Macau 2024 Blackjack
September 15th, 2024 at 2:00:17 AM
permalink
This is a review of blackjack in Macau September 2024 written by a western (UK) player. For a comprehensive guide to all things Macau I recommend you go to the mavenofmacau.com website which is a wonderful resource and is Wizard of Vegas adjacent I believe.
About Me
I’m a veteran blackjack player from the UK who has enjoyed visiting Vegas regularly, although not since before Covid. The main reason being the increasingly poor blackjack on the strip for anything under $100. As Macau is almost as far from the UK as Vegas I thought I would visit for a change. I’m of Chinese mixed race heritage although I do not speak any Cantonese or Mandarin.
Macau Basic Blackjack Rules
Dealer stands on soft 17
Dealer does not check for blackjack
Double any 2 cards
Double after split
No resplitting Aces
Surrender offered except against Ace
Continuous shuffling machines at all casinos
6 decks I think but not confirmed
Insurance is offered
There are some variations between casinos regarding how many times you can resplit cards on the maven website. I did not play enough hands to see this in effect.
Local Customs
Once the hand is over, if you have won your bet, you are expected to remove both your winnings and original bet from the box. They expect you to do this as soon as the dealer has paid you, meaning they will not pay the next player until you have done so. Once all players have been paid and only once the dealer has swept away the cards, you may then replace your next wager. They are less strict if you push with the dealer, although I did see players removed and replace their pushed bets perhaps through muscle memory.
Dealers
The majority of dealers perhaps 80% are women aged 40-60.
Mandarin is spoken primarily although I suspect Cantonese is mostly understood too. It’s particularly difficult to communicate if you only speak English. Any questions I had were conveyed with a lot of hand gestures and the occasional helpful patron.
The pace of the deal can be treacle slow. You would swear that some dealers had been tranquillised. The slowest I experienced was around 20 hands an hour with minimal side bets and a half full table.
Side Bets
Any player pair pays a flat 11-1. No extra for suited pairs.
Greater or less than 13. Players bet on player first 2 card total either <13 or >13. Aces count as 1 only and winning bets pay even money. 13 always loses.
Even Money
This was offered in the usual way for player blackjack vs dealer Ace. What was remarkable was that even money was also offered for player blackjack vs dealer 10 as well. It seemed unbelievable that anyone would accept this but I saw this being taken by around 20-25% of players. I would love to know if there’s a worse bet in the casino than this.
Back Betting
One of the most concerning rules I had before arriving was the practice of other players betting behind you. In days gone by in Macau, if someone else bet behind you but with a larger stake then they would take control of your box. I’m glad to report that this is no longer the case in any of the casinos I visited. The MGM casinos even had words written on their tables in English and Chinese to that effect. This was never an issue for me anyhow and no other players seemed to expect to take control.
Other Players
About half of the players knew a reasonable amount of basic strategy with only a few errors here and there. The other half were completely hopeless and were likely complete beginners. If you are someone who believes your hand is negatively affected by other players playing poorly (it’s not) you may wish to be wary of playing in Macau.
Players were much better in general at utilising the surrender rule compared to players in Vegas. If anything, some players were being over cautious and surrendering hands that they should have kept. It did make me wonder if the difference in surrender play between Chinese and American players was anything to do with the cultural differences between the 2 countries.
Casinos With Blackjack
Casino. Tables Minimum bet (HK$)
Galaxy 10 500-1000
Venetian 34 (20 open) 300-1000
Plaza 2 1000
Parisian 10 300-1000
Studio City 10 300-500
Londoner 4 1000
City of dreams 10 500-1000
MGM Cotai 8 300-1000
Wynn Palace 7 500-1000
Grand Lisboa Palace 6 300-500
Grand Lisboa 7 300-500
Wynn 5 500-1000
MGM 7 300-500
Ponte 16 6 200-300
Sands 4 300-500
Final thoughts
The Venetian was my favourite casino to play in as it had the most number of 300 minimum tables which is what I tended to play. I would also recommend the Grand Lisboa Palace, Parisian and the original MGM too. The older casinos were less appealing being more marketed towards Chinese tourists.
About Me
I’m a veteran blackjack player from the UK who has enjoyed visiting Vegas regularly, although not since before Covid. The main reason being the increasingly poor blackjack on the strip for anything under $100. As Macau is almost as far from the UK as Vegas I thought I would visit for a change. I’m of Chinese mixed race heritage although I do not speak any Cantonese or Mandarin.
Macau Basic Blackjack Rules
Dealer stands on soft 17
Dealer does not check for blackjack
Double any 2 cards
Double after split
No resplitting Aces
Surrender offered except against Ace
Continuous shuffling machines at all casinos
6 decks I think but not confirmed
Insurance is offered
There are some variations between casinos regarding how many times you can resplit cards on the maven website. I did not play enough hands to see this in effect.
Local Customs
Once the hand is over, if you have won your bet, you are expected to remove both your winnings and original bet from the box. They expect you to do this as soon as the dealer has paid you, meaning they will not pay the next player until you have done so. Once all players have been paid and only once the dealer has swept away the cards, you may then replace your next wager. They are less strict if you push with the dealer, although I did see players removed and replace their pushed bets perhaps through muscle memory.
