Good guess, but not quite.Quote:
Originally Posted by prendrelemick
Printable View
Good guess, but not quite.Quote:
Originally Posted by prendrelemick
I'm getting nowhere with this. Would it help to know why you'd want to know?
Introduce yourself as a company director and claim people will receive bonuses depending on their time with the casino?
I'd be amazed if there were not a corporate edict against directors playing in their own casino.
It's even tacit.Quote:
Originally Posted by MarkBastable
He does not have to say that he is there to play. Nik said a white lie was involved so he can pretend to be someone to interview the dealers.
Just a jab in the dark. Not sure if this is any different from asking how long they have been working there and I did not understand the first paragraph of Nik's post either, anyhow.
Quote:
Originally Posted by MarkBastable
Perhaps I should have given more information. Here's a link to the source article.Quote:
Originally Posted by Scheherazade
http://www.blackjackforumonline.com/...aler_Error.htm
I fear I didn't give enough information to begin with. This suggestion would probably attract too much attention.Quote:
Originally Posted by Scheherazade
I should have perhaps said that in this hypothetical problem, you are a skilled advantage player.
Is it possible to guess how many games a dealer deals a day? Or a month?
Maybe jokingly we could ask how many games they dealt in their present position...
Again, jabbing just to revive the thread.
Well, none of those involve telling a white lie.
Alright, how about a hint?
Think simple.
Casino's don't mind naive would-be countdowners trying their moves, so an experienced dealer might hint he is new just to get you to sit down. He might be employing white lies too.
The problem is how to find out how long the dealer has been dealing, without him knowing you're doing it (Impossible if he is aware.) So you have to get him into a conversation about the past at the casino.
you could say something like - Is Old Nick still around? or what's Gloria doing these days? Or if that's a bit direct, start with "Those pit bosses get younger and younger"- anything to do with the passage of time. You could say- I once saw 3 pontoons in the same deal, but then I suppose you've seen plenty in your time." You could say,- "You don't look old enough to be a dealer".
If they don't rise to any conversation, change tables.
Good answers and guesses, Prendrel, but you still haven't got it yet. The Old Nick or Gloria ones are a little too sophistocated. They would require too much planning, you'd have to find out about someone (named perhaps Nick or Gloria) you could ask about. When you did ask, you would be presumably telling a white lie by insinuation, i.e. because you actually do know if they are still around, while implying that you don't, but all in all this approach is too much effort.
I liked your "pontoons" answer if you mean what I think you do, athough I've only seen the word once in print. It's a pretty good answer but not the one I had in mind. Your "you don't look old enough to be a dealer" is also original, but keep in mind most dealers do in fact look well over 21, often middle years or so; so that wouldn't work on all of them.
You have put a lot of thought into it but you're still not there yet. And my hint was too good of a hint, so I won't reiterate it or give another one.
Quote:
Originally Posted by NikolaiI
That might be a Brit thing. When I first learned Blackjack - from my dad, in the seventies - he called the game Pontoon.
But looking here, I realise that actually it's a slightly different game - one which gives better odds to the player against the house. I'd forgotten the differences - but reading this article I realise that the game my dad taught me wasn't, actually, Blackjack.
"Deal me up a few hands like you did when I was here last year. Man, I made a bundle that night...."
The idea of the Gloria/ Nick thing is that they are random names, and hopefully he has never heard of them, so the dealer asks "how long ago did they work here", and you're into a converstation about time, which is what you want.
But really I would say. Excuse me sir I'm going to try card counting for the first time so would you mind terribly dealing slowly so I can keep up."
Hi you guys, I wrote a longer post to this yesterday, but my computer crashed. Now I don't have time unfortunately to recreate it. I'm sorry for the brevity but you have some good thoughts but not quite there yet.
I feel like this would confuse the dealer more than anything. They would probably just chuckle. It might help a little bit though.Quote:
Originally Posted by MarkBastable
The Gloria/Nick idea with your explanation is warmer - it's the closest answer so far. The only flaw in it is that it's a little complicated. There's still a better way. And again; it is more simple than anything guesed so far!Quote:
Originally Posted by prendrelemick
The latter idea is cute but they would probably just ask you to leave. Their jobs might require them to.
Hint!
J
:)
well my hint is the same as before, the answer's simpler than anything given so far!
So simple that you'll all think it's too simple :P
Please, sir, can we just give up?
Yep I was going to post to the same today anyway. I'm giving it to Prendrel, for the closest answer.
When did they get the (new carpet/jukebox/whatever) in here?
Yeah, but, but....the closest answer to what?Quote:
Originally Posted by NikolaiI
I am not even sure I remember the question anymore...Quote:
Originally Posted by MarkBastable
The question was a bit vague, so let's just wait for Prendrel to start a new one. Sounds good.
No, no, no. You can't do that. Also, no, no, nuh-huh, no way.
Given that we've put all this time and effort and patience into getting it not quite right, you've got to tell us what answer you were expecting. And there is one, because the guy you quoted said there was, and because you gave us a clue or two to help us get it, and you say Mick was closest to it.
I think you gotta know when to hold 'em - and know when to fold 'em...
This poor thread. What's that scene in Star Wars where Darth Vader is clenching his fingers and the guy is choking...?
Oh yeah. Death by strangle-hold.
J
Hahaha, poor Nikolai. What a debacle.
Sorry - I haven't had internet access for a while, nor with my job had the time or literally energy to go to a lab..Quote:
Originally Posted by MarkBastable
I'll tell you, but I warn you, you're not going to like it. at least not probably.
What the...? are you talking about, Juniper.Quote:
Originally Posted by JuniperWoolf
Hang on while I find a bit of leather to bite on.Quote:
Originally Posted by NikolaiI
Riigh..g'hed.
So, what you'd do is tell the dealer you're thinking of becoming a dealer (the white lie), and asking him something like if it's worth it to work there for a couple years.
Oh.
Is that it?
All this time? And that's it?
You're right. I don't like it.
Well, no - I don't like it or dislike it any more than any of the other suggestions.
What I don't understand, though, is the advantage it has over asking, "So how long have you worked here?"
In a way it's the ultimate puzzle.
And it doesn't even have to be a lie, if at the minute you say it you consider a serious lifestyle change.
J
Here's one I heard over the weekend:
A guy comes home from work really tired. "Rough day," his son asks. "Yeah, I dug holes and planted five straight rows of four trees." "Hmm, I guess that'd be 20 trees," says the son. "Twenty? No, less than that," says the father.
How many trees did he plant? (Hint: pretty sure it was the smallest number possible, fulfilling those conditions. Five rows of four trees each...)
15 trees?
That was my guess, as well. However, the father had planted even fewer than 15 trees...Quote:
Originally Posted by Scheherazade
Is this going to involve a Star of David?
Edit: Yeah, it is. I just drew it. 10.
Edit again: imagine a tree at each point and each intersection.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi..._David.svg.png
Oops. I miscounted. 11
4 trees maybe !
Quote:
Originally Posted by MarkBastable
Well, the correct answer is somewhere between Mark and hoope's answers.Quote:
Originally Posted by hoope