2008 Trip 4
I’ve had a whole month off BJ. I didn’t intend to leave it so long but that’s what happens sometimes. The ability to be flexible is one if the reasons I do this. I’m in a new country, and the only reason I’m here is due to a comment in passing made by a dealer elsewhere, when talking of where she was from and where she worked. I’ve no other information about rules and conditions in this country. An associate went to a country next to this one and found very poor conditions, they reacted to any bet variation with an atrocious cut, without examining whether it was justified. I believe one of the casino groups there is present here also. Therefore the same philosophy may prevail. If the rule the dealer told me about is still here it will still be a playable game, so it’s worth a trip.
It’s a late flight and I’ve been on the road all day so I don’t expect to put in much serious play tonight, if any. I’ll probably just check out as many casinos as I can and then finish. The first one I find is a mixed bag. It has great rules which make up for a poor cut, but the maximum is very low. I see a table with a higher limit but even with that one with the good rules I don’t think it would be as good as a normal type game.
The next one I find has higher limits but lower than what might normally be expected. Regular rules, so this maximum is crucial. It’s a possibility if I can get a slightly higher maximum, but whether the casino is prepared to do that remains to be seen. And what’s behind door number 3? Shuffle machines in this place on all but one table. It has the same maximum as the previous place but very good penetration. However, since it is the only shoe game it may get crowded often. I wonder why the maximums are so low? For a city of this size, especially given the number of casinos there are (I’ve just visited one from each group tonight) such consistently low maximums appear strange. Perhaps they got hit by some professionals in the past. So I enter my fourth casino of the night and it turns out I’ve saved the best until last. Good cut, same rules and maximum as in the previous two places, but then I find a separate pit with limits double that of the other tables. Plus it’s by far the plushest and most pleasant establishment of all I’ve seen tonight. So I’ve found a game and can start making arrangements to stay here for a while, reasonable night’s work in the end then, although trekking around the city plus the playing a shoe or two at each to ascertain the rules has taken far longer than I had intended and it’s nearly dawn by the time I return to my hotel. Given my early start today in order to get to the airport I’m so very tired.
Day Two
The tiredness may have taken its toll. I wasn’t feeling 100% yesterday and air travel certainly doesn’t help but now I feel well below par. I finally manage to drag myself out of bed in the evening with the intention of playing a few hours but when I get to the casino the one table with the higher limits is already being played and since I haven’t seen the cards spread I decide to go back to bed.
Day Three
I’ve had to change hotel as I’d only booked for two nights not knowing if there would be a game in the city, and now it’s fully booked. Still the other one is nearly as nice and not much further away from the best game here. I get in early, see the cards spread and play. I made the mistake of assuming that if I bought local currency there I sell the same amount back to them at the same rate if I won, thus effectively having got it for free. This turns out not to be the case and is an inferior rate to the exchange places elsewhere. Having no choice as it is past closing time for these establishments I buy a small amount of local currency. As luck would have it, I don’t need to change any more than that and end up winning about $1000, with no major swing in either direction.
Day Four
I arrive early again in order to be there as soon as the higher limit pit is opened. I have a good start and this is enough for the manager to order a half-shoe cut. I play for a while longer and then leave to see if I can find a better situation elsewhere. I go to the first place I investigated when I first arrived here-the one with great rules but a very low maximum. If I can get another table opened with the maximum I saw posted on the second table the other night I’ll have a win rate slightly better than the half-shoe game I’ve been given at the other place, due solely to the great rules. I ask but they refuse to open another blackjack. If I had some exposure there, perhaps they would, but as this would entail playing for some time at the low maximum, still withy no guarantee of getting a higher limit another time, I’m in a catch-22 situation. I don’t want to play such low limits but in order to get a higher maximum I need to play low at first, which then doesn’t really encourage them to give me a higher limit table.
