Parx update for May

Parx has two gaming areas now as of a few months ago earlier this year.

Parx east features a Poker Room, and a gaming floor with a number of blackjack tables, Of the blackjack tables here, you will find a pit with low limit CSM games, and another pit with 6deck games. Parx Blackjack games pose a unique obsticle in that there discard tray is under the felt making it impossible to visually see how many cards are in the discard pile, additionally, there is a cover on the shoe so you cannot see the deck there.

The main floor has a number of tables, some csm, but still many tables featuring 8 decks and the covers shoes with the hidden discard tray.

The electronic tables with the I-shoe are gone.

The Penn on the 6 deck games is great with only 1 deck cut off.
The penn on the 8 deck games is 2 decks cut off.

Obviously there are ways around the hidden discard tray, so it helps to come prepaired.

I wasnt prepaired and it took me maybe 15 minutes to come up with a plan, and another 25 minutes of messing around with it at the table.

PM me if you want the intricacies of how I use a ballanced counting system at parx

Thanks for the warning. Would have to brush up on KO before I go there. Casinos are so stupid.

A little more info on Parx.

Parx east has 4 tables with shoe and 2 with CSMs. on week days until 8 pm or so, there will be atleast one table with $15 min. All the 4 tables are 6 decks. The good thing about Parx east is the less number of people and very less distractions. The area is small and kinda feels like playing in your living room with some soft music on.

On Parx west, as someone posted, the discard trays are here. No more hidden discard trays. One important change i have noticed is that, pen depth got better almost at the same time as the discard trays disappeared. In this new building, they have both 6 and 8 deck games. Most times i have seen, all the tables are min $25 and the 6 deck games go up to $50 and $100 min. But there were times when few of the 8 deck games were $50 and 6 deck games were $25 min.

Since last week i have seen atleast 5 new dealers who were super nervous and making mistakes left and right. So if some of you are wanting to sample parx, you might wanna try Parx east too on the same trip. Valet charges $15 from Friday to sunday. On week days it is free and reasonably fast.

Parx East recently changed half of their handicapped spots to regular spots. Not too many people are aware of this yet so there are usually tons of spots available (except yesterday afternoon when I went around 3pm because there were horse races going on).

Yay I don't have to use KO at Parx anymore! I haven't played much blackjack there since I got backed off last year, but I'm now a regular for poker at Parx.

I noticed they wired the live band thing into the casino speaker system a few days ago. And it is so freaking loud, i never had an experience like that before. I was not hearing anything the dealer is saying. This could be a good thing because the dealers are not waiting for the pit bosses to verify buy-in s for less than $500. And the pit bosses are not paying attention to people winning etc.

Noise and confusion have their merits.

You don't have to worry about distractions because you can't here anyone anyway.

You can make counting easier by just counting out loud!

Just one time I'd like to go to the sweatiest store in Vegas and count out loud so that the pit can hear me, flat bet the entire time, then leave, hopefully even... just for the hell of it.

Or maybe the pit would come up to me and say, "Sir, we do not allow card counting here." Then I would tell him, "It's just something I cannot help doing. It comes naturally. But I always just flat bet, because I don't think it's fair for me win with an advantage. I do try to pick the games with the least house advantage, however... is that all right?"

I wonder how casinos would feel toward players who tried to play according to their inane wishes? How can anyone (in their right mind) offer a challenge for money that once you master and have the ability to win at, you are expected to recuse yourself and opt for a losing strategy? Are they totally insane... and the courts, too, for letting them get away with it.

Justice is a fiction... it's money makes the world go around.

You could nearly break even at the Spaniard single deck just using index plays and wonging out at -4.

New craps tables are up in Parx East. I don't remember seeing any craps tables in the new building.

But will they let you beat the game with anything but luck? No need to answer that. No casino should offer a plus EV game and then prevent you from winning at it by back-offs and half shoe policies. That is cheating in my book (even though it's legal). The Spaniard will not allow you to make full use of your mind to beat it's games, probably more than any casino in Vegas, even if it does offer some of the lowest HAs sans card counting. IF a casino offers a negative EV game, card counting permitted, that is okay with me, but if they offer a game that I can beat, but then take measures you stop me if they think I know how, that is dishonest. I personally feel casinos are dishonest, and I do not mean that they should not be allowed to have an edge, so long as it is on the up and up, which it isn't in the case of blackjack.

Just went there for the first time this week. What's the deal with the machines that they just feed the cards back into? Some tables have a deck holder AND a shuffler while others have it all in one.
I'm thinking the all-in-one machine shuffles constantly and is probably worthless to play on, while the standard tables probably have more decks.

Been there, done that. Well, not actually, I counted and spread lightly. No problemo.

I was just there the other day and there was no hidden discard trays. Normal discard trays but hidden shoes at both the east and normal casino. Hidden shoes though, didn't make much sense to me. Found a single $15 table that didnt use a CSM, everything else was $25. Looked like it was all 8 deck but didn't look too close as I didn't have a bankroll to support the $25 tables.

Parx got a new "Table Games Manager" last week and he has already implemented 2 beneficial rule changes for the player.

1. Prior to Saturday - Dealers were not allowed to show the burn card ever (even if asked). As of this past Saturday - They may show it upon request. Dealers are not in the habit of showing it yet and I don't like to ask so as to not draw attention to myself, but when I told a guy next to me that the dealer could now show the burn, he requested to see it nearly everytime, even though he was not an AP. After he left the table the dealer had gotten into the habit and she just kept showing it without anyone asking.

2. Prior to Saturday - If you wanted to play two hands you were required to bet at least 2x the table minimum on each hand ($25 table - you had to bet at least $50 on each hand). As of this past Saturday - This rule is gone. You now may play table minimun on each hand.

Not sure who this new manager is but he obviously realizes that he has to compete and make things more player friendly.

BTW - I agree with poster who talked about great pen here but I think the average is about 1.5 decks cut out on 6 deck games. They have a notch in the covered shoe for mandated cut placement but many of the dealers don't push the cards back all the way to the end of the shoe and I played a few shoes with only 1/2 deck cut out.