Free Bet Blackjack

i chatted up a number of players & dealers about this. players like the game but the dealers seem to unanimously hate dealing it...no idea what the hold might have been, but i suspect the main killer of this game was dealers who have a very rough time departing from their routines. seemed very slow for a sunday in june...

another player mentioned they'd possibly offer it during "slow times"...i can't verify if there's any truth to that rumor. seems nonsensical to me...

That is really good information Kitties, there is nothing like being able to get the "real story" from dealers and players......and that is tough to do if you have SHFL/Bally shirt on or if they know who Switch is if he showed up in person.....I am certain Switch is appreciative of the report/information.

I double-checked on Sunday, and the tables and the signposts were all gone. The floor I asked about it didn't say why it was dropped, but the two dealers I spoke to about it both said that they had paid out a lot on large free splits and doubles. I liked the game, but the $15 and $25 minimums, which it was a lot of the time, kept me away. My impression was that the dealers weren't that unhappy with it - just another game of all the various ones that they had to know how to deal.

Too bad. It was an interesting variation that wasn't horribly worse than the regular game, and was a lot of fun. And, I have a complimentary token from Switch.

Free Bet at Mohegan Sun got off to a bad start. I can certainly understand why dealers aren’t in favor of any new game: as far as I know they have to suck up learning something new without compensation for that effort other than “you get to keep your job.” The rollout training was screwed up when the initial felt had errors and had to be reprinted, thus putting far too much time between showing dealers how to run the game and having them actually start dealing the game. The game was never advertised that I know of. Players had to hear about it word-of-mouth or stumble across it. Cards explaining the game were in short supply, usually not available at all. I talked to a dealer who was given a printed copy of the game rules and twenty minutes to study them before he would start dealing.

A rough start, but Free Bet was launched. After all the hurdles were cleared, after all the hard work, IT WAS DONE! Now, after a few months of “crunching the numbers,” it seems management has decided the game is not what they hoped for. Huh? If the problem is profitability, the game can be tweaked to boost that. Probably, as Paradigm and switch have suggested, without having any noticeable effect on the game’s popularity. Players were too lucky? You’ve got to be kidding! If a casino can’t trust the mathematics behind what they are doing they really need to close the place. Seriously. Finally, the biggest mystery: why did they shut down a game that was well received by the players? Isn’t the whole point of offering a new game to GET PLAYERS TO SIT DOWN AND PLAY, WHICH WAS HAPPENING BIG TIME. Instead they are closing down other games because they don’t attract enough players. What is wrong with this picture? PLUS, they had an offering to differentiate themselves from a nearby competitor *cough*.

Has Mohegan Sun lost their ability to effectively manage a casino? If you can’t get the gaming right, you might as well convert the place into a shopping mall. Oh wait, I think they may be doing that…

Quote: kitties666

i chatted up a number of players & dealers about this. players like the game but the dealers seem to unanimously hate dealing it.

Speaking from my experience, The single table we have ( due to being a small casino)generally does quite well, with some players specifically asking to play it.

As for dealing it, I find it fairly simple compared to some things, and most dealers in our place have no problem with it. I guess it depends on the place.

But I do agree that nothing kills a game faster than dealer dislike or even apathy.

my only experience playing free bet @ mohegan was marred by very bitter dealers. they clearly HATED it. this one young fatty who was very proficient at dealing the game really ruined it with the negative commentary. makes me not feel as bad that many of their jobs are under constant threat in our crappy economy.

Quote: kitties666

my only experience playing free bet @ mohegan was marred by very bitter dealers. they clearly HATED it. this one young fatty who was very proficient at dealing the game really ruined it with the negative commentary. makes me not feel as bad that many of their jobs are under constant threat in our crappy economy.

That sucks, both for you as a customer, and for the games creator from an installs point of view. I dont know how much difference it would make but maybe write to the management explaining what happened and telling them about your poor experience, and all WoVers should ask for Free Bet BJ whenever they go to Mohegan.

I usually jump on the Freebet table first thing in the morning if I stay the night at Pala (SoCal). (Last time I did that, 2 more people swooped in who were also waiting, and one more sat down, not knowing it was Freebet, but because it was the only table that had more than one person.)

One of the dealers constantly complains about people doing 'crazy' things like doubling 8v10, or splitting 66v9, which gets kind of annoying though.

Quote: Venthus

I usually jump on the Freebet table first thing in the morning if I stay the night at Pala (SoCal). (Last time I did that, 2 more people swooped in who were also waiting, and one more sat down, not knowing it was Freebet, but because it was the only table that had more than one person.)

One of the dealers constantly complains about people doing 'crazy' things like doubling 8v10, or splitting 66v9, which gets kind of annoying though.

Could you please elaborate why you usually jump on Freebet? I am sure besides Geoff Hall, many game designers wish to know what makes a BJ player tick with such enthusiasm? Is it the fun, the house edge, the winning, or the feeling the bet is free and you can beat the house?

Quote: UCivan

Could you please elaborate why you usually jump on Freebet? I am sure besides Geoff Hall, many game designers wish to know what makes a BJ player tick with such enthusiasm? Is it the fun, the house edge, the winning, or the feeling the bet is free and you can beat the house?

I have yet to actually play this game in a casino, but for me, it's the idea that (with correct play) you get similar odds to Blackjack with less variance.