Clues about an auspicious blackjack game are always present. The key is finding a good dealer. Cards fly from the croupier’s hand with discreet accuracy. A skilled dealer is able to control a blackjack game with each card delivered. A focused dealer can place a card right at your fingertips, just out of reach, or just far enough away to make you go fetch. This is made possible by their intention and the way they are feeling at the moment.

I look first to the dealer’s intention. By observing their intention, I gain my impressions about how they are using their energy in the game. Perception of this initial energy provides me with information. It helps me identify several important puzzle pieces, like the dealer’s mood. Since the cards are in the hands of the dealer, their energy is in the cards. As such, being able to perceive the croupier’s intention can tell me if they are with me, against me, tired, bored, or neutral and just coasting through their job.

1. If I detect that the dealer is against me, I have to measure the effect that will have versus my knowledge, skill, and options. Naturally, walking away is never wrong and should always be the first consideration. So, why would I stay on to play? There are times when I see an opening, where I might affect the dealer, and “pull” them over the table to my side of the game. This is accomplished with subtle manipulation techniques I learned from Stuart Wilde during my early days of blackjack play. Although Stuart does not specifically address playing blackjack in his book, “The Quickening”, the metaphysical concepts are described there.
2. Just because I have a feeling that a dealer is with me, it does not assure an easy time with the game. I must always be switched on, alert and on my toes. Sometimes there is a situation when another player or two are on the dealer’s hit list. This is very positive for me. The disdain for the other player(s) is obvious by the dealer’s energy (attitude) towards the player(s). Perceiving this subtle energy is easy for me to see, while the player(s), who are on the outs with the dealer, are clueless. Again, this is very subtle, but it is a detectable way of knowing how the dealer controls the cards. I end up receiving winning hands while the other player(s) are eventually run out of the game, beat up by the cards.
3. Sometimes a dealer is tired and their low energy will affect their game in a similar way that my low energy changes my game. I have a name for this, when it happens, “por uno”. My hand beats the dealer’s hand by one. Often, this opportunity comes with a streak of several wins and I know that I have the dealer on the run. It does not last forever, so my perception of a shift in the energy insures that I stop playing well ahead of the cards going cold.
4. Sometimes my skill for playing the game is recognized by the dealer. The dealer actually wants me to win. (After all, it’s not their money) Toking along the way with dealer bets helps grease the energy. Having an in house “cheer leader”, silently supporting my efforts to win is very cool. I make dealer bets only during a plus count, being favored to win. Without saying a word, silently using my etheric energy, my message to the dealer is, “Fun isn’t it? When I win you win!” I believe my play is respected more by some dealers because day in and day out they see mostly pathetic players, pissing away their money. Instead of people playing smart, at least basic strategy, many players play by guess and by gosh. Times when I have had the dealer on my side, it is amazing. I am hitting the double down hands with winners, not busting with stiff hands, drawing to 19, 20, or 21, and more than the average number of blackjacks per hour. (Roughly, about 5% or 3 BJ hands per hour)
5. Everything expresses an energy. With practice, awareness and sharp perception, it is possible to glean information from the energy of the present moment. Observing the way a dealer is pitching the cards can provide you with pieces of a puzzle that come together to make a complete picture. There are a few examples here. I trust you to find others, recalling your own experiences, while you ponder the merits of this article. Energy is always true. Look to the energy, it will tell you what you need to know. All you have to do is ask.

I’ll share one example that I have used successfully, many times, to shift a game around. It is possible to subtly take the control of the game away from the dealer. Go back to how the dealer is pitching the cards. (This only applies in a single or double deck game, hand held.)

As I mentioned in the beginning, a skilled dealer can place a card anywhere they choose. If I find that I am having to chase my cards, that is to say, the dealer is pitching my first two cards out of my box area, I have a plan to influence the dealer’s behavior. The plan is non-verbal. I hold my right hand out at the edge of the betting box, with just my index finger pointing out toward the dealer. Ethereally, I communicate, “See if you can hit this mate?” I may even tap the index finger a time or two. When the first card is pitched away from me, I retrieve the card, bring it back to my target zone, and send a message with my etheric energy… “Is that the best you can do mate?” With the second card, my intention is again focused on having the card delivered to my finger tip. If the second card results in an away position, I go into my act.

Remember, in a blackjack game, the dealer cannot play past you. Retrieving the second card looks like this. I pause for a fraction of a second, just enough to let the dealer know I am not eager to fetch the errant card. In fact, this subtle move has been so strong, the dealer dragged the card over to me and apologized. However, that is not what I want. I want both cards delivered at my finger tip. I want the dealer performing like a trained seal. Okay, with both card in hand, I return to my target zone and I sit motionless until it is my turn to play.

The dealer points to me and I make a quick glance up to him, “Oh, now you want to play cards do you?” Back to my hand and I look at the cards, but I am in no hurry. I am purposely messing with the rhythm of the game. In short, it becomes a game within the game. “Mate, you can keep throwing the cards all around and I will keep holding up the game. Your choice.” It is funny to see, how easy it is to engage the dealer’s ego. The challenge of you can do better, “see if you can hit my finger”, changes the whole energy of the game. Now, it is a matter of ego for the dealer to show off what a fantastic card manipulator he can be.

Once I have the dealer pitching the cards to me, using the same etheric messaging, I start calling for the cards. How this works or why this works I cannot really explain. All I know is that it is intention and moving around energy. It is something I learned, playing blackjack at the Mirage, with Stuart Wilde in the early 90’s. The concepts of Turbo Thought are described in his book, The Quickening. All I know is that it works. It is not illegal, harmful, or permanent. For the most part, it is all invisible. The average dealer is clueless to my antics. The players in the game, as well, are unaware of what is going on with the game.

Manipulation of energy takes a bit of practice and strong intention. It is important that your intention is clear and without malice. The subtle use of this technique comes in handy, not just in the casino, but in everyday life.

It does not go without me saying, this stuff takes a little time, and that is the point of all of my lessons. Playing 4 Keeps™ is not just information for your next casino trip. Playing 4 Keeps™ is a life style. You live it every day. The more you live it, the stronger it becomes. Shouldn’t you be Playing 4 Keeps™?

Copyright © 2015 by Michael Vernon