2006 Trip 7

Day One

My flight in was ok. I’m tired so I sleep for a few hours after I check in to my hotel. Consequently I start a little late. I’ve been to this casino before and they cut me down and give me half a shoe very quickly but the rules still justify playing. It has been several months since I was last here so the cut may not deteriorate for a few hours. I sit down at the table there is one other player. The cut is a deck. This lasts for about five shoes. I realise they have remembered who I am when one of the managers comes over and says something to the dealer. Up until now the dealer has been speaking to me in the language of most of the other clientele who come across a nearby border to play. After the manager comes across, she speaks to me in my native language and the next shoe gets cut at the 2.5 deck level. From then on all dealers speak to me in my own language and give me a bad cut. My long day soon catches up with me and after less than three hours I am ready for bed but have a nice win.

Day Two

The cut varies between 2.5 and 3 decks. I get a solo game for most of the night. This does me little good as I go behind early on and struggle from thereon in. Halfway through the session I recover to get a few hundred bucks ahead, only to have a run of 3 or 4 bad shoes which puts me at my lowest point for the night. I pull some back only to lose even more. At one point I am $10,000 behind, but am delighted to leave with a deficit of half that. My win yesterday means that I’m not losing too much on the trip. When in the middle of the bad run it looked like I would be faced with a large deficit to recoup at the start of the trip. At least now I’m only a small win from being even again.

Hand of the day: 2 spots of $250. A8 and 2-2 against a six. The count is sufficient to double the soft 19 and I catch a picture. I split the twos and receive an ace on the first one. I double that for a five for eighteen. I get another 2 on the second one. A nine, I double the eleven for an eight. I get a seven on the final two and double that and have an ace. I now have four hands of $500 each with 18, two 19s and a hand of twenty. Dealer pulls: 6 and a picture to make 21 and take everything. I had four good hands and lost them all. On those bad days the dealer always seems to creep to 17 from a small card when you need a bust, but finds the combinations for 21 when you have hands of 19 and 20.

Day 3

I have changed hotels as there was too much noise and kept getting woken up either by drilling below me or the bells of the nearby church. This time there was space in my first choice. I enter the casino half an hour after opening to find the blackjack table full. They are in the process of opening another that but that one is nearly full too. I decide to take an early dinner. I come back to find a third table has been opened but that is full as well. I managed to get a seat at one of them, but the game is very slow. I do have a nice run. One of the other tables empties and I switch t that one. After a couple of hours I hit some great shoes, the dealer busting consistently.

Hand of the day: 2x $250, A7 and 6-6 v 5. Double the soft 18 for an eight. I split the sixes. Another six. I split again. I catch a five and double it for a seven. I catch an eight on the next one. On the third six I get another one. Ten. Final six: five, doubled for a nine. I now have a 8 bets out for $2000. Dealer pulls: picture, picture. All bets win, so different from the big hand the previous night.
The run continues. I end up 10,000 ahead.

Day 4

The management are still cool with me despite last night’s big win. They cut me down but apart from that they let me be. I find myself on the table with a local counter. He’s betting small but playing fairly solidly. I saw him briefly on my first night here and thought he was counting then but I don’t think he realised I was doing it too. When the count goes up on my first shoe I back one of his boxes in order to increase the number of hands played at the high count rather than keeping more boxes open myself. On the box of his I have backed there is A-8 against a six. I manage to convince him to double. We catch a ten and the dealer busts. The local guy now realises I’m counting. I change tables at the end of the shoe. Some time later the local player sees me with my top bet out. The dealer is shuffling at his table so he comes over and backs my hands.

Day 5

I have a fan. One of the foreign players backed my box for a short time a couple of days ago and saw a good spell for me. He is playing behind me more consistently now. I'm not sure how to feek about this. On the one hand the casino may be concerned that a normal player is backing me so systematically. I certainly do not want them to believe that I am colluding with him in some way as this may be enough to get me a worse cut or even barred. On the other hand, it benefits me for him to play one box and then close it when I bet more, since he eats up cards at negative counts. However, when there are just the two of us at the table it may be obvious that he’s following my bet. I could tell him not to follow me but don’t want to admit I’m playing systematically. He’s a nice guy and to his credit does ask me if he can back me but I don’t want to collude in this fashion in this casino. He leaves after a few hours. Then I have over an hour and a half of nothing but negative counts. I then go down some more, rally and lose $2,500 on the final shoe of the night. Although there is nothing magical about leaving on a loss, it is rather irritating to have such a bad finish when I had come back nicely just before that.

Day 6

The foreign player is still following me. He’s not betting big but it does increase my exposure in the casino. I don’t think the fact that he opens an extra box on negative counts is worth much as he slows the game down enough when making decisions and placing his bets to negate any benefit. I know he has to drive an hour over the border to this casino so if he doesn’t see me the next day he may presume I’ve left and not come until the weekend. I lose again, around the same amount as last night. Tomorrow I’ll check out another casino in the next nearest city.

