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Table Games First Time HL Blackjack Player, looking for advice, and have some questions.

Discussion in 'Table Games' started by PNW Dreams, Apr 22, 2021.

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  1. dankyone

    dankyone VIP Whale

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    The dealer will bust only 21% of the time when showing a 10. If you stand on 16, you will obviously lose whenever the dealer does not bust—79% of the time.
     
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  2. topcard

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

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    Yep... and you will bust 61.5% of the time when you hit hard 16.

    Surrendering 15s & 16s against 9s, 10s & Aces is huge gift to players, versus having to play the hands.
     
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  3. HeliBen

    HeliBen Low-Roller

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    A lot of dealers are also gamblers themselves, and not all of them are very smart. They just have their own false logic in their head, just like fellow players. Then it comes down to personality I guess, whether they are going to comment on your „missplay“ or just stay quiet. But they certainly all have an opinion what one should do in a a particular situation. :)
     
  4. dankyone

    dankyone VIP Whale

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    I also used to think they were trying to get me to make bad plays...now I am pretty well convinced that most dealers don’t know correct basic strategy. They know what most players are likely to consider correct and not complain about, and that is what they encourage. The “conventional” play, not the correct play.

    I would estimate maybe 5% of players hit soft 18 vs 10. Maybe 10% will surrender 16 vs 10. The majority have never considered doing either...but then again if they are willing to play 6:5, we shouldn’t be surprised.
     
    Last edited: May 6, 2021
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  5. Crawfordesquire

    Crawfordesquire High-Roller

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    agreed. if you do the former, which is rooted in BS, people will look at you as if you tried to double down on a BJ.
     
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  6. topcard

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

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    I actually had a dealer at LVC tell me, "Hit?!? But you have 18!" My reply? "No, dear - right now, I have 8."
     
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  7. Nittany1

    Nittany1 VIP Whale

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    @44inarow ,you were right about surrenders on the main floor being offered.
    2 tables on the Pattiserie side closest to Alibi have it $50 min this morning.
     
    Last edited: May 14, 2021
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  8. 44inarow

    44inarow VIP Whale

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    Agreed completely. When it comes to a player moves, they just do not have a horse in that race; they make hourly wages and tips. If anything they'd want the player to win, because for better or for worse, people tip more when they're winning, and that's money in their pocket.

    I'll sometimes I'll go with my gut on plays like that on the S18 versus a dealer 10. I know the math and what the book sense, but it's also a tiny, tiny difference. It's not like splitting 10s or doubling with a H16. But I still never make suggestions unless somebody asks. I remember once hitting on a 12 against a dealer 2, and the other people at the table were aghast.
     
  9. Nittany1

    Nittany1 VIP Whale

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    Playing at Aria this morning.
    Hit a 12 against a 2. Dealer paused and said “you sure”.
    Yup hit it.
    Drew a 10 and busted.Dealer shook her head like I should have known better.
     
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  10. Tutontow

    Tutontow Low-Roller

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    I always hit a hard 12 against a dealers 2 and 3. Many dealers have no clue about the nuances of basic strategy. Plus it is a lot easier to make bonehead plays when you have no skin in the game.
     
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  11. Vladimir

    Vladimir Low-Roller

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    I was screamed at for 5 minutes by a dealer and 5 other players for doing this once. (May have been against a 9, can’t quite remember). Hit a 5 then an 8. Dealer turned 16 then busted. One of the players thanked me but everyone else, dealer included, continued to call me stupid!!
     
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  12. Tutontow

    Tutontow Low-Roller

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    Yep, I know what you mean. I tell them anytime you want to bankroll me then I will play like you want me to. I had one of those guys who worry about how everyone plays get all in my face one day. To make matters worse there were no other seats open because of COVID and the limited seating. Otherwise I would have just got up and moved.
     
