Dear Mark: In blackjack, why are cards dealt face-up, and why are you not allowed to touch the cards when they are? Jenny S.
Casinos tend to get a little sensitive when players get touchy feely with the cards once the dealer starts dealing.
On a single and two-deck game where cards are dealt face down, players are allowed to pick the cards up with one hand, but not two. When four or more decks of cards are used, they are usually dealt face-up from a shoe, making it a hands-free game with no raison de touché for physical contact with the cards.
The rationale behind the cards being dealt face-up is that it speeds up the game. Dealers can instantly announce hand totals without themselves handling the cards. Additionally, it eliminates the potential for cheating by a player marking or switching them.
Dear Mark: If the dealer is showing a 9, 10, or an Ace, and my hand consists of a soft 18 with more than two cards, do you still hit it? Ed S.
With a two-card soft 18, basic strategy dictates that you stand against a two, double versus a three through six, stand if the dealer is showing a seven and eight, and hit against a nine, 10 or ace. The set-up in your question, a soft 18 consisting of more than two cards, wouldn’t change that strategy. You should still hit it.
As tough as it is to do, Ed, you are still slightly better off by hitting a soft 18 with multiple cards than you would be by standing pat.
Dear Mark: Why is it that every time I get a few dollars ahead in blackjack, the pit boss stands over the game and watches my play? Jeff K.
Fair enough, Fred; yes there are some pit bosses that stand guard over a blackjack table like the German Shepherd in front of Col. Klink’s office. They sweat the money as if it were their own spoils. But pit bosses know, or at least ought to know, that the casino will suffer short term losing streaks, and that the players’ winnings more often than not will flow back the casino’s way over time, simply because the longer folks gamble with the house's money, the more exposure they have to the casino’s edge.
When I pit bulled, if the game was on the up-and-up, I wasn’t on pins and needles when a player won decent chunk of money, even on a meager bankroll. It is not all that rare for a player to unleash a hundred dollar bill and run it up to four digits, or even higher. Plus, the house guards against financial ruin during your winning streak by setting table-betting limits. It is the "house limit" that protects the casino bankroll against your lucky assault.
Being that there are plenty of pit bosses who don’t sweat the money, I would suggest that you move to another table, pit or casino where they actually prefer a few winners, because winners, Jeff, tell the 90 plus percent who lose where they won. PR like that just can’t be bought.
Dear Mark: A few weeks back you wrote the following: “Always use your Player's Card when playing video blackjack. The added cash-back when using your Player's Card can turn a session from red to black.” I don’t quite understand how that is possible since the house always has an advantage over your play. But if it were true, would the same apply for standard blackjack? Mike K.
Your objective in using a Player’s Club cards is to be rewarded for your patronage for playing slots, video table games as well as the conventional ones. As for blackjack specifically, you not only earn more in comps or cash-backs than you would from the other table games, you can actually make it a positive expectation game. Here’s how.
Casinos by and large use their customary two percent advantage over blackjack players in calculating how much they are willing to give a blackjack player in cash-backs or comps. B-u-u-t, the basic strategy player can reduce that house edge to well under one percent, which would give you, Mike, more cash rebates for your skilful play.
When you couple your proficient play with incentives like cash back and other comps and goodies, blackjack, mathematically at least, can become a winning proposition that can give you overall return greater than 100% of what you’ve ventured.
Dear Mark: On a single deck game, if the dealer is showing an Ace, and I’m sitting on a pair of 10s, would you advise insurance? Jerry C.
Excluding counting cards, and card counting alone since last week I extolled its virtues when used while counting, making an insurance bet is a bad move, even if you were to be dealt a blackjack.
The reason being, Jerry, you’re holding at least two of the cards that the dealer needs to make blackjack. On a single deck game, insuring a hand composed of 10s gives the house a 14.3% edge, which would make an insurance bet one of the worst wagers in the casino.
Dear Mark: If you have to leave a blackjack table to use the restroom, is it safe to leave your chips there or would you advise taking them with you? Mel G.
