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Have to love it!

I stop at a casino on the way back from my week long train accident versus tractor trailer clean up. 

The bac table is busy, new shoe.  Looked like this:

B--P
B--P
    P
    P
    P (panda


So I sit down.  I changed a thousand dollars and put it all on the Banker.  For many reasons.  Beginning of the shoe, chances are 4-6 will cut, everyone lost the last 3 Players because  they were determined to wager the 'cut' after the 2 Bankers and 2 matching Players.  Then the Panda came out and the highest majority of panda and F-7's do 'cut' to the opposite side.

So, I wagered the bank and said to myself 2 Bankers and then 'cut' to the one Player and I will leave. 

This is what happened.

B--P--B
B--P--B
    P
    P
    P(

So I pressed and pulled it all down and put up only $50 on the players side and of course it made another Banker.  Everyone else cited '2 by 2' and pressed most of their bets up as well and the whole table was wagering Players side.  We all lost that one.   I got up and colored up.  I watched the people.  The all switched back to the Banker side, while most pointed to the 5 Players and citing, 'it will match the Player side'. 

It turned into this:

B--P--B
B--P--B
    P--B
    P
    P(

Then they all talked and huddled up.  Lots of talk and pointing to the board.  They all wagered on the Bankers side like I said except for one person with a small wager on the Player side.  They argued and asked him to take it off.  He did.  Then it makes a Player with  four monkeys and then a 7 for the player and a 6 for the Bankers.

Oh lord, thank goodness the casinos put the electronic score boards in, makes it so much easier for the players to see what is actually going on, huh??

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John Travolta.  A great actor!  From his early days of Saturday Night Fever to The Taking of Pelham 1-2-3.  He is from New Jersey, yeah a metro N.Y./N.J. guy.  From the TV shoe, Welcome Back Kotter where he played Vinnie Barbarino to Saturday Night Fever to Urban Cowboy to Pulp Fiction and many other movies. 

Hey, some of my favorite actors are Al Pacino, Robert Di Niro, Clint Eastwood, Jack Nicholson.  All great and all in so many famous movies and roles.  Many made history in different ways. 

But John Travolta, something about the realism of himself into the roles he assumes on the screen. 

He is a pilot as well and was inducted into the 'Living Legends of Aviation' because  of a near collision flying his Gulfstream and a commercial airliner he avoided over Washing DC a few years back. 

The Taking of Pelham 1-2-3 a great movie, especially being from NYC and NJ.  The scene with the 60 second countdown after he shoots the motorman and wants the MTA train dispatcher brought back instead of dealing with the NYPD Hostage Negotiator.  Fantastic scene.  Strong--Real Like--Energy--Intense.  "The city of New York killed Jerry".  "The biggest rat hole in the world killed him".  Then when he says with his on going ranting, "I know how things work.  Everything doesn't seem to appear like what its". 

Ever since Saturday Night Fever.  Oh lord--86th Street.  Lots of memories for myself there!  Under the "EL", meaning the elevated subway which actually does run above 86th Street in Brooklyn.  Lenny's Pizza shop not fictitious, real.    That double decker pizza that IMO made pizza eating history with everyone doing the same thing.  That legendary pizza stop conceived in the beginning of the movie.


Although I am from the Bronx, NY not Brooklyn, I claim fame to Jerome Avenue which also has an "EL".  But lots of time & memories in Brooklyn and on 86th Street as well.  Brooklyn is where my father was born and raised.   

John Travolta, a legend, a great actor all these years.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rRHY27aFpLA


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8aWqISwA0bg

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=80935-YoluQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qCjAj52odDM

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You know, I was thinking when someone called me up and talked about meeting somewhere for something in a business partnership.  The conversation goes on about flying or driving, etc.

We started in about airlines, security, etc.  We started talking about the flight itself and years ago how we used to get a full meal in-flight and all that.  Then we talked about the pilot and his announcements.

Why is it they always tell us what altitude we will be flying at?  "We will be climbing to and maintaining 37,500 feet".  Why are they telling us?  Shouldn't the pilots be telling the air control towers?  All i do is sit there and divide 5,280 feet into whatever number he gave us and clalcuate how many miles the fall will be from!

