Alamo Casino -- Best Blackjack in Vegas
Before I go further, for the 99.54% of you who have never heard of the Alamo casino, it is in a TA truck stop across Blue Diamond Highway from the Silverton. You won't see any signage that says "Alamo." You won't know that is the title of it until you see the chips, which are from their larger property in Sparks.
It is perhaps the smallest casino with table games in Vegas. Just two blackjack tables, one poker table, and about 40 slots. The blackjack rules are:
Single deck
3-2 on BJ (otherwise I wouldn't be writing about it)
Dealer hits soft 17
Double any first two cards
Surrender allowed
Six-card Charlie
Player may re-split to four hands (except aces)
No double after split
Dealer shuffles based on feel
$10-$100 limits.
The house edge in this game strongly depends on how the dealer decides when to shuffle. When I played by myself the dealer shuffled at about the 60% point. When there was one other player he went to about 50%. When there were two other players he seemed to deal two rounds only. This was much how they did it at the Barona when they had a liberal single-deck game.
So, I figure that if the dealer is dealing x rounds per deck then the house edge is 0.08%. Otherwise, with essentially an invisible cut card, I put it at 0.19%.
Another issue is the six-card Charlie rule. Normally I put the effect of that at 0.16%. However, it is less with a single deck. For one deck, I put it at 0.07% only, because of the strong effect of removal.
For the survey I gave them the benefit of the doubt and went with 0.08%. The Current Blackjack Newsletter uses 0.14%. So, not only is the Alamo first in alphabetical order but also has the lowest house edge in Vegas.
The bad news is after I went through all this trouble to go there and add them to the list, they say they are going to a shoe game in a week or two. They say they are getting too much play from card counters.
My apologies to the Alamo for taking so long to add them. It is a friendly place, from the dealers, floor man, to cocktail waitress. They even bring free popcorn to players at the table. Sorry to see this nice single-deck game go.
I did know about this Gem. I used to play there often back when Silverton was Boom Town.Quote: Buzzard" They say they are getting too much play from card counters. " Axle da Wolf strikes again.
However it was not me that caused any problems . I play very little BJ including counting nowadays(I find it tediously boring for more than 60 minutes) I want a much better % than card counting offers(promotion or really good game).
VERY FEW guys make it with ONLY counting. The guys that say they do, I bet you will never meet them( At least never see them actually play.)
BJ money is in Hole carding, Steering, edge sorting, Shuffle tracking, well organized team play and other scenarios.
If you really have what it takes to successfully count, you're probably wasting your time on strictly counting.
Quote: WizardOne comment I get from time to time is why I don't list the Alamo casino in my blackjack survey. My readers finally wore me down and I paid them a visit today.
Before I go further, for the 99.54% of you who have never heard of the Alamo casino, it is in a TA truck stop across Blue Diamond Highway from the Silverton. You won't see any signage that says "Alamo." You won't know that is the title of it until you see the chips, which are from their larger property in Sparks.
It is perhaps the smallest casino with table games in Vegas. Just two blackjack tables, one poker table, and about 40 slots. The blackjack rules are:
Single deck
3-2 on BJ (otherwise I wouldn't be writing about it)
Dealer hits soft 17
Double any first two cards
Surrender allowed
Six-card Charlie
Player may re-split to four hands (except aces)
No double after split
Dealer shuffles based on feel
$10-$100 limits.
The house edge in this game strongly depends on how the dealer decides when to shuffle. When I played by myself the dealer shuffled at about the 60% point. When there was one other player he went to about 50%. When there were two other players he seemed to deal two rounds only. This was much how they did it at the Barona when they had a liberal single-deck game.
So, I figure that if the dealer is dealing x rounds per deck then the house edge is 0.08%. Otherwise, with essentially an invisible cut card, I put it at 0.19%.
Another issue is the six-card Charlie rule. Normally I put the effect of that at 0.16%. However, it is less with a single deck. For one deck, I put it at 0.07% only, because of the strong effect of removal.