They’re safe on the table, Mel. Some players pocket them for security reasons, but in all my years of pitching cards or pit bulling, I don’t remember any instances of a snatch and run or a shortage. There was one player I was dealing to who left to use the restroom, leaving eight grand on the layout, and he never came back. Before you ask, the casino did hold the $8,000 in the cashier’s cage for a week in case Mr. Anonymous ever returned to retrieve his winnings. As you would expect, I lobbied long and hard that it was a tip for the dealers……………………….unsuccessfully.
Dear Mark: I don’t quite get the theory that if you are a card counter, why you would bet more on a positive count. Doesn’t the dealer have the same chances of getting a good hand as you do? Ric K.
True, Ric, the likelihood of both you and the dealer getting high cards increases when the count is positive, but your advantage is greater because the rules of the game are not the same for dealer as they are for you. The last I heard, you get paid 1.5 to one on a blackjack, yet the casino only wins even money. (Side note: Readers of this column never play blackjack where the offering is 6 for 5 for blackjacks.) You also have the increased probability at winning twice your initial wager on both double down’s and splits when the count is high.
Or, how about a stiff hand like the dreaded 16. When the count is positive and you see a 16, you can stand with a pat hand, but the dealer’s got to whack it. Also, you can take insurance, which becomes a profitable play in high counts. It’s these extra monetary gains, Ric, that shift the player's bankroll from red to black, and that’s why when you have a decent positive count, you chunk a little more out there.
Dear Mark: I have been counseled that a "surrender" bet is a bet that favors the house in blackjack. I have played blackjack for a long time, and understand the basic strategy. Seems to me that in selected situations, a surrender move is an advantage. What is your opinion about surrendering? If surrendering is ok, could you please give an example under what circumstances? Dirk D.
You were wrongly counseled, Dirk. Surrender, both early and late, is a rules option allowed in certain casinos where a player may give up half the wager after seeing the dealer’s up-card. Between the two, early surrender is far more advantageous for blackjack players than is late surrender.
With early surrender, the casino allows the player to surrender his hand and relinquish half the bet before the dealer checks the hole card. This reduces the casino's edge by a whopping 0.6%, making it one of the most favorable blackjack playing rules allowed, and a definite loser for the casino when used correctly by a proficient player. Unfortunately, few casinos make it available. The far more frequently offered late surrender allows a player to abandon a hand after the dealer has checked the hole card for a blackjack. If the dealer has a blackjack, lose you must. This rule reduces the casino's advantage by only 0.08%, but nonetheless, it’s still one of the more sophisticated moves in blackjack and an advantage to the player.
So when is the best time to wave the white flag? Surrendering is best utilized when the dealer is showing a 10 or an ace and you have a hard 16. You will lose on average 41% of all the 16s dealt to you. Your worst loss will occur when the dealer shows a ten. For every 100,000 hands dealt, you'll get a 16 against dealer's ten 1824 times and lose 1037 of them. Your best playing strategy here is to surrender the hand and cut your losses.
Anytime you are allowed to give up half your wager for the privilege of not playing out a crappy hand, consider it less an admission of defeat, than really smart gambling.
Dear Mark: I recently played video blackjack on a Game King machine and did well using the standard rules for hit, stay, double down, etc. I'm wondering how this machine differs from the table game aside from the speed of play. I completed 6-7 hands per minute. Are there any advantages or disadvantages? Mike H.
Manufactured by IGT, Game King offers different pay table variations and rules for different casinos, so an iron-clad all-port answer’s impossible, and a literal answer would be difficult, but, here are some generalities that might help.
Single-player video blackjack games are usually dealt from a single electronic deck, which is reshuffled after every hand. The advantage of a video blackjack machine over a live game is the low minimum bankroll requirement needed to play. The video machines also lack the intimidation factor of the live game, and one makes a dandy practice companion for working on perfect basic strategy.