Dealers
The majority of dealers perhaps 80% are women aged 40-60.
Mandarin is spoken primarily although I suspect Cantonese is mostly understood too. It’s particularly difficult to communicate if you only speak English. Any questions I had were conveyed with a lot of hand gestures and the occasional helpful patron.
The pace of the deal can be treacle slow. You would swear that some dealers had been tranquillised. The slowest I experienced was around 20 hands an hour with minimal side bets and a half full table.
Side Bets
Any player pair pays a flat 11-1. No extra for suited pairs.
Greater or less than 13. Players bet on player first 2 card total either <13 or >13. Aces count as 1 only and winning bets pay even money. 13 always loses.
Even Money
This was offered in the usual way for player blackjack vs dealer Ace. What was remarkable was that even money was also offered for player blackjack vs dealer 10 as well. It seemed unbelievable that anyone would accept this but I saw this being taken by around 20-25% of players. I would love to know if there’s a worse bet in the casino than this.
Back Betting
One of the most concerning rules I had before arriving was the practice of other players betting behind you. In days gone by in Macau, if someone else bet behind you but with a larger stake then they would take control of your box. I’m glad to report that this is no longer the case in any of the casinos I visited. The MGM casinos even had words written on their tables in English and Chinese to that effect. This was never an issue for me anyhow and no other players seemed to expect to take control.
Other Players
About half of the players knew a reasonable amount of basic strategy with only a few errors here and there. The other half were completely hopeless and were likely complete beginners. If you are someone who believes your hand is negatively affected by other players playing poorly (it’s not) you may wish to be wary of playing in Macau.
Players were much better in general at utilising the surrender rule compared to players in Vegas. If anything, some players were being over cautious and surrendering hands that they should have kept. It did make me wonder if the difference in surrender play between Chinese and American players was anything to do with the cultural differences between the 2 countries.
Casinos With Blackjack
Casino. Tables Minimum bet (HK$)
Galaxy 10 500-1000
Venetian 34 (20 open) 300-1000
Plaza 2 1000
Parisian 10 300-1000
Studio City 10 300-500
Londoner 4 1000
City of dreams 10 500-1000
MGM Cotai 8 300-1000
Wynn Palace 7 500-1000
Grand Lisboa Palace 6 300-500
Grand Lisboa 7 300-500
Wynn 5 500-1000
MGM 7 300-500
Ponte 16 6 200-300
Sands 4 300-500
Final thoughts
The Venetian was my favourite casino to play in as it had the most number of 300 minimum tables which is what I tended to play. I would also recommend the Grand Lisboa Palace, Parisian and the original MGM too. The older casinos were less appealing being more marketed towards Chinese tourists.
September 15th, 2024 at 2:03:06 AM
permalink
The formatting has thrown my section for the casino tables and minimums off. It should read:
casino name - number of tables - minimum bet in Hong Kong dollars
casino name - number of tables - minimum bet in Hong Kong dollars
September 15th, 2024 at 5:40:53 AM
permalink
What is the house edge in Macau? A few years ago, somebody here mentioned a weird blackjack rule in Macau, that is, split for less. Is it still available there?
September 15th, 2024 at 9:10:15 AM
permalink
From the mavenofmacau.com site house edge ranges from 0.15 to 0.25%.
I believe that most of the big casinos on the Cotai strip were 0.25%. I didn’t play long enough at the older casinos to confirm if the rules variant for the 0.15% (player doesn’t lose both bets if doubling 11 vs dealer blackjack) were in effect so I’m going to assume they are until I hear otherwise.
I believe that most of the big casinos on the Cotai strip were 0.25%. I didn’t play long enough at the older casinos to confirm if the rules variant for the 0.15% (player doesn’t lose both bets if doubling 11 vs dealer blackjack) were in effect so I’m going to assume they are until I hear otherwise.
September 15th, 2024 at 1:18:58 PM
permalink
I played a little in Macau. The general rule there is that player loses all bets when doubling 11 on a dealer’s Ten with a revealed dealer blackjack This will bring up the house edge a lot.
September 15th, 2024 at 1:46:16 PM
permalink
Quote: jonfourtwenty
Even Money
This was offered in the usual way for player blackjack vs dealer Ace. What was remarkable was that even money was also offered for player blackjack vs dealer 10 as well. It seemed unbelievable that anyone would accept this but I saw this being taken by around 20-25% of players. I would love to know if there’s a worse bet in the casino than this.
I have never seen that before. If someone here has the math for that I would appreciate seeing it.
At my age, a "Life In Prison" sentence is not much of a deterrent.
September 15th, 2024 at 3:40:27 PM
permalink
All of the side bets are worse than this even money blackjack bet, but people are still playing.
September 15th, 2024 at 5:57:38 PM
permalink
Quote: DRichQuote: jonfourtwenty
Even Money
This was offered in the usual way for player blackjack vs dealer Ace. What was remarkable was that even money was also offered for player blackjack vs dealer 10 as well. It seemed unbelievable that anyone would accept this but I saw this being taken by around 20-25% of players. I would love to know if there’s a worse bet in the casino than this.
I have never seen that before. If someone here has the math for that I would appreciate seeing it.
link to original post
I have it as accepting even money vs 10 wins you 1 unit vs refusing even money wins you 1.388 in a 6 deck game.
