Sucker bet - James Swain [80]
In the center of the room were the props Valentine had told Gladys to bring: a blackjack table, an easel with drawing paper, and Magic Markers.
“Entertain them for a few minutes,” Valentine said.
She shot him a furtive glance. “What do you mean?”
“Start talking.”
She did, and he picked up a Magic Marker and began writing on the easel. When he gave lectures for casino executives, he would write while someone timed him with a stopwatch. The exercise never took more than five minutes.
Four minutes later he capped the marker and glanced at Running Bear. The chief was going to be a free man soon and would go back to helping his people build a better life for themselves. It was payment enough, he decided. Gladys picked up the cue.
“Mr. Valentine is now going to explain how our blackjack dealers have been cheating our customers. Mr. Valentine has informed me that this method of cheating—which he calls Big Rock / Little Rock—is something new, which I guess means that Harry and his gang are not just your average run-of-the-mill cheats.”
“Objection!” the accused’s lawyer said, jumping to his feet.
“Sit down,” the lead elder said.
“But—”
“Save it. Mr. Valentine, the floor is yours.”
Valentine walked over to the easel and pointed at his handiwork. “Before I start, let me ask you a question. Are any of you familiar with this chart?”
The five elders put their glasses on and stared at the easel.
The elders mumbled among themselves. Finally their leader said, “No.”
Valentine blew out his lungs. There were three hundred Indian casinos in the United States, and the majority of them didn’t understand the basic rules of their own games.
“Okay,” he said, “here’s the deal. Back in 1962, a mathematician named Edward Thorp wrote a book called Beat the Dealer: A Winning Strategy for the Game of Twenty-one. In the book, Thorp explained how to count cards at blackjack. I’m sure you’re familiar with card-counting?”
The elders nodded in unison.
“Good. Thorp also explained something called Basic Strategy. Basic Strategy is the best possible way to play blackjack. The rules of Basic Strategy differ, depending on the number of decks of cards in use. This chart is based upon the number of decks you’re using in your casino.” He paused as the elders stared at the chart. “This making sense?”
Again, the elders nodded.
“Now, Basic Strategy is known by most blackjack players. And by all dealers and pit bosses. Most casinos sell laminated cards with Basic Strategy printed on them in their gift shops. Players are invited to use them at the tables.”
One of the elders mumbled under his breath. Now they really felt stupid, Valentine thought.
“What this means is simply this: Basic Strategy is how the game is played. So much so, that if a player doesn’t use Basic Strategy, another player will spell it out to them. Or the dealer will.”
“Huh,” one of the elders said.
Valentine went to the blackjack table. Taking a deck of the casino’s cards out of its box, he shuffled them. The cards had been canceled, the edges cut short so they could not later be introduced into a game. He dealt three hands, two for the players, one for himself.
For the players, he dealt the cards faceup. His own hand he dealt one card faceup, the other facedown. His faceup card was a six. He pointed at it.
“To play Basic Strategy, you assume the dealer’s hidden card is a ten. That’s because there are more tens in the deck than any other cards. Since I have a six showing, my cards probably total sixteen, which is a weak hand. Make sense?”
“Yes,” the lead elder said.
Valentine pointed at the first player’s hand. It was a pair of sevens. To the elder sitting at the far end of the table, he said, “Sir, let’s pretend these sevens are yours. How would you play the hand?”
The elder stared at the chart. “I’d split my cards.”
“Very good.” He pointed at the second hand, an eight and a two. To the same elder he said, “How would you play this hand?”
The elder again looked at the chart. “I’d double-down