Recent content by Tree DA

I don't get bothered too much about my play. Most people seem to know that hitting a 12 against a 2 or 3 is the right move. Hitting the S18 against a 10 is less known, but rarely comes up. If anyone says anything I whip out a strategy card and tell them to read Stanford Wong's Basic Blackjack...

Monte Carlo has the best rules, though with the MGM buyout you may not be able to find a $5 S17 game anymore. Aladdin frequently has $5 games, as do Excalibur and Luxor.

The Sahara in Las Vegas offers this game. Or at least they used to. There were also jokers in the shoe which made your hand (and the dealers) an automatic 21. Naturals only paid 1-1, IIRC. I kind of liked this game because I felt like I could hit just about anything (17 against a 10, for...

Thanks! I forgot to say, GOOD LUCK AT THE TABLES!!!

Please let us know what kind of rules you encounter when you get back!

Wow. I didn't notice that either and I just read Basic Blackjack and photocopied some of the charts under various rules scenarios.....Amazing.

Single deck 6/5 is much worse than 8 deck or any other rules the casinos have come up with. Avoid like the plague. It adds 1.41% to the house edge. Impossible to overcome that with counting. The reason you see all the ploppies sitting there is because they have some vague knowledge that...

I have to get this book!

Well, some people think that tipping the dealer is stupid anyway. At least it was an honest mistake and you feel bad about it. Throw her a $20 next time and apologize for your oversight. No biggie.

Glad it worked out OK for you.

I just ordered it today. In the meantime, I'm pretty curious since I'd never thought about this - can you give us a summary?

Many of the strip casinos offer single deck with a 6/5 BJ payout. Good shoe games can be found. Good single deck games can be found downtown at lower minimums. Good single deck games can be found on the strip (Bellagio, for example) at higher minimums. Some notable exceptions that I am...

I agree it's counter-intuitive. My only thinking on this is that with a A,4 you are more likely to want more than one additional card.

I read recently that Monte Carlo changed from dealers stand on S17 to hitting S17. I guess it's part of the fallout from the MGM buyout. Anyway, who has the best rules in Vegas? Downtown or on the strip.

Why is that? The dealer will always check to see if the down card is a 10 after asking for insurance. If not, and you have an 11, why not double down?