New Blackjack Players

Oh, what a fun time I had at the casino last week! I had the dubious delight of playing at the same table as two very strong personalities, both of whom I suspect to have small to large gambling problems.

The 24-Hour Guy

The first was a dapper fellow who seemed to determine to lose as much money as possible in the time he was within spitting distance of a casino – so apparently he chose not to sleep. I was hoping he was fastidious enough about his appearance to go to the hotel every so often to shower and change (in his case, a cold shower or he would’ve fallen asleep standing up). He was playing primarily at the $5 minimum table, but he had only green and black chips ($25 and $100, respectively, for those of you not acquainted with casinos) and was usually playing at least $100 and up to the table maximum of $300. He occasionally also played the $10 minimum table and the double deck games. During the shuffle (hand shuffle at this casino), he would play the slots.

As far as I could determine, 24H Guy had no betting strategy. His betting was all over the board, jumping from $25 up to $300 in an apparently random way. He also wasn’t a very nice person. In the 3 days (without sleep!) I watched him play at this casino, he never once tipped the dealer. He bummed cigarettes from his fellow players and I never heard him offer any kind of token compensation. By the second day, he was beginning to grumble and grouse about how other people played their hands and how they bet – and it was starting to piss people off. One player started making crazy plays – hitting a stiff hand against a dealer bust card or standing on 6 or 7 against a dealer 10 – for no other reason than to piss 24H Guy off. She didn’t even care that these moves caused her to lose – players and dealers alike were pretty fed up with the guy.

But it’s a hard fact of life in the casino – if there’s someone who’s won big money and they are then doing their best to lose it all before they leave, they would have to be very, very offensive to the other players before casino personnel step in and say something to them. And he wasn’t being overtly obnoxious – his annoying behaviors were very subtle, taking digs at other players for playing the minimum bet (what – did he think everyone was willing to lose as much money as he was?) and grousing quietly about plays he didn’t find agreeable.

The Noisy Drunk

It’s like there’s some unwritten code that every casino must have a regular player who is a noisy drunk and the casino I like to play at has one that is a personality and then some. This guy comes in mornings – and at 9 a.m., he’s already fully loaded and still chugging down more beer.

Fortunately for everyone, he’s a very gregarious and friendly drunk. Everyone in the casino knows his name because he happily introduces himself in such a loud voice that you can hear him throughout the entire pit – and sometimes half the casino, depending on how much he’s had to drink. Once he’s entered the casino, any hope of a quiet game of blackjack (or anything else) flies out the window. He’s one of those people who shouts “Yeah, baby! Hit me!” or “C’mon, baby, gimme a 10!” or “Hit it again!” – among other things, but you get the idea. Every hit, every blackjack, every win – for himself and frequently for other players at the table – is loudly announced. It’s like sitting next to a speaker at a stadium during a ball game.

His effusive congratulations (self and otherwise) aren’t limited to his table, either. He likes to stand up while playing, apparently so he can carry his enthusiasm over to other tables. Because, of course, everyone in the casino is his friend, whether or not he knows their name or has ever seen them before – or can even remember having seen them before. He will come over to another table and hug someone he thinks is a buddy. Not an especially pleasant experience for me, since I don’t like being hugged by friends, much less strangers or casual acquaintances, and he wears a muscle shirt and smells boozy. I put on my best “don’t even think about it” body language, which he has cheerfully ignored on more than one occasion.

This trip, however, was the first time I had the occasion to play at the same table and I discovered that he likes to coach players. Unlike 24H Guy, he’s not a perfect basic strategy player and he “coaches” people in error – or loudly proclaims your error in the friendliest way possible.

After awhile, the loud drunk guy gets on my nerves. He’s funny and entertaining for about the first 10 minutes, but after that it becomes annoying, especially when he’s playing at the same table. OK – it’s annoying when he’s at another table, too, because he is SO LOUD.

For me, half of playing blackjack is social and playing at the same table with these two personalities definitely wasn’t a good social experience. I was up a couple hundred dollars, so I cashed out and left.

I was recently playing at a Southern California casino and – as usual – there was someone at the table moaning and groaning about how everyone else played their hand.

Seriously, she almost screamed (and not in delight) when another player contemplated splitting his pair of 9s against the dealer’s 3. He wavered and decided to stand on the hand.

It might have made the woman happy, but it was the wrong move.

