My girlfriend and I went to Reno for the weekend. Since we gamble for fun and not profit, we’d go to smaller casinos during slow times (like Sunday early afternoon) and play $3 minimum blackjack.
The low tables are fun because it takes a while to get cleaned out and even if you lose every single hand it still kills a fair amount of time. We enjoyed socializing with people and asking the dealers questions about both their job and also tips to do better.
One thing that struck me, though, was how rude other players could get. I had supposed playing in the piddly $3-a-game table we’d be surrounded by people like us- folks that are just doing it for fun, that can laugh about getting confused about aces being 1 or 11, showing off our poor adding skills or shrugging when every time the dealer had a 12, he inexplicably gets a 9 on the next card. Unfortunately a lot of player were pretty obnoxious, either because they were getting frustrated at losing and making asses of themselves, bickering with their spouses at the table, or trying to mess with the dealer by asking asanine questions and slowing down the game.
I suppose I figured it was always the high-stakes table where this stuff happened, since people have more at stake. But when you just lost a $3 bet in Blackjack, its not like you were betting the farm. So why the immature behavior?
Complimentary drinks, right? I mean, I know booze brings out the best in people
I don’t know, but I will say this: I had more people act like total asses and throw on the Donkey Kong suit over 7 cent copies when I worked for Kinko’s than when I worked for a company that made a product that was thousands of dollars minimum per purchase. Sometimes when all you’ve got is that last $20 to play it is more important to you than the $1000 you could drop, if only you could afford it.
It’s possible that they recently came from the high-stakes table where they were wiped out and they came to the low-stakes table because they’re addicted to gambling and can only afford the low-stakes table or they’re trying to win enough at the low stakes table to go back to the high-stakes tables. The $3 bet may be all that’s left of their farm.
This is it. The low limit table is usually filled with people where the low limit is all they can afford to gamble. It’s only $3 to you, but $3 is a big bet to them. The higher limits are filled with people that could afford to gamble much more and tend to know much more about the game, but don’t want to gamble any more for whatever reason. Our low limit players will beg for comps. Our higher limit players will refuse them if we offer.
In my experience you’ll also get more complaints because they’re also the ones most likely to believe the myriad of gambling myths. “Taking the bust card,” “Never double against a face,” “Faces follow aces,” “Deuce is a dealer’s ace,” etc. :rolleyes:
some of the “professionals” can be absolute duchebags.
mrAru’s mom and brother came for a visit a number of years ago, and we hit Foxwoods, mainly for the food but both of us took $50 to gamble with. That was the limit of what we felt we could afford to lose.
Rob played around with the slots, and lost his money fairly fast. I opted for 21, and was happily playing along. I was having fun and doing what I wanted even if it included not getting more cards, or getting more cards no matter what I had down [you know the draw to 15 stop on 17 nonsense] and I finally got 2 10s and decided to stand. This idiot wearing nugget jewelry and a leisure suit that would to me typify a sleazy never married or much divorced chronic gambler of upper 40s or lower 50s that lives in vegas - a real leisure suit Larry type objected and started telling me how I should be playing. I told him that I never brought more than I was willing to lose, and I was playing for fun. He objected and stomped away from the table complaining loudly that he couldn’t play at the same table with a loser.
Oddly enough, I had not lost a hand at all before that time … and we left shortly after as we had been there for an hour and to be honest, gambling is pretty freaking boring. I don’t see how people can do that for hours and hours for years.
I noticed this too, when I used to go to Vegas or Da Falls casinos. The high-stakes tables were rather quiet–not tense so much, but a goodnatured quiet. The lower-stakes tables were either loud and goodnatured or loud and angry. Usually the “loud and angry” tables were a result of one or two asshole guys: douchebag types with one or two too many drinks in them or middle-aged office types using “whatever happens in Vegas/Da Falls stays in Vegas/Da Falls” as an excuse to act like dicks. Those guys aren’t going to be at the high-stakes tables.
