I checked into the MGM last night for a slot tournament on Friday and Saturday. After checking in I visited the High Limit slots room at MGM to survey any changes. I didn't see anything new so I sat down at one of the 50-play $1 jacks or better games (99.5% + 0.33% free play). This game is almost break even and a great game to play to generate lots of coin in while theorhetically losing very little. I started out playing 10 hands at a time and slowly went up and down. I varied between playing 10, 15, and 25 hands depending on the amount of credits I had. I played for about a half hour putting through $14,000 with a $200 win.
The guy next to me was playing the highest stakes video poker that I ever witnessed. He was playing a 10-play $50 denom game. In the half hour I was there he lost the $15,000 he had on the machine when I got there, took another marker for $20,000, and was down to $2,000 when I left.
After meeting my friend for dinner, she wanted to play a silly penny video slot so I sat and watch for about 20 minutes until my mind was completely numb. While she continued playing that I went back over to the 50-plays and lost $1100 in ten minutes. Our next stop was NYNY so she could play the penny 5 reel 30 line Millionaire Sevens game. For those not familiar with this game, I think it is the best mechanical reel slot introduced in the last 5 years. This is the only reel slot that I could actually sit and play for a few minutes without being bored. While she is playing the slot I go over to a Blackjack table and go on a tear. I bought in for $500 and started betting $50. After about fifteen minutes I cashed out $1725 when they changed dealers. I finished by not losing a single hand in my last 12 hands.
Next we walk over to the Excalibur to play the $1 10/6 Double Double game (100.1%). I give my friend some money so we could both play on my card while having drinks at the bar. My machine is playing pretty well and I am getting a few four of a kinds. Her machine isn;t cooperating and she loses $500 of my money. Right as she runs out I hit four four's with a kicker for $800. I cash out at $1200 and make her go collect on the ticket. When she returns we each put another $100 in and she manages to hit for Aces on the very first hand. I was very excited until I noticed she was playing quarters. Apparently, the machine defaulted back to quarters when she ran out of money. She hadn't noticed until I pointed it out and then she felt terrible. Oops, that cost me $600. When we finish playing video poker I am exactly even for the day.
At about 1am we returned to MGM where in my drunken tired state of mind I deduced it would be wise to play some more Blackjack. I found the good double deck game and proceeded to lose a $1000 in about 40 minutes. I was foolish because I was actually ahead $500 at one point and I didn't quit. At this point I compounded my stupidity by going back to the 50play machine to "win back my $1000". That cost me $1300 more and then I called it a night.
Daily Result: -$2,300
Year to Date: +$28,747
Showing posts with label Blackjack. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Blackjack. Show all posts
Friday, April 25, 2008
Sunday, April 20, 2008
Weekend at Mandalay Bay
I was invited to a weekend slot tournament at Mandalay Bay. I had a nice room for three nights and spent a lot of time by the pool. The tournament was set up so each player got to play two sessions with the highest score of each session winning $25,000. The first session I played I cam in second and received $0. The second session I was in the middle of the pack and also got $0.
On thursday night I mainly just walked the strip with a friend of mine. I did manage to win a $100 playing the 10/6 DDB $1 game at Excalibur. When we got back to Mandalay Bay I saw the 100-play $1 9/6 Jacks or Better game was open so I sat down to earn some points. I didn't play very long and quit down $1500 for the session.
On Friday we walked around more and I mainly watched my friend play all the crazy slot machines. When we got to NYNY I played some blackjack and won about $700 in 15 minutes. We return to Manadalay Bay where I wanted to play their decent six deck Blackjack game. I won 3 hands out of 17 and decided to quit because I was down $2000 in less than 20 minutes.
I decided that was enough gambling for the weekend because I have another tournament at MGM this weekend. This tournament has a prize pool of $350,000.
Weekend Result: -$2,800
Year to Date: +$31,047
On thursday night I mainly just walked the strip with a friend of mine. I did manage to win a $100 playing the 10/6 DDB $1 game at Excalibur. When we got back to Mandalay Bay I saw the 100-play $1 9/6 Jacks or Better game was open so I sat down to earn some points. I didn't play very long and quit down $1500 for the session.
On Friday we walked around more and I mainly watched my friend play all the crazy slot machines. When we got to NYNY I played some blackjack and won about $700 in 15 minutes. We return to Manadalay Bay where I wanted to play their decent six deck Blackjack game. I won 3 hands out of 17 and decided to quit because I was down $2000 in less than 20 minutes.
I decided that was enough gambling for the weekend because I have another tournament at MGM this weekend. This tournament has a prize pool of $350,000.
Weekend Result: -$2,800
Year to Date: +$31,047
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Lake Tahoe Weekend
This past weekend I spent at Harrah's in Lake Tahoe for a free skiing weekend with my daughter and her college roomate. We arrived on Friday and did a snowmobiling tour through the state park. It was great because they had lots of fresh powder and we were able to play for a while. They said the tour was going to be 28 miles, but i don't think it was more than 15 miles or so. The snowmobiles were very basic, but perfect for first time riders like ourselves.
Friday night I wanted to play a little blackjack but most of the tables were full so I ended up in the high limit room playing the $100 minimum tables. I played for about 90 minutes and ended up $380 ahead for the session.
Saturday I took the kids up the mountain for skiing, dropped them off, and headed back down to the casino. At my age skiing is no longer a priority. I just don't heal as quick as I used to.