If you’re a new blackjack player – and you haven’t studied Basic Strategy – you might be thinking to yourself: “Huh? Wha…? Split a pair of 9s against a dealer 3? But a pair of 9s is a winning hand against a dealer 3!”

That’s probably what most new blackjack players think – and apparently, a lot of “experienced” blackjack players, as well.

Ask yourself something – how do you advance your chip count in blackjack?

1. You raise your bets.
2. You split whenever possible.
3. You double down whenever possible.
4. All of the above

Basic Strategy says you’re going to split that pair of 9s against a dealer up card of 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8 and 9.

Huh? Wha…??

Yes, that’s what it says. And here’s why…

It should be obvious why you’re going to split them against a dealer’s 2-6. Any time you can, you’re going to try and increase your chip count by splitting. What’s the worst that can happen? If the deck is rich in 10s, instead of having one hand of 18, you’re going to have two hands of 19 or possibly 20 (if you get an Ace). If the deck is depleted of 10s, you may catch a 2, which will give you a double down against a dealer bust card and another opportunity to increase your chip count. In any case, you’re going to have 2 hands to play against a dealer bust card.

But why, you may ask, am I splitting them against an 8 or a 9?

If the dealer is showing an 8 and you expect the down card is a 10, all you have is a push – and you may be okay with that. The Wizard of Odds says to stay on this hand, but it appears to me the cost of splitting versus standing is minimal and I can’t find any other statistics on split v. stand on this play. All things being equal, I’ll go with the Basic Strategy engine, which says split it. If the shoe is heavy with 10s, you’ve got a good chance of improving your 18 to two better hands of 19 or 20. If it’s light with 10s, then you have a good chance of a getting a 3 or 4 and a double down on one or both of your hands.

I always split against a dealer 9. An 18 is not a winning hand if the dealer has a 10 or an Ace under the 9 they’re showing. If you stand on this hand, you’ll beat the dealer’s hand (on average) 8 hands out of 20. If you split this hand, your chances of beating the dealer’s hand improves to about even.

Now, I could understand if the woman mentioned at the beginning of this story was upset about a player contemplating splitting 9s against a dealer 7, 8 or 9. A lot of players don’t know those are splits; or, even if they know it, they may choose not to split. But to have a fit about splitting 9s against a dealer 3? Another bonehead move and another reason why you should learn Basic Strategy for yourself and not let the other players at the table influence how you play.

Finally made it to The Spa Casino and ran into my old buddy, the blackjack “expert.” I’d say she’s ba-ack, except she probably never left. So… I’m ba-ack.

This time, in addition to giving advice to everyone on how to play their cards, I learned she also has a strong belief (and opinions) about the table. Apparently, all the spots that are being played when she sits down must stay in play for as long as she sits there, or something bad happens to the deck and “turns the cards.” The monologue titled “How the Table Turns” is carried on in the absence of any player for any reason. If someone leaves the table and she doesn’t win during their absence, it’s all because they left and the “table turned” as a sole result of the absence. If she continues to lose after their return, it’s because they were gone and the table has continued to be “bad” as a result. If she starts winning on someone’s return, then it’s because the tabled “needed” that player so the cards would be “good.” If she continues to lose, she will move to another table, apparently hoping that it’s “good.” But don’t breathe a sigh of relief – she’ll be back. I find it ironic that she’s an inveterate table-hopper.

Folks, try not to be superstitious about blackjack. It’s always good to keep in mind that the strategies and odds are calculated by mathematicians. Since I’m pretty lousy at math, I try not to second-guess them. If the Wizard of Odds says other players don’t affect your win/loss over time – I believe him.

Speaking of which – here’s a  pretty funny thing that happened this trip. The guy playing third base at the table one morning kept signaling to hit a stiff hand against a dealer 5 or 6. The first time it happened, he took the card that would’ve made the dealer’s hand and everyone forgot to yell at him, since it saved the table. The next time he signaled a hit on this kind of hand, the person next to him talked him out of it. Guess what? If he had hit it, he would’ve taken the card that made the dealer’s hand – again. When this happened a third time, I said “quit talking him out of it!” I have seen this man in the casino before and concluded that he’s not a card counter, but I may have to watch him again. If he isn’t, he’s pretty damn lucky!

