Usage and Posting Tips

1. The page format is under the user's control. On the Green Chip pages, in SET PREFERENCES, there are many possible combinations you can use. "Threaded Guestbook-Style Listing" produces a vBulletin-type format. On the free page, use COLLAPSE LIST to turn the format into a vBulletin-type format. For other possible formats, go to SET PREFERENCES, then LIST STYLE.
2. Choose your subject heading carefully. Ten times as many people will read your subject line as will read your message.
3. Think the message through carefully before you post it. Having just one message in a given thread reflects much better on you than if you need multiple posts to explain one idea.
4. Accept that no matter what you say, someone can find a way to turn your own words against you. When that happens, do not counterattack.
5. Accept that other people have the right to express wrong opinions. Do not argue when someone disagrees with something you posted. As long as your original post still exists, anyone can read it and accept it as if it were a response to your critic.
6. Do not attack another member of the BJ21 community. Attacks of things other than people are fine. It is okay to say that a book stinks, but not okay to say that the author stinks. It's okay to think that another poster is an idiot, but not okay to say so.
7. Do not post the same message multiple times, either on the same message board or on different boards.
8. Do not feel obligated to respond to any post. Of course, when someone asks if you meant "Howard Schwartz" when you said "Howard Grossman" and the answer is affirmative, a response is appropriate.
9. Let the other person have the last word in a disagreement. Making the final post in an argumentative thread is perceived as weakness, not strength.
10. Assume that any comment overly critical of you will not be believed, and will soon be offset by a response from someone else, who thinks you are being treated unfairly.
11. People judge you by your own posts. If visitors to BJ21 think you have a particular attribute, it is because your own posts have demonstrated that attribute and not because somebody else has posted accusing you of having that attribute.
12. Use humor, but use it sparingly. A little humor sharpens an argument, but too much humor comes across as meanness.
13. A truth about posts: Meanness is magnified. Posts with a little bit of meanness will be read as having a lot of meanness. So before you post, edit the meanness out of your message. And when you read a message that you interpret as mean, discount the meanness.
14. It is easy for one person to post multiple messages, attaching a different name to each. Therefore, multiple anonymous attacks might all be posted by just one person. The more outrageous the attacks, the more likely that they were all posted by one person.
15. If you are asking a question or requesting information, use a question mark in the subject line.
16. Do not post in all capital letters. This goes for the subject heading as well. Posting in all caps is considered shouting and rude. Posting a subject heading in all caps implies that you think your post is more important than anyone else's. There are only rare situations when shouting is appropriate. Of course, posting an acronym like ROTFL is done in all caps.
17. Unless you want to publicly disclose personal information about yourself, do not post an email address which may indicate your real name or other personal information.
18. Do not disclose others' personal information.

The following was originally posted on Green Chip by EmeraldCityBJ.

There are times when you can get valuable feedback from this forum by posting details from your trip, but you need to take care to not provide enough detail to out yourself.

Here are a few things you can do to get around this:

1. Wait a few weeks or months to post anything. Give anyone who may have been working in the casino at the time who observed your play time to forget about your specific situation. If you have a truly unique story, you will want to wait longer than if you experienced something that happens on a regular basis.
2. When you do post the story, don't provide specifics as to the timeline. Use vague terms like "a while back", "recently," or "several months/years ago." You may even want to lie about the timeline. For example, state "over the summer" when the event took place in October.
3. Avoid disclosing the name or location of the casino unless it's relevant. For example, our response to statements like "When I bought in for $2000 and the pit boss got on the phone", or "When I wonged in, the pit boss pulled out a three ring binder full of flyers and started flipping pages while looking in my general direction" would likely be similar regardless of the casino.
4. If your story cannot wait, or you need more immediate feedback, it may be best to have the discussion on private email rather than a public board. If you're not sure who to contact, a simple message like "Please email me if you know anything about the tolerance levels at [name of casino]" will often get the ball rolling. You're not disclosing any specific information about your session, and many would assume that you're planning a trip there at some point in the near future rather than wanting to discuss an event which already took place.

The following was originally posted on Green Chip by wisereyes:

I've participated in a wide variety of message boards for years. Green Chip is in a message board category by itself. And it takes time to understand the pulse of these pages. There are some unwritten rules which only become apparent over time. So good luck in learning and navigating those rules.

1. Members here do not suffer fools gladly, nor do they appreciate ignorant arrogance. I'm not suggesting you have acted like a fool or behaved arrogantly ignorant. You haven't. But other new members have and are quickly put in their place.
2. An IQ test isn't required to join Green Chip, but it's evident to me that the average Green Chip member IQ is much higher than the general population. There's benefits and disadvantages to that. You are not likely to pull the wool over somebodies eyes; but if you want a skillful, informed answer to a difficult question, you will likely find the answers you need here.
3. You may notice an edgy, arrogant, sometimes ungracious tone to posts. Don't let that bother you. We really are nice guys (and gals). Whether recreational or full-time AP, we are in a tough business. To learn what we have learned took a ton of time, effort, and commitment. We might be a little offended by those that seem to minimize or inadvertently disrespect what we have learned by study and experience by writing cavalierly, or carelessly. Or by assuming a posture of unwarranted arrogance before they really know or understand the audience they are addressing.
4. As I type, I'm thinking of the blackjack player (some would call him a ploppy) that I met the other day that decided he wanted to school me on the disadvantages of spreading to two hands because it "messes up the flow of the cards." In broken English, he tried to explain how I was in error and he was quite animated. And his local friends and neighbors in this one-horse town were all nodding in agreement. How would he know that I'm an expert and own a blackjack library of over one hundred books, have studied the game and practiced the game like an athlete in training, and have a track record of earning money playing the game for around twenty years? The answer is, "He wouldn't." Like other fools, he made rash conclusions.
5. In almost any other field with the possible exception of sports, those that offer comments do so with caution and trepidation when they don't know the background and qualifications of the audience to which they speak. Without caution as a throttle for their words, they end up saying some really stupid things.
6. You should also know that most of my fellow Green Chippers are far better at brevity than I am. Forgive the rant. And again, welcome. If you are willing to stick it out, like me, you will find that it's one of the best values around.

The following was originally posted on Green Chip by Cougfan.

Welcome to the forum.

A couple words of warning about the group that we have here.

1. This board is definitely not of the "everybody be nice to each other" variety. You will see a lot of frank opinions being expressed, and very direct language being used. You need a bit of a thick skin, and please try to not to take negative comments personally.
2. People tend to react negatively when specific info is shared on this board. Specific info includes game conditions at a particular casino, juicy promotions, or discussion of specific AP techniques that are not widely known (not talking about counting here). This board is pretty much open to anyone willing to pay the fee, and it is assumed that casino spies monitor these boards on atechniques that are not widely known (not talking about counting here). This board is pretty much open to anyone willing to pay the fee, and it is assumed that casino spies monitor these boards on a regular basis.
3. The good news is that the members here are more than willing to share information in e-mail. Make sure you have an e-mail address in your profile (and not one that includes any part of your name, etc), and if you are looking for specific info, request that folks send you an e-mail.