Reno trip July 2016

#1
Hello first time posting I currently play part time and went through Reno in two parts, one nights stay on the way to and from California earlier this year. I enjoy reading everyone's trip reports and thought I'd make my own. I'm a tiny stakes player I haven't been counting for very long and have played in a few blackjack tournaments but I'm working on it practicing at home and save up for once or twice a year trip. I love Reno for the low limits comps and quality of games, I play single deck exclusively here. In Spokane WA where I live there's plenty of places to play blackjack but the best game in town is a 4 decker 5-200 limit doa, das. So I've stopped playing at home to just focus on practicing single and double deck strategy for Nevada trips.

Trip 1
I arrived in Reno at around 4 pm after a 12 hour drive from Spokane. Checked into the Sands Regency I always stay here rooms are cheap but it can be kinda shady clientele wise they send me free 2 night stay mailers every 2 months so this is my home base. First stop was at the Atlantis for a blackjack tournament suprisingly it was single deck face down blackjack pays 2:1 liberal rules I narrowly missed advancing to semifinals but was fine because I was hungry and needed to explore town a bit. Tables at the sd 3:2 games at the Atlantis were full so I didn't play between rounds I noticed some 6:5 games empty but just has a drink instead screw that. Next stop was at Western village in Sparks I like this place alot it looks grungy from the outside but inside is really nice the Peppermill folks did a good job for a small locals casino. This is my favorite game in the Reno/Sparks metro area i dont spread more than 1-4 in red so it works for me. Its single deck, 2-200 limit, and one of the few remaining doa games in the area it seems. Penetration is about 50 percent depending on dealer but I'm sure you can get heads up here during the morning or early afternoon as it wasn't too busy at all when I visited. Made a few bucks here and headed down the road. Stopped at in n out before going to Rail City in Sparks lost about 25 or so there, penetration was lousy though with me and an old lady at the table who cursed the dealer every time she busted. The pit staff and dealers seemed really bored it was dead in there. Back at the Sands Regency I played at a mostly full table so wasn't getting many rounds dealt but it was an interesting bunch and I broke even for the session there its single deck 5-500 limits d9. The next morning I had to be on the road for a 5 hour drive to central California so I only went to one place. Diamonds Casino at the Ramada I read about this place and how sketchy it can be. The place was empty pretty run down but according to CBJN the game isn't too bad. It's single deck 2-100 limits d10, the dealer manually peeks for a blackjack here. I played here for about an hour, the pit had only one person on duty and one dealer and table open at around 930 am. Penetration wasn't the best but there was only one other player at the table. I was down a bit and was coming close to even when this thug looking guy starts hovering around the table the woman he was with whispered to him "you better be good today" the pit staff had a few words with him too. I assume he was up to no good and I was outta there down a few chips but was totally fine leaving this dump in one piece.

Trip 2

Back to Reno after 5 days in California. I arrive earlier this time check into the sands, and head to Sparks first stop Western Village again to make a few bucks. Next was the Alamo truck stop on the eastern edge of town this game used to be quite lucrative offering surrender but they said that ended a few months prior, it was doa though and made about 50 bucks after coming from behind at the beginning. Only one table was open and i was on first base with only one other player. The drinks were strong and it was really nice for a truck stop, 5-100 limits. Next is the Nugget in sparks, a big nice casino that wasn't too crowded on a Monday afternoon I played at a 10-500 limit d10 table played a few hands broke even got my souvenir chip and headed out. I believe in the high limit room here they allow doa. Back downtown I drop my car off at the sands and walk over to the Silver Legacy/Eldorado/Circus Circus on Virginia street. First stop Eldorado there were a ton of "super single 21" 6:5 tables empty on the main floor. I played in the high limit area the minimum was 10 on a weekday afternoon but it was a 3:2 d10 game I broke even after a short session they have lucky ladies side bet with a $5 minimum here while most the other places in town have Royal Match on single deck. Headed to the Cal Neva it was pretty empty and had a pretty cool bunch at the table with me one old man started with 20 bucks and ended up coloring up 250 in about a half hour the pit boss kept giving our table dirty looks especially when one dude pushed about 150 in red and green into the circle. Oh and the dealer said it was her first day the pit was pretty attentive. The side bet here is a 17:1 bet on dealer or player blackjack on top of the shuffle. I don't really play side bets but this one is not on every hand so I guess it won't kill ya. I believe it was 3-300 limit d10 game. Walked through Harrahs, saw nothing but 6:5 garbage and walked out. Next stop Silver Legacy, the nicest joint in town I like it here it was a bit crowded with cowboy hat wearing folks who apparently were in town for some livestock auction, their game was 5-500 d10 3:2. Penetration was lousy at a fairly full table I break even once again. Circus Circus next, 5-500 limit 3:2 d10. I stay here for way too long down the whole time I don't know why, the penetration was crap ended up leaving down 50 bucks. This place is pretty trashy, the drink service is fairly quick but the waitress wasn't nice to look at at all lol not compared to the young sexy skimpy skirt wearing waitresses at Atlantis or Eldorado. I bounced around between Silver Legacy and Cal Neva again before heading back to the Sands where I finally had some heads up play late around 2 am, I was getting 6 or 7 rounds and getting blackjacks in negative and neutral counts but would push 20s and lose to dealer blackjack with big bets out. One dealer did shuffle up when she saw it getting rough I thought that was nice. I ended up coming up a little bit after the Sands loss the continued the next morning at Western Village for profit on the way out of town and then hit a 4 decker in Winnemucca for $50 bucks in 10 minutes. Overall I didn't lose a ton I was still down for the trips total but was close to even, again I'm low stakes and I'd definitely recommend any red chip players to the Reno area. Next time I'll visit Carson City and possibly Lake Tahoe.
 

Fenix

Active Member
#2
Glad your trip sounded like it went well :).

I hear a lot of trip reports to Reno regarding their single decks. Do they have playable shoes and DD's too?
 
#3
Fenix said:
Glad your trip sounded like it went well :).

I hear a lot of trip reports to Reno regarding their single decks. Do they have playable shoes and DD's

I don't play shoe games in Reno I go for the single deck only. But i did sit at one dd table at the Cal Neva penetration is 50-60 percent at best. Most dd has Reno rules attached double 10-11 only around here. So single deck with the same rule set is a better option. Alot of places don't have a shoe game to offer, I would check the big 3 on Virginia street, I read somewhere that Silver Legacy had at one time doa and double on 3 cards but I'm not sure if it's still available. Although I'm sure there will be way less heat at a shoe game as the pit sweats the single decks here quite a bit.
 

LV Bear

Administrator
#4
Fenix said:
Glad your trip sounded like it went well :).

I hear a lot of trip reports to Reno regarding their single decks. Do they have playable shoes and DD's too?
Reno double decks are mostly unplayable due to the lack of a shuffle card.
 
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