One thing I started observing this trip is the betting strategy of other players. Or, more accurately, the apparent lack of betting strategy. I’ve watched people bet all over the place, with no apparent rhyme or reason. They rarely bet the minimum but beyond that, anything seems to go. When they win, they usually win big because they’re (apparently) randomly putting out large bets. But their chip count also seems to vary wildly, quickly going up to a couple hundred chips, then swinging just as wildly down to only a couple chips. These are the people that frequently go “all in” after a series of wild swings like this. I’ve seen some win – I’ve seen some lose. For you new blackjack players, I’ll give you the benefit of my observation – people who bet like this seem to hit their wallet more than the people who are careful or seem to be following some kind of strategy.

Never be impressed with the number of chips someone cashes out with unless you know what they bought in for. A guy cashing out $1200 in chips might have bought in for $2000. Someone cashing out for $300 might have bought in for $40.

Several events have transpired to prevent me from playing blackjack.

One is that the casinos in Palm Springs seem to have changed their comps structure somewhat and I’m no longer being given free rooms. In fact, the last time I was at The Spa, the woman at the rewards desk was somewhat rude when I asked about comps. Apparently, the fact that I’m not there every week redeeming every available offer made to me counts against me. Given that attitude, I’m not holding my breath that the free hotel nights will return even when the Palm Springs season ends. Ah well – it was a great deal while it lasted and I enjoyed myself thoroughly.

Another factor is my friend who lives in Palm Springs is busy with her life right now and just isn’t in a place where she can handle guests, so I’ve lost my other free accommodation.

But most important, I terminated everyone who works for me and now I’m doing all the work myself. Yeah – it’s a drag and I hate it, but since I haven’t won millions in the lottery, it is what it is. It’s not that it’s a full-time job, just enough that the 2 to 2-1/2 hour drive to the nearest casino isn’t feasible for a day trip if I also have to get my work done.

Are you feeling sorry for me yet??

So, last night I dreamed I went to Las Vegas and I spent the entire night looking for a decent blackjack game. I found myself in a film noir version of downtown Las Vegas, not the Strip. There were all these twisting streets, strange entries to casinos, casinos behind casinos… about what you’d expect from withdrawal dreams. And during this entire night of going in and out of casinos, I couldn’t find ONE decent blackjack game – kind of reminded me of my last trip to Vegas, actually. Only weirder.

Maybe I need to pull out the felt and the shoe and just practice my blackjack for about an hour. It’s not quite the same, but it might hold off full withdrawal for awhile.

If there’s something I wish I could teach new blackjack players, it would be to boycott tables that pay 6:5 on a blackjack.

The Gaming Commission doesn’t regulate the payouts in blackjack. The house has every right to set them at whatever they want. The game of blackjack, however, has traditionally paid 3:2 on a blackjack. First, we saw single deck games go to a 6:5 payout. Now, the payout of 6:5 for blackjack is rampant in Las Vegas. I’m not even going to get into the number of 8-deck shoes I saw on the Strip. When I was in Vegas last year, it hadn’t spread to the downtown area, and the downtown casinos were full of the more savvy players who were refusing to play the Strip games paying 6:5. This year, however, there were casinos downtown paying 6:5 on blackjack, and the ones that didn’t were not allowing double down after split and/or splitting of aces more than once.

Folks – just boycott blackjack 6:5 okay? Do the blackjack-playing community a favor and refuse to play it. I suspect I can say this until I’m blue in the face and even if this blog goes viral, there will be no shortage of people going to Vegas or other venues and playing blackjack without a clue. But if you read this blog, now you know better – and you have no excuse.

Let me make something clear: the house always has an advantage and you will, over time, lose money. The only time you can play blackjack with an advantage is if you’re counting the cards. So why look for the game with the lowest house advantage? Well – why do you look for the best deal at the grocery store? Why do you wait until that big screen TV you want goes on sale before you buy it? Go to Vegas, have a good time, but at least make your money go further.

Let’s say you find what seems to be a typical game of blackjack on the Strip these days: 8-deck shoe, dealer hits soft 17, you can only split aces once, you can double down after a split (except aces), you can double down on any two first cards, and blackjack pays 6:5. The house advantage on that game is just slightly over 2%. Now – make the blackjack pay at 3:2 and the house edge is just under 0.65%. See the difference? Make it a 6-deck shoe, same rules, paying 6:5 and the house edge moves slightly, to just under 2%. Same game paying 3:2 moves the house edge to a little under 0.62%.

By playing the 6:5 game, you’re giving the house almost 1.5% advantage over you.

