I'm in New York, so usually play at Seneca Niagara on this side of the border.
Decided last night we would cross the border and check out Fallsview since we hadn't been there in quite a few years and I didn't play BJ much then.
Trip into Canada was easy, but the bridge coming back at that time had a huge back up.
Got there about 5:00PM and it was pretty crowded, but not packed. I saw one CSM $5 game, one $10 hand shuffled lucky ladies, and a $10 hand shuffled regular. There was also a multi spot for $10 that I think had an CSM. They were pretty full, the LL and MS the worst. A short wait could get a spot at the regular game. Easy to sit at the many $15, $25 and $50 games mixed some CSM and some ASM. I think the $5 game was gone by 8:00PM and the $10 went to $15 about 10:00PM, but we were grandfathered in at $10. By then the place was very busy, but still $15 and up tables were easy to sit at.
The hand games were all 8 deck, Split any pair DOA, DAS and S17. A dealer said the CSM's were five deck games, so "the odds were better". Not sure if she meant ASM, CSM or both,
Couple of things surprised me comparing it to the US Native Casinos ..... Canada casinos are Govt Run .. or as some people prefer to say run by Organized Crime
. FIrst of all the pace was much more relaxed that the US side. Dealers kept the game moving, but didn't seem to jam as many hands in as the US. They're also much more friendly and personable.
What was even more surprising is that earlier ... before 8:00 the dealer and pit gave players pretty much perfect BS advice when asked. The players all pretty much played good BS, I even almost doubled a soft 18 VS 5, and several other players spoke up saying not to. I won vs a dealer 17, so it may have saved my a hand. Later other dealers wouldn't give advice or even ask the pit. Maybe that's good if he didn't know. He'd say to ask the other players who were pretty good.
Having been to Canada a lot, It was no surprise to me that the Canadians were always very polite. Guess it's their nature.
Another thing strange to me is I never saw anyone tip the dealer besides myself. Maybe as government employees they make a better living off salary than US dealers. The still seemed to appreciate the tips.
All in all, it's a great place to play of looking for a relaxed entertaining time. The slow pace and terrible pen (some cut 2+ decks) would have made it not so good for an advantage player.
Oh yea .. you pay for $4.50 for most drinks, a bad thing for those that consider free drinks +EV and the place is smoke free.. I got $111 of Canadian for $100 US. Didn't exchange back, but expect to lose a little there, so that could also hurt your EV.
The trip back over the border was kind of a pain. Even though it was 2:00AM with three customs booth opened we waited about 20 minutes for only a few cars in front. Once there we passed pretty easily since we were locals, and had our passports. I suspect at that time they check out the 19-20 crowd more closely since many go to Canada where they can drink.
Decided last night we would cross the border and check out Fallsview since we hadn't been there in quite a few years and I didn't play BJ much then.
Trip into Canada was easy, but the bridge coming back at that time had a huge back up.
Got there about 5:00PM and it was pretty crowded, but not packed. I saw one CSM $5 game, one $10 hand shuffled lucky ladies, and a $10 hand shuffled regular. There was also a multi spot for $10 that I think had an CSM. They were pretty full, the LL and MS the worst. A short wait could get a spot at the regular game. Easy to sit at the many $15, $25 and $50 games mixed some CSM and some ASM. I think the $5 game was gone by 8:00PM and the $10 went to $15 about 10:00PM, but we were grandfathered in at $10. By then the place was very busy, but still $15 and up tables were easy to sit at.
The hand games were all 8 deck, Split any pair DOA, DAS and S17. A dealer said the CSM's were five deck games, so "the odds were better". Not sure if she meant ASM, CSM or both,
Couple of things surprised me comparing it to the US Native Casinos ..... Canada casinos are Govt Run .. or as some people prefer to say run by Organized Crime
. FIrst of all the pace was much more relaxed that the US side. Dealers kept the game moving, but didn't seem to jam as many hands in as the US. They're also much more friendly and personable.What was even more surprising is that earlier ... before 8:00 the dealer and pit gave players pretty much perfect BS advice when asked. The players all pretty much played good BS, I even almost doubled a soft 18 VS 5, and several other players spoke up saying not to. I won vs a dealer 17, so it may have saved my a hand. Later other dealers wouldn't give advice or even ask the pit. Maybe that's good if he didn't know. He'd say to ask the other players who were pretty good.
Having been to Canada a lot, It was no surprise to me that the Canadians were always very polite. Guess it's their nature.
Another thing strange to me is I never saw anyone tip the dealer besides myself. Maybe as government employees they make a better living off salary than US dealers. The still seemed to appreciate the tips.
All in all, it's a great place to play of looking for a relaxed entertaining time. The slow pace and terrible pen (some cut 2+ decks) would have made it not so good for an advantage player.
Oh yea .. you pay for $4.50 for most drinks, a bad thing for those that consider free drinks +EV and the place is smoke free.. I got $111 of Canadian for $100 US. Didn't exchange back, but expect to lose a little there, so that could also hurt your EV.
The trip back over the border was kind of a pain. Even though it was 2:00AM with three customs booth opened we waited about 20 minutes for only a few cars in front. Once there we passed pretty easily since we were locals, and had our passports. I suspect at that time they check out the 19-20 crowd more closely since many go to Canada where they can drink.
