My Trip to Atlantic City, and My Experience with VB...or Lack Thereof

[rjeaton1]

I just recently took a 4 day trip to Atlantic City with my girlfriend.  It is about a 3 hour drive from where we live so going there isn't too much of a hassle for us.

We stayed at The Borgata because we had some comp rooms available to use.  The first thing I want to say is that if you want to go to a casino and try to employ some sort of a VB technique and your significant other doesn't share the same interest, to leave them either home/or at the game they want to play/or the place they want to be.  I didn't...and here is why I recommend it.

It takes way too much concentration (at least it did for me, as I'm still learning) to try to sit there and take in all that you need to, and then have this coming out of your right ear "Rob, the first dozen hasn't hit for the last 8 spins, why didn't you bet there?"  "Rob, why aren't you betting, what are you waiting for?"  "Red has to come up now Rob, it has been black for the past 9 spins...can you put my chips on Red for me?...wait, I don't know...maybe it will be black again...okay...Red, definitely Red"  "Are you up Rob?  Your DOWN?  Well, lets get out of here"  and a whole host of other things.  To sum it up, I didn't get a chance to do anything other than "play like a regular joe" at the table that night.  I walked away down $180.00.

After the first night of that, I learned my lesson.  My girlfriend likes to play BlackJack so the next night I gave her a couple hundred bucks and pointed here in the direction of the closest BlackJack table.  I was then left to myself at the roulette table (well, without her, but still the other roulette players of course).

I tried selecting the best wheel possible, however after ten minutes of casually walking around, the pit boss came over to me and basically said "play or walk away."  So, I picked the table I was eyeing up to begin with.

I took the seat closest to the wheel.  The minimum bet on every table at the Borgata that night was $15.00.  That $15.00 minimum is for ANY outside bet and ALL your inside bets combined (each is considered a "separate game").  So, if you want to bet red and odd, you have to have a minimum of $15.00 on red and $15.00 on odd (same goes for dozens and columns of course).

If you wanted to bet on inside numbers and your chips are worth $1.00 each, you have to bet on at least 15 numbers (if you're only betting one chip on each number.  If you're betting 2 chips on each number you would have to bet on 7 numbers with 2 chips and then one more number with one chip...hopefully you get the idea).

If you wanted to bet outside and inside, both rules apply separately.  In simpler terms:

To bet the minimum inside and outside, you have to have a minimum of $30.00 on the table. 

I bought in for $200.00, and asked for my chips to have a value of $1.00.  After that buy in, the couple hundred I gave my girlfriend, the previous nights losses and the $150.00 per night deposit I had to put on the room ($450.00 total for the "free room"...just so nobody asks, you do get that back...in 2-3 weeks...as long as you don't order room service or movies) I still had roughly another $1,400.00 left at my disposal.  I bought in for such a small amount simply because I wanted to see where I could "get to" with it.

After not betting for the first two spins at that table, the dealer told me "You have to bet every spin".  I looked around the room and decided that must be the rule when the tables are VERY busy.  There were a ton of people waiting to play so I'm assuming they do that to make sure they capitalize on every "potential dollar" in the room.

After all of these minor setbacks, I figured that maybe tonight wouldn't be the best night to try to practice.  I did a lot of number recording, and just played outside bets, occasionally playing inside numbers as well.  The dealer was doing a lot of things that would be great for a VB player though.  Not changing wheel speed, not changing out the ball, not even changing the direction of the wheels rotation (believe it or not). 

Because I was mostly playing outside bets they didn't' seem to care that I was basically staring at the wheel...well, they probably didn't care because I was losing AND playing outside bets.

The upside, is that I got a lot of "wheel-watching" in at a live roulette table.  I saw a lot of what I've been studying happen.  The wheel speed (almost every spin mind you) was at a consistent 3 to 3.5 second speed.  There were also a whole host of other things that would have been great for any wheel watcher, but I'm not going to say what in this post (sorry guys). 

