Odds Against the House

By James Earl Jones

How long would it take to fulfill his dire aspiration to win it big? Almost 50yrs. later, this story life lived is overwhelming and of course, the devil is in the details are overdue, and must be finally told…Father-Time shares an unusual, yet unique account of how a Black Man became a well-known Poker Player in a White Man’s Game.

As this non-fiction fate unfolds, you will experience a plethora of emotional twist and turns from excitement, Joy, laughter to heart-wrenching pain, sorrow, suffering as the money rains down...

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Feb 25, 2020
• ISBN: 9781796047035

Book preview

Copyright © 2020 by James Earl Jones. 787868

All rights reserved. No part of this book may

be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by

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storage and retrieval system, without permission in

writing from the copyright owner.

Xlibris

844-714-8691

www.Xlibris.com

ISBN:     Softcover                     978-1-7960-4704-2

  Hardcover                    978-1-7960-4705-9

              EBook                           978-1-7960-4703-5

Library of Congress Control Number: 2019909982

Rev. date: 11/23/2020

Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

About The Author And Book

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CHAPTER 1

I t was Saturday morning. Jason was up very early as usual getting ready to walk up to the corner to eat breakfast and begin his route picking up his regular riders that he would take to the racetrack. Jason had a station wagon, and he’d get eight people seated, and he would charge them the same as the bus, but the bus would drop them off at a certain location, and thereby, they had to get a ride to their house, but Jason would drop them off at their house. This was Jason’s daily betting money. He would charge them $6 for a round trip, and after the day racing was over, he would do the same thing for the night racing. Jason was making $96 a day and doing what he loved to do, which was going to the racetrack every day. However, he only had regular riders for five days, and for the rest of the days, he would hustle riders for those two days, which would bring his weekly take to almost $700 a week.

As Jason was slowly walking along the side of the lagoon, Jason began to remember that a few years ago, when he was a mailman that covered that area, the neighborhood was totally different. There were very beautiful rose bushes all along the side of the lagoon. The red, white, and pink roses were eye-catching, and the aroma that was coming from them was breathtaking. However, this was a quiet neighborhood with professional people, doctors, lawyers, teachers, nurses, and many other professionals. The lagoon was filled with beautiful swans that would glide on the surface of the water so smoothly that it seems as if the wind was blowing them. The neighborhood had changed now. There weren’t any beautiful roses along the side of the lagoon, and the swans had vanished or maybe eaten by the destitute people that had moved into the neighborhood. The lagoon was filthy and filled with litter.

Jason lived on the east side of the lagoon, which remained in much better shape. However, Jason realized that it would only be just a matter of time before the entire area would become like a low poverty-slum. He loved the neighborhood very much, but he knew that it was time to relocate. Jason arrived at the restaurant in about five minutes and ordered his breakfast and returned to the house and called all his riders to make sure that they were already so that they wouldn’t miss the daily double.

As soon as Jason walked into the house, his brother told him to call his other brother that was in Reno for the weekend. Jason was excited because he knew whenever Peter would call; it had to be something really important because he rarely called. Jason eagerly returned his call.

Peter, what’s up? Jason asked.

Peter asked Jason what was he doing and asked him if he was making any money. Jason told him that he was making about $600 a week from his regular riders that he would take to the track.

Peter said, That’s not bad, but its chump change compared to what I’ve discovered. I’d like for you to come to Reno.

Peter told Jason that he had run into a group of professional blackjack players, and he had noticed them winning at least 90 percent of the time. He told Jason that he knew them by face only and that he didn’t know what they were doing, but he knew that they were doing something different from the rest of the players. He asked Jason if he could come to Reno because he could only stay for the weekend and that he would have to return to California to go to work. Jason said that he could come, but he might lose his regular riders to someone else; it was his bread and butter.

Peter said, Don’t worry about anything because you will be making much more in Reno than you are making there. Jason asked him if he was sure that they could make money. Peter said, Man, these guys are cleaning up. I’ve witnessed them winning thousands every time that I see them, and if I had the time, I’d find out what they are doing, but I don’t have the time, so that’s why I want you to come so you can follow them around, and I know that you’ll find out what they are doing. Peter asked Jason if he had any money. Jason said that he had about a grand. Fine, said Peter. So you can come right away? Jason asked if he thought that he could make much more money than he was making in Chicago. Jason was convinced, and he was off to Reno. He arrived there four hours later.

Peter was there waiting for him. They greeted each other, and they were off to the hotel where Peter stayed once a month when he could afford to come to Reno. Peter began to tell Jason about the blackjack group that he had run into. And he knew how sharp Jason was, and with him not having anything to do but follow these guys around and not worrying about going to work as he did, he knew that Jason would eventually find out what they were doing—how they won at least 95 percent of the time. Jason sat there quietly listening to all the details as Peter was explaining them to him.

