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Gaming Guru
Scouting the blackjack tables8 June 2012
I'm amazed at how many players I see enter a casino and plop themselves down at the first empty seat at any blackjack table. What they should be doing instead is scouting the blackjack tables. The reason is the blackjack playing rules, the number of decks of cards, the payoffs for a blackjack, the table limits, and even how the dealer shuffles the cards, are not always the same from one table to the next. What follows are some tips on what you should be looking for when you scout the tables so that you can play the best blackjack game available in whichever casino you visit. Let's first focus on the number of decks of cards. On some tables, you might find the dealer dealing with six or eight decks of cards. Other tables may be using fewer decks. You can always tell when the dealer is dealing a one- or two-deck game because she will be holding the cards in her hand and "pitching" them to the players, usually face down. If the dealer is dealing a six-or eight-deck game, the stack of cards is placed in a dealing shoe and she will deal the cards to the players from the shoe, usually face up. If you are not sure how many decks of cards are being used, just ask the dealer. Generally, the house edge decreases as the number of decks of cards decreases. Therefore, in theory a single-deck game is better for a player than, say, a six-deck game. However, this is not always the case because the casinos can fiddle with the playing rules or payoffs that can significantly alter the house edge of any game. Here are some rules and payoffs to keep in mind when you scout. 6-5 payoff for blackjack Dealer Hit or Stand on Soft 17 Continuous Shuffling Machine The CSM is a combination auto shuffler and dealing device. After every round (or two), the dealer will place the discards back into the CSM, where they will be automatically shuffled with the unplayed cards in the CSM (usually a CSM holds 4 to 6 decks of cards). You can tell if a table is using a CSM by watching what the dealer does with the discards after each round. If she isn't stacking them in the discard tray, she probably is placing them into the CSM. And that's not good for players. Why? Because when a casino uses a CSM, there is never a pause in the action and, therefore, the casino can deal roughly 20 percent more hands per hour. That increases the number of hands during which a player's bankroll is exposed to the house edge. You are much better off avoiding all CSMs and instead playing on tables where the dealer manually shuffles the cards or uses a traditional auto-shuffler to shuffle them. Betting Limits Below is a table with some guidelines to help you select the best blackjack game. Ideally, you should confine your play to games listed in the Excellent Game column. Your second choice is the Good Game column, followed by the Marginal Game and lastly, the Forget It games. Use your scouting skills and the information in the table to locate the good and excellent games the next time you play blackjack. Abbreviations:
Note: Blackjack pays 3-2 unless otherwise indicated.
This article is provided by the Frank Scoblete Network. Melissa A. Kaplan is the network's managing editor. If you would like to use this article on your website, please contact Casino City Press, the exclusive web syndication outlet for the Frank Scoblete Network. To contact Frank, please e-mail him at fscobe@optonline.net. Recent Articles
Henry Tamburin |
Henry Tamburin |