Another quick update from the road:
Yesterday, I drove to Atlantic City with Ellis as my passenger (through torrential rains, I might add!). Ellis had played blackjack and baccarat professionally for many years in AC, but had not been back in over 13 years. So, this trip promised to be a very nostalgic one.
The first stop was to pay homage to the Boardwalk, the beach, and the Atlantic Ocean, Ellis’ favorite places in AC. There, Ellis bought me a beer at an oceanfront bar, and told me many fascinating war stories of playing in AC. Getting rolled and barred was just another day’s work for Ellis back then.
Then we played baccarat at the Trump Plaza, where a BTC member had reported tables are presently very OTB4L friendly. We won +10u in each of two shoes. (Well, Ellis got +10u in each, while I only got +9u in each, because I started 1 decision late in the first shoe, and used a different wager on accident in the second.)
Later, we met up with Keith Smith, Ron DiBenedetto, Lorie, and Donna for beers, and afterwards they treated me to a splendid dinner at Carmines, a very classy, authentic Italian restaurant near the Tropicana Casino.
After dinner, we returned to the Trump Plaza and played two more baccarat shoes (no-commissions baccarat, this time), winning +9u in one, and +6u in the other.
Trump Plaza, Atlantic City, 08/14/11 Shoes (until coloring up):
Shoe 1: P2132123231111222 (+10u)
Shoe 2: B21111122111221111112 (+10u)
Shoe 3: P1311122125111122 (+9u)
Shoe 4: B54131211312 (+6u)
Including the 2 shoes from yesterday, Ellis has won all 6 out of the 6 shoes I had witnessed him play.
Total units won over the 2 days: +55u.
The lowest drawdown was -1u for all but two shoes: the first one in PA, which had a -3u drawdown, and the last shoe in AC, which had a -4u drawdown.
Our bankroll was always 20u, though in hindsight, we would have done just as well with far less.
Total playing time was only a few hours.
The vast majority of the bets were 1u or 2u, and a few 3u sprinkled here and there. The largest wager was 4u, and we only had to make that 4u wager once in two of the shoes.
Thus, we nearly tripled our bankrolls in 6 games, very conservatively and leisurely played over 3 sessions.
Ellis is a true baccarat master.
More to come …
(Note: There was 1 killer shoe which Ellis and Keith had co-played the night before the seminar and lost with a final score of -4u. Unfortunately, I was not able to watch them play this game, since I had not yet arrived in PA. More on this in my complete report to come.)
A couple pictures I took of the Trump Plaza:
ImSpirit 
7 replies on “Ellis and I Take on Atlantic City”
Hi Imspirit
With all due respect you seem fickle based on this and your last few articles. Is this blog just a safety net of contingent explanations if this trip doesn’t pan out? You seemed adamant of its improbability just a few days ago and now this.
S
Hi S,
Are you referring to Transcendental Baccaratology? If so, I think you had misunderstood my point. In summary, the point was that no computer simulations of pattern-based mechanical systems (including all of Ellis’) in and of themselves will ever yield positive expectations, so why bother testing them anymore? It’s a completely futile endeavor. That’s what I was adamant about. I was basically admitting that I had been wasting my time and efforts for the past year, because what was I expecting to find in those simulations other than 1+1 will always equal 2?
Then I went on to surmise that if there truly were ways to consistently beat the game, they must arise from something else, something other than the methodologies of the systems alone. Those were the avenues one should explore if one believes a consistent way to win exists. If a “holy grail” exists, it wins because it transcends the rigorous confines of the math. Re-read the last section of the post, and hopefully it will make more sense.
Regardless, I have no agenda here, other than to chronicle my own growth and journey, and it has gone through plenty of the same twists and turns as any other journey in life.
I wish you the best in your own.
[…] As I had briefly relayed in my previous two posts (Shadowing Ellis and Ellis and I Take on Atlantic City), Ellis convincingly demonstrated to me with real money in live play that he can consistently win at baccarat. Thanks to him, I am a little wealthier today in terms of chips, experience, and perspective. […]
I have not seen a complete analysis of the successful PA/Atlantic City trip shoes being discussed her or on the BTC board. There were 12 persons who attended. Would love to hear their impressions as another trip is being scheduled now. Just feels a little weird no one wants to share their joy..
@Joey – I’ll transcribe and post at BTC the six shoes which I watched Ellis’ play during the PA/AC trip. Then he can hopefully provide the play-by-play commentary.
Hi there i play for many years there is other way to play by number system with it follow the numbers with it will make your system much easy to follow.thanks joe
Thanks, Joe, Keep up the good play!