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Energy expresses information
that can be perceived in every situation. It is possible for a player to
benefit, perhaps even to have an edge, using this information in casino
games.
The “wall” is a phenomenon
that occurs in both in both Craps and Blackjack. Hitting the wall is an
energy experience. You can train yourself to recognize when you have hit
the wall. Doing so may save your bankroll. When hitting the wall, it
seems that you are waiting for something to happen and you feel trapped
or stuck in the game.
After playing for a while, the
game stalls. Financially, the game is going nowhere. You will notice
that you are not losing and you are not winning. It is a limbo-like
feeling.
There are several ways to
determine that you have hit the wall. Here are three examples. 1. The
bankroll is even, no profit no loss. 2. The bankroll is down a bit say
minus four to six units. 3. The bankroll is up a bit say plus four to
six units. (one unit equals your minimum bet)
Say that you are a $5 player.
You have won eight units or $40. The $40 level seems to be a barrier.
You are unable to go beyond an eight unit profit.
At the $40 barrier the game
stalls and you lose four to six units. You climb back to a profit of $40
only to experience another loss, and so it goes. It is back and forth
when you are at the wall.
The same experience can happen
when losing. You are down, say, eight units. Eight units becomes the
bottom barrier. You claw your way back four to six units and backslide
back to the eight unit loss. Again, up, down, it is a stall at the wall.
From my many hours of
experience, the smartest, simplest and most profitable thing to do is to
leave the game upon hitting the wall. The energy evident for producing
profit is gone. I call it “win one, lose one, push”. No matter how
you adjust your play, nothing works.
Only the casino makes money at
this point. I know of no magic that will change or perk up the stale
energy. I have tried to bring up the energy. Sticking pins in a boxman-voodoo-doll
is a sure way of being barred.
Leaving seems like simple
advice, yet the tendency is for the player is to engage the intellect.
The player thinks that the doldrums cannot go on forever. Intellect
talks the player into staying with the game.
Perhaps the player thinks,
“This game has to got to break away eventually. What the heck, I have
only been here forty-five minutes? I have to show something for my time.
After all, I’m not losing, I can make this table pay.” The intellect
provides logical explanations to keep playing but the energy tells a
different story.
I suggest playing sensitive to
the energy or the “vibs” at the table. Follow the action closely. Be
present and in the moment. Know what is going on all of the time. Keep
yourself “switched on”, looking for a reason or signal to leave the
game. Positive reasons to stay with a game are obvious enough.
More times than not, after
hitting the wall, the game tends to break up and go down hill. Too
often, when this shift occurs, it happens very rapidly. The player,
asleep at the wheel and caught with their pants down, usually leaves the
game that way, “down”.
The
message to bail out is a feeling experience. It is a feeling of being in
a stalled state of no progress, going nowhere. I was raised Catholic.
That feeling of Limbo that Sister Mary Fatima always scared me with,
comes to mind.
When you are in touch with the
energy, you will experience a “knowing”. You can perceive the energy
and know what kind of game you are playing by how it feels. It feels
comfortable or it feels uncomfortable. Perceiving energy is real. When
it is a negative feeling, ask yourself “why am I not feeling good
about this experience”. Look down at your chips and you will see your
answer.
You experience this energy
feeling all the time in your normal daily life. It is that little voice.
The one you always promise to listen to next time… “if only I had
listened to myself”.
Working with energy requires
discipline, quieting the mind and subjugating the ego and the emotions.
Perceiving energy is a subtle technique that intellect, ego and emotion
easily overpower. You have to ask them to step aside while you notice
your perceptions and feelings. It takes practice, but it is something
everyone is capable of achieving.
Once the intellect or ego
engages, it takes charge of the player and the player’s game. The
player is not paying attention to messages that can be perceived from
the energy at the table.
Being aware of the subtle
messages and their meaning is what I refer to as “reading the
energy”. Most players follow their emotions not the energy. The ego
whispers, “something good should happen because… because I want it
to, because it is due, because I am one heck of a player, this stagnate
game can not go on forever, I want to win.”
The player’s perspective is
not on the action. Reading the energy is traded for an emotional
perspective. A longing and yearning for the win, at any cost, is
negative emotion.
Desperately wishing that
something good will happen is a sure sign that you do not believe or
feel that it will happen. Negative emotion is like a magnet. It draws
negativity. Detachment from ego, emotion and intellect requires strong
will and discipline.
Without discipline, lulled into
a kind of dream-state wishing for future success with the absence of
anything happening, the player goes on autopilot.
The mundane rhythm of the game
gets boring and play becomes rote behavior. Place the bet, drag back the
win or replace the bet after a loss. It is a bit like having that song
that you hate playing in your head and you can not stop humming it. Your
are in a trance. You have hit the wall.
The stage is set, ready for the
fall. Without warning, the wind turns cold and in a matter of minutes,
losing hand follows losing hand. The chase is on. Ego is not going to
accept a loss. After playing “even” for an hour and a half, an
entire betting stake can be wiped out boom, boom, in minutes.
Well what happened? You see,
back at the wall, the player received a quick warning from the energy,
or lack of energy. Ego or intellect took the helm, and “damn the
torpedoes” it sunk the ship. “Hitting the wall” is a signal. It is
a wake up call to pay extra attention to your game.
Here are a few more ways to work
with reading table energy. Be in the present moment. Ask what is going
on here? What do I see? What do I know? How do I feel about it?
Be aware of what is going on
with the game and especially with your self. Notice your breathing. Pay
attention to your body. Listen to your heart. Are you comfortable? Are
you experiencing any pain in your feet or legs? Do you have a headache
or backache?
Usually, signs of discomfort are
not apparent when you are having fun. If you catch yourself drifting
from present awareness something is causing that distraction. It is not
important to identify the distraction. It is important to recognize that
you are not “in” the game.
Be honest with yourself and have
the discipline to admit when your intention is weak. It is like boxer in
the ring not protecting himself. A knockout is inevitable. Reading the
subtle signs of energy in the game is a way of protecting yourself. It
takes a bit of practice and like anything, the more you practice the
more skilled you will become.
No matter if you are winning or
losing look for the rhythm in your game expressed by the energy. When
the rhythm changes, take action. Usually it is a signal that it is time
to leave the game. Relax, casinos never shut. Play it smart, take a
break then find a game with potential, a game with winning energy. It is
never wrong to exit a game. Play from the heart, not from the head.
Copyright 2000 Michael Vernon
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