Casino Lesson 1 Collective Greed

I have had a weird hang-up on unions and collective bargaining. Let's take a look at what happened back at another casino the day after my initial visit concering counting and our unsympathetic bartender (early May blog)....

I sat there near first base just looking around waiting on the dealer to cash me some chips. I had plunked $160 down and was ready for a little action. As I waited I noticed the vast assortment of slot machines surrounding all the table games. All you could hear were the little bells and whistles that excited the visitors that had made their way to the mountain resort. Immediately to my right, I noticed the roulette table.

As I looked around, I notice the varying peoples that walked around looking and talking; these folks were having a great time. Every now and then, I'd see a babe. One particular was quite nice looking. She was with her boyfriend, and as she got closer and closer..............well I became disappointed. Sweetheart, could you lay off the base just a bit? Let your beauty shine and accentuate it with a little blush here and some liner there. Why some chicks coat their mug as if they were a car going through primer job, I have no idea!

Anyhow, I got my chips. First hand--two face cards! Oh, I like this dealer. He went and displayed all the cards to all the players. Everyone seemed primed to be set up for double downs etc. for they were were all in the 9-12 territory. But wait! The dealer's up card was a 2. Being the first person at the table, the dealer says, "you're staying." He moves on to the older gentleman next to me. "Hey wait, I was gonna split, " I told the dealer in dismay.

"You don't split when you have face cards," he said. Everyone at the table agreed by nodding their heads and murmurred. "Well if you have a little card then why not? You didn't give me a chance!" Keep in mind, I was smiling and being very light hearted about the situation. The dealer goes on "you gotta ask the table when you do that. If you dont, I'll lose the table." What the fuck is this shit? Permission? Fuck that! Sorry pal, I dont see Mom or Dad anywhere. So why do I need permission? All this shit ran through my mind in an instant. As I came together, I saw smiles on the folks to my left. They were happy that the dealer spoke for them; however, they weren't happy with my technique.

"You never split face cards," the older clean-cut man said to me. He shook his head. He was sitting to my immediate left with his older mom/concumbine/wife/aunt whatever the hell she was. I could have cared less. "If dealer has a 2 and I got face cards, yes, I'm going to split. I'm here to make money like anyone else. I'm sorry but I play for me and not for anyone else." I couldn't believe I just said that. I have no problem asserting myself, but I would never do that to a person who was just giving me advise even though I knew the game better than he did. I'm a bit disgusted with myself.

They were all shaking their heads now. "Dealer, is it illegal in blackjack to split face cards?" I asked. He shook his head. I said, "Well........there ya go!" This table didn't like me as much as the other one the night before.

The above is interesting game theory study. In BJ, players can work in unison to beat the dealer. If you get one moron who doesnt know what he's doing or a BJ enthusiast like me who asks to hit when he shouldn't, then that could screw up the running order for everyone else. Remember in BJ, when you bust your money is taken automatically. The dealer could bust later and you still wont get your money back for a push. Here you see players wanting to make money, but as a team. I, however, wanted to maximize my interest in this particular hand which reqired me to split w/ face cards showing. Here I'm getting the most money on the table with the most favorable of odds. Do I give a shit about others making money? Nah. I dont care if the fact that I take a card screws Mr. Clean Cut next to me, Mrs Postmenopausal next to him, Mrs. Charisma to her left, or Mr. Impotent at third base. All I care about is maximizing my profit, period.

I'm not a team guy. Correction, I'm not a team guy unless I pick my team--big difference. I share with who I want, not because some schmo tells me to. Anyhow, the above is how unions work. They stay together and say "united we stand, together we fall" kind of bullshit. Do they really mean that? I dont think so. If company needs to cut back on costs to stay above breakeven or lessen the red ink effect, do you think unions are willing to take a pay cut as a "unified body" as opposed to having a few unlucky ones get the axe as long as the remaining don't have their pockets books touched? Hmmmmm,, very interesting my dear Watson!

Players 2 3 4 5 didnt like Player 1, me (only b/c I was the first to recieve the cards), because I was doing my own thing as opposed to working with the group. I can load up my bets so long as I bring them with me. Not working with the group would at times maximize my gains while discounting theirs. They didnt like this. Yet they would applaud me only if I worked to their advantage. I'm sorry, are you going to give me a part of you realized stake at the end of the game when you leave the table? Are we not all here to make money? I have to ask other players permission to do something they are doing? I have to ask permission b/c I have a greater understanding of the game than they do? Hah!

Drak's Tip

If you have to play with a real asshole in BJ, make sure you sit to his immediate right. You can sand bag his ass--hook, line and sinker. But hey, I'm not a malicious guy.

Sorry I got off point. As I was gonna say, unions tend to be a shelter for the weak. I've had the option of joining where I work, but I'd prefer not to. Some people get too comfortable at where they are at and start doing whatever they want (this could be a posting on the future, Working With a Bitch, not sure though). They become jerks who protrude what they want and then get insensitive when its thrown back at them. Then of course, they run to the union or threaten with union intervention. It all makes for wasted productivity, needless anxiety, and lowered morale. What a bunch of pussies! No offense my lovely ladies reading my blog.

Dont get me wrong; they're are some very dedicated employees who are apart of unions. Its okay! I just think its kinda funny on how they operate. At first they had their legitimate say, and now, well.......they have become the greedy moguls that they once spurned back in the olden times. Hey, Mr Hoffa, would you like your pay cut now?