Decided to go to Majestic Star (Gary, IN) to get my refund for the tournament they canceled. As I was driving, I saw a billboard that said "Double Deck Blackjack at the Majestic Star". "Wow" I thought, "this is a rarity for this area". After getting my refund, I stopped by the table game areas - they have 2 boats. And what did I see - all Carnival game tables were open but only a few BJ tables. I would guess a ratio of about 3 or 4 to 1 (BJ tables get the 1). OK, looked for the double deck game and found a table dealing the game. As I approached the table, the wording on the felt was encouraging: Dealer stands on all 17's Blackjack pays 3 to 2Looked a little closer at the "placard of doom" on the side of the table. Here is what it said: Double on 10 or 11 ONLY No slitting Aces Only split once (and one more restriction I can't remember) What I found remarkable is that there were 4 people playing this game. Yes 4, when there should have been 0. Now my analysis. The players are so damn stupid that the casino is loosing a ton of money by not having more BJ tables open - and I'm talking decent shoe games not their double deck. Why? Well if they had more decent games, the bad players would flock to them like flies to s--- and gladly fork over their hard earned money to play. The player's problem is that they don't know how to play. Yes, the casino is loosing a ton of money and they don't even realize it. Some side notes: * With the lack of open BJ tables (which translates to less players), it's hard to muster enough players for a tournament. * Went over to RESORTS (2 miles away). They had at least twice as many patrons and a lot of BJ tables open. * If Fitzgerald doesn't do something soon, they my find their buyout of Trump a huge mistake and the whole operation my go down the toilet. OK, OK, I'm dome.
Toolman I think the double on 10 or 11 isnt all that bad, but come on now, no splitting aces and only split once! That is pretty bad. Altho maybe holding the aces in against 9 and up could save you some money! My guess is if you investigated a little more you would find the cut was right at 50% and maybe even out of a red and blue shuffler. Bad news IMO. At my closest casino, Chumash Casino, they put up a double deck game for a while with liberal rules, but was as I mentioned 50% cut auto shuffler. The game lasted less than a year as tables had very few players. For some strange reason, I cant figure out, the Chumash has knowledgeable players on average. I guess the figured the double deck thingy out. OH, the casino advertised the game on the radio as a great way to win with odds in favor of player. Right. Barney
