Sometimes casinos can't
figure
1 October 1999
By Mark Pilarski
Dear Mark,
I recently received a flyer in the mail from a
casino showing some of their current specials.
One was being paid 2 to 1 for blackjacks on
Wednesdays. A good deal for the player? Louise
J.
Geez, Louise, I just love it when the marketing
department of a casino makes the rules. They
may, or may not have known it, but when that
casino decided as a promotion that it will pay
you 2 to 1 for a blackjack versus 3 to 2, by
God, they gave you an edge over the house. How
much? Well if you played perfect basic strategy
on a $5 game, you'll gain an extra $2.50 once
every 20.7 hands. That's an improvement of 12
cents a hand-enough for some extra greenback in
your wallet and a cheap buffet as well. But
what's most important here, Louise, is that
opportunities like this do happen occasionally,
and anytime you can one-up the casino, jump on
it!
Dear Mark,
When a pit boss brought in new cards on our
blackjack game, a friend I'm with tells me to
lower my bet on the first shuffle. Does it
really make any difference? John D.
Whether I answer yes or no, John, it's still
bound to stir an argument among purists on both
sides of the issue.
First, a study I recently read stated that a new
deck of cards only becomes random after it's
been shuffled seven times. It's also my
experience that most casinos only require a
dealer to shuffle, even with a new deck on the
game, from three to five times. So why are these
statements important? Because, when a new deck
of cards arrives on your game fresh out of the
box, it comes in a predefined order (A-K hearts,
A-K clubs, K-A diamonds, K-A spades), which
contains 10-value card clumps not completely
broken up by the initial shuffle.
So though my answer leans towards yes, albeit
mildly, I do confess I also back off until the
second shuffle-which should make the cards as
random as they can be.
Dear Mark,
What are those funny little blackjack
abbreviations like H17, RSA and DOA mean that
I've seen on casino newspaper advertising or
internet gambling forums? Bud T.
Authors Ovid Demaris and Ed Reid's conception of
DOA was the cautionary advice they gave in their
1963 book, The Truth About Las Vegas. "The
surest way to beat Las Vegas is to get off the
plane that has taken you there and walk straight
into the propeller." It's actually the rule
variations/conditions that each particular
casino offers for blackjack. Below are some you
would typically see.
BSE = Basic Strategy Edge
H17 = Hit soft 17 (dealer must hit)
S17 = Stand on any 17 (dealer must stand)
DOA = Double On Any first two cards
D10 = Double on 10 or 11 only
DAS = Double After Splitting is allowed
RSA = Re-Splitting Aces is allowed
ESR = Early Surrender
LSR = Late Surrender
O/U = Over/Under 13 side bets are allowed
Dear Mark,
In some of your columns you mention the word
"grind." What do you mean by that? Ray R.
In the language of casino gambling, Ray, grind
can be used in a variety of ways. A grind player
is generally a term associated with a low
roller. A grind joint is a casino that caters to
these low rollers. Then there's the grind down.
This is where the casino eventually wins all the
player's money due to the built-in advantage it
has on all wagers. Finally, the grind system .
This is any system used by a player that
attempts to win small amounts frequently against
the casino. Unfortunately, the latter is highly
unlikely.
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