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In The Beginning....

Not too long ago, I wrote about a Blackjack 'play' that some of us did back in 1981 and I received a lot of favorable comments on the story from those who enjoyed reading about my adventure in the 'old' days of Las Vegas. I've been at this for a long time, but it obviously all had to start somewhere. There was a time when I had a 'straight' job, a wife and lived something resembling a normal life. I had always done a bit of writing, but never on gambling until I was approached by the guy who taught me how to count cards to do a story for a new (circa 1980) magazine which was about to be published in Atlantic City. The magazine was called "The Boardwalker" and it has gone the way of so many others, but I still have a copy of it and thought you'd enjoy reading my first Blackjack column. It's about how I got involved with card-counting and includes a report on a trip to Freeport in the Bahamas. My 'pen name' back then was "Dominic".

Let me set the Atlantic City scene for you here. Back in early 1979, there was one casino in A.C., Resorts International, and the rules for all the casino games were set by the New Jersey Casino Control Commission. In the case of Blackjack, the rules were very liberal; 4 decks, dealer stands on A-6, double after split permitted and early surrender. A Basic Strategy player had a small edge over the casino and those few who knew how to count cards were making money hand over fist. But don't feel sorry for Resorts; they were making obscene amounts of $$$. You have to remember that A.C. was the only jurisdiction in the U.S. which offered an alternative to Nevada casinos and with New York City, Philadelphia and all those other metropolitan areas so close, the casino was always packed. New Jersey law at that time did not permit Resorts to operate on a 24-hour basis; they closed at 5 A.M., I think, and didn't reopen until 9 A.M. To get a seat at a 5 dollar minimum table on the weekends, you'd have to show up about an hour before opening, stand in a line and literally run to the few $5 tables which were available! Within a half-hour of opening, a crowd would be three-deep behind the seated players and arguments would often break out over who was there first when a seat became available. The situation eased somewhat when Caesars remodeled the old Howard Johnson Regency hotel and opened in August, 1979, but we were all used to very crowded conditions most of the time.

I had learned card-counting in February, 1979 and played as much as a 'real' life would permit. About a year later, the opportunity to write for the magazine came up. I cringe at the writing style I had back then, but we all have to start somewhere and this was mine.

Blackjack in Freeport
by "Dominic"

Early last year I was doing my usual losing bit at Resort's baccarat table when a "big shooter" sat down next to me and asked how the shoe was running. I showed him my "scorecard", and he noticed the two different-colored pens I used.

"You must have read Lyle Stuart's book", he remarked.

I replied that I had indeed read it (Casino Gambling for the Winner) and thought it to be the best of its type. We chatted a bit, introduced ourselves and the talk eventually turned to Blackjack.

"Have you read Revere?" he asked.

"Pete (that's what I'll call him), I've read all the books on BJ, but you can see I'm still playing baccarat."

"But you know", Pete said, "BJ is the only game you can beat if you're good enough."

Of course I knew that, hell everyone knows that, but the key is, if you're good enough. There was my problem.

Pete continued "Jerry Patterson runs a blackjack school and I've heard it's good. You ought to check it out."

I did, and what he said was true; Patterson's course was solid, so I signed up. I completed the training and set a goal for myself: become good enough at BJ to travel the world and play blackjack, with my winnings paying the way. I didn't want to do it full-time; no BJ game was going to pay me like the multinational corporation where I work as a marketing VP but I wanted to play as well as a pro. After a couple hundred hours of playing in A.C., I had the numbers, knew most of the tricks and started winning - big. I knew then that I was going to vacation only in places with casinos and I was going to go on a lot of vacations.

Playing BJ is fun when you're a card counter, but you have to look like you're just another gambler, because the pit losses and floormen are suspicious of anyone varying his bets, let alone someone who the varies his bets and wins! The answer to their paranoia is camouflage. Not painting your face various shades green; not that kind camouflage (though I would do if it worked!). No, what I'm talking about is playing winning blackjack, counting cards, beating them at their own game and all the while having them think you're just another loser. That kind of camouflage is hard to put out, but you have to do it. Those who are good have the key to the treasure room; those who aren't good don't need a cover, they'll lose and that's the best cover of all. Expensive, though.

Getting back to playing blackjack around the world, if you like beaches and palm trees, Freeport in the Bahamas has them. Me, I like blackjack, and they have just that, at El Casino, a Moorish-style edifice near the Princess Towers hotel. But it sure isn't A.C.! The game is considerably different; four decks, double down only on 9,10, and 11 and no double after splitting pairs. When my first hand was a 15 against the dealer's 10, I instinctively said "surrender". The young English dealer's reply was, "You American chaps one that war 200 years ago and now here you are trying to turn yourself in". At that point I remembered the surrender rule isn't used in the Bahamas. The other primary variation to A.C. is that the dealer, when his up card is a 10 or Ace, checks or "peeks" to see if he has a blackjack. Of course, if he has an Ace up, you may take insurance.

This "peeking" speeds the game up considerably, and the more hands you play, the more you win. So there I was, in the magical Bahamas; snow left behind, turquoise ocean, sugar-white beaches, and a casino were I didn't care if they barred me for counting cards. Time to make some money.

Card counting seems to be of little concern to the supervisory personnel at El Casino; a party atmosphere prevails and everyone was having fun. So was I; jumping my bets from one hand of five dollars to two of fifty dollars when the count went up was great fun! And believe me, I wasn't hurting them. The tourists who visit the Bahamas are terrible BJ players and, with a house percentage of 0.6 percent against the basic strategy player, the only way you can win in the Bahamas is to be very lucky or count cards. On almost every hand someone would split 10s, stand with an Ace-5 or hit a 14 against a 6. Though some of those moves could be proper at times, these weren't counters, so they lost like crazy. Why should some pit loss get upset if I won a couple of hundred? They didn't!

Anyway, the place was packed; the five dollar tables were full and the quarter tables would nearly full. Those were the perfect conditions for "back counting". No, it's not checking out the tanned backs of all the lovely ladies down there, though any time spent in that endeavor isn't wasted. Back counting is standing behind the table counting the cards until the deck is favorable, then sitting down and playing until the shoe either runs out or the deck goes minus. In A.C. that's a quick way to get barred; in the Bahamas either no one noticed or if they did, they didn't care. Such nice chaps! I really felt free in the Bahamas playing aggressively with little or no camouflage. At the worst they would bar me, and who cared? El Casino may see once a year, in A.C., they see me once a week, minimum. There's a lot more to lose by being barred in Atlantic City.

For the three days I was there, I had an ideal game; no "heat", almost half a deck cut off and plenty of wide bet variation possible. Everyone was friendly; the dealers were effusive in their thanks when I tipped them, the pit boss gave me some souvenir decks of cards and everyone expressed his sympathy at my "losses". What more could I ask? If you are an experienced card counter, I heartily recommend at trip to the Bahamas. But do me one favor: be gentle and don't get greedy. It's a good game, so do your part to keep it that way.

A Final note

Ah, the memories! I went on to write four or five more columns for The Boardwalker and, pack-rat that I am, I still have copies of all of them. One of columns was about a trip to Nassau where I played a dealer with a 'tell' that made me a bunch of $$$ and another chronicles my first experience at single-deck Blackjack in Las Vegas. It's a hoot! I'll share them with you as time goes on.

See you here next time.

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