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Table Games How many black jack hands at a time

Discussion in 'Table Games' started by landsburger, Oct 30, 2013.

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  1. landsburger

    landsburger High-Roller

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    Hi,

    Can you tell me how many BJ hands you can play at a time? I know you can play 2, often requiring higher minimum bet, but wondering if you can play 3.

    I've been doing that online and enjoy it much more. It might convince me to start playing in Vegas. I usually play other games...

    I could see them not allowing it because of counting concerns, but I hope not.

    Thanks
     
  2. Kickin

    Kickin Flea

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    As many as that pit boss/casino will allow. There's a regular at Aria/Bellagio who plays every spot for purple and yellow chips all the time. All the dealers know him and hate him apparently.
     
  3. wishman35

    wishman35 VIP Whale

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    Why do the dealers hate him? Is it just boring for them? Is he a bad tipper?
     
  4. topcard

    topcard Here's to $10 3:2 two-deck, $5 Craps, and $5 UTH!

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    One of (if not THE) most successful sessions counting I've ever had was in Central City, Colorado. Back in the day, they had a state law setting the maximum bet on any casino game @ $5.
    I found a single deck game, 3:2, DAS, S17. I was head-to-head with the dealer. After the first deck was dealt down to nearly the bottom, I asked, "aren't you worried about counters dealing the deck down that far?"
    The reply: "No - with the state maximum of $5 on a $5 minimum table, we don't worry about it at all."
    I asked: "Oh...so can I play multiple hands?"... reply: "sure".

    I proceeded to play 7 spots at $5 on every +3 count or better, and dropped to 1 hand on every count of +1 or lower.

    I literally killed 'em...for about 45 minutes. Then the pit boss came over and closed the table. My response: "you're closing your only open blackjack table in the casino?"
    Pit boss: "For as long as you're here, yeah."
    I chuckled, colored up and left the casino.

    All of that to say - yeah, I suspect any Vegas casino will let you play as many hands as there are spots on the table, with the caveat that if another player wants to sit down, you have to give up a spot for him.
     
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  5. IWannaBeInVegas

    IWannaBeInVegas VIP Whale

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    Iv seen people play every spot, most casinos want the chance at your money and that is 7 chances.
     
  6. Kickin

    Kickin Flea

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    From what dealers at both Aria and Bellagio told me he never tips and is very demanding and serious. But he's a big player and they smile and put up with him. I'm sure others here have seen this guy, he's supposedly at those two casinos all the time. I've seen him both trips this year at both casinos. He's middle aged, overweight and nerdy looking and carries around a lumbar pillow he puts on his seat. Plays purple and yellow and takes prodigious notes after each session.
     
  7. thecarve

    thecarve Misanthrope

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    I've seen that guy a few times. I've heard the same thing about him - bad/no tips and "always grumpy" was how one dealer put it.

    I haven't seen him taking notes though. Lol. I'll have to pay attention next time.
     
  8. landsburger

    landsburger High-Roller

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    Great, thanks everyone for the info.

    Anyone have any feedback or advice on whether they think it's a good or bad idea?

    I enjoy the ability to make multiple decisions per hand, and the big wins if the cards fall right. The other side of the coin can be painful though.
     
  9. IWannaBeInVegas

    IWannaBeInVegas VIP Whale

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    If you do decide to play multiple hands, make sure your tipping more than you would playing one hand.

    First off if it's heads up the dealer is doing more work for you than if it was one hand being played

    Second if other players are at the table and your playing more than one hand you are preventing a possible tipping player from joining the table. I had a guy playing all seven spots one night not tipping a dime and one of my regulars who tips quite well could not play at the table due to this. At our casino you can play all seven spots, only way they wills me you give up a spot is if there are no other available tables (as in they are all full) which iv never seen
     
  10. agentq

    agentq Low-Roller

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    In my experience at Vegas & AC, I have never been allowed to go more than 3 spots. Maybe it's because my style of play can come off as very aggressive (even when not counting), or maybe I'm not playing at the right casinos :nono:
     
  11. thecarve

    thecarve Misanthrope

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    I’d say it’s a pretty “neutral” idea. It really depends on what type of experience you want.

    Playing two hands at $25/each will significantly lower variance – “smoothing” out big swings up or down – versus playing one hand at $50. But ultimately it doesn’t change the house advantage any, provided you aren’t counting. If you enjoy playing multiple hands, go for it.

    As you have mentioned, many casinos will require you bet more than the minimum if you’re playing multiple hands. Usually this isn’t as much of an issue at the higher minimum tables as those are seldom full. But at a $10 table, where people are waiting to get on, they’ll probably make you double the minimum for two hands – and I’ve seen some make you triple the minimum for three or more hands.