Peter said, Jason, this is what I want you to do. There is a group of blackjack players around town, and they win most of the time. I’ve been watching them for over two years, and I know that they have some kind of an edge, and if I had the time, I’m sure that I’d find out what they are doing, but unfortunately, I’ve to return to work. That’s why I wanted you to come here and concentrate on what it looks like they are doing.

He asked Jason if he thought that he could handle it. Jason said that if they were doing anything, he would find out what they were doing.

Peter said, Two of the players were over at one of the casinos, and we are going over there and I’m going to point them. I want you to remember their faces and never forget them, and whenever you see them playing a game, make sure that you get a seat at the same game and pay close attention to what they do, and somehow, hopefully, you’ll nail what they are doing. Peter said that he didn’t know how many players there were but that he had noticed about ten of them and that he was sure there were more. Peter said, Those two guys that are over at the club are the main two, so you keep a close eye on them, and they’ll lead you to the rest of the group.

Jason was all fired up and said, Let’s go over and take a look at these characters and see if we can discover what they know to win 95 percent of the time.

They walked across the street to Harold’s Club. This was Jason’s first time in Reno, and he couldn’t believe his eyes as he walked into the fabulous casino with the very plush carpet and the matching drapes and the well-padded blackjack tables, which were in matching color as the plush carpet and drapes. The dealers and the cocktail waitress were also dressed in the same colors. The show was letting out, and the people were well dressed. The lovely women were dressed in beautiful evening gowns, and men all wore tux. They were laughing, drinking, and gambling, while Jason was on a mission; he had to find out what these players were doing.

Peter said, Jason, look over there, as he stared at the table that was across the aisle. There they are, said Peter. See the guy with the big cowboy hat? Jason said that he did, and Peter said, Never forget what he looks like because he is the boss. I’ve noticed him, and he always has a different guy with him, and they bet a lot of money. Jason said that he would keep a close eye on the guy with the big black hat. They started to refer to him as the Black Hat because he always had it on. Peter told Jason that it might not be an easy task, but it was worth the time and effort because he had noticed them win millions of dollars, and they, too, should be in on the action. Peter said, Look at his pal, how he picks up his cards whenever there’s an A up on the dealer’s hand.

Jason said that he would find out why he would pick up his cards differently when there is an A as the dealer up card. Jason sat at the bar for about four hours, watching every move the two players made. He began to write down things that he thought were important. Jason saw that the center player would do something differently for every card. He knew that the center player was sending the big better some kind of signal because the big better would always look and wait until he did something with the cards. Jason had written down just about every card in the deck, and he knew what type of move was associated with the card. Now he only had to find out what the signal meant, which he knew that he would.

Jason noticed that every time that the dealer had an A as the up card, the center player would pick up his cards and slowly bring them back to the rail of the table, and the big better would take insurance, which meant that he wouldn’t lose his bet if the dealer had a ten or a picture in the whole. Jason was astounded with the accuracy. He noticed that the dealer had an A as the up card about seven times, and every time the center player would take his cards slowly back to the rail, the dealer would turn over a ten or a picture. Jason thought to himself, Man, what a big edge. He realized that had the big better not known that the dealer had a ten or a picture in the whole, he would have lost all seven bets, which was $3,000 each. One can see how these players won millions over a period of years. Imagine that you are playing for big stakes and you will know what the dealer whole card is. That’s why the casinos feared these types of players. That’s why they had to list them as cheats so they could keep them out of their casino.

Peter had gone back to the hotel because he had to get up early the next morning and get a flight back to California. Jason returned after watching the players for about seven hours. He didn’t want to wake Peter, but he was so excited until he couldn’t resist. He had to tell Peter that he had written down just about every card in the entire deck, and he knew what move the players would use for every card.

Jason said, Peter, Peter, wake up. I’m sorry to wake you, but you got to hear this.

Peter woke up and said, Couldn’t it wait until morning?

Jason said no, because he had found a way that they could win because he had discovered what the players were doing that made them win just about 95 percent of the time. Jason began to explain to Peter about all the combinations and what signals they use for each combination.

Peter said, Fine. Now that you know all the signals, you can show them to me, and we’ll make up our own signals and we’ll play at the same table with them, and you can send me the signal that the big better was relaying to the other player. I’ll act as the takeoff man, and you’ll be the small better.

Jason began to go over all the signals with Peter. They decided that they wouldn’t play until they had the signals down to a science, and they decided that they wouldn’t ever play without some of the players at the same table. Jason and Peter realized that while they were good card counters, however, they were not playing a winning game because a card counter would only be guessing as to what the dealer has in the whole; whereas the whole card players knew exactly what the dealer whole card was because they were looking at it.

Peter told Jason that he should keep busy just looking for those players that were sending signals to the other players. Now that you know what to look for, you can spot them really easily. Jason said that he’d find them if they are out there, and Peter said that there were a lot of them out there. He informed Jason that the more, the better, because they didn’t want them to get to know them, and they wouldn’t play with the same players too often so they wouldn’t think anything about seeing them at the same table with them every now and then.

