CASINO AHEAD: Reduced speed zone. All
penalties doubled.
June 19, 2009
Dear Mark: What
is the best approach-method when playing
blackjack using the Table Master from Shuffle
Master? Table limits are $5-$200 dollars where I
play. My sole motivation is to win moderate
amounts while playing and it appears to me that
basic strategy may be a possible solution. Myles
H.
The electronic multiple-player blackjack game
you speak of, Myles, combines the latest
interactive technology with the camaraderie of a
live table game by using a life-sized video
dealer on a large screen, and it can be played
for as little as a buck a hand. Herein lies your
first problem. Your table minimum of $5 seems a
bit steep for the lunchbox flock who enjoy
video-based gaming. Yes, I realize you’re in
Atlantic City, while I’m in the woods of
Northern Michigan, but for a video-based
machine, $5 seems a bit pricey, especially when
all I’m forking over is $1 a pop.
Being that the payoffs are effectively the same
as those of a live game, yes, basic strategy is
the smart way to go against a video dealer, but
I’m also led to my second concern, and that is
the speed of play. You’ve read it here before.
Speed kills in a casino environment.
And why do you think casinos love Table Master
video games? Because they can offer these games
at a fraction of the cost of live tables: they
can be placed where live games are not legal,
they are dispute and misplay-free, virtual
dealers don’t ask for holidays off and health
care, and here’s the triple-barbed hook, Myles,
the one that can really gobble up your gambling
funds: Table Master games nearly double the
number of hands played per hour.
Involving what’s called "incremental game
speed," the more often you are exposed to the
built-in house advantage on a Table Master
blackjack game (i.e. the more hands you play per
hour), the faster the machine can tenderize,
barbeque, and swallow your bankroll.
The best thing to do here, Myles, is to slow
your play against these video game gizmos, and,
if the table minimums are the same as on a live
game, I would recommend the latter, and as the
columnist always recommends, the use of basic
strategy.
Dear Mark: I believe in using perfect
basic strategy at blackjack, with one exception.
When the dealer shows a seven, and I have a 16,
I stand. Although the basic strategy charts all
tell me to hit that hand, it seems I bust and
lose more often than not, so now I no longer hit
it. Convince me I’m wrong. Henry P.
Being that you are guided by what “seems” to be
an actuality, I’ll do the arithmetic, Henry,
then let you decide whether you want to keep
standing on a hard 16.
A dealer with a 7 as the face-up card will bust
only 26 percent of the time. Subsequently,
seventy-four times out of 100, the dealer who
shows a 7 is going to make his or her hand.
Standing on that 16, when you are going to lose
all 74 of those hands and win only 26, tells me,
Henry, that the upside potential is little and
the downside risk substantial.
So what’s the math if you were to hit that nasty
16? Well, if you were to whack it, 38 percent of
the time you will improve your 16 to at least a
17 or better, which puts you in a much better
position than standing against the dealer with a
7.
Since there is more of an opportunity to improve
your hand to a 17 or better than there is by
waiting for the dealer to go bust, obviously I
would recommend that you always HIT IT!
Gambling Wisdom of the Week: “The
reason you’ll find different strategies from
different experts is that they’re dealing with
an art, rather than a science.” --Andrew Brisman,
The Mensa Guide to Casino Gambling
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