Instead of all that banter about how many feet, what about telling us that you double and triple checked the fuel tanks and they were filled prior to take off?  How about telling us you double checked all the safety stuff and the engines, etc.?

Another thing.  Why does the pilot always say, "This is Captain Joe from the cockpit".  Well, I sure hope you are in the cockpit and not the bathroom or the luggage storage area under the plane!  Why always...."From the cockpit"?

The only other thing about flying and all the worthless announcements, why is it that one side of the plane always gets all the good stuff to look at, "And for those of you on the right side of the plane, we have a fantastic view of ........." etc.,  it always seems the other side has all the noticeable and cool stuff to look at.  Why?

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I am working on a detailed article with lots of thoughts and years of experience reaching back and defining 'baccarat emotional intelligence'. Hope to get some input on it, I don't know how much longer before I can start posting it but I'm working on it. Maybe with the blizzard coming this weekend it'll slow things down around here and I'll go get a few hours in on it?

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Perfectly cooked set of pork chops with special cajun rub and some fresh onions after a long weekend of lots of work and some enjoyment, check this out.

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Pulling up to the office this morning, all the snow is gone except one little mound, this is the same mound that was about 8 to 10 foot high a few days ago!  The other picture from before the weekend is above:

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Looking out into my yard at the warehouse and the shop building

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Looking behind my offices, those are apple trees, my little boy loves to pick those apples when they grow out there!:

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This lady Marcia Clark on her new TV show is obnoxious she was obnoxious when she was prosecuting OJ Simpson and she's even more obnoxious now. LORD she needs to get a decent haircut and get that brown thing taking off her lip. Can't watch this show no longer!

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Little 'King' at an Asian Restaurant.  Have you ever seen a pizza delivery to an Asian restaurant before?  My little king eating pizza at his mom's restaurant, at the counter, doing his thing! 

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Tell it the way it is! 

Gotta love the character she portrays in the movie, The Heat.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3J2zwmT7M-0

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At the casino the other night.  Finished one shoe with super heavy Players.  (I outlined it within another thread on the board here)  A guy sits down, well known among the players and dealers of the casino.  It is the very ending of the shoe and he comments as to how much money he would have made wagering on this this very shoe.  (Just about what almost all players say when they walk into the baccarat room at the B&M casino anyways, not really out of the ordinary).

Buys in for $2,000.00.  Waits until the shuffle and the new shoe is set up.  This is the shoe with the 10 Bankers out of the gate, one Player and then another 4 or 5 or so Bankers.  He starts out $250.00 on the first wager with the Banker side.  Wins and throws in $400.00 or $450 on the Players side.  Losses.  Wagers the Players side for like the next 3 wagers for about $300.00 to $500.00 a bet.  Losses every single one, while the entire table is wagering Banker of course.  He says out loud, "has to cut to the Players, especially being the beginning of the shoe".  Losses everything in front of him and buys in again with another $2,000.00.  Continues on the Players side and just about losses it all once again by the time the first 10 Bankers come out. 

He switches to Bankers like the last 2 hands, and wins the 9th and the 10th Banker hands.  He is sitting with about $1,500.00 or so at this point.  He losses it all on the next 4 Bankers as he kept reciting how the Players side was due to catch up and equal the Banker side. 

I cringe when I see this stuff.  I did not say anything to him as I really did not know him, just seen him a bunch of times.  But the believe and the wagering of people that think and figure out the game in their mind is so overwhemling! 

IMO, this style and these believes came on around 2000ish or so, after the introduction of the Midi/Macau style tables with the removal of the big 14 player and 3 dealer orginal baccarat tables in most all casinos that had baccarat.  Coupled with the internet really coming on and social media all combined, etc., etc. 

You know, I was talking with a couple dealers at a few different casinos that have been around since the 80's and the 90's.  Every one of them agrees, during the past 10 plus years they have not seen the regular sight that used to exist on a regular basis at the baccarat tables.  That is, where the dealer's bank rack would get emptied by the players when there were the long streaks and long alternating chops, where the entire table would band together with huge motivation and commaraderie., etc.  While the occasional player will still win $25,000.00 or even $50,000.00 over a shoe or two or three, the quick and 10-20 hand empting of the dealer's rack just is not seen any longer. 

