Blackjack newsletter and blackjack strategySubscribe to the Blackjack Insider newsletter

BLACKJACK TOURNAMENT E-BOOKS BY BJI AUTHOR KEN SMITH!
How to Win EVEN MORE Blackjack Tournaments - Volume II... only $14.95. Ken Smith's second e-book on tournament blackjack contains more of his winning strategies that have made him one of the best tournament blackjack players in the world.

Or, purchase both Volume I and Volume II together for $24.95... over 15% off!

NEW! Read how Ken used skill to win a recent blackjack tournament. Get his books and you could too!

How To Win EVEN MORE Blackjack Tournaments - Volume II
(web ads above removed with paid membership. Click here for advertisement rates)

THE PALMS CASINO vs. JOE PANE

(Or if You Must, The Snake vs. the Mongoose)

by Joe Pane

Joe Pane is a professional blackjack, video poker, and poker player. He has appeared on the TV Show World Series of Blackjack and was a featured player on the UBT Show Poker Superstars vs. Blackjack Super Stars. Joe was also featured on an independent TV show that featured the world’s greatest gamblers. Joe was named the #1 Blackjack Tournament player by All In Magazine. He also has hosted three different radio shows that cover gaming and is a frequent guest on the Mark Hoke show in Las Vegas on KLAV 1230 am. Joe has taken his blackjack tournament skills over to poker with many poker tournament cashes under his belt, including a WSOP cash in a no limit event that had over 4,000 players in it . Joe's total tournament wins are in excess of $1,000,000

The life of an advantage player is sometimes glamorous but most of the time it calls for stealth-like behavior. That’s because casinos HATE advantage players more than a snake hates a mongoose.

Before I go into the details of the battle that took place between the Palms and me, let me give you a time line that will set up the story.

When the Palms first opened in November 2001, they offered a double-deck blackjack game that was very beatable, with over 75% penetration and very little heat. (For the novice player, casino heat means weak floor people that could be fooled into not being able to recognize a player who could successfully count a deck down, spread their bets, and remove chips from the tables, undetected.

I engaged in this behavior for almost six months, appearing at their tables two to three times a week with playing session of 45 minutes or less. Now I know that every card counter will tell you that you should play a good game for as long as you can. However, this option is OK for players that visit Las Vegas maybe two or three times a year but when you live here your sessions must be no longer than an hour.

For the most part of my six-month "employment" J at the Palms, I held true to the above, booking wins almost every day that I played, or at worse, turning losses into a breakeven day or a small profit or loss. My goal was to pick up anywhere between $200-$300 at each session and then leave.

On this one day in March of 2002, I could not win a hand. The more positive the count, the more I bet but unfortunately, the losing continued. Before I knew it, I am stuck over $1,000 in less than 45 minutes. This was something that burnt a hole in my pants pocket literally.

Instead of taking the $1K hit and sucking it up to return another day to a game that I had been crushing, I failed the cardinal rule of giving too many people a chance to evaluate my skill level. Here’s what happened.

Six hours later, I had recouped the $1,000 and got even, but what I did not know at that time that my days of playing blackjack at the Palms was over.

A few days later, I returned to my personal ATM machine (i.e., the double-deck game at the Palms) only to see my bet pushed out of the circle and informed that my action was no longer wanted there.

Not to be deterred, I returned to the Palms about two months later and began playing on a $25 DD table without giving the dealer my player’s card. I was good for about 30 minutes, then the unthinkable happened ... Hall of Fame baseball player Reggie Jackson, and his friend sat down at my table. Reggie’s friend proceeded to pull out of his jacket pocket over $10,000 in $500 chips and Reggie had about $2,000 in black chips. I knew at that moment I had to exit quickly, but not too quickly to raise eyebrows because who really leaves a table when a Hall Of Fame baseball player sits down with you to play.

So low and behold with Reggie sitting on 3rd base the first hand he is dealt is a 2 vs. a dealers up card of a 2 and he turns to me and says, "Hey NY (because I was wearing NYPD hat) how should I play this hand?" Trying to act cool and collected I said, "Mr. October, I believe basic strategy says to hit that hand." He follows my direction and catches a seven for 19 and the dealer flips over a 10 in the hole and proceeded to bust with a 10. If Reggie stands, the dealer wipes the table out with her own 19. Reggie gives me a high five, which I’m sure every NY Yankee fan would die for; however, for me that was not a big deal because I have always hated the Yankees (but I was about to be punished for it).

Next thing I recalled is a voice behind me saying, "Joe." I didn’t respond. Again, he says, "Joe," and again, I didn’t respond because today I am not Joe Pane. He then called out, "Joe Pane." I still didn’t respond. Next thing I know he is...

...enter your member login information below to read this article/newsletter...

Paid Members-Only Article

You have clicked on a link to a Blackjack Insider web page or article for paid subscribers. You must have a paid membership to the Blackjack Insider newsletter to view this content. About 1/2 of the articles in each issue of the Blackjack Insider are for paid members only, while the rest are viewable by everyone. Your purchased membership will allow you to read all Blackjack Insider articles for 12 months.

Enter your user name and password below (they were listed and e-mailed to you after you purchased your Blackjack Insider membership):

User name:
Password: (case sensitive)
Save user name and password in your browser so you don't have to type them again later

Forgot your membership id or password? Click here.

How do I get a membership?

A membership can be purchased online at our secure store with your credit card for only $19.95 per year. You will receive a user name and password immediately by e-mail which you can use to read the all past and future members-only articles for 12 months, as well as the regular free articles.

CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE A ONE YEAR MEMBERSHIP NOW... only $19.95

Do I have to buy a membership?

No. Blackjack Insider will continue to be published as a free monthly e-newsletter. But about 1/2 of the articles each month will be for paid members only. Subscribers without a membership can still view and read the non-members articles for free.

What happens after I buy a membership?

Immediately after you complete your purchase, you will receive a unique login user name and password. These are displayed on the final purchase page, and are e-mailed to you. When you click on a members-only article in our web site, you will be prompted for this user name and password (as shown above). Simply enter them, and enjoy the article! Note: make sure you turn on the checkbox above when you login, to save the user name and password so that you don't have to re-enter them every time you view members-only articles.

Why did you switch to paid memberships?

Blackjack Insider is a professional monthly publication with top-notch articles by world-reknown gaming experts. In addition, we have regular reporters that monitor game conditions and tournament schedules throughout North America. We use a partially paid subscriber model to enable us to continue getting the best content for our readers from leading authors on blackjack and gaming.

©2015, DeepNet Technologies. No material to be copied without express permission of DeepNet Technologies.
This site developed by DeepNet Technologies, Ontario, Canada. Contact webmaster @ bjinsider . com if you have problems.
This site is best viewed in a 800x600 graphics mode, or higher.