deck game without the count, and therefore bet and bankroll, budging. And then the count can go sky high, while you throw out max bets. And she needs to understand that you don’t always win.
My third mistake in these instances was that my desire to have fun was more important than making money. On the other hand, Bertrand Russell once said, “The time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time”
Comportment in Times Square
This story has nothing to do with Blackjack, but has a point to it. This takes place about 25 years ago, before I lived in Manhattan and when Times Square was still Times Square and not Disneyland North. I was in the city for some conference. To me, conferences are a chance to see old friends. I rarely attend the meetings. I was walking alone to my hotel at 4 a.m. just off Broadway near Times Square. (Admittedly not a bright move.) A group of about 10-12 prostitutes surrounded me. At 4 a.m., they have no interest in selling you anything — they just want to take your wallet. One grabbed my balls and said, “Where you from honey?” She wanted to know if I was a tourist, a cop or connected. I replied “Mars.” They all walked away.
The point of this silly story, is an extension of the point I tried to make in the Comportment section of the Heat chapter. Security guards, pit bosses, prostitutes, cops, muggers all use body language to evaluate people. If you look comfortable, you are likely to have fewer difficulties with tough guys, and likely to make pit bosses more comfortable. Of course acting insane can also have its advantages.
God Bless America
I have to relate one story in which I had no part about old Vegas. A couple of friends were in Caesars, back in the ’80s. One was my Poker mentor and the other ran a Poker game in New Jersey at which I was a regular. The guy with the game was a long-time loser and the casinos loved him. At one Blackjack table, Telly Savalas criticized a decision of his, and he responded that TS should take his lollipop out of his mouth and shove it
© 2009 Norman Wattenberger
