Newbie Question

[bjmunkeez]

Hi All

I am a beginner in the BJ counting game. I have done some research on the casinos in our area and would like to find out if they are worth playing at considering the following:

- They all use a Shuffle Master One2Six shuffling machine with 5 decks loaded
- The dealer generally shuffles after every round, sometimes every second round (sometimes even in the middle of the game). No consistency here.
- The table is labelled - Dealer stands on 17, draws to 16 (not 100% sure what this means)
- Double allowed after split, one card allowed after split ace.

From what I have read, most casinos use even numbers of decks (2,4,6,8) - is it of concern that we use 5 decks? Also, what would my penetration be considering that we shuffle after pretty much every hand?

Look forward to some answers Thanks in advance.

 

[johndoe]

Don't bother. The 5 decks doesn't matter, what matters is the machine that shuffles after every round. Worthless for counting. Your equivalent penetration is probably a 1/4 deck depending on # of players.

 

[Martin Gayle]

Hi All

I am a beginner in the BJ counting game. I have done some research on the casinos in our area and would like to find out if they are worth playing at considering the following:

- They all use a Shuffle Master One2Six shuffling machine with 5 decks loaded
- The dealer generally shuffles after every round, sometimes every second round (sometimes even in the middle of the game). No consistency here.
- The table is labelled - Dealer stands on 17, draws to 16 (not 100% sure what this means)
- Double allowed after split, one card allowed after split ace.

From what I have read, most casinos use even numbers of decks (2,4,6,8) - is it of concern that we use 5 decks? Also, what would my penetration be considering that we shuffle after pretty much every hand?

Look forward to some answers Thanks in advance.

Ans,

1) This game is not worth playing.

2) Dealer stands on 17 must draw to 16. I am assuming this reads "Dealer stands on ALL 17's..." This means the dealer will not take a card on a hand such as A,6. This is a good rule for counter and hobby player alike. Dealer always draws on 16 anywhere you go.

3) 5 decks isn't a concern. It is better than 6!

4) You have maybe a 5% penetration.

You cannot beat these shuffling machines with counting.

 

[cpage727]

what you need to do is maybe go in there and bust up the machine so maybe they will have to start hand shuffling :laugh:

 

[bjmunkeez]

Hi All

Thank you for your replies. This confirms my suspicions - darn!

 

[bj bob]

Hi All...


From what I have read, most casinos use even numbers of decks (2,4,6,8) - is it of concern that we use 5 decks?

Any time you see the words "5 decks", that indicates the typical load of a CSM which stands for continuous shuffle machine and therefore renders the game impossible to count.

 

[Automatic Monkey]

Any time you see the words "5 decks", that indicates the typical load of a CSM which stands for continuous shuffle machine and therefore renders the game impossible to count.

There are a couple of exceptions, games that actually use 5 hand shuffled decks. There's a good 3-deck game out there, and I remember reading about a 7-decker once.

The weirdest thing I've ever saw: the gambling cruise games that sail out of New York, on one of them the BJ tables have 9 spots.