open-minded thought process of what another is saying---even when they ask!!!  They rather suffer tremendously than actually apply something that another has really and honestly told them and is not fallacy or wishful thinking, while that other person has been down that proverbial road.

[alrelax]

Well, its been a little while but I will add on to 'The Blog' here with some things that happened last night at the casino.

The single most important thing, is to clear your mind, most players cannot not figure out or understand.  However, some players will actually realize, why and how they lost for certain events and times. 

The score, the board, are like radio spots.  You will hear and hear radio ads and then hopefully one day when you need that service or product—you will call them and they will profit.  Same in baccarat, players tend not to forget but they confuse themselves with all their past hands-happenings-shoes, etc.  You have to recognize what you want and if and how it will be actually exposed when you are playing.  There is always something to say about winning or losing point values.

On players saying this or that after a hand or before a hand.  OMG!  All the time!  Sure I do it once in a while as well.  More so with the players I know than I do not.  Others do it all the time.  Pointing out and showing everyone, why such and such will happen or did just or previously happen.  Of course when something did not happen (that was supposed to happen), there is not much explanation or any recourse, etc.  But the talk never ceases.  Last night at the casino, it was from someone I respect and he does rather well.  For better than half a shoe, a total of a 7 got beat every time by the opposite side with the first 2 cards or the 3rd card draw, as well as the subsequent hand going to the opposite side for the cut.  Then it stops doing that.  The next shoe came along and they were still talking about it and that influenced these people in their wagering when a 7 came out for the following hand.  The most ludicrous thing and in favor of the casino BIG TIME—is the score board and cards!!!!  It makes the average player so conscious of what it should be and why and winning numbers and everything else involved in scoring, he will miss out on the more important aspect of the future hands. The players are actually analyzing the score and not what the shoe is producing!   Two very different things!

Then a new shoe after that one.  There was right at 20 hands out.  Never past a 3, a 3 repeat of bankers or players and then a 'cut'.  I think there was 5 of them.  I wagered only those.  Won everyone.  The other people except my buddy, were all wagering heavy on the 3rd one after a successful win and even heavier for the 4th one that never came.  Then a dealer switch on a 2nd banker.  I did not wager, although I wanted to wager for the 3rd banker, I also wanted the 'cut'.  But I choose to stay out because everyone was very heavy on the 3rd banker and I mean everyone, between $800 and $2,000 and it was a $2k table max.  I did not wager and I really had great profitable games with the new dealer in the past and he was one of my favorite dealers there,  that just came in.  He was ready to deal and a couple of the players told him to stop.  They begged me to wager with them and rather than kill the building camaraderie happening, I threw in one quarter on the banker.  Their faces were frowns and laughter.  I was urged to wager larger.  I did not want to and I felt it was the end of the section.  I have talked about and wrote about sections here and I truly believe in them and they truly exist in every shoe, at least if it is not a super rare non-deviation banker and player results like every single hand a chop-chop or a doubles the whole entire shoe.  I stood fast at the quarter for the sake of support.  Boom, natural 9 for the players and a losing hand for the bankers.  No, I am not physic or a magician, just time to change up and I was right, could have been wrong.  Just the reasoning was strictly based on it made 5 times triples in the past and it will do it again.  Now, I would agree more about the 2nd line for the 2nd repeating one that just occurred but not the 3rd.  If it made the 3rd and the 4th I would have to stay on it for the remaining and only losing the last one at that point.  But the talk and the reason is all wrong when you are talking about outside the section or past a shoe divided up into 3 or 4 section for every 20 -25 hands or so.  Can it continue, sure.  But I see less and less continue with the pattern/trend/winning hand production from each shoe outside of the section.  Looking at the first section and being in the last section of the shoe is what I am referring to as well.  Or the previous shoes.   

It changes, and changes throughout the shoe.  At time I am only wagering on the banker or player to continue and at times I am wagering for the cut and yet, at other times I am wagering for win after another wager until it hits with doubling and tripling and quadrupling, etc., on one side until I win my one unit (a negative progression). 

A good player plays with it or possible the player plays against it—stays at and no set protocol.  Has a habit of saying the cards he doesn't wait for—the 3rd ones for the players and the bankers if the rules demand those to be pulled.  Doesn't matter, cannot change it, and not in any way whatsoever — others at the table are getting mad at him.  Clearly—the majority of the times a person calling for a card won't care.  OMG, one of the regulars I gamble with all the time.  Last night he would comment after the first four cards were drawn.  If it needs a 3rd card for the players and/or the bankers-he would normally call out for a winning card for the opposite side than what he did actually wager.  Why??  Because he cannot change it no matter what he says or does not say!  Clearly the majority of the times a person calling for a card for that 3rd card is going to be wrong anyways.  It is a frustrating and a freakish type of situation, IMO. 