Peter said, There should be enough of the players out there that we’ll be able to play every day and not be noticed by the group.

Peter was off to California the next morning. He told Jason that he was going to leave him another $1,000 and that he shouldn’t play unless he could play with one of the two-man team. Jason told him not to worry because he learned about the pros. He realized that they had been giving away too much money just on not knowing whether the dealer had blackjack.

Jason was all alone in Reno. He felt really strange because it was a lot different from Chicago in that it offered legalized gambling; whereas in Chicago, one would go to jail for gambling, which Jason had done a lot of times over the years.

Jason was up early the next morning. He walked up the street to a small restaurant that sold soul food, ate breakfast, and went across the street to the Eldorado Club and began to look for anybody that looked like he was playing the game. Jason took his time as he walked slowly through the blackjack pit and made sure that he didn’t look suspicious. After about an hour or so, he would know that if anybody was playing the game, he would recognize them.

After Jason had combed the entire casino, he began to think that Peter had blown out of proportion the amount of players that’s supposed to have been playing the game. Jason was a little worried, so he decided to look in another casino. He walked down the street to Harold’s Club and sat at the bar. Luckily, the bar was directly in front of the blackjack pit. This was good because he could sit there and look over the blackjack pit without being noticed by anyone. Jason wasn’t satisfied by just knowing the signals. He knew that the most important thing was to find out how the center player knew what the dealer whole card was.

Jason continued sitting at the bar and looking over the pit. He got up, and as he was on his way to the washroom, he noticed two players that had just begun to play, and he noticed that the dealer had an A as her up card, and the center player quickly picked up his hand and brought them back to the rail of the table, and the guy that was betting a large sum of money took insurance. Wow, said Jason. There they were, but these two guys weren’t the same Peter had shown Jason. Just when he thought that Peter had inflated the amount of players that he said were playing the game, he felt better now that he had discovered to more whole card players; however, at this time, he didn’t know that they were looking at the dealer whole card.

Jason ran to the washroom and returned to the bar and waited for a seat to become open so he could join the game and continue his observation. He knew that he must get closer to the table so that nobody would get the first seat that would become open. So he left the bar and moved closer to the table on which they were playing. After about thirty minutes, the little old lady left the table. Jason damn near knocked over two people that looked as if they were going to get the seat. He wasn’t about to let two suckers beat him to the seat that he had been waiting for so long. Jason sat down and bought in for $200 and sat to the left of the center player and big better so that he could play off the signal that the little better would relay to the big better and play his hand accordingly how the big better played his.

Jason was looking at the beautiful casino. He felt really comfortable in one of the plush black chairs that were harmonizing to the plush carpet, and he noticed the beautiful chandeliers hanging from the ceiling that had been decorated in gold and a splash of black and silver. And the dealers and cocktail waitresses were dressed in the same colors. Jason thought that the fancy costume that the cocktail waitresses were wearing didn’t leave much to the imagination because most of their private parts were showing.

Jason kept a close eye on the player that was sending the signals. While he knew most of the signals, he noticed him sending a few signals that he didn’t know about or what they indicated; but he never forgot any signal, and whenever he noticed the little better sending any signal, he made sure that he noticed what action the big better would take. Jason noted the dealer had an A as her up card, and the little better picked up his cards differently and rubbed them together, and Jason noticed that the big better didn’t take insurance, so Jason didn’t take it either, because whatever the big better did, so did he. Jason saw that the big better had a total of fifteen and he tucked his cards and didn’t take insurance, nor did he take a hit, which could only mean one thing, and that was the dealer had to have a stiff, which meant that she had to take a hit. Jason was astounded by the accuracy and thought about how much of an edge that would give one that knew what the dealer whole card was.

After Jason saw that these guys were as good as the other two that he had played, he decided to up his bet because he had no way of knowing how long it would be before he would run into them again or anybody that was playing the game. Jason would try and win enough money so that he didn’t have to play by himself and would be only playing accordingly to the count, which was nothing like looking at the dealer whole card. Jason began to bet from $25 to $100; while he realized that he was over betting his bankroll, he would rather over bet his bankroll while at the table with the pros as opposed to betting smaller without them at the same table. Jason was a good card counter. That’s why he knew that the pros were doing something other than just the count, but what, he couldn’t figure it out.

Jason, at this stage of the game, was just like the pit bosses. He, too, thought that they were just card counters and didn’t know that they were looking at the dealer whole card, but with Jason being a counter, he knew that the count alone wasn’t that accurate, and he knew that whatever they were doing, he would eventually find out. Jason knew that the deck was very rich, so he decided to bet $75. The dealer dealt all the hands, and Jason was dealt fifteen, which was a bad hand, because he knew if he would take a hit, he surely would bust, which meant to go over twenty-one. Jason wasn’t pleased with his hand because the dealer up card was a picture and he was waiting to see what kind of hand the dealer had. Jason knew that he would lose the hand because he wouldn’t dare hit, whether he caught the signal. The only way Jason would hit his hand would be if he knew that the dealer had a pat hand, which meant that he didn’t have to take a hit. That’s why Jason would always sit to the left of the players so they would act on their hand first, and he would know how to play his, which meant whether he should hit, split, double down, or stand.

