regret this, Sade. I
don’t know a thing about this game, other than apparently a lot of
people get pissed off at you if you don’t play exactly the right
way.”
Sadie briefly touched Cassie’s hand in
reassurance. “Don’t worry about it. I’m sure people will cut us a
break. We can’t be the only blackjack rookies in Vegas.”
“Yeah, but you told me you studied the game.
If I know you, that means you’re damn near an expert by now,”
Cassie said with a knowing air.
Sadie pushed two chips into the rectangle in
front of her. “There’s a standard system that’s easy to learn. If
you stick to the system, the odds say you’ll still end up losing
around a couple of percent over the long run. But on any given
night you can be up. Or down. Maybe even by a lot.”
“So, that means you’ll be okay, but
I’ll be screwed. Have I got that right?”
Sadie laughed. “That’s about the size of it.
You have to decide on your limit and walk away when you hit
it.”
“Well, I figure that’ll take about ten
minutes. Then I’ll head back to the slots and veg out until it’s
time to hit the club.”
Sadie nodded absently, already focusing on
the game. Cassie was right. She probably would be out in about ten
minutes, whereas Sadie had every intention of challenging—and
beating—the house.
“Why don’t we meet up in my room at eleven?”
she replied. “I’ll need to change, though you look perfect
already.”
Cassie had chosen a lacy camisole and a
short, sexy skirt for the casino, while Sadie had opted for jeans
and a pink Polo tee shirt. After last night, she had learned her
lesson. No more wardrobe malfunctions on the casino floor.
The dealer whipped cards out of the shoe with
lightning fast skill, two to each of the six players, and two
dealer cards. Cassie drew a queen and a six, Sadie a nine and an
eight. The dealer flipped over his first card, an eight.
When Cassie’s turn came around, she held up
her palm to indicate she’d stand with the sixteen. Sadie cringed,
while the guy on her left in the anchor position shook his head
with a sigh.
Sadie waved away the dealer, sticking on
seventeen.
The anchor guy stood too. The dealer flipped
over the hole card—a jack.
As their chips were swept away, Cassie turned
to Sadie. “The way that guy reacted I guess I must have screwed
that one up.”
“It’s okay. Standing on sixteen is
instinctive for people who don’t know the basic strategy. But the
strategy says you should have hit on a dealer eight.”
“Jesus,” Cassie groaned. “I’d need a freaking
chart or something to play this game.”
“There is a chart you can memorize.
It’s in here now.” Sadie pointed a finger at her temple.
“Ah, yes. I wouldn’t have expected anything
less from Professor Genius.”
Sadie grinned as the dealer laid out the
second hand. This time Sadie stood on twelve against the dealer’s
five.
“Good for you,” the guy next to her said in a
low voice. “Nice to see you know what you’re doing, not like some
of the airheads around here.”
Sadie didn’t know whether to thank him for
the compliment or jab him in the ribs for taking a shot that was
obviously aimed at Cassie. She settled for an imperious glare.
An hour and a half later, long after Cassie
had departed for greener pastures, Sadie hit a winning streak. Her
two hundred dollar stake more than doubled. And it didn’t surprise
her a bit to find she could remember every card played, and could
easily keep a running track of the distribution of high and low
cards. According to her research, card counters called that the
heat of the shoe.
When the third shoe hit a plus seventeen,
Sadie knew there were a lot of high cards left unplayed and started
tripling her bets. After she won four of the next five hands, the
anchor guy started following her lead, raising his own bets. She
kept her bets at sixty dollars a hand until she got another hot
shoe, and then upped them to a hundred. That drew the
don’t know a thing about this game, other than apparently a lot of
people get pissed off at you if you don’t play exactly the right
way.”
Sadie briefly touched Cassie’s hand in
reassurance. “Don’t worry about it. I’m sure people will cut us a
break. We can’t be the only blackjack rookies in Vegas.”
“Yeah, but you told me you studied the game.
If I know you, that means you’re damn near an expert by now,”
Cassie said with a knowing air.
Sadie pushed two chips into the rectangle in
front of her. “There’s a standard system that’s easy to learn. If
you stick to the system, the odds say you’ll still end up losing
around a couple of percent over the long run. But on any given
night you can be up. Or down. Maybe even by a lot.”
“So, that means you’ll be okay, but
I’ll be screwed. Have I got that right?”
Sadie laughed. “That’s about the size of it.
You have to decide on your limit and walk away when you hit
it.”
“Well, I figure that’ll take about ten
minutes. Then I’ll head back to the slots and veg out until it’s
time to hit the club.”
Sadie nodded absently, already focusing on
the game. Cassie was right. She probably would be out in about ten
minutes, whereas Sadie had every intention of challenging—and
beating—the house.
“Why don’t we meet up in my room at eleven?”
she replied. “I’ll need to change, though you look perfect
already.”
Cassie had chosen a lacy camisole and a
short, sexy skirt for the casino, while Sadie had opted for jeans
and a pink Polo tee shirt. After last night, she had learned her
lesson. No more wardrobe malfunctions on the casino floor.
The dealer whipped cards out of the shoe with
lightning fast skill, two to each of the six players, and two
dealer cards. Cassie drew a queen and a six, Sadie a nine and an
eight. The dealer flipped over his first card, an eight.
When Cassie’s turn came around, she held up
her palm to indicate she’d stand with the sixteen. Sadie cringed,
while the guy on her left in the anchor position shook his head
with a sigh.
Sadie waved away the dealer, sticking on
seventeen.
The anchor guy stood too. The dealer flipped
over the hole card—a jack.
As their chips were swept away, Cassie turned
to Sadie. “The way that guy reacted I guess I must have screwed
that one up.”
“It’s okay. Standing on sixteen is
instinctive for people who don’t know the basic strategy. But the
strategy says you should have hit on a dealer eight.”
“Jesus,” Cassie groaned. “I’d need a freaking
chart or something to play this game.”
“There is a chart you can memorize.
It’s in here now.” Sadie pointed a finger at her temple.
“Ah, yes. I wouldn’t have expected anything
less from Professor Genius.”
Sadie grinned as the dealer laid out the
second hand. This time Sadie stood on twelve against the dealer’s
five.
“Good for you,” the guy next to her said in a
low voice. “Nice to see you know what you’re doing, not like some
of the airheads around here.”
Sadie didn’t know whether to thank him for
the compliment or jab him in the ribs for taking a shot that was
obviously aimed at Cassie. She settled for an imperious glare.
An hour and a half later, long after Cassie
had departed for greener pastures, Sadie hit a winning streak. Her
two hundred dollar stake more than doubled. And it didn’t surprise
her a bit to find she could remember every card played, and could
easily keep a running track of the distribution of high and low
cards. According to her research, card counters called that the
heat of the shoe.
When the third shoe hit a plus seventeen,
Sadie knew there were a lot of high cards left unplayed and started
tripling her bets. After she won four of the next five hands, the
anchor guy started following her lead, raising his own bets. She
kept her bets at sixty dollars a hand until she got another hot
shoe, and then upped them to a hundred. That drew the
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