Some people will continually flat bet.  Some will wager the opposite side when it gets to a repeated 3rd or 4th min streak.  Most of them are basing their wagering decisions on a majority and collective experiences from their past—not the instant shoe.  Can in reality go either way of course.  Just take a period of 10 times within 1 shoe that the board made 3 and 4 repeating bankers or players.  A player might have wagered everyone at that time for the opposite side to come out.  He might as well have kept wagering through 6 or 8 or 10 times to recoup his losing wagers and make the one unit once the opposite side prevailed.  One time going to say 9 times on a $50.00 wager would be $25,550.00 to make $50.00 and recoup any of the prior loses in so trying.  If the player started at the more intelligible say 4th attempt to have it 'cut', meaning there was 3 previous repeating wins for one side, he wagers $50.00 on the fourth hand to cut to the opposite side.  Then it does not.  He makes a decision to double up until it does cut.  It gets to the 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th and 9th wager.  He would need a total of $3,150.00 to risk to recoup his losses and make the same $50.00. 

I have a way and a system that stops me after 2 negative wagers that is highly successful to me, but that is IMO and protective as to how far I do get into a negative progression.  Yes, eventually it will cut to the opposite side, but if you don't think 7 or 9 or 11 or 13 times happen, sure it is low, but it happens all the time.  It is not the way the greatest amount of players play and the reason being, their bank rolls and buy in's do not permit them to.  If you have the bank roll, you can always make one unit if you stay on the same side you are attempting for (the opposite side as to when you started your wagering) and the table limits allow you to, etc.  It will always switch.  I much rather get on a 7 plus streak with a positive progression in the beginning and only lose the last hand when it eventually will 'cut'.  IMO, it is hard to bounce back and forth with both styles of play, extremely hard.  That is why I have previously wrote about the average and the highest majority of all players thinking and wagering 1-way only!!!  Meaning, it is their way or the highway theory.  They think and predict one way and the shoe has to conform to that 1 way.  I wrote about and mentioned the 4 way or actually 8 way thinking agenda rather than the 1 way. 

1 Way=North.  As long as the shoe conforms to your predictions based on whatever, you are good to go.  If not you lose.  Period.  Instead, open your mind and allow yourself to look at all 8 ways, North, Northeast, East, Southeast, South, Southwest, West, North West, etc. 

Also, last night once again.  There are two regular players.  One is a lady that is a very good player and her ways of thinking usually attacks all the angles most every wager within each section.  The other is a son of a guy I mention a lot, a casino buddy I know in the casino as well as outside.  His son started playing about a year or so ago, maybe 18 months now.  The female came in a game, me and another guy started up, wow—she was depressed and her face showed it.  Small talk led her to tell us that she won $13k the night before, Thursday evening.  She lost it all late Thursday and earlier before we started las night.  She is a $50 to $250/$350 a hand type of player with a $2,500/$4,000 buy-in, etc.  She told us all the same things I have wrote about, thought she could control the table and the shoe, thought her winning streak would hold out, thought she could continue hitting the F-7's for $25 or $50 at a time, etc.  How one shoe had 5 of them and then none for 2 or 3 shoes, etc., etc.  Then the guy, the son of my buddy, won over $10k also and gave it all back.  Then he started in and would win, $200, press to $400 and win and then to $800 and win and then go to $1,600.  Lose.  Bought in with a few thousand and then a few thousand more.  Lost it all in one and a half shoes.  Great bets, spot on for the first 3 or 4 and then every time he pressed up and up to the 4th or 5th one, he would lose.  Then the clear frustration set in, clearly.  Then all the mistakes.  Like 4 and 5 bankers in a row and his thought was 'cut'.  Buys in with another $1,500 and throws it all up on the players.  Bankers continue.  Both, sad.  All the typical and all the obvious.  These are people that played like I said, 18 months or 2 or 3 years.  They do not know the volatility of the game and also, the way their psych's are effected by winning and losing both. 

[alrelax]

Last night a typical Saturday night at the casino!  LOL, to the max!

Started the shoe with a casino buddy of mine.  By hand 20 the table is now full.  Wasn't bad, probably up a few thousand.   Almost thought about leaving and booking the profit, but something told me to stay.  Weather was outside anyways.  Not much else to do and getting late.  So just decided that I would stay a play a couple more shoes.  By the end of the shoe, the excitement started. 

Some lady comes prancing up and starts screaming at the top of her lungs at one of the players.  Pushing his shoulders and yelling, 'so I am here--who is that b*tch with you'?  Everyone looks at each other and breaks out laughing, seriously---loud and blatantly.  The lady got super p*ssed at that point and the guy her husband evidently, just ignored her.  In fact he motioned to the floor manager/pit boss to get rid of her.  The floor picks up the phone and dialed.  A min mater security is there and the one waits a few feet away, another comes and another comes.  There is about 4 of them now.  We are still playing on, hand after hand.  She is still yelling and screaming.  Not much different then other tables yelling and screaming when they are winning anyways.  She really don't do anything wrong yet.  Not yet.