Day 8

The place I checked out last night had fairly standard rules so I’ve come back to the casino I’ve been playing from the start. It’s very quiet tonight. I start later than usual and find the local counter on the table. I take an early dinner in the hope that the second table will be open by the time I return. After dinner, one table is free, the counter is on the other. I have a great run near the end of the night and win back the money I lost over the last two nights. it may be time to move on to a different casino as i've been here for over a week and am nicely ahead.

Day 10

I’ve changed countries, to a place I’ve been before, but it’s been over a year. It’s the weekend and it’s particularly busy as they are holding a prize draw. They do look after the players here, not only with the draws for cars every month or so but with a generous comping system. It obviously works as the casino is full every weekend but especially for the draws. Most of the players are foreigners and have come to this place rather the casinos closer to home. I’m always happy to keep my expenses low and it’s straightforward getting my comp, I don’t have to worry about asking for it and risking seeming too keen on the freebies when I routinely bet so much more then the comp’s value. In addition you may draw attention to yourself more if you accept the comp but I’m not worried about this here as so many players get comped in some fashion. I get in early and play before the place fills up too much. I leave with a small win.

Day 11

They’re giving away the car today and the casino is very busy. It shows that if you give people a good deal they will come long distances as some have come from very far away. My hotel seemed to have just casino players as guests. They have all tables open early on. It’s busy but the game is fast. I win a decent amount again.

Day 12

I get in early and there are already lots of players, including a card counter that I encountered last time I was in this region. He sees me, we acknowledge each other and I try to find another table. He is playing heads up and his table is the only one I with more than one spot free but there’s no question of sitting down with him as he plays big and the pattern would be rather obvious as our bets would go up and down in tandem. I’m surprised so many people are still here as everyone seemed to be checking out of my hotel, they must all want to gamble for a few hours before leaving. I decide to go back to my room and relax for a few hours and hope some space frees up.

By the evening there are many fewer players and I find an empty table. I go up very quickly but still no heat despite the fact that it is much quieter. I drop some later on only to recover by the end of the night.

Day 13

You can definitely see the weekend is over and it’s out of season. I’m the only player on my table for most of the night and there aren’t many players around at all. Quite sad really, I like the atmosphere when people are around, although of course a solo game is what I want. On the downside, fewer players means more attention on me. I think I’ve established myself here but management opinions can easily change, so I won’t overplay this place. I have other places relatively nearby I want to check out. I lose a bit back.

Day 15

I’ve gone a few hours south to a place that I have not been to in a year and a half because I found them dealing an incomplete shoe. I’m back because there is evidence to suggest that it has been taken over by a group that has casinos elsewhere in the country. This turns out to be wrong in the sense that it is the casino that has taken over the group. I know this because the owner/manager that was there last time is still in position. The office door was ajar and I saw him at his desk. I check out the rules anyway and find that they are not as good as they used to be. In addition the maximum is much lower than it was. So it's time to move on again.

Day 16

On the road again. The nearest two casinos are of the same group to this last one and at least one of them is closed right now. They may very well deal a good game but the cheating ethos may pervade the group. In any case the low maximum encourages me to travel further on. I go to a city from which I can go south or East. East is closer, the casino is richer and I lost there last time, but the game is not as good. South has a smaller maximum and is a lot further away but is a better game but would leave me better placed to travel elsewhere afterwards. South it is. I buy my ticket and wait for my connection. I have a few hours to kill so I go around the city and see that a new casino has opened. I have dinner and then check out the new place. It’s of the same group as another one is the country and the rules are the same, fairly standard and a very low minimum. Still, it’s a nice place and warmer than outside so I sit for a while. A dealer comes up to me and says hello. She knows me from when I played at the casino east from here. She explains that she is from the city we are in and came back as this one opened and the other one closed. This is of course news to me, I’m happy that I chose to go south now, although slightly nonplussed that the casino took a lot of money off me and then closed. Nevertheless it has saved me a trip for next time I’m in the area.

Day 17

Having thought that I’d made the right choice going south I am grateful to have met that dealer as know I would be thinking I’d wasted a trip right now. The casino south has changed hands and the conditions aren’t as good as they were. At least now I know that altered conditions are better than no conditions at all, which is what I’d have found had I made a different choice and headed east. This looks like the end of the trip for me. I’ll stay in this area until I can make transport arrangements from here. The trip is shorter than I had intended so I’ll probably get back on the road again sooner than I anticipated at the start of this trip. I win a small amount.

Day 18

It being the weekend, the casino is busy. I win a little again but crowded tables and low limits mean it's something of a grind. I seem to have done a lot of distance but fewer hours than I'd hoped, but the cards have been good to me again, so I have no cause for compaint. It's been a pretty good year and it's nice to end it on a high.

Glossary of Blackjack Terms


Barring Exclusion of player from the casino

Break When a total of over 21 is reached. The hand therefore loses.

Bust See break

Comp Short for Complimentary this term describes any item or service given to a player by a casino in return for a certain level of play over a given period of time. The higher the and the longer the hours, the better the comps. Typically comps are given in the form of free meals and hotel rooms, but can include tickets to shows in the casino, casino merchandise, limousine rides and if a high roller plays particularly big, even air fare.