One of the benefits of a Game King machine is that it permits late surrender, meaning that if the dealer does not have blackjack, the player may surrender half the bet after the first two cards are dealt as an alternative to playing out the hand. Single-deck basic strategy, which you should use since the deck reshuffles after every hand, recommends only surrendering on a hard 16 against a dealer's 10 or Ace.
Also, always play an even money amount because machines that do pay 3 to 2 for blackjacks typically do so only when an even sum has been wagered. Don't short-change yourself out of the correct payoff by betting an odd amount. Which leads me the biggest disadvantage you’ll find on a lot of video blackjack machines. Never play on a machine that offers even money for a blackjack.
Dear Mark: My brother likes to play single deck blackjack games, while I enjoy a casino that offers a decent buffet and a cocktail waitress that comes to the keno lounge more than once an hour. So, we cannot always gamble in the same casino. I probably already know what you will say, but what in your opinion of what makes "the best" casino? I am appealing to your love of the buffet. Jack M. aol.com
Granted, Jack, I have my favorite buffet stops across the American casino landscape, but that doesn't necessarily mean a superior feeding-frenzy-forum equals "the best" casino.
It is no secret that casinos have a mathematical edge over players on all their games. This fact alone makes it tough for players to win. The higher the casino's edge, the lower the chances the player will end up a winner. With the casino enjoying this mathematical advantage over the player, they key to "the best" is to know where to play, which games offer the best chance at winning, and learn how to beat them.
You should judge a casino "the best" if its gaming rules maximize a player's chance of winning. Consider this Starving Player's Checklist: single versus double zeros on a roulette table; blackjack dealt from a single deck with liberal rules like doubling on anything, re-splitting and surrender; a crap game with five or ten times odds in lieu of two-times odds; 9/6 video poker machines; a mini-baccarat table with low limits; casinos that advertise 98.5% paybacks on their slot machines, and then tell you which machines those are when you ask.
Besides, Jack, my New Year’s Resolution (authored by my wife) was to avoid the buffet chow lines, but not a decent-paying video poker machine.
Dear Mark: On a trip to Las Vegas, I tracked each and every hand (see enclosed) that I won and lost. As you can see I lost more hands (160 losses, 142 wins) than I won. How can you write in your column that when playing blackjack the house edge is less than 1% when you lose more often than win? Jon G.
Throw your chart away, Jon. Blackjack is a horrible game if your foundation for winning is based on how many hands you actually win. Excluding ties, a player loses approximately 53% of all hands. However, the casino, bless their hearts, permits you to double down and split hands after viewing the dealer up card. This allows the player to get more money in the circle when conditions are favorable. In addition, they give you that sweet 3 to 2 payoff for a blackjack.
That is why, Jon, the casino has only a half percent edge over the disciplined basic strategy player.
Dear Mark: All casinos have slot machines, blackjack tables, etc. Is there a difference between casino A, B and C? Michelle R.
PLENTY, Michelle! My goal as a player-advocate columnist is to develop players who can identify beneficial gaming situations, not only the bets you make in a casino but the casinos themselves. So are all casinos the same? No, no-the correct answer is this: No two casinos are alike. Some are good, and some, well let me describe the differences:
The Good: Though more come to mind, I'll give you two examples: the Club Cal Neva in Reno and Binion's Horseshoe in Las Vegas. Here's what they offer their cherished players-that's you and me, Michelle. Besides some of the cheapest food prices-99¢ breakfasts and $3.99 steak dinners-they offer great gaming plays like 25¢ crap games with up to 10 times odds, single-deck blackjack with liberal rules, single-zero roulette, excellent video poker pay tables, loads of loose nickel and quarter machines and comps just for breathing.
These casinos, the ones that treat you like a treasured commodity and are always trying to increase buyer value, are casinos I hope you, Michelle, will migrate to.
The Bad: Quite possibly, this is the casino you normally play in. Gouging table limits on the weekends; tough getting comps (stale popcorn and lucky dogs don't cut it); poor pay tables on video poker machines; and tight slots. Basically, they put out games for your convenience and count their money. Plus, the practice of my #1 rule of casino management-who's the boss, you the customer-is limited. If your favorite casino has any of the above symptoms, maybe it's time to change.
