So I keep hearing that there are not any good blackjack games in most casinos. I play in tunica and have visited all of the casinos. I have found that fitz has a two deck game with a 5 dollar min bet. The general rules apply, hs17 etc. There is only 50% pen, but even with three to four players at the table you can get three to four hands in. My question is can you really find a better game elsewhere? Actually they even have a single deck game at ballys with 5 dollar min, and you can dd on 10 or 11 after three cards. But you need to be the only one at the table cuz the pen is really bad.
Pog There are some damn great games out there, you have to find them,,and it isn't that hard to do if you keep your eyes open,,,,clue, not in Vegas so much..... CP
Tunica games across the board are much worse than they were a year ago. 50% penetration is the new policy pretty much everywhere. Shop carefully to find exceptions that are dealer-dependent.
At some of the Tunica casinos, there is a slit in the discard tray that the dealers use to place the cut card exactly at the same location every time. At the Horseshoe-Tunica, I was playing a Double Deck game. The dealer hand placed the cut card then decided it was a little too deep penetration. So she moved the cut card up about 3 or 4 cards to give less penetration. Looks to me like casinos in most all locations (not just Tunica) are paying more attention to penetration than ever before. If players are willing to flock to tables with a 6:5 Blackjack payout, the casinos read that as a license to do whatever they want - and they do.
Tool The vast majority of US citizens are stone stupid, in fact the majority still believe that Iraq was involved in 911 and continue to vote for incumbents who are responsible for the tragic debacle we are in today. So,,,,, at casinos this becomes so very evident in the choices sheeple make to give away their hard earned money to a bunch of greedy, evil,, casino operators. I would not hesitate to urinate on every casino operator offering these junk games and the patrons who play them. If I cannot beat a game I will not play it, and if I did it would mean I was a degenerate,, addicted,,, piece of trash gambler. CP
So I guess the consensus is that there are no decent games out there? So I guess I won't be giving up poker anytime soon. At least when I lose there it goes to other people not the casino.
In a Word... Ditto what CP said! In poker if you're a player of average competence your expectation is to pay the casino 10% of every bet you make, because of the rake. That doesn't sound like odds a smart gambler would consider. The slots, with their return on your action that can get in the low 90's, are a better deal. If you want to play poker you need to make a stone cold sober assessment of your relative skills to determine if you can overcome that rake. In live blackjack we have games in the Midwest that are like little gold mines. Most games suck but if you do your diligence you can find truly great ones. I found one dealer giving >90 pen in a 6-deck game. Combine that with mild or nonexistent heat and incompetent game security and you have truly great conditions - if you look for them. And then there's blackjack tournaments. Pogodo, most of the players in these tournaments are SUCH DONKS! The tournaments usually don't have rakes and many have overlays. Heat can be a slight problem in some places but in most it's not a problem at all. If you take the time to learn the principles of strategy, and if you can do figures in your head quickly and accurately, you have a significant advantage. You just have to ride out the extreme variance of this game. One way to cope with the variance is deals, so even that problem can be mitigated somewhat.
Well maybe I should rephrase that and say that at worst I leave the poker table with what I started with, becuz most of those at the table are the same donks that play the blackjack tourneys. To be honest I never really payed much attention to the six deck games maybe I should. As for the tourneys I have played in two. The first I was out before the round ended and in the second I managed to win one table, it just seemed like luck to be honest. I will continue to play in them becuz it's entertainment for me and u get free rooms etc. I just don't see the skill in it. Not saying that there isn't cuz the same people tend to make it to the finals it seems, so they are doing something.
There's the rub. Do FIGURES in your Head...QUICKLY and ACCURATELY! and count opponents Chips. Remember your chip count, factor position, play or don't play basic strategy, based on conditions, evaluate the quality of your opponents, which sometimes works against you, cope with incompetent or inexperienced dealers, rule changing floor people, rule ignoring floor people, dealers and players and oh schzaam varience. No wonder BJ Tournaments are such fun. But in reality. Ignore all the negative. Practice and develop the skills necessary. There isn't/ aren't better opportunities for EV or return on investment than in BJ tourneys. By the way. Bankroll helps. Oh, heck, that's going to tangent to another thread where a "Guy"................Oh never mind.
Finding the right game Finding the right game is the majority of the work in my opinion (once you have mastered your skills). I spent 3 years living only to play and became a vampire. I worked slow hours the best I could and spent countless hours walking (or driving) to find the game that had the pen and number of players I was willing to tolerate. I played pitch only so the search was that much more of a challenge. The payoffs justified the effort in my case but the way of life had some drawbacks. Back then, the net was just developing and I did not have access to great sites like these to gather info.
To all good players out there: I live in Europe, and there are no really good BJ tables here any more. Nearly all Casinos have automatic shufflers now. But now, I have found a little choice, but I am not sure which table is the least bad: 1. 6 decks, ASM, D all first 2 cards, D after split, split as often as you want (except for Aces (only twice)), dealer does not hit soft 17, BJ pays 3:2, surrender on the first two cards, even against an Ace, 2. these same rules, but with a normal shoe, still 6 decks (unfortunately only Saturday nights very late) 3. 6 decks, normal shoe, D all first 2 cards, D after split as often as you want (except for aces (only twice)), dealer does not hit soft 17, BJ pays 3:2, NO surrender What is the % advantage or disadvantage on these tables? I guess the 2. option is the best, but I want to play a bit more than only Saturday nights. Thanks a lot for your help.