Jason noticed that the reader picked up his cards and relayed to the big better that the dealer had to take a hit. Jason damn near let out a scream because he knew the dealer should bust. The dealer motioned with his hands to see if anybody wanted to take a hit or whatever after the four suckers that were just playing like the rest of the million suckers thought just because the dealer has a ten or a picture, one should take a hit. But a player that just knew the count alone knew that one should stand when the deck is rich and hope that the dealer had to take a hit. But the pros that Jason was playing off their signals knew the count; plus they knew what the dealer whole card was. That’s why they won so much money because they had two chances of winning.

Imagine a player had just bet $10,000 and the deck was very rich and the reader relayed the signal that the dealer had to take a hit—say, the big better had bet $10,000 and the deck was very rich, and he was dealt fifteen on one hand and sixteen on the other hand, and the dealer was showing a picture as her up card, and the big better had no way of knowing what she had in the whole. The big better, naturally, knowing that the deck was very rich, which meant that there are more pictures and tens than small cards, would stand and hope the dealer had to take a hit and say the big better had two hands that required one to double down with, which would call for another $20,000. While the big better knows that the deck is rich, he doesn’t know what the dealer whole card is.

The proper play would be for the big better to double down, but in some cases, the big betters will double down anyway because of the richness of the deck. However, had the reader of the game sent him a signal that indicated that the dealer had a small card in the whole, the big better would be very relaxed because he knew that should he get a small card on both of his hands that he doubled down with, he’d still have a chance of winning because the dealer had to take a hit, and with the big better getting two more small cards, that would further the richness of the deck, and the dealer would surely bust. This is what the professionals call an $80,000 swing. This play will simplify the big edge the professionals had over the house, which made them very dangerous for the casino, and it was legal, and they knew it was.

Jason was winning. He counted his chips, and he was $900 ahead, so he decided to increase his bet from $50 to $100 to $300. Jason had bet his max, which was $300. Jason saw the reader pick up his cards with his fingers at the tip of the cards and rubbed them together and placed them under his belt. Jason had forgotten what those signals meant, so he had notes that nobody would understand but him if someone got hold of them. He looked at his notes and saw that the signal meant that the dealer had a seven under her up card, which was a queen. Jason hoped that he had read the signal correct because Jason had an A and a seven, which is called a soft eighteen, which meant that he, had a winner. Jason referred to the count, and the count states that while the dealer had a pat hand and doesn’t have to take a hit, but with the richness of the deck, one should go for it and double down. However, one would much rather that the dealer had to take a hit, but one has to play the game to its strongest level or give up some of the edge.

Jason turned up his cards and placed another $300 beside his original bet, and the dealer gave him a hit. He was afraid to look at the card because this was a very big bet for him, and if he won the bet, that would be a $1,200 swing, Jason was skeptical of making the play because he didn’t want to be noticed by the big better, but he couldn’t afford not to make an extra $300. Jason noticed the big player and the reader looked at each other because they knew that was a professional play, and a sucker wasn’t supposed to know that type of play.

Jason sat there quietly and waited for the dealer to turn over everybody’s hand and hope that he had a winner. The dealer turned over the rest of the players’ hands. Jason was last because he was sitting on third base, which is the last seat, and the dealer would turn over his hand last. Sure enough, Jason had caught a ten card value. The dealer commented that Jason already had eighteen, and Jason said that he thought that he had eight, but he knew exactly what he had. While he didn’t want to cause any attention, but by the same token, he couldn’t not to pass up a chance of winning a nice sum of money so he would have enough to last until he would run into some of the players.

Jason noticed the pit bosses kept getting on the phone. The game was beginning to get hot. The big better had won about $50,000. It was easy to count because he stacked the chips in stacks of $1,000, and he bought in for $10,000, and Jason saw that he had his stacks, which meant that he had won $50,000. Jason knew that it was time to go now that he had won $3,000 and the game was smoking. So he quickly picked up his chips and headed to the cage and cashed them in and left the casino. Jason looked around to see if there were any suspicious-looking people watching him. One has to be alert when one had just cashed out some thousands, and don’t go to one car or room without looking around to see if anybody was following you because the city has changed from the old days, where one didn’t have to worry about nothing like that.

After Jason waited around for a while, making sure that he wasn’t being followed, he walked outside of the casino, hoping that the big player would come out soon so he could see what their next move was. After an hour, the big player walked out and headed down the street. Jason followed him, staying a distance behind him so that he wouldn’t be noticed. The big player entered a restaurant that most locals knew they had good food; it was named the Squeeze Inn because it was very small. He sat there near the window. This was perfect for Jason because the restaurant was directly across the street from the Eldorado Club, and Jason could see them from the club window and they wouldn’t know that he was watching them. After about twenty minutes, the reader of the game joined him, and it appeared as if they were splitting up the money. Finally, they left, going in different directions. Jason decided to follow the big better as he walked around the corner and got into a red sports car and drove off. Jason wrote down the plates and the make of the car.

