I'm new to gambling. This weekend was my first try at it and I had a great time playing blackjack once I found a real blackjack table. Here's my story:
Before I left I watched some on-demand shows about various games and decided that I wanted to play blackjack so I learned the rules for standard blackjack (we all know them, everybody gets two cards face up, hit, stand, split, etc.)
After enjoying the beach and boardwalk shops I stopped in at the Resorts Casino. I couldn't find a $5 table like the video recommended so the next best thing was a $10 table. I found an empty one and cashed in $40. I told the dealer I was new and she was helpfull in showing me simple strategy and the hand signals, to not touch my bet, etc. Differences at Resorts casino from what I expected:
I was dealt cards face down
The dealer got one card, I got two then I hit then the dealer dealt herself the hole card. This makes me suspicious since there is no reason for the casino to vary from the rules unless it's to their advantage.
I lost my $40 and another $20 before I was comfortable with playing but I walked after that. I learned about the 'free' drinks (that cost me $60).
My friends and I caught a chair back to the sands hotel where we were staying. They're kind of like rickshaws that are pushed from behind. The only reason I'm mentioning it is because my chair pusher gave me some very good strategy advice that helped me thru the rest of the night. He also told me that there are no $5 tables on a saturday night and $10 is probably the best I'm going to do. For any other beginners out there, these guys are a great source of information if you have occasion.
Got back to the sands. I couldn't find a real blackjack table in the entire place at first. I sat at the only $10 blackjack table in the place and it was that single deck blackjack bs. You've seen other threads bitch about this but here's my experience:
Everybody gets their cards face down. This time the dealer dealt herself two cards at first like normal.
You must only touch your cards with one hand and you must hit by scratching your cards on the table. You stand by sliding the corner of your cards under your chips, which I don't have the dexterity to do every time yet. They were extreemly strict about this and spent half the game time correcting people. Even some more experienced players were having problems with their weird protocols. I thought the pit boss was going to jump me when my cell phone went off and I took it out to decline the call. After the hand I steped away from the table to take the call and went to come back and had to wait untill a new shuffle to return. I didn't go there to get bitched at so I moved on after breaking even.
I finally found a real 6 deck, all face up, traditional blackjack table on the fourth floor hidden behind an experimental version of texas hold 'em. You had to ask around on this floor to find the tables, of which there were two and the minimum was $10. There was no music and no bar on the floor, the room was tiny and overall it seemed like a real back room operation but I soon learned that it was the gem I was looking for.
There were a lot of other beginners there and with all cards face up we coached each other and made friends. I think the dealers were beginners too because they made a few mistakes (one even mistook her 21 as a bust). That's not to say that the dealers were bad. They were extreemly friendly and helpfull. Even the pit bosses were nice. It was so much more sociable and relaxing playing real blackjack than the single deck. I put in $40 and worked it up to $100 before leaving the table. I made my $60 back that I lost at Resorts and broke even. I'll take that as a win.
A couple of things: Single deck blackjack played the way the sands played it probably makes it very hard to count the cards of your fellow players unless you can catch the hands before they are taken away. Is there an answer to this except to practice a lot?
~~ Good Luck ~~
Before I left I watched some on-demand shows about various games and decided that I wanted to play blackjack so I learned the rules for standard blackjack (we all know them, everybody gets two cards face up, hit, stand, split, etc.)
After enjoying the beach and boardwalk shops I stopped in at the Resorts Casino. I couldn't find a $5 table like the video recommended so the next best thing was a $10 table. I found an empty one and cashed in $40. I told the dealer I was new and she was helpfull in showing me simple strategy and the hand signals, to not touch my bet, etc. Differences at Resorts casino from what I expected:
I was dealt cards face down
The dealer got one card, I got two then I hit then the dealer dealt herself the hole card. This makes me suspicious since there is no reason for the casino to vary from the rules unless it's to their advantage.
I lost my $40 and another $20 before I was comfortable with playing but I walked after that. I learned about the 'free' drinks (that cost me $60).
My friends and I caught a chair back to the sands hotel where we were staying. They're kind of like rickshaws that are pushed from behind. The only reason I'm mentioning it is because my chair pusher gave me some very good strategy advice that helped me thru the rest of the night. He also told me that there are no $5 tables on a saturday night and $10 is probably the best I'm going to do. For any other beginners out there, these guys are a great source of information if you have occasion.
Got back to the sands. I couldn't find a real blackjack table in the entire place at first. I sat at the only $10 blackjack table in the place and it was that single deck blackjack bs. You've seen other threads bitch about this but here's my experience:
Everybody gets their cards face down. This time the dealer dealt herself two cards at first like normal.
You must only touch your cards with one hand and you must hit by scratching your cards on the table. You stand by sliding the corner of your cards under your chips, which I don't have the dexterity to do every time yet. They were extreemly strict about this and spent half the game time correcting people. Even some more experienced players were having problems with their weird protocols. I thought the pit boss was going to jump me when my cell phone went off and I took it out to decline the call. After the hand I steped away from the table to take the call and went to come back and had to wait untill a new shuffle to return. I didn't go there to get bitched at so I moved on after breaking even.
I finally found a real 6 deck, all face up, traditional blackjack table on the fourth floor hidden behind an experimental version of texas hold 'em. You had to ask around on this floor to find the tables, of which there were two and the minimum was $10. There was no music and no bar on the floor, the room was tiny and overall it seemed like a real back room operation but I soon learned that it was the gem I was looking for.
There were a lot of other beginners there and with all cards face up we coached each other and made friends. I think the dealers were beginners too because they made a few mistakes (one even mistook her 21 as a bust). That's not to say that the dealers were bad. They were extreemly friendly and helpfull. Even the pit bosses were nice. It was so much more sociable and relaxing playing real blackjack than the single deck. I put in $40 and worked it up to $100 before leaving the table. I made my $60 back that I lost at Resorts and broke even. I'll take that as a win.
A couple of things: Single deck blackjack played the way the sands played it probably makes it very hard to count the cards of your fellow players unless you can catch the hands before they are taken away. Is there an answer to this except to practice a lot?
~~ Good Luck ~~