That’s like buying that big-screen TV this week at full price, even if you’ve been told it will go on sale for half the price next week. It doesn’t make much sense, does it?

Just a quick note that I’m not dead and I will tell you all about my recent trip to Las Vegas.

What with the holidays and work, I haven’t had much opportunity to get out and play blackjack, so there wasn’t much to talk about.

Well, I now have a lot to talk about! Like – what the hell has happened to the game of blackjack in Las Vegas???

You’re gonna hear all about Binions and the Four Queens, the Harrah’s properties on the Strip and how Harrah’s has completely ruined a friendly little casino they call O’Shea’s. Still love the dealers – but I’m afraid with the changes Harrah’s has made in blackjack at this and their other casinos, I’m going to have to say goodbye to some of the friendliest dealers on the Strip until someone at Harrah’s comes to their senses. Which will be about the same time all the clueless blackjack players GET a clue and start boycotting casinos playing these lousy games. Which is to say – never.

But more on that this weekend. Stay tuned!

I just returned from a couple days in Palm Springs, where I played at The Spa the entire time, mostly because I was winning most the time and I was too lazy to drive somewhere else.

This was not a fun-filled, carefree couple of days. It started out really good – I got into town, had a glass of wine with a friend, she “saged” me – then I dropped my bags off at her place and went to the casino. The next day, I was having server problems, one of my biggest web sites got shut down for resource abuse, and I’d forgotten my laptop power supply, so I couldn’t spend a lot of time online dealing with this.

Consequently, because I (a) arrived in the afternoon on the first day and (b) dealt with problems the morning of the second day, it wasn’t until (c) the third day that I played in the morning, which is actually one of my favorite times to go to the casino. As a result, it wasn’t until my last day of play that I ran into one of the regulars who fancies herself an expert.

For all you new blackjack players: beware the “expert” at your table!

This woman was full of advice (most of it wrong) for everyone she thought was making a bonehead move. This included: you never split 9s, you never split 2s or 3s, you never ever double down a soft hand (A+ another card) except when the dealer is showing a 5 or a 6, you never hit soft 18 (A,7) – and so on and so forth. If you’ve done your homework and learned basic strategy, you know that this advice is wrong wrong wrong. I try my best to ignore this kind of behavior but it has required nearly biting my tongue in half at times. Counting my chips helps. Tracking the amount of hands the “expert” loses versus the amount of hands I win also makes me feel better.

I used to give advice at the table. I used to ask for advice. One usually isn’t welcome and the other isn’t smart. Don’t ask others at the table for advice. Go to the Blackjack Basic Strategy engine, print yourself off the basic strategy for the various rules – then memorize them. Carry them in your pocket or your purse, if you need to – the casino doesn’t care if you pull them out and look at them. You can even buy the cards at the same site as the Basic Strategy engine.

Don’t tell other people how to play their hand unless they ask for help – and even then, only tell them how you would play that hand and always say “but it’s your money so do what you want.” If you don’t like how someone is playing their hand, either sit out a couple hands or change tables. (I know – this isn’t always an option when tables are limited.) And for gawd’s sake – make sure YOU aren’t giving bad advice! If you aren’t solid about having memorized the basic strategy, just tell them you really aren’t sure. You are under no obligation to teach others to play, especially if you’re still kind of shaky yourself. Sometimes, the person making bonehead moves knows better – and doesn’t care. There was one fellow at my table who was regularly splitting 10s. If you know what you’re doing (i.e., you count cards), you may sometimes split 10s because it’s to your advantage to do so. However – I am 99% certain this guy was no card counter. He was hitting stiff hands against a dealer bust card and splitting 10s and he simply didn’t give a flying <whatever> if nobody liked it. The little voice inside of me cheered every time he lost big when he did this.

In summary, get the basic strategy cards or print them out and memorize them and then you don’t need to qualify some stranger as being an “expert.”

It finally happened – I was in proximity to numerous casinos for a long enough period of time to get in a lot of play and by the time the week was over, I was tired of playing blackjack.

I know – difficult to believe, isn’t it? I surprised myself!

Here’s what happened…

It started with an invitation to a week-long party in Palm Springs. I had a one-night comped stay at the Spa Resort Casino in Palm Springs, so I went out one day early so I could get in even more playing time. I started out at the Spotlight 29 casino in Indio, not only because I couldn’t check into the hotel until after 4:00, but I knew I’d be spending a lot of time at The Spa and I wanted a little variety.