I goofed around both Harrah's and Harvey's casinos looking for new video slots that I hadn't played before. Everytime I ran into a new game I put $20 in and played until I lost the $20 or made it through a bonus round. At the end of the day I was down $180 on the video slots.
Sunday morning I was up at 4:30am and back in the casino while the girls slept. I managed to lose about $860 playing a bad DBL DBL video poker game and some Blackjack. I was back in the room by 7:30 waiting for the girls to wake up (It turns out teen girls don't wake up til 10:00am).
Weekend Result: -$660
Year to date: $45,020
Friday night I wanted to play a little blackjack but most of the tables were full so I ended up in the high limit room playing the $100 minimum tables. I played for about 90 minutes and ended up $380 ahead for the session.
Saturday I took the kids up the mountain for skiing, dropped them off, and headed back down to the casino. At my age skiing is no longer a priority. I just don't heal as quick as I used to.
I goofed around both Harrah's and Harvey's casinos looking for new video slots that I hadn't played before. Everytime I ran into a new game I put $20 in and played until I lost the $20 or made it through a bonus round. At the end of the day I was down $180 on the video slots.
Sunday morning I was up at 4:30am and back in the casino while the girls slept. I managed to lose about $860 playing a bad DBL DBL video poker game and some Blackjack. I was back in the room by 7:30 waiting for the girls to wake up (It turns out teen girls don't wake up til 10:00am).
Weekend Result: -$660
Year to date: $45,020
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Ely Again
I am travelling again this week and I am currently in Ely Nevada.
I played the high stakes Blackjack game today ($25 maximum bet) and managed to continue my losing streak by losing $40 whole dollars.
If anyone is looking for low stakes blackjack, all tables have $2 minimum. I was happy to see that they recently changed the rules to allow doubling after splits. This gives 0.14% back to the player.
Daily Result: -$40
Year to date: +$51,380
I played the high stakes Blackjack game today ($25 maximum bet) and managed to continue my losing streak by losing $40 whole dollars.
If anyone is looking for low stakes blackjack, all tables have $2 minimum. I was happy to see that they recently changed the rules to allow doubling after splits. This gives 0.14% back to the player.
Daily Result: -$40
Year to date: +$51,380
Sunday, January 27, 2008
I Love Hooter's
Well, at least last night I did.
I decided to visit the Palazzo yesterday afternoon and check out the sites. I thought the hotel and casino were very nicely done. Sheldon Adelson has always done a great job with his hotels. Most of the shops in the promenade were still closed and a lot of them had signs up saying they should be open around March.
I gave the 9/6 jacks or better triple play games (99.5%) a play at the $1 level for about an hour. True to form, not much varaiance here. I was playing $15 a game and I was never down more than $200. After about an hour I quit with a $60 victory. I was with a friend that didn't want to try the Blackjack tables so we left.
Next stop was Hooter's to visit a friend that works at Dan Marino's restaurant. What a joke that restaurant has become. It used to be a nice mid-level steak house that I would enjoy a couple of times a year. It has been turned into their 24 hour coffee shop with very little of the original menu remaining. They still have the $16.99 all you can eat Baby Back ribs and the beef tips over garlic mashed potatos, but the rest of the menu looks like any other coffee shop on the strip.
I played the Double Deck Blackjack game for a total of about an hour, mainly jumping in when the count was good and jumping out when it went negative. I was only spreadin $50 and $100 and ended up with a $550 win. By the way, this isn't a very good double deck game becuase they cut a full deck out so you will never get a big count advantage.
Daily total: +$610
Year to Date: +$2,450
I decided to visit the Palazzo yesterday afternoon and check out the sites. I thought the hotel and casino were very nicely done. Sheldon Adelson has always done a great job with his hotels. Most of the shops in the promenade were still closed and a lot of them had signs up saying they should be open around March.
I gave the 9/6 jacks or better triple play games (99.5%) a play at the $1 level for about an hour. True to form, not much varaiance here. I was playing $15 a game and I was never down more than $200. After about an hour I quit with a $60 victory. I was with a friend that didn't want to try the Blackjack tables so we left.
Next stop was Hooter's to visit a friend that works at Dan Marino's restaurant. What a joke that restaurant has become. It used to be a nice mid-level steak house that I would enjoy a couple of times a year. It has been turned into their 24 hour coffee shop with very little of the original menu remaining. They still have the $16.99 all you can eat Baby Back ribs and the beef tips over garlic mashed potatos, but the rest of the menu looks like any other coffee shop on the strip.
I played the Double Deck Blackjack game for a total of about an hour, mainly jumping in when the count was good and jumping out when it went negative. I was only spreadin $50 and $100 and ended up with a $550 win. By the way, this isn't a very good double deck game becuase they cut a full deck out so you will never get a big count advantage.
Daily total: +$610
Year to Date: +$2,450
Friday, January 18, 2008
A little blackjack
I visited the MGM Grand for the first time in probably three months to play some Blackjack.
I had about $800 in my pocket so I began playing for $50 a hand. The table I was at was a full table and played rather slowly but was pretty entertaining. A couple of the guys were in from Maine and telling horror stories about the snow.
I played for abou 90 minutes spreading my bet from $25 to $100 depending on the deck composition. I was ahead $400 until my last hand where I bet $50 and was dealt two sevens against a dealer four. I split the sevens getting a two on one hand and a four on the other hand. I doubled down on both hands resulting in a 19 and an 18. The dealer flips over a ten for a total of 14 and pulls a six for a 20. I lose both hands and decide it is about time to leave.
Daily Result: +$200
Year to Date: +$2,900
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