I go to the second place I tried to see if I can find a higher maximum. This casino is of the group I expected to have the great rules. This place is the sister casino to the one where my source told me she worked, so I expected this one to have the same rule. As it didn’t this either means that there are different rules in place among different casinos of the same group (quite a rare situation but one I’ve already encountered once this year-see trip one) or that they got rid of the rule some time ago. No real joy here either, higher maximums than the last place but not great given the rules, with the rule I thought it might have it wouldn’t be a problem but as it is, especially with the cut and crowded tables it’s time to move on. In the end I decide to go back to the first place as casino 3 is some way out of the city and to go there and back on what will probably be another fruitless excursion will eat into the time left before I will need my bed so I may as well grind it out for the rest of the night. There is a different management on now and despite expecting the cut to change on the next shoe after I sit down, it doesn’t. I play for two hours (and lose back some of the night’s win) and leave, believing that I may get away with decent penetration for at least some of the time.
Day 6
My last day in this city. Tomorrow I leave the capital in search of the fabled mega-rule about which I was told. Another small win brought half a shoe again very early on last night and this time it never changed. I went to the Casino 3 and tried to get a high limit non-CSM table but they said they couldn’t as all the other tables had CSMs on them. One bonus though is that most of the casino 4 dealers are trackable, so I will do that if the cut is really bad when I go back there. It is and I do. It really is a grind though. I finish about level. On the road again tomorow then, what will I find when I get there?
Day 7
Three hours on the bus passed by reasonably enough. I've already booked a hotel room and I have a good map of the town (you gotta love the internet) so there won't be hours of searching for a decent place to stay as has happened to me in the past. In the event the hotel is excellent for the money - it goes to show that away from the capital prices are generally low in many countries.
After some much needed sleep, a shower and change of clothes plus a meal, I'm out on the town looking for the casinos. I find th first one easily enough, the one which I'm told, has the great rule. This turns out to be true. It's strange that it 's sister casino in the capital (The second place I tried there) has regular rules while this one doesn't. What this one doesn't seem to have however, is a decent maximum. $50 is the highest limit. with all tables full. Even with the good rules this doesn't give the potential for much profit. Also, the place is fairly crowded at night. I'll check it out tomorrow afternoon and see if the situation is better then.
I go to the other casino in town which is of the same group as casino 3 in the capital. Expecting to find more CSMs I'm happily surprised to find that this is not the case. As in the rest of this country, relatively low limits but this one has a great cut so even with a maximum of $100 it's playable. Only one table open though. I ecide to play long wnough just to ascertain the rules. Fairly standard they are too but if I can get a fairly fast game and a consistently good cut it may be worth playing for a while.
Day 8
Into casino A of the good rules ad very low limits. It is quieter but there is someone else playing. I walk around the casino through a lounge area and find a hig limit area I failed to spot last night. This is more more like it- the limits are $10-300, this is what I have come for! However, when I ask for that to be opened I'm told that you need to have accumulated a large amount of player reward points for the priviledge of playing such limits. What a strage attitude to have towards big players- you have to have done your time at low limits to qualify for the bigger games! My best bet is thus to play the other game here, but I'll check back here in a day or two to confirm that I have to be considered a regular before I can play big. Different managers may have different ideas. Onto casino B- I get a table opened no problem and they don't seem worried about me hiting the maximum with great frequency. I start early afternoon and finish late evening with a small loss. The dealers aren't the friendliest I've ever met but the cut never changes so at least they aren't suspicious at this time.
Day 9
Same conditions as yesterday, but this time I win and they still take no action. I may play another day then ask for higher limits, or I may take my chance tomorrow and see how they react. Naturally a good cut with $100 limit is better than half a shoe with $200 but it may be worth the risk. I'm very slightly behind against this casino after two days. Maybe i should see whether or not I win tomorrow before making myself more obvious in that casino. i still need to see if I can get a decent game at casino A.
Day 10
I get some news from home which means I must leave as soon as possible. I book a flight back home for later that day, collect my things and catch another bus to the airport, some hours away and in a different country. A short trip then, and there are a few unknowns relating to the games here but I'll have to find the answers some other time.