The one things that was terribly unaccommodating was the scatter.  I'm 90% sure they were using 3/4" Ivorine balls, but still, the scatter was crazy.  At one point, probably 20 times within 45 spins, the wheel kept producing "floaters".  This is an interesting situation where the ball has dropped from the ball track, has stopped "scattering", is almost "in a pocket" but a strange combination of wheel speed and the way the ball hit the wheel makes the ball CONTINUOUSLY do the following:

Drop almost into a pocket, lift back out, skip one number by "riding the apron", lower ALMOST back into the a pocket, lift back out, skip one number "by riding the apron", lower almost back into a pocket...etc, etc, etc.

They obviously call "no spin" at this point, and then they proceed to spin again.

There is A LOT more to this story, but I have a couple of things to attend to at the moment.  I'll continue later.

[pins]

in star city casino sydney. i can stand at the table all day without having a bet,  you have the one dollar tables . one dollar on the even money bets. bet when you like.

[Proofreaders2000]

Very exciting RJeaton.  Sorry you lost money, though. 
Did you see anyone do extremely well on the wheel--or use a peculiar progression?

[Spike]

not even changing the direction of the wheels rotation (believe it or not).<<<

I've never seen a casino in the States that changes wheel direction. Where have you seen it?

[rjeaton1]

not even changing the direction of the wheels rotation (believe it or not).<<<

I've never seen a casino in the States that changes wheel direction. Where have you seen it?

I haven't...but I'm sure there are people on this forum that haven't seen a wheel that didn't alternate directions on every spin.  This story is being told with the mindset that even those that haven't ever played roulette at a B&M casino might be reading it.

[rjeaton1]

Very exciting RJeaton.  Sorry you lost money, though. 
Did you see anyone do extremely well on the wheel--or use a peculiar progression?

Thanks Proof.  Unfortunately I lost more than mentioned here.  I also did see one guy do very well.  Both of these will be "told" in the second part of this story.

[thor]

hi rj,

thanks for sharing your experience.  i'm responding to your post because i play live wheels in casinos in the U.S. too, so i can relate to your experiences more.  as for your girl friends 'distractions', i can totally relate!  i tell my gf, if you see me at a wheel don't bother me!  STAY AWAY!  it's hard enough dealing with all the other distractions going on in the casino, and at the table!  you are so right, you need complete concentration.  usually a winning egde in any game is so small that anything but total focus will seriously hurt your results. 

you also had to deal with unnecessary casino 'attitudes'.  i posted once regarding dealer attitudes and come to the conclusion that finding another casino, or wheel, or returning a little later is better.  like i also mentioned, i rather have the dealer on my side.  or at least not paying attention to me.  again, thanks for sharing, and good luck.

thor

[thor]

hi rj,

i forgot to mention, they never seem to mind what your doing as long as your losing.  but once you go on a winning streak watch their eyebrows rise!  you'll get 'the look'.  they might not know what your doing but as long as you start winning regularly you'll get their attention.  thats why its better not to stay too long if your winning.  i know you don't want to cut a winning session short, but you got to pay attention to whats going on around you and know when to pull out, winning or losing.

good luck,
thor

[Spike]

they might not know what your doing but as long as you start winning regularly you'll get their attention.  thats why its better not to stay too long if your winning.>>>

Never forget the pit does this for a living. They watch players play 8 hours a day, 5 days a week. They're trying to protect the casinos money and its best to always stay under their radar. Don't get greedy and don't rub it in their faces. Most people will never have to worry about this.

[thor]

hi spike,

i couldn't agree with you more.  thats why some might wonder why leave when your doing good.  but like you said, the pit sees this day in and day out.  usually they'll recognize something is going on right away.  that's why i say, pay attention and leave before drawing too much attention.  i like to keep my sessions short.  cover is good too, if you can pull it off.  but i totally agree with you, win quietly!  then slip away quietly.  and if the dealer deserves it, leave a tip and be courteous.  make them want you to come back.  hopefully they'll think you were just lucky and they'll get you next time.


good luck to all,
thor

[Spike]

The trick is to make them think you're just a lucky sot.. Buddy up to them, get to know them on a first name basis, act like you're just a casual player who is basically clueless about the game. You will become invisable to them if they like you. The worst thing is to get in their face, mock them or in any way get on their shit list. Don't be stupid, they can screw you in far more ways than you can screw them. They have something you want, never lose sight of that..

[Spike]

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