David Sklansky is the Father of 6/5 Blackjack

[JSTAT]

http://govinfo.library.unt.edu/ngisc/meetings/11nov98/sklansky.pdf

David Sklansky changed the face of blackjack after his testimony to the National Gaming Impact Study Commission (1997-1999). Natural 21's were paid 3/2 in the traditional game before his sworn statement to the commission. Sklansky said under oath on page 5 of the link above, " Casinos cannot survive if all their customers played basic strategy blackjack. I have recommended to some of my casino clients that they change the rules such that natural 21's pay only even money. This gives the house 2% more of an edge. We may very well be seeing this change soon." Let's give this man an applause:whip: Soon after, 6/5 natural 21 payouts were implemented throughout the Las Vegas strip. Sklansky had to put food on the table by sucking the life out of a game that many enjoy. Truly a candidate for the Blackjack Hall of Fame:1st:

JSTAT

 

[creeping panther]

Slutsky

http://govinfo.library.unt.edu/ngisc/meetings/11nov98/sklansky.pdf

David Sklansky changed the face of blackjack after his testimony to the National Gaming Impact Study Commission (1997-1999). Natural 21's were paid 3/2 in the traditional game, before his sworn statement to the commission. Sklansky said under oath on page 5 of the link above, " Casinos cannot survive if all their customers played basic strategy blackjack. I have recommended to some of my casino clients that they change the rules such that natural 21's pay only even money. This gives the house 2% more of an edge. We may very well be seeing this change soon." Let's give this man an applause:whip: Soon after, 6/5 natural payouts were implemented throughout the Las Vegas strip. Sklansky had to put food on the table by sucking the life out of a game that many enjoy. Truly a candidate for the Blackjack Hall of Fame:1st:

JSTAT

Is a candidate for something..and that is not the BJ Hall Of Fame!:vomit::bomb:



He is a sleazy MOFU.

CP

 

[callipygian]

Have any of you guys ever read Sklansky on Blackjack? I might rank it as the worst blackjack book that contains accurate information.

He should stick to poker.

 

[JSTAT]

Have any of you guys ever read Sklansky on Blackjack? I might rank it as the worst blackjack book that contains accurate information.

He should stick to poker.

Sklansky is two faced. In the back cover of "Sklansky Talks Blackjack (1999) ", it says he is "a renowned teacher, as well as a professional gambler." Sklansky told the National Gaming Impact Study Commission that he was a casino consultant. Since his testimony was a year before its publication, why didn't he admit that he has "casino clients" in his book? While advocating card counting in his book, he back-stabbed the reader by the urging of 6:5 natural 21's for his "casino clients" on the Las Vegas strip. I might rank him as the "Worst Person in the World" for blackjack as Keith Oberman of MSNBC's "Countdown" might put it.

JSTAT

 

[moo321]

Have any of you guys ever read Sklansky on Blackjack? I might rank it as the worst blackjack book that contains accurate information.

He should stick to poker.

He's not a good poker player either.

And from what I hear he's a real sexual deviant.

 

[ihate17]

tell the truth but leave out a few important facts

http://govinfo.library.unt.edu/ngisc/meetings/11nov98/sklansky.pdf

David Sklansky changed the face of blackjack after his testimony to the National Gaming Impact Study Commission (1997-1999). Natural 21's were paid 3/2 in the traditional game before his sworn statement to the commission. Sklansky said under oath on page 5 of the link above, " Casinos cannot survive if all their customers played basic strategy blackjack. I have recommended to some of my casino clients that they change the rules such that natural 21's pay only even money. This gives the house 2% more of an edge.
JSTAT

I agree with Mr Sklansky's statement that casinos cannot survive if all their customers played basic strategy. Of course, what he left out is that nearly none of the casinos customers do play basic strategy and they are already losing as if the casino had a built in 2% edge.
I also do not see anytime in the near future a 1-1 payout for blackjack or even the 6/5 shoe game going much beyond those garbage pits owned by HET.

