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Old 06-22-2007, 02:01 PM
CORed CORed is offline
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Join Date: Sep 2002
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Default Re: Beginner question about blackjack?

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There aren't any decent double decks in Vegas until the $100 min level.

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Last October, I was in Vegas, and Slotsa Fun was spreading a $5 minimum S17 D9 2 decker with good penetration. The table max was either $200 or $300, so it probably wouldn't interest a pro, but it was a great game for recreational card counting. Unfortunately, I ran bad and lost about $100. Variance is wicked in blackjack, and is actually higher in good games (more opportunities for big bets). Blackjack pretty much sucks at the big strip casinos, with high minimums and sucky rules for the shoes, very high minimums for double deckers, and far too many 6:5 single deckers, which are usually the only games with low minimum bets.

The trip last October was primarily a business trip, so I didn't get downtown or out to any of the "locals" casinos, so I'm not sure what the situation is like there. However, I did notice that the smaller strip casinos, like Slotsa fun, O'Shea's nd Casino Royale, had much better table games, with better rules and lower minimums on blackjack, and lower minimums and higher odds on craps. They also seemed to be getting a lot more action on their table games. The big properties seemed to have most of their tables closed and the ones that were open were usually not full. This was on weeknights; maybe they do better on weekends, but it looks like the big casinos may be pricing themselves right out of the market on table games.
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