Skagit Casino in Washington

FLASH1296

Well-Known Member
#2
Not worth a trip. Not at all.

Skagit Valley is not a place to play unless you want to play the two tables of Spanish21. ($3-$500)

For BJ:

  • Four Six deck shoes with bad rules e.v. = -.62 ($5-$500)
  • One DD table with bad rules e.v. = -.52 ($5-$250)
 
#3
What is the difference?

I'm reading online and I know how to beat blackjack with counting and spreading. Is there a major difference with spanish 21?
 

FLASH1296

Well-Known Member
#4
Yes, it is very very different.

As a curiously good example, in this game you'd have three (3)
indices for departure from Basic Strategy for a Hard 17 vs. a dealer Ace.

a) Late Surrender
b) Hit vs. Stand
c) Post-Double "Rescue" for 3 card Hard 17

You always HIT with a 6 card 17 against a 9, Face, or Ace.

Have you ever doubled on a Hard 6 vs. a dealer 6 ? NO ?

The Basic Strategy [for the particular rule set in place at the casino in question],
and a hell of a lot more, can be viewed at these TWO links:

http://wizardofodds.com/askthewizard/spanish21.html

http://wizardofodds.com/spanish21

There is a link on the latter linked page for Katarina Walker's excellent book
on Spanish21. Playing the game without studying same is a huge blunder.
 

Diver

Well-Known Member
#5
BOB2009 said:
Skagit Casino in Washington

I read they have 6 tables. Does anyone have any info on them? I can't seem to find any info on if they have a good Blackjack game there.

I live in Canada and there are cheap trip packages there with meals and hotel room.

http://www.theskagit.com/Casino/Casino-Games.aspx
You might look at Silver Reef. In addition to BJ, they have good VP and 10X odds on craps.
 
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miplet

Active Member
#6
Diver said:
You might look at Silver Reef. In addition to BJ, they have good VP and 10X odds on craps.
All machines in Washington state tribal casinos are either bingo or (Dead link: http://www.wsgc.wa.gov/faq/tls_faq.asp) _Tribal Lottery Systems (TLS)_
 

Diver

Well-Known Member
#7
miplet said:
All machines in Washington state tribal casinos are either bingo or (Dead link: http://www.wsgc.wa.gov/faq/tls_faq.asp) _Tribal Lottery Systems (TLS)_
Guess I should quite while I'm ahead. I thought it was odd I'd been getting Wild Royal Flushes every time I played their deuces wild machine. Haven't seen VP anywhere else in WA.
 

EmeraldCityBJ

Well-Known Member
#8
FLASH1296 said:
Skagit Valley is not a place to play unless you want to play the two tables of Spanish21. ($3-$500)

For BJ:

  • Four Six deck shoes with bad rules e.v. = -.62 ($5-$500)
  • One DD table with bad rules e.v. = -.52 ($5-$250)
I disagree.

In terms of win rates, the Spanish 21 game is not significantly different from the blackjack they offer. The house edge for SP21 is lower than the BJ games, but it comes with much higher variance. After adjusting your bets appropriately downward, I expect you'd find that your win rates are comparable regardless of which game you choose to play.

In terms of heat, it won't make any difference. This place sweats from the eye and is just as likely to back you off on SP21 as they are BJ. If you get backed off, I have reason to believe that they'll flyer you elsewhere.

Bottom line - It's not worth learning SP21 just to play it on one random trip to Skagit.
 

NightStalker

Well-Known Member
#10
skagit/silver reef observations

Skagit has 6d h17,ds,rsa 5-500 blackjack with 1.2 pen
and double deck with descent pen,bad rules(d9 or d10)
spanish is 5-500 with redouble
SP is definitely more EV. While redouble increases the variance but surrender/double down rescue helps alot.

But I would not consider learning spanish just because I'm planning a trip. Spanish mostly has bad playing conditions- as ploppy's "Match the Dealer" slows the game. Considering h17,ds,rsa bj and sp21 ddd table with 3 plops, I am better EV on Blackjack because of game speed..

Heat: Minimal heat on spanish, Low heat on bj. No hassle for card.
Not much activity from survi, unless initiated by pit.

Silver Reef has 6d h17,ds,ls 5-500 bj with 1.0-1.2 pen
h17,ds 5-500 double deck with 0.7-0.8 pen
Heat: double-deck: Any bet>100, you are totally on eye, pit boss is bluffing with you.
6-d: Any bet>100, you are on eye after one hot shoe..
blackjack is definitely best choice here..

In case you are planning to visit multiple casinos in belligham, i've a useful tip for you.. just shoot me an email..
 
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