STREETWISE Blackjack

The Best Game in Town?

The reality is that the splendid diversity in blackjack games of years past has been transformed into a gross uniformity. As the number of properties under different ownership has dwindled and shared corporate connections has transformed separately owned casinos into cookie-cutter operations, there is no question the quality of the games has suffered. Technology has played a major role in the decline of the game as well. Not only have casinos developed more tools in their arsenal in the never-ending was against counters and advantage players, but the increased level of awareness on the casino floor by a much younger generation of supervisory staff is better prepared to use the newest tools of the trade.

Despite these drawbacks, once in a while, a good game breaks out. But even then, with today's high-speed communications via the Internet, any good game becomes an event as players are all too eager to share the information with the entire world. If you don't think most casinos don't have individuals in their employ who visit the casino and blackjack websites on a regular basis, you are terribly naÔve.

Casinos are continually evaluating their rules in conjunction with their tables' drop and hold figures. Most operations managers know by adjusting here and tweaking there -- easing up on hit/stand for soft 17, offering deeper penetration and more single, double and six-deck games -- they will attract more business as word gets out. But then, what is cost for opening up their blackjack games? Again, if you think casino executives aren't aware of these issues, you're mistaken.

The industry standard text these days, Casino Operations Management, by Jim Kilby and Jim Fox, contains a very useful chart on page 193 which cross-references the number of decks with a percentage effect of rule variations. This handy guide will show you how hitting a soft 17 versus standing on it from one to eight decks affects the House edge. Going down the chart, you find that if a casino offered early surrender in a single-deck game, they are giving up .63%, or between one-half and two-thirds of a percent advantage. This figure drops dramatically to .06% for an 8-deck game! By adding and subtracting the various rules combinations, you are able to figure the best combinations for any blackjack game.

Aware that blackjack remains the most popular table game, most casino managers know from historical example and current practice that they must balance their desire to elevate their drop and hold levels with the recognition players will flock to "good" games and shun "bad" ones.

Lightning-quick space-age communication sends the news to every corner of the globe. Let a good game break out in Botswanna, you'd better believe card counters in the Southern Antilles are discussing it not long after. Which brings me back to the original innocent question of where are the good games? There are monthly and quarterly publications like Stanford Wong's Current Blackjack News, and Arnold Snyder's Blackjack Forum which cite the specifics and rate casinos throughout the US and Canada. These are solid reliable references.

But they can only hope to keep information as fresh as possible by press time. Also things change. Casinos aren't in the habit of blaring headline news concerning rules and reg changes at their tables. So how do you discover the good games? You have to keep your eyes and ears open. Scout the casinos. Don't be in such a hurry to lose your money.

Gambler's Book Shop/Club has always been a stop for the itinerant blackjack players of the world. When asked, I advise people to proceed with caution, as always. In the "good old days" I used to be able to dish out information as to the location and caliber of the best games with authority and speed. Now things are more complicated. I still get some of the best information from walking around casinos and judging the quality of the games for myself. But some of the most reliable updates come from many of the customers, obviously able to cover a greater amount of territory.

The players who come in are generally knowledgeable and understand the distinctions in penetration and rule variations. They are not just looking for happy faces. There is general understanding that blackjack is a complex game with different levels of play. Atlantic City is one place which has given players a bumpy ride in recent times. There's some recent news out of the casinos which does not bode well for games in the 12 casinos of AC. Tune in next week.