To paraphrase Charles
Dickens, it will be the best of times or the worst
of times -- at the casinos, that is, this millennium
depending on which games you play, which rules apply
at those games, and how, indeed, you play those
games. In just about every table game there are
better and worse rules or payouts that can apply.
Play in games with the
good rules and you have a good chance of winning some
money; play in games with the bad rules and you don’t
have as good a chance to take home the money. That’s
an easy rule to remember for the new year. So what
should you look for?
At blackjack, perhaps the most complicated game in
the casino, there are a host of different rules, some
good, some bad, and some simply awful.
Here what you should
look for:
Good
rules/conditions for the “basic strategy”
players:
Double on any first two cards
Split all pairs
Double after splits
Resplitting allowed
Double after resplitting
Resplitting aces allowed
Dealer stands on soft 17
Blackjack pays 3 to 2
Surrender
Bonus hands with no side bet
Shallow penetration
Crowded tables
Here’s what you
should avoid:
Bad rules/conditions
for the “basic strategy” players:
Restricted doubling, usually on two-card 10 or 11
only
No pair splitting allowed
No resplitting allowed
No doubling after splits
Dealer hits soft 17
Blackjack pays 6 to 5
Blackjack pays even money
Bonus hands require a side bet
Deep penetration
Empty tables
Automatic shufflers
Automatic continuous shufflers
Insurance
You will note that
I put “shallow penetration” as a “good
condition.” If you read publications geared
to card counters or even general interest gambling
publications, you’ll note that “deep penetration”
(penetration being how far the dealer deals into
the deck or shoe) is considered the single most
important factor for success. Deep penetration is
what card counters want; the fewer cards behind
the “shuffle card” the better. However,
there are only 1,100 card counters, out of 53,000,000
casino gamblers (that’s one card counter for
every 53 thousand casino players!) in America. Just
about 99.99+ percent of blackjack players do not
benefit from deep penetration; just the opposite.
Deep penetration means more hands played; more hands
played means more money lost for 99.9999 percent
of the blackjack players – and more money won
by the casinos. So unless you are among the small
elite of blackjack players, you want to play at
casinos with shallow penetration. Luckily, many
casino executives are so frightened that one of
those 1,100 card counters might show up in their
places that you’ll find shallow penetration
in most casinos across the land. That’s good.
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Columns By Franki Scoblete
