Hard Rock @ Hollywood, FL

[MartyAce]

Was just there and thought I would touch on the place.

To my surprise on a weekday afternoon, you will NOT find any limit below $15. It looks like they have about 3 different pits for blackjack (It may be four, but they built that place very well and you can get lost because everything looks similar). I did not look into the high roller pit as it was blocked off with some sort of sheet or tarp.

One entire pit where you will find mostly $15 tables are all CSM.

The other two pits all have automatic shufflers and are all 8D S17 DA2 DAS, penetration seems to be very uniform around 1.5-2 decks, however, if you look around you can find better.

Heat seemed to be very low as each pit seems to only have maybe 3 pit personal for around 12-14 tables and they are always being called to tables for chip transactions.

Some observations about the place: Wonging in will be near impossible anytime after noon. It took me almost 30 minutes on an afternoon to get a seat. You will also need to be well bankrolled to play here because they take the minimums up to almost $25 besides a couple of tables during the afternoon to prepare for the night crowd.

I can't speak for the crowds at the early hours since I wasn't there, but it may be better. There is certainly no shortage of black chip players here as almost all the tables were full including $50 and $100 dollar tables, so higher stakes players will not stand out at all.

The conditions here are decent due to the penetration (I found a particular table who gave better then average pen). However, wonging in like I said will be nearly impossible because as soon as a seat opens you see a bunch of people moving in for the grab.

[sagefr0g]

Originally Posted by MartyAce

Was just there and thought I would touch on the place.

To my surprise on a weekday afternoon, you will NOT find any limit below $15. It looks like they have about 3 different pits for blackjack (It may be four, but they built that place very well and you can get lost because everything looks similar). I did not look into the high roller pit as it was blocked off with some sort of sheet or tarp.

One entire pit where you will find mostly $15 tables are all CSM.

The other two pits all have automatic shufflers and are all 8D S17 DA2 DAS, penetration seems to be very uniform around 1.5-2 decks, however, if you look around you can find better.

Heat seemed to be very low as each pit seems to only have maybe 3 pit personal for around 12-14 tables and they are always being called to tables for chip transactions.

Some observations about the place: Wonging in will be near impossible anytime after noon. It took me almost 30 minutes on an afternoon to get a seat. You will also need to be well bankrolled to play here because they take the minimums up to almost $25 besides a couple of tables during the afternoon to prepare for the night crowd.

I can't speak for the crowds at the early hours since I wasn't there, but it may be better. There is certainly no shortage of black chip players here as almost all the tables were full including $50 and $100 dollar tables, so higher stakes players will not stand out at all.

The conditions here are decent due to the penetration (I found a particular table who gave better then average pen). However, wonging in like I said will be nearly impossible because as soon as a seat opens you see a bunch of people moving in for the grab.

man that just makes me sick.
and to think, that joint's 'ground breaking' offering of blackjack in Florida was part of what brought about the demise of Sea Escape which did infact offer excellent games.

[FLASH1296]

I am posting from The Seminole Hard Rock:

MartyAce is dead wrong on several accounts.

1. There is heat.
2. In the mornings there are many $10 and $15 tables that are not C.S.M.'s. By afternoon the $10 tables all become $15.
3. The pits are top-heavy with Pit Critters. So many that they are often banging into one another.
4. Penetration is almost always 2 decks on the 8 deckers.
5. The High Limit room is enormous and offers $100 (and up) 6 deckers with 75% pen'

MartyAce is correct though re: one factor:

Unlike the rest of the country this casino has a monopoly on BJ and it is bizarrely crowded at almost all hours.

[mdw]

My wife and I are about an hour north of the Hollywood Hardrock. Both of us have day jobs for income. We like to play blackjack at $5 and $10 dollar tables. We have not been to the Hard Rock since they added Black Jack We did go once to play their "bingo" style slot machines. Hated those. I have heard the same, that you can't get a seat and table minimums are higher than we are used to. I'd rather fly to Biloxi where I can easily find a seat to play black jack and table minimums to meet our budget. The bummer is we were looking forward to having Black Jack in our back yard. Biloxi offers packages that included flight, room and some meals. The Hard Rock in Biloxi compted us two dinners and two breakfasts. We were flat betting on a $5 table that time. Hollywood Hard Rock will not be getting us in the door soon. To be honest I am suprised that the minimums are so high in these times. Most working people don't make $25 and hour and we're expected to play $25 a hand. No thanks.

[sagefr0g]

Originally Posted by mdw

My wife and I are about an hour north of the Hollywood Hardrock. Both of us have day jobs for income. We like to play blackjack at $5 and $10 dollar tables. We have not been to the Hard Rock since they added Black Jack We did go once to play their "bingo" style slot machines. Hated those. I have heard the same, that you can't get a seat and table minimums are higher than we are used to. I'd rather fly to Biloxi where I can easily find a seat to play black jack and table minimums to meet our budget. The bummer is we were looking forward to having Black Jack in our back yard. Biloxi offers packages that included flight, room and some meals. The Hard Rock in Biloxi compted us two dinners and two breakfasts. We were flat betting on a $5 table that time. Hollywood Hard Rock will not be getting us in the door soon. To be honest I am suprised that the minimums are so high in these times. Most working people don't make $25 and hour and we're expected to play $25 a hand. No thanks.

just curious mdw, did you ever sail on and play on the sea escape before it went out of business? lol, i practically lived on it for a few years.

[Lonesome Gambler]

Not to mention the fact that the Hard Rocks in FL don't comp ANYTHING. It's unbelievable that you can sit there betting quarters for hours and not even get a cocktail. Seriously. I have to say, they've done a great job promoting the blackjack games because even the $25 tables are practically full every single night. If they open $15 tables, you can pretty much expect to wait for a seat. Ridiculous.

[HockeXpert]

not that they have any great places to eat but it does slightly raise your ev on the crappy games they offer And I must add that FLASH1296 hit the nail on the head with his summation of the place.

[FLASH1296]

Slight improvement in penetration noted in the last few weeks.

[johndoe]

I just got a chance to check this place out myself.

I'd say that the basics of what was written above is still accurate, mostly 1.5-2/8, all ASM, and a few CSM around. Table minimums were 15-25 depending on time.

No surrender. Not the best game in the world, by any stretch.

But I did find it beatable with fairly aggressive wonging - and I noted no (apparent) heat. I'd often hang around for quite a while, and hop in with a couple spots of black, and no one batted an eye. No "checks play" either.

I have a decent act, of course, but I'm no pro. I did this for the good part of a day (moving around), also spreading like crazy with almost no bet/play cover and all was well. It was fairly crowded, but not crazily so, and I could usually find a seat. It's easier to wong on the $50 tables, many more seats available. Lots of people are standing around watching so it's easy to blend in. Lots of black being thrown around so they didn't seem to sweat it.

As for comps, these flowed freely, at least when the pit notices your big bets (and likes you). Yes, I had to pay $5 for cocktails as is standard policy (I didn't ask for freebies there), but I think cheap beer (bud etc.) was free.

So it's not a great place, but it is certainly beatable, and was overall enjoyable for me.

[FLASH1296]

johndoe said:

"Yes, I had to pay $5 for cocktails as is standard policy (I didn't ask for freebies there), but I think cheap beer (bud etc.) was free."

All alcoholic beverages are forbidden as comps due to a clause in the state compact agreement.