|
|
25/8/2002 Edition No.29
Las Vegas
Blackjack
LATEST:
With blackjack in Australia becoming a more and more difficult proposition,
many counters have decided to take their action further afield, playing
overseas and in particular, playing in Las Vegas.
White Knight regularly receives phone-calls and emails from players relating
their experiences and recommendations for the city of sin. It seems you
can still find conditions that leave you scratching your head as to why
you ever bothered playing blackjack in Australia. This is largely a result
of competition; a word which is foreign to the vocabulary of Australian
casinos. If only you didn’t have to pay for travel, accommodation and
exchange rates!
We have tried to summarise some of the blackjack rules and playing conditions
you will find in Vegas differing to those in Australia:
1. Dealer is initially dealt two cards, one face up, one face-down
(hole card)
2. Dealer will check the hole card for blackjack if the face up
card is an ace or 10, before the continuation of play
3. One deck and two deck games are common. Players hold their
cards in their hand which can make card counting tricky
4. Most games allow you to double on any first two cards.
5. One deck usually has dealer taking a card on soft 17 and no
double after split; both rules favour the house slightly
The best two deck games will make the dealer sit on soft 17, allow double
after split, provide the surrender option and repeat splitting of aces;
all these rules favour the player slightly
A betting spread of one-two for one deck and one-four for two deck is
about all the pit will tolerate - restrictions are common and most staff
are educated about card counting
The point at which a shuffle takes place is often at the discretion of
the dealer
Occasional dealer tipping is allowed (and expected!)
Shoe games (usually six decks) are quite common with good rules and
penetration (around 75%).
It is important to note that the less decks in play, the more important
the playing strategy becomes. The true count in one deck and two deck
games swings around wildly and the more playing indices that have been
memorised translates to better end-of-day profits.
Best of Betting!
‘CC’
News
12/7/2002
Copyright ©1998-present. OZmium Pty. Ltd. All rights
reserved.
|