I just returned from Vegas and what I witnessed on 6/5 single deck tables were too many players but they were mainly $5-$10 players, one black chip idiot and not much more but I do not kill my time watching these games (can the dealer be read or not, then move on).
What I also saw in Vegas is more and more low limit 3/2 tables in places known for higher limits and a tendency to close pits/tables when the place is slow.

This may change with the economy getting worse, but when these kind of consultants have made these kind of reccommendations in the past, the casinos who have bought those ideas have increased their hold percentage but nearly always had their drop go down so much that profits just disappaited.

ihate17

 

[callipygian]

why didn't he admit that he has "casino clients" in his book?

For the same reason that nobody else does. Almost all famous blackjack players consulted for casinos in one way or another, either as expert witnesses at trial or direct consulting on how to maximize their bottom line.

He's not a good poker player either.

From what I've seen of him, he's a good-if-not-great poker player with a Hellmuth-sized ego. He's probably better at high stakes limit Hold'Em than he is at no-limit (which is why many people get the impression he sucks, because he's probably worse than most of his peers at NL). His books are very good, although granted, he had co-authors on many of them.

 

[ChefJJ]

Sell-out.

 

[lucifer]

i had no idea that david was the reason for 6/5. His advice has to be the worse advice you could give the casino. I dealt for many many years and have counted since i was 21. i can tell you this, as a dealer, most players are HORRIBLE! no one plays basic strategy. i think i saw 2 people my whole life that hit a7 vs 10. they already have a 2 to 5% advantage with the horrible play. going to 6/5 just made them lose even more and faster than ever. you rarely see any real action on 6/5. they are costing themselves money by having 6/5. saying "if everyone played 6/5 the casinos couldnt survive" is like saying if humans had wings airlines couldnt survive. its ignorant. casinos have made a mint off bj in the last 50 years.If the caisnos want to make more money on bj add late surrender to every shoe game.people are clueless when it comes to what to surrender. put a sign on every table so they all know.

 

[ihate17]

Bad advice and products sell well

i had no idea that david was the reason for 6/5. His advice has to be the worse advice you could give the casino. I dealt for many many years and have counted since i was 21. i can tell you this, as a dealer, most players are HORRIBLE! no one plays basic strategy. i think i saw 2 people my whole life that hit a7 vs 10. they already have a 2 to 5% advantage with the horrible play. going to 6/5 just made them lose even more and faster than ever. you rarely see any real action on 6/5. they are costing themselves money by having 6/5. saying "if everyone played 6/5 the casinos couldnt survive" is like saying if humans had wings airlines couldnt survive. its ignorant. casinos have made a mint off bj in the last 50 years.If the caisnos want to make more money on bj add late surrender to every shoe game.people are clueless when it comes to what to surrender. put a sign on every table so they all know.

Consultants and manufacturers of gaming systems know and understand their customers better than their customers understand their customers.
So the consultant comes in and sells something to the paranoid and greedy casino manager. He tells him this will increase his profits and cut his overhead and perhaps even cut the amount of comps his customers get.

The stupid casino manager has some number cruncher chrunch those numbers and decides that he will be a genius and get a huge bonus by buying this sizzle without substance. What he takes for granted is that whatever the change is, his customers will continue to play at the current rate. What he does not grasp, what he does not give his customer credit for, is the customer has proven over and over again that if he does not like the change, he will no longer play. The customer is king.

The consultants and gaming manufacturers are often great snake oil salesman, the casino manager is the sucker and the ploppy is the final authority.