It was Wednesday, and Peter would be coming up in a few days, and Jason wanted to be a winner for the first week in Reno and playing a game that was totally new to him, but Jason, being very sharp and a gambler, thought that it was a piece of cake compared to the roughness that he grew up in, in Chicago. Jason was waiting for Peter to arrive. He had called and said that he was at the airport and that he would be there in a few. Jason asked him if he would like for him to pick him up, and Peter said that he would take a cab. Peter suggested that they meet in Harold’s Club because he had to check out something. Jason said that he would be there. Jason rushed downstairs and walked across the street to Harold’s Club and went to the bar and ordered his usual drink, which was OJ.

About twenty minutes, Peter walked up and said, Well, how did the first week go?

Fine, said Jason, as he began to pull out a wad of $100 bills. This is our winnings for the week, which was $3,000.

Not bad for a week’s work, said Peter. How in the hell did you win that much?

Jason went on to tell him that he had run into two different players and that he had overstepped his betting standard because he didn’t know how long it would be before he would run into them or anybody that was playing the game. Peter said that one had to be really careful and not over bet their bankroll because it might have gone the opposite way. Jason said he understood and he would be careful in the future. Jason gave Peter back his original $1,000 and $1,100 of the winning, which was 50 percent after the other expenses, which were rent and food and a few losses.

Peter was happy and said that he was wasting his time and losing too much money by working and not being able to stay and play the game. Jason said that he thought that Peter should quit his job, unless he had decided to make a career out of it. Peter informed Jason that he was going to quit his job the following week. Jason said that he had to decide that for himself, and in case the business of blackjack wouldn’t go as he thought it would, I don’t want you to blame me, but you know what I think about a nine-to-five job, which I avoided all my life, and I haven’t regretted it yet. I knew at an early age that I would never be awarded the gold watch that a person would receive after working for forty or fifty years. Jason told Peter while he wasn’t a nine-to-five man, but if it would get to that, he would handle it like a man, but as long as there is any type of gambling that he could discover how to win legally, which he had done the most of his life.

Peter said that he had been thinking about quitting his job for a long time and trying to find out what those players were doing to win most of the time. And now that you have discovered most of their signals, we will make up our own signals, and we’ll play with them until we make our move to join the group.

Peter said that he was having domestic problems with his wife of twenty years and that he thought that he was heading for a divorce. He said that he was going to give her the rest of the year to make up her mind, whether she was going to join him in Reno or get a divorce, because he had made up his mind that he was moving to Reno and play the game. But she thinks that he’ll be gambling, and he said that if one would tell a person that he knew how to win most of the time playing blackjack, he wouldn’t believe him, and she, like most people, would think that a person was just gambling and want others to think that they are winning, so he decided not to go into details with her.

Peter asked Jason if he had run into any other players that he had told Jason that there were a lot of them playing the game. Jason said yes and that he was getting discussed and thinking that he had exaggerated about the amount of players. And I decided to walk over to Harold’s Club, and as I was sitting at the bar, I noticed the player that was sitting in the center picked up his cards the same way as the players that you had pointed out to me. I knew that they were players because I watched them for a while, and I noticed that they were using all the signals that the other two players were using.

Peter said, Do you think I’m giving up a $30,000-a-year job if I wasn’t sure that there are a lot of these players? He told Jason that he could’ve discovered more of them, but he would always have to return to work, but he had noticed at least ten of them just coming to Reno once a month as he was. Jason said that if any more players were out there, he’d find them.

Peter said, Fine, and we’ll make sure that we won’t play unless we are playing at the same table with them, and we need to get to know a lot of them so that we won’t have to repeat playing with the same players too often, so that they won’t get to know them and begin to notice them at the same table and find out they were playing off their signals.

Jason suggested to Peter that they keep playing and looking for new players that were playing the game. And when we learn all their methods of operation, we’ll try and join their group. Jason said that while they would be making a good living, that would be chump change compared to what the professionals are making.

Peter said that sounds good to him because he had witnessed them win millions over the years that he had noticed. Peter said that they would be careful with their bankroll because they only had a small bankroll as opposed to the hundreds of thousands or maybe millions of dollars of their bankroll. Peter said that he could come up with about $15,000 and that they would only carry $1,000 each as their daily bankroll and that they would never bet more than $100 per bet, which meant that they were using the 10 percent method, which indicates that one would carry 10 percent of their total bankroll and that one never bets more than 10 percent of their daily bankroll and at no time would one allow oneself to lose no more than one daily bankroll. Peter said that he had overheard two of the professionals explaining that method to two other players, and he said, If that works for them, it’ll work for us.