Although the bad behavior of people at low-stakes tables could also be due to the application of drumrollDuke’s Rule of Low Stakes Behavior, which is as follows:
It’s counterintuitive but true, and proven by years of observation. I’ve seen people who didn’t get upset over large increases in their mortgage bill nearly get into fistfights over 10-cent coupons. And when I’ve been involved in rules committees, the biggest fights are always over the smallest, most useless details. Why is this? Because people think if they raise a stink over something small, they’ll get their way on it, but even douchebags realize that they’re not going to get huge amounts of stuff by throwing a tantrum. Of course, no amount of tantrums in the world are going to get your blackjack losses revoked (and if the douchebags and Office Space types tried harder, they would get a friendly visit from casino security telling them exactly where their ass should go), but with a watered-down drink or ten it seems like a good idea.
I disagree. Losing is just not fun, and it has nothing to do with money. Remember the asshole who threw a tantrum in second grade when he lost at four square? You’re sitting next to that guy at the blackjack table. I’ve won and lost both relevant and irrelevant amounts of money, and it always sucks. Whether or not you’re obnoxious when you lose has more to do with how much of an asshole you are than it does how much money is involved.
You wanna know what’s really rude? Splitting tens.
What do you mean why don’t they? They do. I’m talking about actual people in a casino, not the professionals televised on ESPN. Casino tantrums are fairly rare, which is a bit surprising considering you’re dealing with people who likely have poor impulse control and are probably drunk, but the amount of attitude players give doesn’t increase at the cheap tables.
If you think this, the stakes you are playing are too low :).
Isn’t splitting tens correct in some versions of the game, against a dealer 6? Or is that only applicable to card counters? I really should get a better handle on basic strategy.
Come to think of it, you may be right there. Obviously there are going to be dozens of cheap tables and only a couple ultra high stakes tables in a casino, so by sheer numbers alone you’d see more tantrums at the low tables.
I worked in Motel 6 and I’ve worked in hotels that were 5 star (Four Seasons) and I found the customers to be virtually the same. They all expect the same for their $25 room or their $2,500 suite.
Absolutely. At the library, people will pay five hundred dollar fines without even blinking, but that twenty fucking cents because you forgot when “Free Willy” was due? My god, call the Marines.
That’s why I play craps. It’s fun, the whole table’s on the same side, and nobody takes it too seriously.
I play a LOT of low-minimum blackjack, but the problem I find myself running into a lot is sitting down at a $5 table and having one inevitable jackass (not every time, but at least once a weekend at the tables) show up with six or seven grand and start throwing down $500 bets.
Yes, it’s a 5-500 table. Please get serious anyway.
Worst tantrum I’ve ever seen was a guy who lost $6500 in a half-hour at a $5-500 table playing two $500 hands at a time. He busted out three separate times (starting from a $2000 wad) and came back in five minutes with $2000 more. Always in bank-wrapped $50s. Dude completely lost his shit on that last bet, lemme tell you.
The rest of us at the table, each of whom had sat down with less than $100, just stared.
In theory in blackjack, its everyone against the house, too. The problems come in when someone thinks someone else is giving the house an edge with poor play, generally–and I’ll admit to being superstitious enough that I go for the left seat whenever possible just so I can feel slightly in control of the dealer’s next card.
Also worth mentioning is that you are indeed affecting the outcome of my hand - it’s not like Pai Gow Poker where it’s every player vs. just the dealer. I won’t be rude about it, but the first time you’re at 3rd base and obviously take the dealer’s bust card, I’m off to another table.
I don’t know much about Black Jack or the statistics behind it. But, over time, wouldn’t a newbie taking cards when they don’t need to average out to make it not make much a difference regarding players versus dealer?
Sure, one hand he takes the Dealer’s 10 and the dealer picks up a 6 and lives to win another hand.
But, the next hand this lout takes a 5 that would have left the dealer sitting pretty and instead the dealer picks up a 10. Bust.
The bust cards taken would even out over time. I would imagine. Why not?
Unfortunately a lot of player were pretty obnoxious, either because they were getting frustrated at losing and making asses of themselves, bickering with their spouses at the table, or trying to mess with the dealer by asking asanine questions and slowing down the game.
