| Las Vegas Temperature Is Rising But Blackjack Is Cooling Off |
| by Henry Tamburin,
published on Tuesday, June 18 2002 |
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I just returned from a two-week trip to Las Vegas and I can report that the temperature is already in the triple digits (104 to 106 degrees). This isn’t too shocking since it is the beginning of the summer season but what was more surprising was the deteriorating blackjack conditions that I found especially in the strip casinos.
Let me summarize what I found regarding blackjack playing conditions on this trip.
Continuous Shuffling Machines
Many strip casinos still offer these contraptions on their blackjack tables especially the lower limit $5 and $10 games. Besides making card counting virtually impossible, they speed up the game for the average player because there is never a break in the action. This means the average player will lose more per hour unless he takes breaks and slows down his play. I didn’t find one CSM in any of the half dozen local casinos, which is not to surprising because local players would not tolerate a CSM game. However, I noticed that several casinos that offered CSM games and hand held games, the latter tables wee more crowded with players then the former. Perhaps the word is spreading that CSM dealt games are not very player friendly.
Single Deck Games Paying 6 to 5 on BJ’s
This is a disturbing trend started by the Park Place Entertainment properties (Bally’s, Paris, Caesar’s, Flamingo Hilton, etc) and now spreading to other casinos. This game is particularly onerous for the average player because the come on is the single deck game, which usually offers better odds then a multiple deck game. That’s the carrot. The stick is that the payoff for a blackjack is 6 to 5 (or 1.2 to 1) rather than the standard 1.5 to 1. The casino’s edge in this game is around 1.4%, which is about 600% higher than the traditional single deck game. Worse yet is when an unsuspecting player doesn’t bet in multiples of $5. The casino will pay off at 6 to 5 up to the $5 multiple and then 1 to 1 on the rest. For example if a player bets $8 and gets a blackjack he would get paid $9 (6 to 5 on $5 and then 1 to 1 on the $3). That is a real ripoff.
Super Fun 21
This is a single deck game with many favorable player rules (like you can surrender even after doubling down, you can double on any number of cards, you can double after pair splitting, your unbusted six card hand is an automatic winner, your natural is a winner even if the dealer gets a blackjack and a blackjack in diamonds pays 2 to 1. Sounds wonderful except for one thing. The casino only pays you even money on all blackjacks (except diamonds) and this one rule negates all the other good rules and leaves the house with a very comfortable 0.94% edge. Surprisingly, I saw this game or a variation of it (called Fun21) at several local casinos. It seems to be the trend in Las Vegas that if you want to offer a single deck game, offer the Super Fun 21. Unfortunately, I found many players playing this game when close by there were traditional games with a much lower casino edge.
Six Deck Games Disguised as Double Deck Games
I found this game at several downtown and strip casinos. It’s aimed at unsuspecting card counters. The game uses 6-decks, which are shuffled together but then, the dealer takes only 2 of the 6 decks and deals them by hand. When you approach the table the game appears to be a traditional hand held 2 deck blackjack game until you realize that the game is really a 6 deck game with lousy penetration. If you are an advantage player, stay away from this one.
On the positive side there are still some very good games for basic strategy and advantage players. You just need to look harder to find them. For low limit players, the Silverton casino (south of the strip) has a single deck game which offers h17 and das. The house edge against the basic strategy player is only 0.06% and table limits are often $3 and sometimes $1. Binion’s and the Las Vegas Club in the downtown area of Las Vegas have many single deck games with $3 and $5 minimum bets. For advantage players, one of the better games that I found is the double deck game at Treasure Island with good penetration. During the mornings the minimum bets are often $10 (in the evening and weekend it’s $25).
I am planning another extended trip to Las Vegas in August and I’ll report back what changes if any I find in the blackjack playing conditions.
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