A few things about Spotlight 29…

Their blackjack rule variations aren’t optimum, but they play a lot of low-limit tables ($5) and it’s usually about the right kind of quiet for me – not so dead that I’m not socially stimulated, but not so crowded that I’m waiting for a space at a table, either. They do play one $2 minimum table out of a 6-deck shoe, but that one is almost always crowded. However, if you do get a seat at that table, it’s a good place to practice your basic play strategy and betting strategy without losing your shirt. I sat down at the double deck table, which I occasionally like to play, and immediately started off on a winning streak that didn’t end all day. I was up a couple hundred dollars when I decided I really needed to go check into the hotel and get something to eat.

About Spotlight 29′s double deck game…

On the negative side, you are only allowed to split once and you cannot double down after a split. I find that incredibly annoying. On the positive side, they burn 1 card and they don’t place the cut card deep into the decks. (More on this later when I get to The Spa’s double deck game.)

In spite of this, I had a good winning streak, so I was happy. I occasionally like to play double deck and I like winning even more.

However, I did spend most of the week at The Spa because the party was right in Palm Springs and The Spa is convenient. Unfortunately, management knows it’s convenient. There’s only one $5 minimum blackjack table and most of the day, it’s difficult to get a seat there. However, my winning streak continued and so I was willing to play the $10 minimum tables.

About the double deck blackjack at The Spa Casino Resort…

The folks at The Spa like to think they’ve got it all over Spotlight 29. It is true that The Spa has a completely different vibe and clientele than Spotlight 29.  But they would also like players to think The Spa has much better games. New players and those who don’t really pay attention might actually buy that line, but if you know a little about blackjack and pay attention, you’ll find it’s casino hype. Big surprise, huh?

They’re quick to point out that they allow multiple hand splits and double down after splits. And yes, that’s great on any blackjack game – bring it on. But when a casino burns a card – and then approximately 20 more – on a double deck game, then places the cut card another 20 to 30 cards in, it takes away any advantage the split rules give you. This is not a good game to play, folks. You’d be better off driving the 30 miles out to Indio to play the game at Spotlight 29, where you can at least play for a $5 minimum instead of the $15 minimum The Spa seems determined to hold its double deck game to (I’ve never seen it for less).

The Spa has initiated a Lucky Lucky side bet since I was there last, earlier in the summer. My comps suffered as a result of my extended absence, but damn – Palm Springs is just too hot in the summer! You’d burn up just walking from the hotel to the casino, since they are on different blocks. Close – but still a walk in triple-digit heat. And I had other commitments northward.

But back to that Lucky Lucky side bet…

I know side bets are sucker bets and I rarely play them. But, as I said, I was up a couple hundred dollars and feeling lucky, so I started to play it at $1 a bet. Now, I’m a bit obsessive-compulsive, so I was keeping my side bet play chips separate from my blackjack play chips and doing pretty good on the side bets, not so good on the blackjack. And if you ask the dealer which spot they want their tip played on, they usually pick the side bet. If you win, they get paid more than they will on a blackjack hand win. And I was winning that side bet pretty steady – 2:1 pay on 19 and 20, 3:1 on 21, 15:1 on suited 21. I also hit a couple 30:1 and 50:1 plays. All in all, the side bet winnings were carrying what I was losing in blackjack and it was fun. A warning is that if you start playing it, it’s hard to stop. Inevitably, as with any side bets, as soon as you don’t bet it, you’ll hit the hand that would’ve paid umpty-bajillion to 1 and then you’ll be kicking yourself around the casino!

One evening, I went with some of the others from the party to play. It was really busy – Thursday night, after the Palm Springs Street Fair. If you’re thinking this casino is going to be quiet midweek, think again – Tuesday is their drawings day and it’s crowded and Thursdays after the street fair is really busy, as well. I was at first base and my friend – after getting her ass kicked on the double deck table – finally got a seat at the table I was at and came over to sit next to me. I got dealt 8♣. Next, I got dealt 7♣.

Suited 6,7,8 pays 100:1 on the side bet. OK, I know it’s a measly $1 bet – but 100:1 is nothing to sneeze at. I start chanting under my breath “6♣, 6♣!” It took my friend a minute to realize what was happening, then she got excited. By the time the dealer turned over his card, we were both halfway to excited. When he turned over 6♣, they probably heard us at the other side of the casino. That win put me $50 over my losses on blackjack – so we cashed out and left. It was 3 a.m., anyway.