Casino Host Employed by some casinos to liaise with players (especially high rollers) to make them feel happy and comfoertable playing at the casino and to arrange the details of their stay. Often the person who decides which comps you get (and who tries to give you as little as possible according to some cynical viewpoints).

Cut After the shuffle in a multi-deck game, the dealer places a plastic card into the decks, typically between one and two decks from the end. Its apparent function is to show the dealer it is time to shuffle. When this appears, the hand in progress will be completed and then the dealer will take the remaining cards out of the shoe and shuffle them with those that have been played and places in the discard rack. The size of the cut often varies between casinos as it is also often used as a defence against card counters, since profitable situations are more likley to occur towards the end of the shoe, when more cards have been seen, giving rise to a greater probability that an excess of high value cards remain to be played. If a player is suspected of card counting, or perhaps just if the casino wants to protect itself against somebody betting big without having any particular suspicion.

Cut (2) After shuffling the dealer hands a plastic card to one of the players to cut the decks. This shows that the dealer has not shuffled in a particular way inimical to the interests of the players since through this procedure it is ultimately a player who determines the order in which the cards come out. After this in a shoe game the dealer will place the plastic card near the back of the cards and place them in the shoe ready for play.


Day Shift See shifts. Typically from around 12PM until around 8PM.


Double ( or Double Down) Option of the player to place a wager equal to that of the hand.Usually allowed only on combinations of two cards and only one card is allowed after the bet is doubled. some casinos place restrictions on which totals my doubled, for example 10 and 11 only.

Expected Value (orEV) Amount the winning player will make on average at any given game. eg a game may have an EV of $30 an hour. five hours play at this game therefore gives an expected value $150. Of course the actual result may vary wildly to this figure, it being merely an average calculated according to the conditions involved. The rules, cut and speed of the game all determine how high the EV is for a particular game.

Graveyard Shift See shifts. Typically from around 4AM until around midday. Usually the quietest shift, hence the name.


Heads Up One player alone against the dealer. Also Solo Game

Heat Unwelcome attention from the casino management. Often results in worsening conditions or exclusion of player from the game.

Negative Count See Positive Count

Positive Count Using a count where low value cards such as 5 and 6 are given a plus value, eg +1, and where high cards such as pictures and aces are give a minus value, eg -1, a positive count indicates that more small cards have been dealt then large ones. A sufficiently high positive count would justify an increased bet by the player. A negative count indicates the opposite.

Resplit When splitting, if another card of equal rank is received, the player is usually permitted to split again, although there may be a limit as to how many times this is allowed. Many places have a limit of three splits, making a maximum of four hands in total from the original hand. See Split

Shifts Casinos are often open for several hours a day so the staff are organised into shifts, typically changing sometime in the evening if the casino opens in the afternoon and at luchtime, early evening and very early morning if the casino is open 24 hours. See graveyard shift, day shift and swing shift

Shoe In a multi-deck game, the box from which the cards are dealt.
Shoe (2) A group of hands between shuffles, eg "I was doing ok, then I had a really bad shoe", "the last shoe of the night was great"

Shuffle Machines Ostensibly to save time, these machines are used to shuffle the cards. Two sets of cards are generally used. When the shoe is over the dealer takes out the set in the machine and replaces it with the set that has just been played. One advantage frothe casinos is that they protect against shuffle tracking. One disadvantage is that they are often noisy. Players do not like them.

Shuffle machines, Continuous. These machines take the place of a shoe and a shuffle machine as described above, with the added function of continually riffling the cards. Only one set of cards need be used. When a hand is over, instead of placing the used cards in the discard rack, the dealer puts the cards back into the machine. As the cards that have just been dealt could conceivably reappear soon after being put back into the machine this generally protects against card counting.

Shuffle Tracking Technique whereby groups of cards are followed through the shuffle and cut in or out of play according to whether they are good or bad for the player. Has the advantage of beingallowing the player to bet from the first hand of the shoe so does not have an obvious pattern.

Solo Game See Heads Up.

Soft Total Any hand including an ace in which all other cards add up to a total of less than eleven. Since an ace can be counted as either 1 or 11, only one card may be required to a make a high total (with the ace counting as 11), but the hand cannot be bust since even with a picture the other cards would total less than 12 with the ace counting as one. For example ace-6 would be Soft 17. Pulling a 4 would give 20 (11+6+4), but a 5 makes 12. (1+6+5). Soft Double is a doubled bet on such a total (in those casinos that allow it), the same rules as for other doubled totals apply.

Split If a player has a hand consisting of two cards of the same rank ( for example example 8-8) an exta wager equal to the exisitng one may be placed in order to make two separate hands. The hands can then played in the normal way, with exception of a pair of aces which usually can only receive one card. If another card of equal rank is received, the player is usually permiited to split again See Resplit

Stiff Any hand less than 17 which risks busting if a card is taken, eg hard 16.

Swing Shift See shifts. Typically from around 8PM until around 4AM and generally the busiest shift.