Then she takes off her ring and throws it on the bac table in front of her husband.  Security goes to restrain her and she gets wild.  BIA Police are now running down the aisle as well.  She grabs the girlfriends hair and yanks her to the ground as the security is bringing the wife to the ground.  Now there is a pile of the following on the ground.  The wife, the girl friend and 2 security officers. 

The general manager of the casino is now running down the aisle and a bunch of suits.  We just had a huge hand, everyone on the banker side and the players side, no one on it, returned an 8.  The guy peeling the cards is saying he had a three side and a one line card.  We are really trying our best to play, seriously trying to ignore all the football tackling action.  We all had pretty good sized bets out.  All the other tables around us, had their players removed and their chips covered.  All of them, the two on each side of us and the three or so directly behind us.  But not the bac table where the guy was at.  We need to play!  LOL. The guy peeling the cards flops a 6 and says he has a 2 or a 3 and we are all standing now and dinging and pinging to add the dot.  Now there is like 3 or more floor managers and a security around our dealer and all the security and BIA Police behind us are trying to keep us separate from the rumbling going on behind us with the wife and the girl friend. 

We played another couple of hands and they get the handcuffs on both the women and everyone removed and they all leave.  The bac game never really interrupted.  The casino manager comes over and tell the guy, that his wife wants her ring back and can she have it.  The guy gives it to him and asks about his girlfriend.  Wanted to know if she was going to be arrested for slapping or punching his wife in self defensive.  The casino manager said, no she would not.  The guy said, cool.  The game went on. 

[alrelax]

Last Night, Oh My Lord!  My buddy, whom is a retired, highly decorated with every conceivable award, medal and ribbon of honor and service with the New York City Police Department called me up about an hour before I headed out to the casino last night.  Asked if I felt like going to the casino to play some bac.  LOL, I almost choked on my drink.  I haven't heard from in in a few months and last I heard, he was back up in New York City with his family.  I said sure, meet you there.

Last time we were together, I picked up the entire shoe and tossed it in the middle of the pit with a standing ovation from the table and a wink from some dealers around the table and a 30 day ban slip of course.  Okay, I promise to be good. 

We got to the bac table and a bunch of dealers were snickering, they all remember the previous time us two were together at that same table.  Well, we play a shoe and a half and it was horrible,  I mean horrible.  Everything went the opposite way, no matter which one of us did anything to capitalize on it or for the matter, anyone else at the table.  Bear in mind, this is a Friday night now.  The table was full.  A couple good players and the rest follow as the norm.  Like I said, it was bad, win a few and then lose a whole bunch.  I tried my best to control myself and wagering sparingly.  Lose, lose and lose.  I had about $500.00 left, so we just got into a new shoe.  Maybe about the 15th hand or so.  I told my buddy I wasn't feeling it and he about agreed.  He takes my money and splits it in half, $300 and another stack of $275.00.  He does the same to his, he had about $750.00 and he splits it into two stacks of $400 and $350.00.  Tells me to put the stack of $275.00 into my pocket and he puts the one with $350.00 into his.  We both stand up,  He says, "One more wager and see what we can do".  I agreed.  We both stood up and put both of our wagers on Players which it was already a double Player.  It was all 1's and 2's to that point.  We looked at each other and said, "Run or we go home".  We both slammed our chips down.  The Players went all the way down and to the right. 9 Times.  I pressed once and kept pulling down each winning and he pressed twice and then pulled down each winning hand also.  I just profited $3,000.00 and that replenished my $1,200.00 I was down.  Then we looked at each other.  We held the game up, no biggie, all the Asians were doing that all night anyway.  We talked, we asked the dealer, we asked the others---he felt a Banker run was coming out to match the Player run and most agreed and others adamantly argued and called us fools.  I placed $500.00 on the Banker and he did too.  Most of the table followed us and a few did not.  Players returned a 7.  We all broke out into the old chant, "7 Never Wins" and then the Banker had a 3 card 8.  I pressed, he pressed, everyone else pressed.  A few wagered bigger, larger and against us and the table--very clear, even verbal.   

We won again and I pressed and that was table max $2,000.00 and the same with my buddy.  A couple of others did as well.  Well the Banker went on to an 11 run streak with a tie at hand 10.  Made one more after that and fell off to the Players after the 11 bankers.  Half the table fought it for the first 5 hands and then jumped on it with the 6th banker. We both tipped the dealer and called it a night. 

We did our version of the Double Dutch Bus dance by Frankie Smith in the aisle way and I must admit, no one asked us to be on America's Got Talent.  But a whole lot of people laughed their butts off! 

A nice bit of change and we headed down the highway a bit and had a huge late night meal at Perkins.  Nothing better than 2 New Yorkers talking a bit loud inside of a Midwestern Perkins late at night.  Might go back tonight with a grand or so and so what we can do once again.