I've never heard of anyone playing at Grand Casino Hinckley, so I decided to check it out on a recent weekday afternoon.
To get the main stuff out of the way first: H17, DOA, DAS, RSA, no surrender. All tables but one that I saw were machine shuffled (ASM). Penetration was poor, at about 70%, which didn't seem to vary much by dealer. (As a KO user, I've never practiced deck estimation. They were cutting off more than a quarter, but less than a third, of the cards, thus my guesstimate of about 70% for pen.)
I had stopped in there briefly once last year, only to use the restroom. Of course, I took a quick look at the blackjack tables while I was there. This time, I go to where the BJ pit was and there is nothing but slot machines. I walk from one end of the main floor to the other, no BJ pits. I check the big diagram of the casino floor, which shows the pits right where I think they should be. Did I drive for an hour and a half in the rain for nothing? Turns out they moved the table games about a month ago. They're no longer off to each side of the main entrance. Once inside the main entrance, you have to keep going straight until you get to them.
When I was there only two tables were open in the High Stakes area. They were both 4D, one was $100 - $1000, the other was $15 - $300. The lower limit table was being hand shuffled. Since I wouldn't know an exploitable shuffle if I saw one, I didn't hang around to watch that.
In the main table games area there was a 4D game, $10 - $150. There was also an assortment of 6D games: $2 - $50, $3 - $50, $5 - $100, $10 - $150. I also saw tables for 3 Card Poker and Let It Ride. The lower limit tables were a bit crowded, but not the $5 and up tables. They were opening up more tables as I was leaving, at about 3:45 PM.
I didn’t think they would allow surrender, but I wasn’t sure. So I tried surrendering 17 vs. A. No go.
Each table had a touch-screen monitor for use by the floor people. And before dealing each round, the dealer would push a white button located on the table near the shoe. I don't know what any of that was for.
Each table had an electronic sign indicating not only the table min and max, but also the number of decks, which was very convenient. The casino was very clean and well-lit. It’s a good place to play for anyone except an AP. (This is probably just what they want to hear!)
I ended up losing a small amount. With the bad penetration good counts were rare, and not that profitable when they did occur. It was one of those days where doubling 11 would get me an ace, and doubling 10 would get me a four. You know how that goes.
To get the main stuff out of the way first: H17, DOA, DAS, RSA, no surrender. All tables but one that I saw were machine shuffled (ASM). Penetration was poor, at about 70%, which didn't seem to vary much by dealer. (As a KO user, I've never practiced deck estimation. They were cutting off more than a quarter, but less than a third, of the cards, thus my guesstimate of about 70% for pen.)
I had stopped in there briefly once last year, only to use the restroom. Of course, I took a quick look at the blackjack tables while I was there. This time, I go to where the BJ pit was and there is nothing but slot machines. I walk from one end of the main floor to the other, no BJ pits. I check the big diagram of the casino floor, which shows the pits right where I think they should be. Did I drive for an hour and a half in the rain for nothing? Turns out they moved the table games about a month ago. They're no longer off to each side of the main entrance. Once inside the main entrance, you have to keep going straight until you get to them.
When I was there only two tables were open in the High Stakes area. They were both 4D, one was $100 - $1000, the other was $15 - $300. The lower limit table was being hand shuffled. Since I wouldn't know an exploitable shuffle if I saw one, I didn't hang around to watch that.
In the main table games area there was a 4D game, $10 - $150. There was also an assortment of 6D games: $2 - $50, $3 - $50, $5 - $100, $10 - $150. I also saw tables for 3 Card Poker and Let It Ride. The lower limit tables were a bit crowded, but not the $5 and up tables. They were opening up more tables as I was leaving, at about 3:45 PM.
I didn’t think they would allow surrender, but I wasn’t sure. So I tried surrendering 17 vs. A. No go.
Each table had a touch-screen monitor for use by the floor people. And before dealing each round, the dealer would push a white button located on the table near the shoe. I don't know what any of that was for.
Each table had an electronic sign indicating not only the table min and max, but also the number of decks, which was very convenient. The casino was very clean and well-lit. It’s a good place to play for anyone except an AP. (This is probably just what they want to hear!)
I ended up losing a small amount. With the bad penetration good counts were rare, and not that profitable when they did occur. It was one of those days where doubling 11 would get me an ace, and doubling 10 would get me a four. You know how that goes.
