Giving advice at the gaming tables isn’t for everyone. I’ve played with some who love to tell others what to do, whether the advice is welcome or not. Others never give advice, or give it only when asked.
I’m in the only when asked crowd, and am perfectly happy to let others play their own hands.
Not long ago, I heard from Gareth, a blackjack player who also falls on the only-when-asked side of the advice ledger. But he found he had to open up one day when he was spotted as a good player by a dealer.
“ I was at a conference, and had time just for about 45 minutes at a blackjack table before the opening seminar,” Gareth wrote. “Two guys at the table obviously had been losing money, and obviously didn’t know what they were doing.
“I got on a pretty good run betting green ($25) chips, and before you know it, I was up a couple of hundred dollars. The other two guys kept losing, but one of them said, ‘More power to you brother. I have to hand it to anyone who can beat Frank here.’ And he nodded toward the dealer, Frank.
“Frank told them, ‘He’s just a good solid player. You should follow his lead. He’s going to have a nice session here.’
“After that, anytime they had a close call hand, they asked me what to do. I couldn’t tell them I didn’t know. Frank had already tipped them off, and I knew Frank knew I knew basic strategy. (Sorry for all those ‘knews’!”)
“So until it was time for me to go, they made basic strategy decisions, too, and did a little better. I couldn’t be too upset with Frank. I left for my seminar $500 richer and left Frank a nice toke.”