    Also, I’m sure you’re aware of how superstitious people can be. It seems to be proper etiquette to ask the other players at the table if they mind you going from one to two hands at a particular point in the shoe. During a “hot” shoe, you could piss off some people by switching from one hand to two and “changing the cards”. Of course, if you switch during a “cold” shoe and “change the cards” for the better, you’ll be a hero. (Obviously, you can do whatever you want – or whatever the casino allows – I’m just preparing you for the jeers should you upset the mojo.) :rolleyes2:
     
  12. BLNT

    BLNT High-Roller

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    I'm a two hander, and can also attest to the kinds of reactions you'll get from some when you've been playing two hands for a shoe or two ... only to be getting nowhere (or getting taken to the cleaners), switch to one hand and immediately "give" the dealer a blackjack. HECK, I feel bad -- but some people take things personally.
     
  13. airball1996

    airball1996 High-Roller

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    Why would any casino in the world sweat a player betting $5 a hand, with 7 hands per deal? I can't imagine anyone in the casino business would be worried about losing $35 in a single deal. If that's the case, they shouldn't be in the casino business. Did you leave a 0 or two off of that $5 maximum or was it seriously only a $5 max bet? I've never seen that either.

    I've heard of pit bosses telling suspected counters at a full table that they're changing the rules for that player only. An example would be the suspected counter can now only bet a $100 minimum and a $100 maximum, while all other players at the table are subject to the normal range of $5 to $500.

    Back onto topic, in my experience the casino will make you double the bet for each additional hand you'd like to play in order to make up for other players that may wish to enter. So at a $5 table, if you want to play two hands at once, they'd make you bet $10 each. If you wanted to play 3 spots, they'd make you bet $20 each for a total of $60 out there per deal.
     
  14. topcard

    topcard Here's to $10 3:2 two-deck, $5 Craps, and $5 UTH!

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    Back then, in Colorado, state law set a max bet of $5 on everything.

    I guess they shut it down because they were only seeing the $35 out there when I was winning the majority of those hands (+3 or better counts), and only seeing $5 out there when my loss risk was greater (+1 or worse counts).

    And, because they were dealing to near-bottom of the deck, the count was extremely accurate and predictive (as almost all cards were actually in play).

    In the 45 minutes that they let me play, I won (iirc) something like $300-350.
    I suppose from the casinos point of view, that was a bad proposition to continue permitting. If you ignore the dollar amounts involved and just look at the spread (1 to 7), even though the spread was balanced over multiple hands, they knew I was counting and was only doing the 7-hand thing on positive counts.

    They weren't jerks about it - they just closed the blackjack table and said it would remain closed as long as I remained there.
    I got the message & left.
     
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  15. GeorgeJ.

    GeorgeJ. VIP Whale

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    This place actually sweated a $350 loss at the Blackjack table?

    I asked about playing all the spots at a PaiGow table at Aliante in Las Vegas and they told me the max positions I could play was 2...this was also at an empty table at 6AM on a weekday..that was interesting since the table minimum was $5 and I would have had to play $10 at the other spots..
     
  16. IWannaBeInVegas

    IWannaBeInVegas VIP Whale

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    Most casinos don't allow multiple hands on the poker games, it gives the player an edge as they know what the house does not have. Now my casino will allow you to play some games with multiple hands but all but one has to be in the blind, I can see this being an issue in paigow
     
  17. dankyone

    dankyone VIP Whale

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    I'm not surprised--it was a $5 MAX table and they probably barely expect to make $350/day at it. Such a table is "an amenity for their slot players" not a "real" blackjack table. When such an obvious counting play is in progress, they really have no reason to deal to the guy.
     
  18. swuulumm

    swuulumm Low-Roller

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    Maybe a little OT; but i have played in various casinos in Europe with up to 5 hands at the same time; once even 7 which was the whole table. Usually this only happens in smaller casinos in which (at the time) nobody else was interested in BJ; so they were happy that they at least a little bit of action.
     
  19. jingber05

    jingber05 Low-Roller

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    kind off topic, but how does one "reserve their own blackjack table"? i was at bellagio once and i saw this one asian lady with at least 30k in chips in front of her and playing by herself on a reserved table. is it for high rollers only?
     
  20. Kickin

    Kickin Flea

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    If you're talking about the true reserved tables that are sitting there empty all day with a "reserved" sign until the guy shows up than yes, those are for very big players. We have some high rollers on this board but I think the only guy that's posted about having reserved tables was Natedog who is in the whale territory.

    But a lot of casinos will also reserve a table for low rollers just for a particular time if you have a group of people. For instance you can see the details on Luxor's site under the table games section.

    http://www.luxor.com/casino/casino_reservetable.aspx

    For BJ you just need 5 guys buying in for only $300 each betting $15/hand. Pretty cool option to have if you're with a group and want to make sure you can all play together. The craps table for 10 guys is especially useful for bachelor party trips or things like that.
     
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