Tuscany - Single Deck

I just finished up a Vegas trip, and at the tail end of it I discovered that the Tuscany had introduced a single deck blackjack game, with the same rules as the best games in Vegas (H17, blackjack pays 3:2, double anything, no DAS, split to four hands except aces - actually the split to four hands except aces part I am just assuming, the rules were not posted and I didn't have any opportunities to split to more than 2 hands).

The minimum bet on the table was $10, though they said it goes down to $5 during the graveyard shift. I played again right before I left for the airport, and pretty much the only people playing were me vs. dealer on single deck and my two friends on a shoe. I only spread $10-$40, as I am not yet an experienced counter and don't have much of a bankroll. However, this was enough to attract attention and get me flatbetted, with a terrifying $20 profit to show for it.

It's a good game but I guess you have to go when the casino is busier and do more cover plays, especially if you're placing decent sized bets. Great game for a recreational player: lowest house edge on blackjack in Vegas, and at a nicer place than the El Cortez.

That's good to hear. They needed to add a good blackjack game there. Their offerings were rather limited. This is another good reason to visit and play there.

It's also hilarious that they flatbetted you. I bet they will hawk this game and it will be as hard to count as the game at the El Cortez. But good news for BS players.

I like that move too. Anybody know what the max bet is, for purposes of my blackjack survey? Maybe they were responding to Hooters adding a true 3-2 single-deck game.

I assume your abbreviation "H17" means they hit soft 17? If so, this game, while pretty good, isn't worth hopping a plane to play or anything--it's about -0.2% off the top, and, if your account is typical, impossible to vary bets there eenough to have any kind of edge.

I have always wondered why some casino in Vegas doesn't deal a very good single deck BJ game with a very small bet spread--the max being less than 3x the min, for example $10-25. The game wouldn't be beatable to any large extent if they dealt two hands to a full table and shuffled, and they could blare it to the rooftops as "the best blackjack game in Vegas" (which would be, for once in casino advertising, true).

Yes, by H17 I meant dealer hits soft 17.

The max bet was either $500 or $1000, but I am not sure between the two, not an issue I have to face at the moment.

I was surprised to find it there, especially since I didn't know Hooters had introduced a 3:2 single deck game. I had just noticed that at Bill's on the Strip they were even paying 6:5 on six deck shoes, and when I went to Binion's with a couple friends (where I played the single deck game) they said that the shoe paid 6:5. I forgot to check it out before I left, but I believe them.

I do my part by telling everyone I can that 6:5 on blackjack increases the house edge by about 1.4%.

I paid a visit to the Tuscany yesterday and can confirm the single-deck game. Double any first two cards and dealer hits a soft 17. Bet range $10-$500. Penetration 50%-60%.

Quote: Wizard

I paid a visit to the Tuscany yesterday and can confirm the single-deck game. Double any first two cards and dealer hits a soft 17. Bet range $10-$500. Penetration 50%-60%.

Penetration of 50-60% means that they're breaking the deck with 23-26 cards left. This means that it's "two hands and shuffle", even if the table only has 3-4 players. Wouldn't have been worth a passing glance a few years ago, but nowadays, a BJ game that's only -0.20 is big news.

The Horseshoe used to have dozens of this kind of games, with a $5-500 bet range, and they dealt deep. They also didn't care if you counted, as long as your bet spread was 1-4 or less and your maximum bet was $25 or less. Heck, the pit bosses KNEW I was counting, KNEW I was taking off about $100/day, and not only did they not care, they always wrote me a breakfast comp. Those were the days!

Quote: mkl654321

The Horseshoe used to have dozens of this kind of games...

I remember those days well. My first back off was at the Horseshoe around 1995, after blatantly counting for about four hours. The pit boss was trying to stare me down, but I kept right on playing. In retrospect, it was pretty stupid of me, but I had heard (incorrectly) that they never backed off red-chip counters there.

Quote: Wizard

I remember those days well. My first back off was at the Horseshoe around 1995, after blatantly counting for about four hours. The pit boss was trying to stare me down, but I kept right on playing. In retrospect, it was pretty stupid of me, but I had heard (incorrectly) that they never backed off red-chip counters there.

Funny, my red-chip days were 1988-1995, spreading 1-4, and I never got any heat at all--I was, in fact, told outright many a time that as long as my max bet never exceeded $25, that I could count and play to my heart's content. That was back in the Benny Binion days, when the Shoe had more important things to worry about than someone like me winning $15 an hour.

You must have run into a horse's behind who used to work at some other casino--like the Pioneer, where I got backed off spreading $2-$5 (!!!!!). I remember increasing my bet from $2 to $5 and seeing the dealer shuffle, LOL!!!

(I had a wonderful time one afternoon at the Sawdust when the dealers would shuffle whenever you increased your bet--so I bet my max off the top, and then increased my bet whenever the count went NEGATIVE--and thus never played a single hand in a negative count, since the dealer would always shuffle!)

Quote: mkl654321

Funny, my red-chip days were 1988-1995, spreading 1-4, and I never got any heat at all--I was, in fact, told outright many a time that as long as my max bet never exceeded $25, that I could count and play to my heart's content. That was back in the Benny Binion days, when the Shoe had more important things to worry about than someone like me winning $15 an hour.

I was spreading about $5-$50, and not smoothing it over at all. After they 86'd me, I went over to the El Cortez, and they backed me off after about 10 minutes.

Quote: mkl654321

(I had a wonderful time one afternoon at the Sawdust when the dealers would shuffle whenever you increased your bet--so I bet my max off the top, and then increased my bet whenever the count went NEGATIVE--and thus never played a single hand in a negative count, since the dealer would always shuffle!)

There is a term for that, but I can't remember what. That is what they used to do at the single-deck game at the Frontier. In retrospect, I should have done that there.

Quote: Wizard

I was spreading about $5-$50, and not smoothing it over at all. After they 86'd me, I went over to the El Cortez, and they backed me off after about 10 minutes.
There is a term for that, but I can't remember what. That is what they used to do at the single-deck game at the Frontier. In retrospect, I should have done that there.

Ah, a 1-10 spread is something they would NOT tolerate, even then. Still, you got four hours of play in (at the Shoe). The El Corpse was always MUCH more paranoid, as if you won $200, there went the day's profits.

I can't recall the term either--it's pretty much an obsolete tactic, as you'd need a game with an inherent EV of
-0.2% or less to make it worthwhile; no such game exists (EXCEPT AT THE TUSCANY! woo hoo) any more. I could negate the downtown single deck -0.2 (H17) by sitting at third base, and thus being able to use both an observational and inferential (first base stood against a dealer 10; probably has two high cards) count to play my hand optimally, I probably negated that small deficit, thus, my "big" bets off the top were revenue-neutral, at worst. Since I bet $20 off the top and dropped to $5 when the count went negative, I was getting an effective 1-4 spread, with no possibility of heat.

I wonder what the Tuscany's reaction would be if you bet $50 off the top and dropped back to $10 if the count went negative (or, stayed neutral), but kept the $50 out there otherwise. It might be a no-heat situation, and profitable. Perhaps you should try it.

Quote: mkl654321

I wonder what the Tuscany's reaction would be if you bet $50 off the top and dropped back to $10 if the count went negative (or, stayed neutral), but kept the $50 out there otherwise. It might be a no-heat situation, and profitable. Perhaps you should try it.

They would probably allow it, but I don't think it would be very profitable. There are better ways to use my time.