  13. Travel Fanatic

    Travel Fanatic The Arbiter of Taste Caviar Kid

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    Just curious, where did that happen. I have had dealers incorrectly question and even deride my correct play. I have never had, nor seen, a dealer scream at a player, let alone for an extended period of time
     
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  14. Vladimir

    Vladimir Low-Roller

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    It was the Stratosphere at a $5 table... I guess it would be around 10 years ago now. Didn’t see that dealer again following that trip.

    She basically was saying I have to change my mind but that I couldn’t change my mind because I’d already tapped the table.

    I was further berated about choosing to leave the table when I was ahead (not too many hands after that one - funnily enough!).
     
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  15. mrem3200

    mrem3200 VIP Whale

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    Hyperbole much? Really, a dealer "screamed" at you for five minutes? If he/she was "screaming" at you surely it would have drawn the attention of the pit boss and probably security. So the pit boss let one of their employees scream at a customer for five minutes? I find that extremely hard to believe.
     
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  16. Vladimir

    Vladimir Low-Roller

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    Don’t really feel the need to give ‘evidence’ of my life events but since I’m off this morning...

    If anyone used to play at the Stratosphere (probably not!) they will remember that there used to be two extremely large pits in the main area of the casino, probably a dozen to 14 tables in each.

    There was also a nearby bar that had loud live music on Thursday-Sunday.

    Entirely possible the pit boss couldn’t hear from the other side of the pit with the music.

    Yes, 5 minutes might be a bit of an exaggeration, but the argument over whether she could allow me to ‘change my mind’ (when I didn’t want to) continued for a significant while and then the comments that I was ridiculous continued throughout that hand and the next few. Of course, she could have just called the pit boss to ask, but she didn’t. It certainly felt like 5 minutes.

    The fact she was never seen again might either mean she was a temp or that eventually the pit boss did hear her screaming at someone.

    I’ve had a fair few thing happen to me in Vegas and beyond that even I find hard to believe, as I’m sure a lot of people have, but doesn’t mean they didn’t happen.
     
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  17. topcard

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

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    I have to admit that I will vary my play on the hard 12 vs dealer 2, depending on the content of the remaining cards in the deck (2-deck games only).
    I have also been known to ask other players with significantly larger bets than I'm making, if they have a preference for my play.
    One guy at the Cal was betting $200 versus my $10 vet...he & I were the only players...so, I asked him. To his credit, his reply was "Play it how you normally would. Makes no difference in the long run." (I hit & lost, but so did the dealer, so this guy won his hand.)
    I have never stayed with A-7 against a dealer 10 (except when forced to because I split Aces).
     
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  18. MikeOPensacola

    MikeOPensacola El Jefe

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    These posts about a dealer yelling at a player for five minutes have me cracking up. Depending on my mood, and alcohol intake, I think it would be frickin’ hilarious for a dealer to actually yell at me for that long. Kind of like the Dick’s Last Resort of blackjack. Hell, I’d probably egg them on and toss out a small tip and tell them to keep it coming. I say this in jest, of course, but just the notion of a dealer yelling at a customer for any prolonged period for something so trivial is the perfect tonic to wake up to on a cloudy, dreary Monday morning in Pensacola.

    :beer::beer: :beer:
     
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  19. topcard

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

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    Standing with 16 vs. 10 and hitting 16 vs. 10?
    Here's what the wizard says:
    "Standing with a hard 16 against a 9, 10 or ace will lose about 77 percent of the time. Under the same conditions, hitting on a hard 16 against a 9, 10 or ace will lose about 74 percent of the time."
    • Now, despite what I just posted above, there are exceptions! (You just knew there would be, didn't you? ;) )
      Two-deck game:
      1. If your hard 16 consists of 3 (or more) cards, and contains a 4 or 5, you should stand.
      2. If there are 2 or more 4s and/or 5s visible on the table with other players, you should stand.
      3. If you are keeping track of cards already gone (& therefore no longer available for you to draw), you might stand, depending on how many 4s & 5s are left in the deck.

      Good luck!
      :beer:
     
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  20. ngrund

    ngrund High-Roller

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    Very good point made above-many players do not realize that a 3 card 16 is not the same as 2 card 16 when deciding to stand
     
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