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Table Games Forgive me for I have sinned playing 6:5 BJ

cheaps

cheaps

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The sin is …. I didn’t mind.

It was the age old situation. Friends wanted to play a $10 minimum at the Rio. It was a 6 deck, wide open seating. As much as I don’t like it, it didn’t affect me much. My friend got 7 blackjacks, but we ended up +$170 each and had good fun dealers.

If we had the same situation, I would sin again. Repent. Repent.

I also mistakenly played at single deck 6:5 at GVR because I didn’t read the rules carefully and won money there. I am unclean.
 
Yes, you are. You still had better odds than everyone who posts that they hit the slot machines; you just hurt those that want a fair game...like everyone that plays 8/5 JoB vp
 

  • Just another chance to be coddled
  • Just another chance to be coddled
Is 6/5 really that bad for casual players?
They can still get a decent win by splitting/double down on a good starting hand.
 
You are forgiven, my son.

Gambling is entertainment. You were entertained. That's all that matters.

Your decision isn't impacting the decision of the casino. They weren't going to all of a sudden have a change of heart and switch everything back to 3:2 if you would have passed on playing the 6:5 game.

That doesn't mean you shouldn't always try to only play 3:2. You should. But when the decision is "I'm going to play and have fun with my friends" vs "I'm going to be a blackjack snob and refuse to play with my friends on a $10 table on the trip we made together" ?

Yea, you made the right call.
 
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LMAO! First post I saw this morning.

As with any forbidden fruit, it might taste/feel great for a while, but be careful and don’t stray to long 😊
 

zoobrew said:
:soapbox::bang::cuss::soapbox:
PA also has I think the highest tax rate on casinos in the country. Be careful of what you wish for, as gambling regulations are not a la carte menu situation.
Click to expand...
On slots. They are only 16% for table games and thats lower than most states.
 
EzE said:
On slots. They are only 16% for table games and thats lower than most states.
Click to expand...
But still vesus Nevada 6.75% tax rate, it is still much higher. With PA's tax rates and BJ rules, what do you think the BJ table minimums in LV would be?
 

zoobrew said:
But still vesus Nevada 6.75% tax rate, it is still much higher. With PA's tax rates and BJ rules, what do you think the BJ table minimums in LV would be?
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Minimums aren't that impacted by the tax.rate. They are more impacted by costs: wages, rent, drinks, etc.

NV, NJ, and I think SD are the only states that have single digit tax rates. Most are 20%+ and many are even 30%+ on tables games.

PA is on the lower end of the tax rates at 16% and requires good rules.

The high taxation states hit gamblers in comps. They just comp less to make up for the tax. The majority of players won't notice the difference.
 
Been beating this drum for years. Yes 6:5 sucks. Yes 3:2 is better. If there is a 3:2 table next to a 6:5 table that is within my budget I am sitting at 3:2 table 100% of the time.

But I am in Vegas to have fun and playing at the Bellagio for less than $100 a hand often requires you to play 6:5. You can play at a 3:2 single deck S17 table and get your ass kicked. You can play at the worst 6:5 table on the strip and win every hand. The key in blackjack has always been how you do on double downs and splits and that aspect of the game is unchanged. Give me a fun table with a good dealer and I don't care.

Same people on here shaming people that play 6:5 are playing 3 card poker and playing the hardways in craps with a 7% house edge.
 
jacmrose said:
Been beating this drum for years. Yes 6:5 sucks. Yes 3:2 is better. If there is a 3:2 table next to a 6:5 table that is within my budget I am sitting at 3:2 table 100% of the time.

But I am in Vegas to have fun and playing at the Bellagio for less than $100 a hand often requires you to play 6:5. You can play at a 3:2 single deck S17 table and get your ass kicked. You can play at the worst 6:5 table on the strip and win every hand. The key in blackjack has always been how you do on double downs and splits and that aspect of the game is unchanged. Give me a fun table with a good dealer and I don't care.

Same people on here shaming people that play 6:5 are playing 3 card poker and playing the hardways in craps with a 7% house edge.
Click to expand...
Parlay my hardway!
 
Environment and atmosphere vs. good odds, that seems to be the trade-off stated here. If you want a nice vacation atmosphere, you have to pay for it with lower pay scales. There are arguments both ways.
Is the slightly better house edge worth the vacation atmosphere? In most people's minds, yes. If everyone started only playing the fairest games, would the casinos with great atmospheres follow suit and offer better odds to draw their customers back? Sure.
But, reality is that everyone is not going to stay away from low-pay games in a polished marble quarry with fancy drink glasses for any amount of time, so I think that option is off the table.
 

  • Just another chance to be coddled
  • Just another chance to be coddled
the idea that there could be any sort of mass protest against 6:5 games that would lead to actual change is something that's simply not realistic. most people who play on vacation, or after a conference? they don't know the difference. so constantly fighting it is a fruitless endeavor.

the only hope for change back to somewhat favorable rules would be some combination of the current downturn in visitation, along with new vendors coming to The Strip to create more competition. Hard Rock will be online hopefully by next year. CET is going to have to sell something off eventually (or risk going bankrupt and lose multiple, if not all, properties). The added comp could see a drive to be more customer friendly.

Short of that? Is what it is. Do your best to avoid it, let your dollars do the walking and talking... but if you're in town and that's the only option? Do what you gotta do.
 

jacmrose said:
Same people on here shaming people that play 6:5 are playing 3 card poker and playing the hardways in craps with a 7% house edge.
Click to expand...
Not the same people.
Those who shaming people playing 6:5 BJ are slots players themselves.
 
jacmrose said:
Same people on here shaming people that play 6:5 are playing 3 card poker and playing the hardways in craps with a 7% house edge.
Click to expand...
I get what you're saying, but it's an unfair comparison - who would play 3-card at a table that only pays 1.5-to-1 on the pair plus? Who would play craps at a table that only pays 8-for-1 on a hard 6 or 8? Or, more realistically, who plays red/black or odd/even at a 000 roulette table when a 00 or single-0 table is available?
That would be apples-to-apples.
I don't "shame" people that play 6:5 when it's to have fun with their friends, or just killing a few minutes before their dinner or show.
It's when the $15 6:5 table is being favored over a $25 3:2, and the player is planning on 3 or 4 hours of play (or more). That just doesn't make economic sense!
...or when a player is at a $15 6:5 table at Rio when $15 3:2 tables are a short walk away at Gold Coast or Palms.
:beer:
 

  • Annual Spring Trip - This time at South Point!
smerrian said:
If everyone started only playing the fairest games, would the casinos with great atmospheres follow suit and offer better odds to draw their customers back? Sure.
Click to expand...

Headache 21 said:
the only hope for change back to somewhat favorable rules would be some combination of the current downturn in visitation, along with new vendors coming to The Strip to create more competition.
Click to expand...

There’s some combination of both happening now. Post COVID when Vegas was in full gouge mode, minimums were high and there was a lot of 6:5. Now, I see freeway billboards and property marquees advertising $5 or 3/2 or $5 3/2! It’s become a marketing lure. I agree if you have a side by side option at the tables that’s stupid, but if the reality is offer low 6:5 or don’t have a low minimum exist at all, my morals don’t feel so important. It’s not 40 years ago with $2 BJ as the norm.
 
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