Surprisingly, I hit suited 6,7,8 again the next morning. What was even funnier was the dealer, who apparently isn’t on board with this whole side bet thing. It slows down the table. She made it clear she didn’t like it. Then, she kept telling me I was down because I was playing the side bet, even though I pointed out to her that I had two separate chip stacks going – one for blackjack and one for the side bet – so I knew what I was winning and losing on each. About 10 minutes after insisting that I was losing money on the side bet, she dealt me a suited 7 and 8, then turned up a 6 of the same suit. I was happy to take the $100 and leave – again, having my blackjack losses more than covered by the side bet winnings.

The day before I was to leave, I went to the casino for breakfast and just happened to get snagged by a blackjack table. The $5 table was full and although I don’t like going head-to-head with the dealer, I sat at the empty $10 minimum table to play. I went on an unbelievable winning streak – if I had a lousy hand, the dealer busted. In 30 minutes, he only turned over 2 blackjacks. This went on quickly, with me upping my bets and laying out tips on both the side bet and the blackjack hand for the dealer, who made probably $100 in tips during his 30-minute shift. I left – without breakfast – an hour later with several hundred more dollars in my pocket.

But then… there was Sunday night. Now I remember why I avoid casinos at night, especially during the weekend. Why do I continue to allow myself to be surprised at people who sit down and play without knowing a damn thing about how to play? At one point, all the $10 minimum tables that were open were full and I was stuck at a table full of young bucks who agonized over hitting a 12 against a 10, or doubling down A,6 against a 5. And why is it people who play like this seem to actually WIN? It only reinforces their belief that they know how to play! I sat back and stayed out of play hand after hand. I could have left, yes, but there came a time when I was just bemused and amused at what I was witnessing! I realize that – over time – how other players play their hands don’t affect mine, but at that particular time it WAS affecting my hand and not in a good way. I was willing to concede that these particular players were never going to play in a way that would swing things over to my favor. A pit boss kindly took pity on me and held a seat for me at another table when one opened up. OK – maybe he wasn’t being kind, he was just tired of watching me take up space without putting any money in the circle.

All in all, it was a good trip, money-wise. But – I went home tired of sitting in a semi-circle!

As we all know, that doesn’t last for long – I’m planning another trip next week.

I have to congratulate Pechanga Resort Casino for a well-run blackjack tournament. I understand they’ll be running a tournament monthly, so keep checking Blackjack Tournaments listings for updates.

As far as the actual blackjack games at the casino – I’m not impressed. I was in the casino to watch the tournament and planned on playing some blackjack while I was there. I got there at approximately 8:30 a.m. on a Monday and left at approximately 4 p.m. and played probably less than half an hour because the blackjack tables simply didn’t offer anything I found playable, especially with better games 10 miles down the road at Pala.

On this particular day, there was a large area of the floor under renovation. I am pretty sure from the layout and my prior trips to this casino that it’s a slot area and therefore the renovations didn’t remove any blackjack tables from play. It’s possible the tournament displaced some regular games – I couldn’t say for certain because it’s been quite awhile since I was at this casino last.

First of all, let me go on record as saying I absolutely hate the continuous shuffle machines (CSMs), which I’ll bitch about in a completely different entry.

These things are all over the Pechanga blackjack pits. On the regular floor, all the low-limit blackjack tables are dealt out of a CSM. Any table with a $5 or $10 minimum (and there weren’t many of them) were being dealt from a CSM. I did see one $15 minimum table not only being dealt out of a shoe, but hand shuffled, as well – you don’t see that very often any more. I would say that was a 6-deck shoe, not 8-deck.

Still, resplitting aces is not allowed. I am not so in love with playing blackjack that I will sit down at a game that doesn’t allow resplitting of aces. There is also no surrender and the dealer hits soft 17 (A/6). Bundle all this together with a CSM and it pretty much kills any desire I have to play at that casino.

All the tables I observed paid 2:1 on blackjack

If you have a larger bankroll, it might be worth checking out the high-limit rooms. One of the tournament contestants told me they had a pretty decent double deck game with a $25 minimum, but I admit I didn’t go into the high-limit room to check it out.

All in all, my feeling is the casino can afford the prizes for the blackjack tournament because the regular tables are raking in the dough off players who don’t know enough about blackjack to know they’d be better off at Pala or players who have so much money they simply don’t care how fast they lose it.