Indian casinos

[rams]

Is card counting effective at California casinos. I don't play there but they apparently have different rules, such as, you play against the other players
and not the house.

[Sandy Eggo]

Umm, where are you specifically talking about? Or at least regionally in CA?

I'm down in San Diego, and I track Aces only...and tend to do pretty well as long as the drunken college players aren't visiting my regular spot.

[rarensu39]

when i think of indian casinos, pechanga, morongo, etc come to mind.

most of the blackjack tables here are played with CSM's. but on my last trip to pechanga (2 weeks ago) they had a 6d shoe's at $5 and $25 tables!!!

CSM's make counting useless
but if you're playing a shoe, then counting can be beneficial

i know of some casinos were dealer is switching while you play, and you even have to pay 30 cents per each hand. But i believe these aren't indian casinos, they are privately owned (casinos like Hawaiian Gardens)

[callipygian]

Originally Posted by rams

Is card counting effective at California casinos. I don't play there but they apparently have different rules, such as, you play against the other players and not the house.

There are two types of casinos that operate in California.

(1) non-Indian "casinos". These are technically "card houses" where players play against one another and the house takes a rake. They host mostly poker with some variants of table games where players rotate banking. The house rake is generally high enough on blackjack that the game is unbeatable with card counting.

(2) Indian casinos. These casinos are built on "tribal land" and as such are not subject to normal laws. Betting against the house is allowed, and there are many Indian casinos which offer blackjack. However, many of the casinos employ CSM's, for which counting is ineffective. So if you can find Indian casinos with shoe games, you can count there.

The shoe games, from what I have seen, are not very good. If you really want to play AP blackjack, save for a trip to Reno or Las Vegas, and play better games there.

[ihate17]

Originally Posted by rams

Is card counting effective at California casinos. I don't play there but they apparently have different rules, such as, you play against the other players
and not the house.

The non tribal card houses have crazy rules and antes and I have never played there.
The Indian casinos have a spread of rules from a few fairly good games to many poor games. There are a few OK games in both San Diego and Riverside Counties. A current copy of CBJN will cover the rules, general pen and sometimes the heat level.

ihate17

[Mimosine]

Originally Posted by callipygian

However, many of the casinos employ CSM's, for which counting is ineffective. So if you can find Indian casinos with shoe games, you can count there.

This is a gross miscontruction of the situation in CA indian casinos. There are 1 or 2 houses which use almost exclusively CSMs. The rest, and I mean the REST have very FEW CSMs in operation - many have NONE.

The region I refer to is from Santa Barbara to Tijuana. Excess of 20 casinos - all of which I have played at.

[callipygian]

Originally Posted by Mimosine

This is a gross miscontruction of the situation in CA indian casinos.

I'll defer to anyone who has been to more or more recently than I have (it's been many years), but 2 out of 3 casinos I went to had CSM's and my extended family (who go far more often than I do) say that the places they go, mostly Northern CA between SF and Tahoe, all have CSM's. It may be possible that they're talking about ASM's, but I specifically clarified with them when they told me.

Perhaps this is a difference between Northern California and Southern California?

[Sandy Eggo]

Haven't been in a NoCal tribal casino, so I can't answer for anything above Morongo.

Morongo has a $5, 6D handshuffled on a Monday game. I played it for about 40 minutes back in October2008.

Pechanga has a mix of CSM and ASM games.

Pala, not sure as I've not played any tables there.

Harrah's Rincon, mix.

Santa Ysabel, ASM for 6D $3 and $5. ASM for $10 2D game irregularly open.

Paradise's CA -side room is CSM. Their AZ-side is ASM, and I will now only play on that side after my good luck yesterday of $40 becoming $100 in under an hour of speed play (and 3 dealers making about $35 in tips off me).

[ccl]

i know the 3 casinos on the N calif coast last time i was home (late summer 08) was all 6D shoe, DOA, 3:2 blackjack payout, decent Pen, could find 80%+ at some tables depending on the dealer. Dealer hits S17, one place all hand shuffles, another all ASM shuffles and the other is ASM except when its busy its 50% ASM 50% hand, used to work in one of them myself and know a lot about the area since my old coworkers scattered to the 3

[creeping panther]

Originally Posted by rams

Is card counting effective at California casinos. I don't play there but they apparently have different rules, such as, you play against the other players
and not the house.

Please.

That is Native American Casinos. Show us some respect, we are not from India

CP