Brutalized on the Strip.
December 7th, 2009 at 8:43:28 PM
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Ouch, it hurt!!! I get to Vegas about every two years and USED to enjoy playing blackjack until this trip. I’ve played blackjack in Vegas since the late 1970’s and have witnessed the deterioration of the game and playing conditions to the point of considering giving up the game. Currently I’m using Professor Wizard’s Basic Strategy, an established Hi-Low count and, on the rare occasion that a cocktail waitress comes to the table and then returns with a beverage, Professor Wizard’s Ace-Five count. However, this trip I couldn’t catch a card that paid on any table, in any variation of the game or in any casino.
I had five days in Vegas but stopped playing after three days because of what I would call was just raw bad luck. I lost one half of my bankroll mainly being dealt stiff hands consisting of 15, 16 and 17. I am calculating that I lost about 80% of all my hands. In the three days of play, I only received two Blackjacks and, of course, my few 19’s and 20’s were beat or pushed by incredible dealer draws. Lady Luck was not smiling at me because the other players around me seemed to be dealt my missing Blackjacks and 19’s and 20’s that paid. Bad luck aside; I am disappointed that very few tables, even in MGM properties, have the old liberal (S17) Vegas Strip rules even at $25 tables (I did not play at any HET properties because of their punitive and horrendous rules). Also, this was the first time that I was betting on cards shuffled from an automatic shuffler. I’m not superstitious but it could be easy for me to associate my loss to those machines.
I made it Downtown and played at the El Cortez on their very good one and two deck pitch games (shuffler machines) but the brutalization and trauma continued there, too (stiff hands, zero Blackjacks and only one double-down that paid). Over all I have little confidence that the Blackjack conditions in Vegas will improve because I observed full 6:5 tables in all casinos, busy BJ tables in HET properties with draconian rules and full tables at MGM properties with what used to be called mediocre rules.
Not all was lost; I wanted to take the bus down town but I didn’t have exact change to buy an all-day pass ($7). I walked from Mirage to Wynn to find a bus ticket machine without luck. At Wynn I decided to buy a pack of gum to get exact change but then changed my mind and instead played $20 on a .25 double bonus video poker game with a great pay table. I was holding my own when on the eight round hit four nines for a 250 payout. I cashed out a $75 ticket but still did not have the exact change for the bus. I played an additional $5 until I cashed out with $14. In retrospect I should have joined Wynn’s Players Club and continued to play that machine, at least to earn the points. By the way the VP pay tables at MGM properties stink. I didn’t even look at VP pay tables at HET properties because I knew what I would find.
I had five days in Vegas but stopped playing after three days because of what I would call was just raw bad luck. I lost one half of my bankroll mainly being dealt stiff hands consisting of 15, 16 and 17. I am calculating that I lost about 80% of all my hands. In the three days of play, I only received two Blackjacks and, of course, my few 19’s and 20’s were beat or pushed by incredible dealer draws. Lady Luck was not smiling at me because the other players around me seemed to be dealt my missing Blackjacks and 19’s and 20’s that paid. Bad luck aside; I am disappointed that very few tables, even in MGM properties, have the old liberal (S17) Vegas Strip rules even at $25 tables (I did not play at any HET properties because of their punitive and horrendous rules). Also, this was the first time that I was betting on cards shuffled from an automatic shuffler. I’m not superstitious but it could be easy for me to associate my loss to those machines.
I made it Downtown and played at the El Cortez on their very good one and two deck pitch games (shuffler machines) but the brutalization and trauma continued there, too (stiff hands, zero Blackjacks and only one double-down that paid). Over all I have little confidence that the Blackjack conditions in Vegas will improve because I observed full 6:5 tables in all casinos, busy BJ tables in HET properties with draconian rules and full tables at MGM properties with what used to be called mediocre rules.
Not all was lost; I wanted to take the bus down town but I didn’t have exact change to buy an all-day pass ($7). I walked from Mirage to Wynn to find a bus ticket machine without luck. At Wynn I decided to buy a pack of gum to get exact change but then changed my mind and instead played $20 on a .25 double bonus video poker game with a great pay table. I was holding my own when on the eight round hit four nines for a 250 payout. I cashed out a $75 ticket but still did not have the exact change for the bus. I played an additional $5 until I cashed out with $14. In retrospect I should have joined Wynn’s Players Club and continued to play that machine, at least to earn the points. By the way the VP pay tables at MGM properties stink. I didn’t even look at VP pay tables at HET properties because I knew what I would find.
Let down the curtain; The farce is over.
December 7th, 2009 at 11:08:54 PM
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It happens. You seem to have been aware of various casinos and various blackjack rules. I'd have done the player club card though no matter what. Even if you go inside a casino just to get out of the rain, get a player club card! It may not get you anything but it will never hurt.Quote: robbiehoodI had five days in Vegas but stopped playing after three days because of what I would call was just raw bad luck.
I guess there are times to head to a locals casino and go to a cheap movie or else try your luck at craps instead of blackjack. Heck, sometimes its cheaper to just go to a buffet then go to your room and see whats on TV and simply wait for your luck to change.
You avoided casinos owned by "The Evil Empire". Good. I guess there are just times where whenever you have 20 the dealer has 21.
December 8th, 2009 at 6:18:05 AM
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Sorry that you had the bad luck. Hopefully you didn't lose too much.
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You want the truth! You can't handle the truth!
January 18th, 2010 at 1:43:58 PM
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Statewide gaming revenue from blackjack has dropped from $1.5 billion to just over $1.0 billion from the year ending October 2007 to the year ending November 2009. Although every game is dropping, the percentage drop for blackjack is much larger than anything else. Last year, baccarat surpassed blackjack to be the dominant game on the strip. Baccarat has almost returned to pre-depression levels while blackjack is still dropping. The $1 billion revenue on blackjack is back to 1997 levels.
I put a chart in Wiki-commons
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In August 2009 for the month a remarkable thing happened when looking at the amount played.
$1,027,722,000 play in baccarat (strip only)
$1,026,510,000 play in all other games in the pit combined including sports and race (strip only)
For the first time baccarat play actually exceeded the rest of the pit combined. It was a mystery to the gaming control board, since there was no known influx of Chinese gamblers or even a big event. Of course the casinos don't tell the gaming control board about the comings and goings of their whales. But a billion dollars in play is still a lot of whales.
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In another place in the forum we have been debating whether or not the casinos have done permanent damage to the game (i.e. killed the golden goose). Although these constant tricks have increased the house edge, the amount of play is way way down. There are passionate arguments on both sides.
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Interestingly enough mini-baccarat revenue has dropped even worse than blackjack. So it seems as if the "game of baccarat" is not getting more popular, but the players that can afford to play regular baccarat have come back as strong.
I put a chart in Wiki-commons
===============
In August 2009 for the month a remarkable thing happened when looking at the amount played.
$1,027,722,000 play in baccarat (strip only)
$1,026,510,000 play in all other games in the pit combined including sports and race (strip only)
For the first time baccarat play actually exceeded the rest of the pit combined. It was a mystery to the gaming control board, since there was no known influx of Chinese gamblers or even a big event. Of course the casinos don't tell the gaming control board about the comings and goings of their whales. But a billion dollars in play is still a lot of whales.
===============
In another place in the forum we have been debating whether or not the casinos have done permanent damage to the game (i.e. killed the golden goose). Although these constant tricks have increased the house edge, the amount of play is way way down. There are passionate arguments on both sides.
===============
Interestingly enough mini-baccarat revenue has dropped even worse than blackjack. So it seems as if the "game of baccarat" is not getting more popular, but the players that can afford to play regular baccarat have come back as strong.
