This blog is called Frustrating Adventures in the Bahamas but I have to tell you it has reminded me of some very good lessons of the game of Blackjack. Remember I am in a beautiful place in the later stages of January. Back home there is a report that about 20 centimeters or 7 – 8 inches of snow the previous evening so I am glad that I am in for another beautiful hot day under a cloudless sky.
Anyway, I would like to start by describing the Blackjack games here as they are different than what I am used to at home. I like to think of it almost as a return to the old days of Blackjack. At least for someone from Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
I like the rules down here and the way they’ve set it up they have the dealers actually shuffling the cards after each shoe. Not being a fan of continuing shuffling decks, it is a great break. I did, however, see them use automatically shuffling decks at the end of each shoe on some tables. Consistency was obviously not to be the norm.
I did see and enjoy the dealers engaging more with the players and they look like they are actually enjoying themselves. Blackjacks are paid at 3 to 2 which has been replaced with a 6 to 5 payout in most places I have seen in North America.
I noticed the first table I played at had the dealers holding on any 17 but then I saw a table that held only on hard 17’s. Again, inconsistency within a few feet however it just reinforces that fact that you have to check the felt before you sit down. I did not see surrender offered at any of the tables.
There were table minimums of $15, $25, $50, $100, $200 and $500. No matter which table I was observing the level of knowledge and play at the tables was awful.. Some of the worst playing I had ever seen in one place. One guy had $300 bet and was dealt a pair of eights against a dealers weak card and he asked the dealer and the guy next to him for guidance. Really? As I watched further, he did this on nearly every hand. Now I know this place has people with very deep pockets staying there but as I have always preached you shouldn’t be playing if you don’t know what you are doing. And from what I saw, the person was winning more often than losing. Now all we know, this couldn’t possibly last. He may have been the most obvious but there was a lot of people playing that had no idea what they were doing. And a lot higher percentage than I have ever seen anywhere else.
So, what in the world could I be frustrated about? I am in beautiful place at a Blackjack table that has more favourable rules than I am used to playing at home. Well, I’ll tell you. The first table I sat down at I actually got blown away without winning a hand. Not only that but right off the bat I had favourable cards and even a great double hand. It wasn’t meant to be and I quickly got to my stop loss and moved on. Yes, it was frustrating. Especially when I saw people that didn’t know what they were doing apparently winning.
So, what next. Here is where the first lesson comes in. First of all do not worry or be concerned what others are doing or what I interrupted to be less skilled players being successful. Remember, it was only one table and as I mentioned on a previous blog, go back to your records and see the success you have had to regain any lost confidence. To tell you the truth it was not necessary for me as I know my long-term success is there and will return as quick as it appeared to vanish.
The second lesson in this is never to get too high or low emotionally when playing. As humans our emotions can be very, very strong and can easily overcome the ability to play smart. To demonstrate this, while watching the games I noticed one person who appeared to lose 3 or 4 hands in a row. It didn’t matter that they looked like it was the first time they had ever played, they had lost a few and decided they were going to get it back all in one hand. So, they bet big and even though they played the hand correctly they still lost. As many of you know this is called “chasing their money” which is not a very smart thing to do. If you’re a Casino operator, this whole setup is perfect. You have vacationers that are not very good at playing in a resort environment and most likely drinking too much with lots of money to throw away.
Anyway, one bad experience and a couple of very important lessons that I hope people reading learned and that they do not repeat it. More to follow of this experience.
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