Table Games Rant about the decline of Blackjack in Vegas

Is that a bad thing? Those are some of my favorite places in town.

 

Clearly, I need to give Ellis a try...never been there, but the way y'all (& others on VMB) talk about it, I suspect that it's right up my alley!

 

Exactly. These adjustments are happening all around you every day. They're just more obvious in this forum because we play games where the changes are posted on signs and layouts for all to see.

Think of the other thing people might be most price sensitive to in terms of commentary at least... gas prices. Huge signs for all to see. People complain on days they don't even visit a pump.

 

Or the ones that are complaining are more observant. Most people don't pay much attention to all the crap written on the table/placards and some of the casino's are deceptive about it. Its really hard to tell a triple 0 from a double 0 at many casinos based on the felt. The 000 is intentionally not printed and replaced with a symbol that could easily make it seem like its just decoration. 6:5 got noticed at first, but many are now just accustomed to it now unless they live in an area that is predominantly 3:2 still.

 

I have always tipped the Black Jack bonus payment so it hasn't really affected me.

But if you are playing only 1-2 hours a day 6:5 vs 3:2 in my opinion doesn't really matter that much. The splits/double downs and dealer 4/5/6 hands will have a way more important affect on your session.

 

Finally unintentionally played 6 to 5 bj in AC for the first time since Ballys double deck was gone before pandemic. See I was so accustomed to 3 to 2 in AC so didnt even bother to check the rule, until I got my bj payout.

6 to 5 is at Hard Rock AC 8 deck $15 pit with pink purple table cloth at the end of the pit. It wasnt there in August.

 

Interesting, HR is one of the places I would have assumed wouldn't introduce the bad rules.

 

Hard Rock has followed immediately after Borgata and Ocean introduced Crapless Crap early this year. So I would think they dare changing to juice more house edge and profit.

 

Borgata, Hard Rock, and shockingly Caesars AC are the 3 properties that tend to have higher table games handle. One would think those 3 (and maybe Ocean) wouldn't want to do anything to drive players to other properties.

 

As this is a fresh impression, how many 6:5 payouts did you get? Was the $18 vs $22.50 significant on your session?

 

I've read about this happening in the 1960s and was curious about if anyone knows more specifics on how the changes made impacted the house edge at the time. IMO, this should been what happened with 6/5. Instead, the players of the 2000s have just bent over and taken it:

The first attempt to stop counters was a clumsy move in which casinos sharply limited the players' ability to double and split. The result was a drastic decline in players at the blackjack tables, so the rule change was revoked.

https://entertainment.howstuffworks.com/blackjack8.htm

 

Dunno about the 60s, but the 90s yeah people just moaned and took it as long as $5/10 minimums were in place still. Information was less accessible back then and while people knew it was worse, they didn't know by how much (4x the house edge). So not as much outrage. I'd wager that most didn't even know basic strategy back then.

 

Not more than once. When I got my first bj and realized they changed to 6 to 5. I left afterwards and switched back to next table blue cloth which is 3 to 2. Same 8 deck $15 Hit soft 17.

Honestly would hope their experiment of 6 to 5 fail.

 

I am with you, 3:2 is better. But I want a table that pays me, not takes. I've been on tables where my spot hasn't had a BJ in over an hr. In that case, 6:5 is a nothing burger

 

While that may be true, I would not play 7/5 JoB video poker just because I'm not getting full houses or flushes.

 

The first time I ever played 6/5 blackjack was the at Imperial Palace in '04 when they had their "celebrity" dealers. I sat down at a $5 table with a buddy who dealt 21 here in Milwaukee, and he scoffed when we saw the the 6/5 printed on the felt. The Tina Turner look-a-like was dealing. I said "C'mon Jim, how many blackjacks will we get anyway?" so we sat down. A few hands later, the Marilyn Monroe dealer relieved her. I'll just say her cleavage convinced both of us to stay for an hour.
I don't recall how many blackjacks we both got.

 

I’m just sad that the 50-cent pieces have largely disappeared following the switch to 6:5. I had a personal rule where I kept every 50-cent piece from any blackjack so as long as I got one a trip I never went home completely empty handed.

I was saving them all in one of those 2-foot coke bottle piggy banks and had a dream of filling it all the way and then doing something fun like paying a final mortgage payment all with coins. Only made it like 1/3 full so they’ve crushed my dreams!

 

l don't have to worry about 6:5 or 3:2 as l hardly ever get a blackjack anyway

 

You make a very compelling point!

 

6:5 adds about 1.4% house edge, which doesn't sound like alot considering when when slots have a house edge of 12% or something,

Players might think its not a big deal, but in blackjack you will lose way more hands than you win. The splits, doubles, and blackjacks are what makes it almost a fair game.
Most of the edge of card counting comes getting paid 1.5x on blackjacks, after all, when the count is high the dealer is just as likely to get blackjack as you, but the house only wins 1x your bet.

Even if you aren't counting, in practice you bet big when you think you will get a good hand, a blackjack or 20.

I'm not much of a card counter because its a tough way to make an easy living. Large variance and you are likely to get kicked, but I definitely still follow the cards and raise my bet when I see a string of low cards.

Suppose my intuition is right, I bet big, use my "ONE TIME!" and get a blackjack! WOOHOO

The dealer saying WINNER WINNER CHICKEN DINNER and bringing out 6:5 doesn't make me feel like a winner at all,
I'm reminded about how many times that big bet didn't work out, and how even when winning, the casino had to skim that extra bit for their greed.

But then I snap back to reality as I hear the dealer shout out "DOUBLE HARD 13!"