Power to the ploppies............ihate17

 

[UK-21]

http://govinfo.library.unt.edu/ngisc/meetings/11nov98/sklansky.pdf

David Sklansky changed the face of blackjack after his testimony to the National Gaming Impact Study Commission (1997-1999). Natural 21's were paid 3/2 in the traditional game before his sworn statement to the commission. Sklansky said under oath on page 5 of the link above, " Casinos cannot survive if all their customers played basic strategy blackjack. I have recommended to some of my casino clients that they change the rules such that natural 21's pay only even money. This gives the house 2% more of an edge. We may very well be seeing this change soon." Let's give this man an applause:whip: Soon after, 6/5 natural 21 payouts were implemented throughout the Las Vegas strip. Sklansky had to put food on the table by sucking the life out of a game that many enjoy. Truly a candidate for the Blackjack Hall of Fame:1st:

JSTAT

Nobody's commented on the stupidity of those on the Commission who believed this statement and didn't challenge it. To argue that the casino industry is about to collapse due to the tight margins on a single game is nonsense - but shame on the people who believed it.

 

[JSTAT]

Nobody's commented on the stupidity of those on the Commission who believed this statement and didn't challenge it. To argue that the casino industry is about to collapse due to the tight margins on a single game is nonsense - but shame on the people who believed it.

Only two of the seven members of the National Gaming Impact Study Commission represented the casino gaming industry. William Bible was chairman of the Nevada State Gaming Control Board and MGM's CEO Terrence Lanni. David Sklansky told them what was in the interest of Nevada's gaming revenues. Damn the players! Sklansky wanted to make a name for himself in front of these powerful people. Selling us out for his own personal gain. Of course Bible and Lanni would not challenge the stupidity of "Casinos cannot survive if all their customers played basic strategy." 6:5 blackjack might as well be Sklansky's scarlet letter.

JSTAT

 

[zengrifter]

Sklansky 'invented' a variation called 'Experto'
- first offered at Vegas World circa 1980
- single deck dealt to last card
- BJ pays even money. zg

 

[shadroch]

Sounds like he could be Scarnes love child.

 

[Pro21]

Giving Sklansky credit for 6-5 is ridiculous. Many people came up with ideas for improving the hold on the BJ games. Sklansky's version was deal single deck 51 cards and pay even money on BJ. This game was still being dealt in Mississippi as of a few years ago. This is as ridiculous as Wong claiming he came up with the idea for showing the hole cards in poker shows and Zengrifter claiming he designed the legal battle for Grosjean.

 

[moo321]

Sklansky 'invented' a variation called 'Experto'
- first offered at Vegas World circa 1980
- single deck dealt to last card
- BJ pays even money. zg

Well, that was designed to catch counters.

 

[sabre]

6:5 blackjack was inevitable. Given the popularity of carnival games with house advantages over 2% (in some cases well over) such as 3 card poker, carribean stud and let it ride ... it's no surprise that casinos looked for a way to boost the house edge on the popular blackjack game. Tweaking the blackjack payout was the most obvious way to accomplish that. If anything, the way that they went about it (pairing the return of single deck with 6:5) produced a huge opportunity for APs for awhile.

BTW, If you want to know a little more about Sklansky ... google "sklansky brandi suicide"

 

[JSTAT]

Sounds like he could be Scarnes love child.

At least John Scarne admitted that he was a casino consultant in his books.

 

[sagefr0g]

wow, that guy must be a real douche bag.

i've never been to Vegas. just how prevalent is 6/5 crap there anyway, or is there stats on how prevalent 6/5 crap is through out the US?

 

[JSTAT]

Giving Sklansky credit for 6-5 is ridiculous. Many people came up with ideas for improving the hold on the BJ games. Sklansky's version was deal single deck 51 cards and pay even money on BJ. This game was still being dealt in Mississippi as of a few years ago. This is as ridiculous as Wong claiming he came up with the idea for showing the hole cards in poker shows and Zengrifter claiming he designed the legal battle for Grosjean.

Wong and Zengrifter did not have a "smoking gun" as evidence http://govinfo.library.unt.edu/ngisc/meetings/11nov98/sklansky.pdf. I believe David Sklansky's sworn oath testimony to the chairman of the Nevada State Gaming Control Board and the CEO of MGM. Sklansky was lobbying for 6:5 to the powerbrokers of the Las Vegas strip. 6:5 blackjack was approved after his 11/17/98 testimony.

JSTAT