On his return from Seattle my mate Neil Gagg noticed some changes at our local Grosvenor casino. The first one was that the table layout had changed for Blackjack with the additional side bet box that we saw in the Seattle casinos. Called Slick Blackjack at the Iron Horse it allows for a separate bet on various combinations being dealt. You can either play a straight game or and have a “flutter” on the side and hope to get lucky. The major change however, is the doubling down rule. This was set in stone many years ago in the U.K. so that players could only double down on 9, 10 and 11. The gaming rules have changed over here and now you can double down on any two cards. The Grosvenor web site still displays the original 9,10 and 11 doubling down rule for their casino chain. I telephoned a couple of their casinos and both informed me that they had changed rules to doubling down on any two cards. Personally I feel that the more we move to the American Blackjack casino format, the easier it will be to introduce tournament BJ games to Britain. Andy
Interesting I had wondered if the Gambling Act had included any changes in this area. I wonder if the casinos are now free to offer any set of rules they choose, or if there is still a template that they must all follow.
Interesting again (Splitting) Colin, The original gaming act from the sixties specified various casino rules for U.K. Blackjack. As you are well aware you were not allowed to split 4s, 5s and 10s in a British casino. The legislation from what I read was to protect “mug” punters from being exploited by the casinos. Given all the recent changes, I wonder if that rule has changed? PS Before you know it, we will be tipping/toking dealers in this Country. Is that still illegal? Andy
That's what I'm assuming/hoping. Actually, I did read somewhere that one of the changes is that this is no longer illegal. (So it's not all good news. )
