Fran: Don't smoke a cigarette.

Jimmy: Makes me look calm.

Fran: What kind of person tries to look calm?

You are either calm or you are not calm. You cannot try to look calm unless you are a great actor. There are 16 major muscle groupings and many more obscure muscles in the human face. You cannot control them as well as you think. How you act is more a matter of attitude. Like a “method actor,” you must feel your part. Keep in mind that you are doing nothing wrong. All you are doing is playing cards and using your brain. Card counting is simply the correct way to play. It’s nutty to ignore the cards that have passed by. Why would you ignore the fact that all the aces have been dealt in a single-deck game and still bet that you will get a Blackjack? Completely erase from your mind any concept that card counting is anything other than an obvious part of the game that everyone should use. Non-counters are doing something wrong, not counters.

You must drop all feelings of paranoia. Well, not all as they really are out to get you. But, all feelings that they have any reason to “get you.” If you see the pit boss on the phone, it probably has nothing to do with you. He’s just trying to look busy.  If you want people to feel comfortable with you, you must feel comfortable with them. Even if you have to delude yourself. When you walk through a casino, don’t skulk down the back corridors between the slots. The MGM has 1,400 cameras and you aren’t hiding from anyone. On the other hand, don’t think the cameras are all aimed at you. You are not on a reality show, and they are primarily worried about dealer cheating. Also, don’t walk at high-speed through the casino. Vacationers don’t walk with a purpose. Don’t make a beeline for the cashier, or even act as if you know where it is.

Summary to the Summary

Again, forgive my rambling. I am trying to put across dueling concepts. We are not con men. But we are treated like con men. So, we may need to think like con men to some extent. But, we cannot let this pollute our minds into subconsciously acting like con men. Advantage players are like everyone else in the casino — they just play better.

 © 2009 Norman Wattenberger