My God, I just had just about the most perfect Blackjack shoe ever

The Game Room
1

Bored at work all day, I figured: “What the hell. I’ll hit the casino on the way home.” Stopped at the ATM on the way - probably 5:45 PM. Withdrew $X. Walking into the casino, I glanced at the huge decorative clock they have at the entrance - 6:00 PM. This is key, and I noted it.

Sat down at my favorite 21+3 table. 21+3 is standard blackjack, blackjack pays 3:2, dealer hits on soft 17, 8 decks (I believe.) The +3 is a side bet - you can bet it, and if your two up-cards plus the dealer’s up-card make 3 of a kind, a 3-card flush, a 3-card straight or a 3-card straight-flush, the bet pays 9:1. It’s a fun side-bet, not a huge house advantage (~3.5% IIRC) and it makes the game more interesting.

There were two other players at the table. One I recognized - it’s an older lady, she’s at the casino all the time. She infuriates me sometimes, because despite playing blackjack ALL THE TIME she still needs the dealer to tell her her total if her hand is three cards or more. Plus she constantly hits 12-16, no matter what, even if the dealer is showing a 2-6. But I digress. I waited a few hands for the shoe to end before buying in for my full $X. And here comes the luckiest streak I’ve ever had at a table in my life:

I simply couldn’t lose. I was betting the minimum at first - 5% of my buy-in, then going up to 10% or 15%. But almost never losing. This isn’t some genius strategy, just pure luck. I think I went 10 hands without losing. Then 1 loss, then another 5 winning hands. Most of them I was dealt a 20 or a 19; the other hands I got something lousy like a 15 or 16 vs. a dealer T. Invariably, I’d draw a 4, 5 or 6 and end up beating the dealer. Total shoe - probably 25 hands? I’m not sure. I think I only lost 4-5 hands. Moreover - I hit the +3 side bet like four times. I was typically betting 1-3 green chips on a hand, then the same 1-3 red chips on the +3 bet. Hitting it four times in a shoe is…well, just damn lucky. By the end of the shoe, I’ve doubled my initial buy-in (plus 5-10%). Luck never lasts in a casino, and I decide to get the hell out of Dodge. I color up, hurry (race) to the cage and cash out. On the way out, I look again at the huge decorative clock. 6:20 PM.

On the way home, deposit at the same ATM - ~6:35 PM. Deposit $X*2.

Good lord, I don’t think I’ve ever been as lucky at a BJ table before. Doubling my buy-in in 20 minutes without ever betting more than 15% my initial buy-in. I felt like a total boss.

:wink:

2

Go back and try again. I dare ya. :smiley:

3

I will, I will!

…and I’ll probably end up giving back to the casino. I know how this works, I’ve been gambling for years. :wink:

4

Of course you tipped the dealer a dollar.

5

$X? Ten dollars?

6

Nah, more than that. Typically, whenever I get a blackjack or hit the +3, I’ll put a dollar into play on the next hand for the dealer. Same if I win on a double-down or a split. If I’m doing really well, I’ll put a $5 into play for the dealer next hand. And when I color up, I typically keep only the black and green chips; red and white after coloring ($5 and $1) go to the dealer as well. Probably average $7-$21 / session. I’m not the best tipper, but I’m consistent and I think that’s reasonable.

7

Nice one! I’ve been on a bit of a Blackjack streak myself in the last year or so - since February last year (when I had a big loss involving doubling a large bet on an 11 against a 6, and losing), I think I have played about 10 times and only once come away with less than my initial buy-in - although on one occasion I did lose my first buy-in, but bought in again and ended up turning a small profit overall. Now, I do practise a very vague sort of card counting, as in if it seems to me there have been a lot of low cards recently, I will increase my bet, and if I see a lot of high cards/aces, I will reduce - but I don’t actually count the cards, so for all I know this is probably no better than just playing basic strategy (which I do) but keeping the bets level - because sometimes, no doubt, I will get the “count” wrong and end up losing more than I should. Anyway, it has made me wonder how many trials there need to be before I can be confident that I actually do win on a regular basis, and I’m not just on a long lucky streak.

I try not to get annoyed by players doing stupid things (I have seen someone stand on soft 16, for example, despite being asked twice by the dealer if they wanted to hit) - often as not, somebody standing on 12 against a dealer ace will result in the dealer drawing 4, 10, 10, and busting. But of course most people only notice when the dealer draws a 10 first off, beating everyone.

8

When in Rome…

9

I’m the same, and it always amazes me: the woman in my OP constantly does stupid things, but I just let it slide. I’ve seen players at a table get angry, like furiously angry, at a player that didn’t play “by the book” and because of that on that particular hand the dealer won the table.

Don’t they realize it’s just as likely that a bad play may end up saving the table?

The only time I’ve ever really shook my head in disbelief was a few weeks ago when I was at a table with a guy who always split tens (said casino allowed splitting any 20 value hand (T-T,K-Q, whatever.) That split is just asinine. More infuriating was that he left the table after an hour or two ahead. Oh well.