Jason said that sounds like a winner and that he wouldn’t have any trouble abiding by it. Peter said, Jason, look over there. See the guy with the black hat? That’s one of them. Make sure you keep a close eye on him, and when he sits on a game, be sure to try and get a seat at the same table because he’s one of the main ones. Peter said that he wasn’t going to play at the same game because he had been playing with him a lot and he was beginning to know him. So I’m going to give you my $1,000, and you can play, and he wouldn’t think anything because he had never played with you.

Jason said, No problem, and he stood near the guy that they had named the Black Hat so that whenever he lands on a game and if there was an empty seat at the table on which he was playing, Jason would join the game, and if there wasn’t a seat, he would wait until one become open. Peter had told Jason that sometimes, one would have to wait for hours and never get a seat, but that was part of the game, and one had to be patient.

After they had gone over everything, Peter said that he was tired and that he was going to take a nap and get ready for the graveyard shift, and he told Jason to take his time and play off the Black Hat player’s signals. Peter said that he didn’t see the takeoff man. But you can bet that he is close by waiting for Black Hat to get the hot seat, as it was referred to among the players. Peter said why they had to have a certain seat. But in time, we’ll nail what they are doing. And he was off to his room.

Jason was ready. He was all fired up and ready to see what Black Hat was up to. Jason kept waiting for Black Hat to make his move so he could join the game and see if he was as good as the rest of the group that he had played with. Finally, after an hour, the Black Hat got a seat at the table. Luckily, there was another seat at the table. Jason dashed to the seat and sat down and bought in for $500, and the seat was to the left of Black Hat. That was perfect because Jason had to wait until he sent the signal to the big better. Jason didn’t know whether the big better was at the table, but he had noticed that, usually, the small better would always be the first player at the table, and the big better would join him later.

Jason began to bet a small amount of money until he could observe the signal that would be relayed to the big better. The dealer dealt all hands, and Jason noticed Black Hat picked up his cards and slowly brought them back to the rail of the table. While Jason, at this time, didn’t know who the big better was, however, it didn’t matter; but he knew that one of the other players was the takeoff man, or maybe all of them. Peter had informed Jason that there usually would be only two at the table, but sometimes, there will be the whole table full of nothing but players. Jason looked at his hand and he had twenty, and he noticed all the other players at the table took insurance because the dealer up card was an A, which meant that the dealer had a ten or a picture as his whole card. So Jason also took insurance. After everyone placed their insurance bet, the dealer turned over his hand, and he had a ten in the hole, which meant everybody would’ve lost had they not taken insurance. Jason was thinking to himself what a big edge these players have and how much money he and Peter had been giving away by just playing by the count.

Now that Jason was satisfied that Black Hat was accurate, he began to fire some larger bets. While he was not supposed to bet no more than $75, he decided to bet $100 a hand so that he wouldn’t slow the game down because the rest of the players were betting black chips, which were $100 chips, and when a player would bet a lot of small chips, that would slow the dealer down a bit because he had to count the chips, but the black chips were easy to count. The players wouldn’t do anything to slow down the game because the more hands the dealer dealt, the better, and the house loves for a dealer to deal fast so they can bust the chumps and they leave, and a new group of chumps would take their place. The players had reversed the result of a speedy dealer from the house, and speed was in their favor.

After the dealer turned over everybody’s hand and saw that they all took insurance except Black Hat, he said to him, Wow, only one unlucky player at the table and he lost a whopping $10 bet, and the rest of you players that are betting the real money got lucky and guessed my whole card right and saved your money.

Jason thought, Mm mm, you think that we got lucky.

Jason continued to play off Black Hat’s signals for about two hours. He was winning well. He decided to play the game really strong, not caring whether he was noticed by the other players; at this time, he knew all of them were players. Jason wanted to have a good night so he could give Peter his $1,000 and his 50 percent of the winnings, along with the $1,000 that he had left with Jason. Peter had to send his wife $2,400 for two months of expense money because he wouldn’t be going back every week like he would when he was working. Jason decided to overstep his betting method. He decided that he would spread his bet from $100 to $500, and the only time he would bet $500 would be when the deck was very rich.

The previous hand dealt left the deck very rich, and Jason saw that Black Hat had sent a signal that meant that the dealer had to take a hit. He had bet $500, and he looked at his hand and he had an eight and a three. This was good because he knew that the deck was rich and the dealer had to take a hit, so if he doubles down and didn’t get a good card, he still had a chance to win because the dealer had to take a hit, and with the deck being so rich, he should bust. Jason went for it and placed another $500 beside his original bet, and after the dealer had turned over the rest of the players’ hand, he turned over Jason’s hand last because he was sitting on third base, which was the number six seat, which had the last play.