What is the sad part, all the great times and sections that really do present themselves at the baccarat tables now or either not capitilized on or used as an attempted make up of immediate losses that the players just incurred to fuel themselves for another shoe or two.  Sad but really the truth and reality in its pure raw form.

If you have not played in a B&M casino baccarat prior to 2000 or the late 1990's, you have no idea what used to happen and the huge wins as compared to todays losses and almost non capitalized upon great sections and presentments.  I see much more wagering on the cut or the opposite sides as to what the shoe is presenting than I do any continued streak or even following an alternating chop.  Why, I do not know, but 100% fact. 

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I guess after all these years of playing baccarat, I just never witnessed or repeatedly saw the same things of any type winning even close to half (50%) of the times a player employs something of a set schedule/plan type of wagering. 

Meaning, follow something, against any certain thing, wager for the cut after 2 of something, every time there is a 4 in a row then wager for the opposite side, etc., etc., etc. 

On the flip side, you will get computer people and they will pick something, for example, let us say wagering for the opposite side after a 3 in a row.  They will run that example/wager for 100,000 times or 1,000,000 times or 1,000 shoes which would be 80,000 hands or so.  Say they receive a 70% hit rate.  What assures that hit rate will be deduced down, to a series of 3 or 5 or 7 shoes, the same amount of shoes that the player sits down to gamble at using that 70% return system that was tested by the computer person?

I witness this type of stuff each and every casino visit these days.  When it works and the player wins, all it seems to do is fuel and motivate that player and others around him for the furtherance of the same type of wager.  Then it fails, almost each and every time, like he might win with that scheduled wager 2 or 3 times out of 10 or whatever the ratio might be. 

On the other hand, the player that attempts those kind of wagers just about always seems to wager a small amount as a test or a safe bet, then after he wins (if he does) he parlays and/or stacks it up on another one and another one.  Then the failure and/or the variance sets in the highest amount of the times.  I do not understand why a player would not throw say $500 or $1,000 out there for one time wagering and if won, back down to his norm of $50 or $100? 

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Had to post this, what the heck?

Being raised in South Florida during the Miami Vice Days as it was labeled, I got a quick out of this building the other day here in the Midwest!

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You know, I live in a fairly small town.  About 5,000 people or so.  3 city cops on during the day and 1 at night.  Dispatch at night is the Sheriff's Office, type of town.  Okay, I ran from the office over to the market to get something for lunch today.  There are a couple of teens on a corner making snowballs with the melting snow and tossing them at cars as they go by.  I seen one of the cops pull over, get out of his car and talk to them.

I can only imagine.  Most likely, hey come on, stop.  Not nice.  There is your warning.  The same cop pulled me over last week.  I was rushing home to get something done, the snow was falling on top of ice.  I slowed up at a stop sign but clearly did not stop and started to slide.  I did not see anyone coming close by from the cross street so I ran the stop sign.  Sure enough, the cop saw me.  Lights came on, I pulled over.  He said what I did.  He told me he was going to run my license, registration and plates, if not problem, then we can talk.  He comes back in about 2 minutes.  Hands me the paperwork, tells me, be careful, watch those stop signs.

Okay, back to the teens and the snowballs.  I pulled in the market, ran in and got what I wanted at the deli counter.  Back out to my car.  The teens are throwing more snowballs once again.  The cop comes back.  This time the teens are put in the back of the police car and off they go.

Sometimes it is best to adhere to a warning and learn from it, other times the bullies and the ones that like to circle and circle and circle and circle, learn the hard way.  Of course, IMO.   

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Simply unbelievable, but in so many ways, believable.  Main street with 4 lanes of traffic, two each way.  Side cross street intersects with the main street.  Traffic light is there.  Light red for the side street and green on the main road.  Traffic is there, not too busy, smaller city.  Lady on the side street going to make a right hand turn at the light and onto Main Street.  She has her phone in her left hand and she is texting or something with her right.  She slows up at the light and turns right, does not even look at the traffic coming at her.  The first car closest to her jams on their brakes but the car in the second lane collides with her as she turned right and immediately crossed the lane she was supposed to turn into and then signal left and switch lanes. 

I see it all the time where the cross street turns and the person never even merges into the lane they are supposed to be in, just crosses it to get to the further over lane. 

She winds up getting a ticket for failure to stop, improper turn, improper lane change, distracted driving and expired registration.

What a champ!