The studies I've seen determined that the public generally plays blackjack at approximately a 1.5% to 2% house edge. I would assume that the worst players are closer to 5%.
Rules are bad but not that bad Grosvenor BJ rules: 6 Deck S17 DD on 9, 10 & 11 only DAS allowed Re-split aces (suprised me!) Insurance on BJ only No surrender No hole card I was disappointed to see a CSM but fasinated when it broke down and they had to open it up. I had the idea that a CSM was just that; a machine that constantly shuffled the cards, but that doesn't appear to be the case. What I saw was a rotating drum that had "spokes" which seemed to hold clumps of cards. How do these things work? Once the cards have been fed in and shuffled are they fed onto one of these spokes and remain untouched until they are dealt out again? Is there anyway of tracking cards or clumps of cards in these devices? Do they render AP useless or is it just a matter of time? Cheers Reachy
lol..... They will be in business and dealing BJ to all perfect BS players until every pocket is clean! As for the other type of players you mention....well thats who funds all the glamor and glitz....Often after a particular boneheaded play at my table I call the pit boss over and ask how I can purchase stock in the place...(always gets a laugh) ...(small indian casino-no stock) Heres some casino advice...never take your wife to the casino if you intend to gamble at all....same goes with friends....lol It will happen...... just as you are finally killing them and raking it in by the basket full ....making the comeback of the century....nearly out of the hole....almost to a great profit....a tap will come on your shoulder.....LETS GO....Im tired...!!!
BJ in the UK LOL. That sounds quite surreal. Like being mugged by a robot! Same here. It's doubly difficult if you are trying to keep the count straight in your head while at the same time checking that the dealer hasn't made a mistake when announcing your total (which they do from time to time). Ah, sorry. I forgot to ask about that important detail. I think viewing the chips as tokens has its good and bad points. It's what you need to do so as not to be scared off the correct play by the amount of money you suddenly have to put at risk by splitting and/or doubling, but it also means that the variance can quicky bite you in the bum if you've been tempted to play at higher limits than you can really afford. I think the casino chains will all vary their minimum bets according to the location, rather than have a fixed policy. It probably relates the their running costs as well as the amount of disposable income people living in the area have. I've found the following site useful for gathering information - http://www.gamingfloor.com/Britain When there's a link to a particular casino, you usually find the betting limits mentioned. The Stanley casinos are all covered by their main web site though, and that doesn't seem to mention anything. I played at a £2 table at a Stanley casino in Southend just long enough to discover that it was H17 and then cash in and return to the one I had just left! There's an interesting-looking one in Cardiff mentioned on the above link - 8 BJ tables, £2 min bet. I don't know if that is any good to you.
I remembered where I got my information. It was in 'Extra Stuff, Gambling Ramblings' by the late Peter Griffin. He conducted a study in 1987 and concluded that the average player was about 1.4% worse than basic strategy (i.e. losing just under 2% of their wager for typical rules). Also, apparently Atlantic City players were 'palpably and demonstrably better players than those in Nevada'. I'd hazard a guess that UK players would be palpably and demonstrably worse than both those groups, simply because BJ is much less popular and therefore less well understood over here. Griffin starts out by saying
Yakki da! The Les Croupiers Casino in Cardiff looks interesting although their website is a bit dodgy. Doesn't bode well for the state of the place but it would be easier to get to than Plymouth. Cheers Reachy
You're hooked Reachy Way to go Reachy! I have to admit, when I first saw your "announcement" my initial reaction was "OK, what's the big deal". But I was wrong. Your detailed account was amusing and entertaining. You could have written 10 pages without boring me. Well done my friend. I'm very glad you had a good time. I'm sure this has wet your appetite for more with more posts about your ongoing experiences. What you saw relating to people losing their money could have easily been a story in most any American casino or any casino in the world for that matter. So the UK is not unique in that respect. About taking your wife, I find absolutely no problem with that. I do it all the time. Personally, I find it rather boring being in a casino without a companion - be it a friend or spouse. Having someone to share an experience and talk about it, in itself, makes it more enjoyable. It's just one more thing that helps 2 people bond closer. Well, that's it for now. Wish you luck on your next casino adventure and looking forward to another detailed report. :cheers:
I don't think I have posted this before? but if you want to know how bad bj play can be - this is true - and may be the worst bj play ever made - I was in an indian casino in Yakima, Washington - and the guy sitting to my left - who looked about 16 - was dealt a pair of fives, the dealers up card was a 10 - since this dude knew you split pairs - he split his fives - against the dealer ten - he drew an Ace to the first five - giving him a total of soft 16 - after careful consideration - he stood on his soft 16 - saying - 'you should always stand on 16' - then he drew another Ace to his second five - another soft 16 - again he stood - talk about compounding bad play with bad play - as you can probably guess - the dealer flipped over her hole card - it was a six - the dealer busted - the gods of blackjack do have a sense of humor -
The Education of a Blackjack Player Thanks for your post toolman1, it's nice to know that I'm not boring people too much with my posts. Well some of my posts anyway! Actually before I posted I thought "who's going to care?" but then thought what the hey and just posted anyway. Blackjack and blackjack culture is very different in the UK to the US. It's played very little from what I can see and we have no BJ culture or history to speak of. My research into UKBJ has come up with nought in terms of tournaments or a community with a UK focus or base (maybe Andy or Colin could put me straight on this). On my travels around the BJ communities on the net I have seen very few posts from Brits. I believe that UKBJ is very hard to beat, certainly on a consistent basis. The rules are shocking and demand a massive spread and equally large BR. The small number of tables makes it very difficult to "hide" from the Man! On my trip I was under no illusions that I was going to "win". Without the ability to use my novice AP skills due to the CSM I was also going to be fighting the house edge and hoping that variance would go my way. Cheers Reachy
I think perhaps we three are it! Yeah. Table hopping is not really an option because there is often only one table open. The best you can do is try to start each session on a positive count and end it on a negative one or at the end of a shoe. But you have to sit there and play through most of the negative counts (which is why I think finding a £2 min is so important). One thing I've been trying to find out (but failing) is whether the current moves towards deregulation are going to mean that casinos can offer any rules they like and whether the increased competition will improve things for us. I consider myself to be in training for the day the 'Super Casino' opens in the Millenium Dome and hopefully offers juicy single-deck games.
Sleeper Cell Like a some sort of ultra deep cover blackjack agent . There is "No Way Out"! Cheers Reachy
Actually.... I didn't ask. I'd always assumed that because previous investiagtions into UKTBJ had yeilded nothing that there was still no TBJ in the UK. Maybe I should have asked, might have been suprised... Cheers Reachy
Who needs a casino? Pub Poker, Fancy a quick game down at your local pub. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=418807&in_page_id=1770 Andy.
loads round my way! There are at least 3 pubs in my area that run "Poker in the Pub" tournies. I was amazed when I found out that they actually charged £20 entry and paid out at the end. I was under the impression that you could run a tourney but only for bragging rights and money couldn't change hands. I understood that there were poker leagues set up with the winners going to "proper" tournies at the end of the "season". Apparently that is not the case. I did consider entering the £25 freeze out at The Grosvenor on Saturday but by the time I went to investigate further it was full up. I am interested in re-investigating poker again but not hold'em. Every man and his dog is a hold'em expert nowadays and I always try and avoid what the masses do. Omaha seems too wild for my liking as it seems almost any hand can come up at anytime. I fancy giving 7 card stud a go, seems like the thinking mans poker. Or maybe 5 card. Brag anybody? Cheers Reachy
Reachy/Poker Seven and five stud. You certainly have more outs in 7. But five allows for a better bluffing game. Course in five it depends on first only down, or first and last down. And I dare say, there's more patience in 5 and more setting up. In 7, unless, you're completely taken by surprise, you should know players hands 90% before (last card, is it called "river in 7 too?) In 7 you see more cards, utilize memory and probs more. So are you a numbers guy or a bi-plane pilot.