Jason was really quiet and on the last seat. The dealer had turned over everybody’s hand, and he turned over his hand and he had a total of sixteen, and he hit his hand with a queen, which made him go over twenty-one. Jason hadn’t looked at his card because he was a little nervous and he wanted to see if the dealer would bust, which he did. The dealer turned over Jason’s hand, and Jason had caught another three, which gave him a total of fourteen, and if the dealer hadn’t busted, he would’ve lost a cool $1,000, which, at this stage of the game, he couldn’t afford. This play would simplify the tremendous odds against the house for these players, and they couldn’t lose over a period.

Jason decided that’d be his last play for the night. He quickly picked up his chips and didn’t bother to cash them into money because he would’ve to go to the cage and stand in line for a while and he didn’t want to be noticed, so he just picked up his chips and headed straight to the door, making sure that he wasn’t being followed. Jason could hardly wait to tell Peter the good news. That last bet put him up $4,000. He walked around the casino for a minute, making sure that nobody was watching him. One has to be careful when walking out of the casino with $5,000 because there are a lot of busted-out players that, out of desperation, will take your money. After he was satisfied that no one was following him, he rushed for the door.

Peter was elated that Jason had won $4,000. This furthered Peter’s desire to begin playing the game and giving up his job. Peter and Jason split the money and decided to check out the other casino, which was noted to have a lot of dealers that expose their whole card. Peter and Jason had decided that they wouldn’t play unless they were at the same table with the pros, which meant that they had to find more of them, of which there were plenty. They walked into Harrah’s Club. As Jason was waiting for Peter to enter, he looked over his shoulder and noticed the car that he had written down the plate number of a few weeks ago.

Peter, Peter! Jason shouted. Look over there. See the red sports car?

Peter looked and said, So?

Jason said, That’s the car that Black Hat and Tony were driving when I made that play with them a few weeks ago. But those two guys that are in it are not them.

Peter said, If they are driving Tony’s car, you can bet that they are players because I’ve been watching them for over two years, and they only associate with players.

The two players parked. One went into Harold’s, and the other went into Harrah’s. Peter told Jason that he was going to get the car so if they don’t play here; they are going to play somewhere and follow them. He told Jason to keep an eye on one of them until he gets back with the car, which would only take him five minutes because he only had to go across the street to the garage. Jason told him to hurry.

Peter parked the car a few cars behind the red sports car and went and told Jason that he had parked behind the players’ car and they would see where they would go from there. Jason suggested to Peter that he would sit in the car just in case they decided not to play and go elsewhere. We might miss them if we are in the clubs.

Peter said fine and that he would look in both of the clubs, and when and if he finds them, he’d come and get him, and if the condition was right, they would join the game, if there was a seat at the table.

Jason had sat there for over an hour, and neither of the players had come out, so he decided to check with Peter to see if he had run into anything of interest. Jason walked across the street to Harold’s Club. He saw Peter sitting in the Keno Parlor, and his eyes kept scanning the club looking for the players. They knew that they were in there buying some time. One had to wait a long time before he would spot players that they knew were in the club. The casino would have so many restaurants that would take too long to check out, so one had to be patient and wait.

Jason gave Peter a signal that meant that they had to talk, and Peter followed him into the washroom. Jason said that he was getting a little tired and that he was going take a nap. Peter said fine and that he would continue looking for a while longer.

After about three hours, Peter returned to the hotel room and said that he didn’t understand how he didn’t see the players. He said they had to go to Lake Tahoe if they couldn’t find any of them tomorrow. Peter said whenever they weren’t in Reno, they would be up at the Lake, and the two players that he couldn’t find must have been in one of the many restaurants that the casino had to offer. Peter said that he would always see at least six to ten players every week because they prefer playing on the weekend because the casino is packed and the pit bosses are busy and have less time to concentrate on the game; therefore, they could bet a large sum of money without putting a lot of heat on the game.

Heat, as used in this book, simply means, when there’s a lot of big bets being laid, the pit bosses would sweat the game, which meant standing all around the table and keeping on the phone to the eye in the sky, which is a hidden camera that observes everything that the players are doing. The camera can pick up something that the regular eye would miss, and the pit bosses wanted to be sure that there wasn’t any cheating going down. The pit would tell the eye in the sky to zoom in on the game that a large sum of money was being bet and see if they could spot anything that didn’t look normal. These cameras could be reduced to a standstill, and all the players’ motions would look so slowly until one could see any move that the players would make, and if they were doing any type of cheating, the camera would pick it up.

However, the professionals knew all this, and while they knew that they weren’t cheating, they also knew that if the pit bosses keep watching the camera, they might spot the reader sending the signals. That’s why the professionals had to make sure that all their signals were normal moves because they knew that the eye in the sky had been zoomed directly on the game they were playing. They didn’t miss anything. They would set up a pit, and they would practice over and over and over to make sure that the reader didn’t look suspicious while sending the signal. They would stand around the table just like the real pit bosses would, and they would keep picking up the phone as if they were talking to the eye in the sky, and if the reader looked a little suspicious, they would tell him that they had to do this or that, and they would continue practicing until they had it very smooth.

