"House Money"

[Dunbar]

Originally Posted by westcoastinvader

Dunbar,

Atlantic City in the winter of 1979-1980. What a depressing place Atlantic City was in those windblown nights of less than a handful of casinos to offer.

And streetwalkers by the casinos in those years clad in undergarments and short fur coats willing to offer more, for less. In the winter cold

Those weren't the days!

True enough, but it was blackjack heaven. They HAD to deal out at least 2/3 of the cards before shuffling, and they had "early surrender", a rule which gave even basic strategy blackjack players a small advantage.

Originally Posted by westcoastinvader

Intriguing article you wrote, and thanks for sharing. I personally would have been avoiding the guy as if he were a potentially criminally insane panhandler, but I sure understand and accept the "check it out" mentality.

As a blackjack card counter, I was routinely risking $500 on some hands because my expected profit on those hands was $20. Now here is a guy offering me a $100 bet where I appeared to have a $450 expected profit on the flip. And, the guy definitely had the dough. As I said, walking away from it was VERY hard.

Ken Uston was one of the most famous card counters ever. And HE fell for it.

Originally Posted by westcoastinvader

My guard is up at all times in gambling situations.

When I was about 22 I got shilled and hoodwinked out of about $60 by two NYC grandfatherly types working the dog tracks in Miami. Just a few years later though, I admired their con men artistry. They staged a little loud argument and tussle in front of me, then one asked for my help.....in confidence. He helped me pick a winner one race, and brought me the winnings after he bet my $$ for "us." Then the next race he asked me to load up ($60+ bucks) on a sure bet he knew about, and I gave him the money to bet for "us" again. I never saw the guy again after his buddy distracted me as my $$ was going to the window. "Our" bet won the race, too.

I imagined these guys had been working this con on and off for quite a few years.

I figure $60 is less than the cost of a NY Broadway show, so it was a pretty inexpensive lesson.

Good story! And, yeah, it could have been worse. You're right about always having your guard up.

btw, I grew up in Miami. Friends of the family owned Flagler Kennel Club. I seldom made it to the tracks or jai alai, though. You had to be 21 or have fake ID to get through the door. But I'm sure that the 3 racetracks in Miami plus the lack of any professional sports teams had a lot to do with my becoming a fan of racing.

--Dunbar

[westcoastinvader]

"As a blackjack card counter, I was routinely risking $500 on some hands because my expected profit on those hands was $20."



I've tried to count cards too, but I don't think "Rainman" has anything to worry about with me being a rival to surpass his abilities.

Heck, most of the times I've sat at a blackjack table in Nevada, I haven't even been able to count the # of free drinks I consume!


I will admit that I employ some bet increment strategies that I have been told had origins in China/Asia. I can normally sit at a blackjack table for hours with bigger than the table average bets happening frequently. It usually seems to work really good until I hit the 4AM hour, or so, and get impatient (and drunk?) and try to win the casino!


Just a quick reflection, I realize at this moment I treat "house money" a bit differently in a casino, then I do at the track.