I’ve had a whole month off BJ. I didn’t intend to leave it so long but that’s what happens sometimes. The ability to be flexible is one if the reasons I do this. I’m in a new country, and the only reason I’m here is due to a comment in passing made by a dealer elsewhere, when talking of where she was from and where she worked. I’ve no other information about rules and conditions in this country. An associate went to a country next to this one and found very poor conditions, they reacted to any bet variation with an atrocious cut, without examining whether it was justified. I believe one of the casino groups there is present here also. Therefore the same philosophy may prevail. If the rule the dealer told me about is still here it will still be a playable game, so it’s worth a trip.
It’s a late flight and I’ve been on the road all day so I don’t expect to put in much serious play tonight, if any. I’ll probably just check out as many casinos as I can and then finish. The first one I find is a mixed bag. It has great rules which make up for a poor cut, but the maximum is very low. I see a table with a higher limit but even with that one with the good rules I don’t think it would be as good as a normal type game.
The next one I find has higher limits but lower than what might normally be expected. Regular rules, so this maximum is crucial. It’s a possibility if I can get a slightly higher maximum, but whether the casino is prepared to do that remains to be seen. And what’s behind door number 3? Shuffle machines in this place on all but one table. It has the same maximum as the previous place but very good penetration. However, since it is the only shoe game it may get crowded often. I wonder why the maximums are so low? For a city of this size, especially given the number of casinos there are (I’ve just visited one from each group tonight) such consistently low maximums appear strange. Perhaps they got hit by some professionals in the past. So I enter my fourth casino of the night and it turns out I’ve saved the best until last. Good cut, same rules and maximum as in the previous two places, but then I find a separate pit with limits double that of the other tables. Plus it’s by far the plushest and most pleasant establishment of all I’ve seen tonight. So I’ve found a game and can start making arrangements to stay here for a while, reasonable night’s work in the end then, although trekking around the city plus the playing a shoe or two at each to ascertain the rules has taken far longer than I had intended and it’s nearly dawn by the time I return to my hotel. Given my early start today in order to get to the airport I’m so very tired.
Day Two
The tiredness may have taken its toll. I wasn’t feeling 100% yesterday and air travel certainly doesn’t help but now I feel well below par. I finally manage to drag myself out of bed in the evening with the intention of playing a few hours but when I get to the casino the one table with the higher limits is already being played and since I haven’t seen the cards spread I decide to go back to bed.
Day Three
I’ve had to change hotel as I’d only booked for two nights not knowing if there would be a game in the city, and now it’s fully booked. Still the other one is nearly as nice and not much further away from the best game here. I get in early, see the cards spread and play. I made the mistake of assuming that if I bought local currency there I sell the same amount back to them at the same rate if I won, thus effectively having got it for free. This turns out not to be the case and is an inferior rate to the exchange places elsewhere. Having no choice as it is past closing time for these establishments I buy a small amount of local currency. As luck would have it, I don’t need to change any more than that and end up winning about $1000, with no major swing in either direction.
Day Four
I arrive early again in order to be there as soon as the higher limit pit is opened. I have a good start and this is enough for the manager to order a half-shoe cut. I play for a while longer and then leave to see if I can find a better situation elsewhere. I go to the first place I investigated when I first arrived here-the one with great rules but a very low maximum. If I can get another table opened with the maximum I saw posted on the second table the other night I’ll have a win rate slightly better than the half-shoe game I’ve been given at the other place, due solely to the great rules. I ask but they refuse to open another blackjack. If I had some exposure there, perhaps they would, but as this would entail playing for some time at the low maximum, still withy no guarantee of getting a higher limit another time, I’m in a catch-22 situation. I don’t want to play such low limits but in order to get a higher maximum I need to play low at first, which then doesn’t really encourage them to give me a higher limit table.