This is why the game lasted so long because these players were all business and professionals, and they were winning tons of money without cheating. That’s the reason all the professionals refused to play at the same table or even be seen with any type of cheat, of which they knew plenty. The first thing the pros would teach a student was to stay away from any type of cheat, and should they spot one that was playing a dealer that they were there to play, just stay away and don’t go near the table while they were there, and don’t go to the table after they had gone because the cheat might’ve left behind indication of some kind of cheat, and if it was discovered after the cheat had gone, the pit bosses would think whoever was at the table when the cheating method was spotted, they would think that someone at the table was doing the cheating, and one could be detained unnecessary and taken into the office and photographed and be eighty-sixed, which meant that they would be told that they couldn’t play there, and that was called a bust, and the players didn’t want that to happen.

There have been times that the new players didn’t abide by the teaching, and some of them were detained and photographed and listed as cheats. While they weren’t cheats, they were at the same table with them, and the casino would associate everybody that was playing at the table; they would be detained. Jason had witnessed a lot of suckers caught in that position, and the suckers didn’t have a clue as what the pit bosses were talking about, and they would swear and say that they were going to sue the casino, and a lot of them did and won. The suckers didn’t give a damn because they knew that they weren’t cheating, and most of them were tourists and would only be in town for a couple of days, and they could play blackjack in any of the casinos, so they didn’t care about not being allowed to play there again.

The pros did because they were only playing there because they were playing a dealer that exposed their whole card, and if one was allowed to play there, they knew that they would win, and they’d try and not get eighty-sixed. However, if one continued to win in Las Vegas, they would be listed as a cheat and would be told that the casino didn’t want their action, and they would be told to get the fuck out of there and don’t come back. That’s why the professionals would use so many players because the casino wouldn’t allow one to keep playing if he would win most of the time and he won about 90 percent of the time. When they didn’t have enough players to run through a casino, they would have to play under a disguise to keep playing there. The professionals were always ahead of the casino because they knew all their tactics and they had been doing it for years and winning millions.

Years later, the whole card Game had leaked, and a lot of new teams that didn’t know how to play the game under the pit bosses’ nose like the real professionals did began to wake up the pit because they would play the same dealer over and over, day after day. They didn’t think that they would be told that they couldn’t play there, but they found out the hard way. While the casino knew that the professionals weren’t cheating, they had to list them as cheats so they could keep them out of the casino. The casino would photograph the players that they detained and pass their picture around to the rest of the casinos, and the security would be on the lookout for them. The professionals didn’t care about them passing their picture around because they had a makeup artist that could make one look so different that one’s own children wouldn’t know them. But the new teams would eventually shut down all the games because, by playing a certain dealer over and over day after day, the pit would change the dealer from table to table, and the new teams would go to the table that the whole card dealer was dealing, and the pit found out why the new teams would only play certain dealers, and they would begin to talk to the dealer and ask them why did certain players only play at their table, and the dealers had no clue, but they would be watched very closely by the pit bosses, who thought that the dealer and the players were working together.

There have been dealers and players that work together, but 99 percent of the dealers didn’t know that they were showing their whole card, and those that worked with players didn’t know how to expose their whole card, and they would only help the player, who was their friend or another dealer that dealt at another casino, and they would let them know if they had to take a hit whenever they would have a picture or a ten as their up card, and they would look and see if there was an A in the hole. After looking at their down card and they see that they don’t have an A, the dealer would relay to their dealer friend that they had either a pat hand or a stiff. The term pat hand means that the dealer has at least seventeen or better and would not take a hit, and a stiff meant that the dealer had less than seventeen and was required to take a hit. The dealer friend thought that was enough for them to win, but they were in for a surprise because most of the dealers didn’t know how to count, and it doesn’t matter whether the dealer had a stiff, and if the deck was poor, the dealer would catch a small card and make a good hand and the chump dealer, player would have stood on a small stiff that the professionals would have taken a hit because they would know that the dealer had a small stiff, and so did the player.

The professionals would know whether they would take a hit or stand, and they would do whatever the count required, but the sucker dealer would stand just because the dealer had relayed that he had to take a hit. That’s why sucker players would lose so much money because they would double down whenever they had a hand that they could double down with. They don’t know whether the deck was rich or poor, and if the deck is poor, which meant that there are more small cards and their chances of catching a small card was greater than them catching a ten or a picture, and the sucker dealer would lose twice the amount. The pros would have won both bets because they would only double down when the deck was rich, and they would know what the dealer whole card was. That’s why it was impossible for the casino to win off these players because when they would double down, they would know that the deck was rich, and they also knew what the dealer whole card was, and should they not catch a ten or a big card, they knew that the dealer had to take a hit, and they’d catch a big card, which would make them go over twenty-one.

For years, the pit bosses thought that these players were just card counters, and to counter their play, the pit bosses would tell the dealer to reshuffle the cards after each hand dealt so that the counters wouldn’t