How do table game comps work in AC?

[NickMPK]

I've never played any blackjack in Atlantic City, but I am considering trying it out next time I go.

How do you get comps at these games in AC casinos (let's say Borgata)? Do they accumulate automatically on your player's card? Do you have to "check in" and "check out"? Or is this just a judgment call where they might give you free food or room or whatever?

Also, what sort of comp can I expect from playing blackjack at $25 or $50/hand in terms of $/hour?

Finally, will they revoke comps if they think you are counting cards (I'm not going to put any serious effort into this, but I might raise my bet if the count seems obviously high)? Thanks for any responses...

[hoopsie44]

I play most of my blackjack at The Hilton and they comp you 20% of your average bet per hour played. So if your average bet is $25, you earn $5 per hour in comps.

[Nick-Zack]

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I play most of my blackjack at The Hilton and they comp you 20% of your average bet per hour played. So if your average bet is $25, you earn $5 per hour in comps.

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ummm - if this is true they won't be in business very long.

[hoopsie44]

Yeah, 4 hours at a $25 blackjack table gets you a buffet comp, I hope they can absorb that.

[playersare]

figure 60 hands per hour at a full table, $25 a hand is $1500 of gross action per hour.

a $25 perfect basic strategy player is giving up about 0.5% or $7.50 an hour. so $5 comps in return is ok (keeping in mind that $5 in "comp" costs a lot less to the casino to serve than $5 in cash).

the typical ploppy idiot at the BJ tables is giving up 1-2% which would be a theoretical loss of $15-30 for the same average bet. some players are even worse than that.

so I think they'll be fine. the 20% avg bet comp rule for table games has been standard for quite some time now.

[playersare]

[ QUOTE ]
How do you get comps at these games in AC casinos (let's say Borgata)? Do they accumulate automatically on your player's card? Do you have to "check in" and "check out"? Or is this just a judgment call where they might give you free food or room or whatever?

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borgata puts comp dollars directly onto your account. you have to earn $5 in comp on a single trip to get them, but that should be easy with just an hour or two of play. other casinos might record your blackjack action on your account, but not give you anything tangible in return. you then have to ask the floorperson or someone at the players club if you qualify for "X".

when you arrive at the table, throw your buy in on the felt and when the floorperson comes over to approve the chips, give him/her your card and you'll get swiped in. then when you cash out, they'll close out your session indicating your time played and average bet size. you don't have to remember to get logged out like in poker, they will have to do it when you leave or when other people take your seat.

[ QUOTE ]
Also, what sort of comp can I expect from playing blackjack at $25 or $50/hand in terms of $/hour?

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20% of your average bet per hour is standard.

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Finally, will they revoke comps if they think you are counting cards (I'm not going to put any serious effort into this, but I might raise my bet if the count seems obviously high)? Thanks for any responses...

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NJ law (unlike NV law) states that advantage players can't be kicked out so I wouldn't worry about losing comps at the stakes you (and I) play.

[PokerDonkey27]

[/ QUOTE ] NJ law (unlike NV law) states that advantage players can't be kicked out so I wouldn't worry about losing comps at the stakes you (and I) play.

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Casinos have made a great amount of effort and spent a great deal of money trying to thwart card counters. Among the countermeasures used to prevent card counters from profiting at blackjack:

Harassment of suspected card counters by casino staff. This may be as simple as engaging a suspected card counter in a conversation to break their concentration.
Card counter identification using books of photos and new facial recognition technologies.
Computerized scanners in blackjack tables which can identify counting systems when in use.
Shuffling more often or shuffling when a player increases his wager size.
Changing rules for splitting, doubling down, or playing multiple hands. This also includes changing a table's stakes.
Some jurisdictions (like Nevada) have no legal restrictions placed on these countermeasures. Other jurisdictions, like New Jersey, limit the countermeasures a casino can take against "skilled players". [12]

Some of these countermeasures have a downside for the casino as well. Frequent shuffling, for example, reduces the amount of time that the noncounting players are playing and consequently loses money for the house. Some casinos now use automatic shuffling machines to compensate for this. Some models of shuffling machines shuffle one set of cards while another is in play. Others, known as Continuous Shuffle Machines (CSMs) allow the dealer to simply return used cards to a single shoe to allow playing with no interruption. Because CSMs essentially force minimal penetration they remove almost all possible advantage of traditional counting techniques. In most online casinos, the deck is shuffled at the start of each new round, ensuring the house always has the advantage.

A pitboss who determines that a player is a card-counter might either "back off" the player by inviting him/her to play any game other than blackjack, or will ban him/her from the casino itself. In jurisdictions where this is not legal, such as Atlantic City, a pitboss can require the player to flat-bet and disallow players from entering in the middle of a shoe. Such countermeasures effectively remove any chance of gaining an advantage from card counting in multi-deck games. The player's name and photo (from surveillance cameras) may also be shared with other casinos and added to a database of card-counters and cheaters (Note: card counting is not cheating, but casinos still associate the two groups together) run for the benefit of casino operators.

from Wikipedia

Don't worry about it at your stakes level...but don't be obvoius about it either.

[rsigley]

anyone know if you have to sign out at the showboat?

i played 5 hours there a couple weeks ago and on saturday i played for 8 hours betting $50/hand on average

got $3 in comps in my account which I think was actually from the couple hours of poker i played not blackjack

[playersare]

you're not supposed to have to sign out at any blackjack table. the more pertinent question is - did you remember to sign in? sometimes after a long session, you should ask a floorperson to check in the computer how long you've been playing, just to be safe.

it's also a good idea to follow up on comp discrepancies as soon as you detect them, not days or weeks later. the harrah's web site is very easy for checking comp balances, or you can do it over the phone or e-mail support.