I go to the second place I tried to see if I can find a higher maximum. This casino is of the group I expected to have the great rules. This place is the sister casino to the one where my source told me she worked, so I expected this one to have the same rule. As it didn’t this either means that there are different rules in place among different casinos of the same group (quite a rare situation but one I’ve already encountered once this year-see trip one) or that they got rid of the rule some time ago. No real joy here either, higher maximums than the last place but not great given the rules, with the rule I thought it might have it wouldn’t be a problem but as it is, especially with the cut and crowded tables it’s time to move on. In the end I decide to go back to the first place as casino 3 is some way out of the city and to go there and back on what will probably be another fruitless excursion will eat into the time left before I will need my bed so I may as well grind it out for the rest of the night. There is a different management on now and despite expecting the cut to change on the next shoe after I sit down, it doesn’t. I play for two hours (and lose back some of the night’s win) and leave, believing that I may get away with decent penetration for at least some of the time.
Day 6
My last day in this city. Tomorrow I leave the capital in search of the fabled mega-rule about which I was told. Another small win brought half a shoe again very early on last night and this time it never changed. I went to the Casino 3 and tried to get a high limit non-CSM table but they said they couldn’t as all the other tables had CSMs on them. One bonus though is that most of the casino 4 dealers are trackable, so I will do that if the cut is really bad when I go back there. It is and I do. It really is a grind though. I finish about level. On the road again tomorow then, what will I find when I get there?
Day 7
Three hours on the bus passed by reasonably enough. I've already booked a hotel room and I have a good map of the town (you gotta love the internet) so there won't be hours of searching for a decent place to stay as has happened to me in the past. In the event the hotel is excellent for the money - it goes to show that away from the capital prices are generally low in many countries.
After some much needed sleep, a shower and change of clothes plus a meal, I'm out on the town looking for the casinos. I find th first one easily enough, the one which I'm told, has the great rule. This turns out to be true. It's strange that it 's sister casino in the capital (The second place I tried there) has regular rules while this one doesn't. What this one doesn't seem to have however, is a decent maximum. $50 is the highest limit. with all tables full. Even with the good rules this doesn't give the potential for much profit. Also, the place is fairly crowded at night. I'll check it out tomorrow afternoon and see if the situation is better then.
I go to the other casino in town which is of the same group as casino 3 in the capital. Expecting to find more CSMs I'm happily surprised to find that this is not the case. As in the rest of this country, relatively low limits but this one has a great cut so even with a maximum of $100 it's playable. Only one table open though. I ecide to play long wnough just to ascertain the rules. Fairly standard they are too but if I can get a fairly fast game and a consistently good cut it may be worth playing for a while.
Day 8
Into casino A of the good rules ad very low limits. It is quieter but there is someone else playing. I walk around the casino through a lounge area and find a hig limit area I failed to spot last night. This is more more like it- the limits are $10-300, this is what I have come for! However, when I ask for that to be opened I'm told that you need to have accumulated a large amount of player reward points for the priviledge of playing such limits. What a strage attitude to have towards big players- you have to have done your time at low limits to qualify for the bigger games! My best bet is thus to play the other game here, but I'll check back here in a day or two to confirm that I have to be considered a regular before I can play big. Different managers may have different ideas. Onto casino B- I get a table opened no problem and they don't seem worried about me hiting the maximum with great frequency. I start early afternoon and finish late evening with a small loss. The dealers aren't the friendliest I've ever met but the cut never changes so at least they aren't suspicious at this time.
Day 9
Same conditions as yesterday, but this time I win and they still take no action. I may play another day then ask for higher limits, or I may take my chance tomorrow and see how they react. Naturally a good cut with $100 limit is better than half a shoe with $200 but it may be worth the risk. I'm very slightly behind against this casino after two days. Maybe i should see whether or not I win tomorrow before making myself more obvious in that casino. i still need to see if I can get a decent game at casino A.
Day 10
I get some news from home which means I must leave as soon as possible. I book a flight back home for later that day, collect my things and catch another bus to the airport, some hours away and in a different country. A short trip then, and there are a few unknowns relating to the games here but I'll have to find the answers some other time.
posted by The Jugador at 4:38 AM
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