I've never met Bill Zender, but he seems like a very good guy. Several years ago I exchanged a few emails with him when I was doing some work on Pai Gow. He was extremely generous with his time and information.
As Bob Bartop noted, Zender's view on the threat posed by card-counters has always been far more rational than the typical casino exec's.
--Dunbar
--- In vpFREE@yahoogroups.com, "Bob Bartop" <bobbartop@...> wrote:
>
> Don't miss this week's Bob & Frank Show, because this guy Bill Zender is really interesting. Here are a few of his ideas on blackjack.
>
> For one thing, he seems to think the "danger" to the casinos' bottom line, from card counters, is HIGHLY over-rated. Essentially, if a player isn't wagering big money, it's hardly worth even worrying about. I don't think I am misrepresenting his view by saying that green chip players should practically be ignored as far as card counting is concerned.
>
> Also, I believe he thinks the "no mid-shoe entry" rule is counter productive. Not only is it rare that a player is competent enough to be of concern, but even if he is competent and trying to jump into the middle of a positive shoe the mathematical "cost" is minimal. At most, the player should be observed later. And besides, it just sends the wrong message saying that "We do not want you playing."
>
> And here's something I found especially interesting. In regard to shoe penetration, Zender apparently thinks there should be DEEPER penetration, not less. Again, he feels that the number of competent counters is over-rated, but even so, the threat from counters is dwarfed by the fact that less penetration means less hands dealt out, or less decisions rendered, and thus it costs the casinos in the long run.
>
> Fascinating! I am so looking forward to this week's show.
>