For the survey I gave them the benefit of the doubt and went with 0.08%. The Current Blackjack Newsletter uses 0.14%. So, not only is the Alamo first in alphabetical order but also has the lowest house edge in Vegas.
The bad news is after I went through all this trouble to go there and add them to the list, they say they are going to a shoe game in a week or two. They say they are getting too much play from card counters.
My apologies to the Alamo for taking so long to add them. It is a friendly place, from the dealers, floor man, to cocktail waitress. They even bring free popcorn to players at the table. Sorry to see this nice single-deck game go.
I'm one of the 99.54% of players that never heard of this place (even though it's 99.17% if you want to be super-accurate). I'll check it out, but by then it will be a shoe game. I've gotten gas across the street several times. If I had ever stumbled upon this place I would have been transfixed.
Quote: AxelWolfI did know about this Gem. I used to play there often back when Silverton was Boom Town.
The floorman said it was just a nuisance driving all the card counters away. Based on some remarks I got early on, I think he suspected I was one. However, after I flat bet for a while became nice to me.
Quote:VERY FEW guys make it with ONLY counting. The guys that say they do, I bet you will never meet them( At least never see them actually play.)
BJ money is in Hole carding, Steering, edge sorting, Shuffle tracking, well organized team play and other scenarios.
If you really have what it takes to successfully count, you're probably wasting your time on strictly counting.
Based on comments and conversations at the blackjack ball, I agree 100%.
I always wonder about how these little places make payroll, but I suppose a business that has the ability to contact transportation workers on the outskirts will find ways to make it work. Railroad Pass on the outskirts of Henderson and what is now Terrible's in Searchlight also come to mind.
Since the Alamo is located in a truck stop, do they serve alcohol?
Quote: AyecarumbaWhy do they think they will be more successful with a shoe? Even with liberal rules, you were the only player in the joint.
When I started playing there were two truckers already at the table. After a while one left and then the other one stopped playing and just sat there giving me unsolicited advice.
Quote:I always wonder about how these little places make payroll, but I suppose a business that has the ability to contact transportation workers on the outskirts will find ways to make it work. Railroad Pass on the outskirts of Henderson and what is now Terrible's in Searchlight also come to mind.
The place had plenty of customers at the bar and machines, and this was on a Thursday afternoon.
Quote:Since the Alamo is located in a truck stop, do they serve alcohol?
They do.
Quote: AyecarumbaWhy do they think they will be more successful with a shoe?
a shoe also would mean more decks, no?
Quote: WizardWhen I started playing there were two truckers already at the table. After a while one left and then the other one stopped playing and just sat there giving me unsolicited advice...
Hehe, that's a funny visual.
What is the hit on the EV with the same rules but a 6 or 8 deck shoe?
Ugh, gross.Quote: PokeraddictThis game is now 4 decks H17 with double down on 10 and 11 only and not after splitting.
Quote: IbeatyouracesStill better than Caesars party pit!!
Should be the theme for all casinos. "Yes our blackjack sucks, but not compared to Caesers!"
lol... +1 for making me laugh.Quote: djatcShould be the theme for all casinos. "Yes our blackjack sucks, but not compared to Caesers!"
Quote: IbeatyouracesStill better than Caesars party pit!!
Only because it is 4 decks vs 8. Caesars Palace also has some of the 8-deck D1011 NDAS games outside the party pit.
Quote: PokeraddictOnly because it is 4 decks vs 8. Caesars Palace also has some of the 8-deck D1011 NDAS games outside the party pit.
You said Alamo was still 3:2 right? This makes it still better than any 6:5 game.
Quote: tringlomaneYou said Alamo was still 3:2 right? This makes it still better than any 6:5 game.
Yeah, sorry, I don't know what I was thinking there. Edge is like 0.9% at Alamo and 2.3% at Caesars Palace. I don't think there is a worse shoe game in Las Vegas that pays 3-2. The only other shoes I can think of that don't allow DAS are at Boyd downtown but they allow double down on any two cards so that more than offsets six decks vs four.