The Ugly: Casino Windsor. Knowing full well they have the only game in town, Detroiters who cross the river to Canada-and all players for that matter-are being ripped off, big time! For starters, charging $40 for valet parking and instant admission versus parking two blocks away and waiting up to two hours to get in is absurd. Hopefully that has changed.
But I'm just warming up. They opened with $15 table minimums/$200 maximums-which can deplete a modest bankroll in mere minutes; zero nickel, very limited quarter and mostly dollar slots; and very poor pay tables on video poker machines equaling what you would find in airports and grocery stores. Finally the triple whammy: I found food service at the buffet slow, quality only fair, and prices high. Unequivocally, two thumbs down on Casino Windsor.
But even I get the worst of it once in a while, Michelle. After spending the day lounging poolside at the Mirage Hotel/Casino in Las Vegas, my friends and I decided instead of watching a sporting event in their sports book-we were just too tired (lazy) to leave the room-that a some beer and a few snacks in our room would do the trick. We each threw in a few bucks and sent our runner (scissors cuts paper) down to a convenience store called "Impulse" in the Mirage Hotel. Noting here that all the "buyer impulse" merchandise we purchased wasn't priced, the cost of two six-packs, one small package of Jerky, and two eight-ounce boxes of Cheese Nips: $29.43! Thought I would pass along my lesson learned to you.
So, Michelle, the key here is shopping for value, not only on your bet selection, but learning to shop casinos. Warren Nelson, owner of the Club Cal Neva in Reno, has lived by a simple principle most of his career: "Give the players the best bet (lowest odds for the house) that you can while still making a profit, and they will play longer, leave satisfied and come back bringing their friends." I applaud his sound reasoning and, Michelle, that's the kind of casino where you should play.
Dear Mark: Just reading your column, I now do two things religiously. Play on games that have less than a two percent house advantage, and always use basic strategy. The two games I play the most are $1 Jacks-or-better video poker on a 9/6 machine, when I can find it, and $5 blackjack. All things being equal, would you advise playing video poker or blackjack? Ted M.
First, Ted, congratulations on employing basic strategy when doing battle against the casino. A blackjack player who knows basic strategy narrows the house edge to less than half of one percent, while the average player bucks more like a 2 to 2.5 percent house advantage. Yet with video poker, even with keen play, minus the royal, which happens once every 40,000 hands and accounts for approximately two percent of your overall payback, you’re up against a 2.5 percent house edge.
Next we need to figure out the overall cost per hour of play. Video poker is a much faster game than blackjack. You’ll conservatively play 400 hands an hour at video poker versus 60 at a blackjack table, so in an average one-hour session, minus a royal, you’ll lose a whole lot more money at video poker ($50) than at blackjack ($1.50). Then again, you don’t have the opportunity to win $4,000 (a royal) betting $5 a pop at blackjack.
So, Ted, all things being equal, I would personally lean towards blackjack, but not based exclusively on the math, but also on the fun factor. I just happen to enjoy blackjack more than video poker. My recommendation, though, would be to play the game you have the most fun at, and if it is video poker, and you get your fair share of royals, then there is no need to fret the up-front house edge.
Dear Mark: It seems to me that in blackjack the less you know the more right your decisions are. When it comes to splitting pairs, doubling, even hitting certain hands, I take a chance and generally go against common wisdom. Therefore, my thoughts are that it isn't worth the extra trouble to learn the correct strategy. Rory B.
Someone once said: "the first rules of holes is when you are in one, stop digging." Rory, You've got one big shovel.
In blackjack, or any casino game for that matter, the less you know the more you should deride the analysis of anyone who has the knowledge and takes the trouble to study the subject from a mathematical perspective. Depending on how you play blackjack, you can gain the designation of professional player all the way down to a "sucker on a stool." Using guesswork, your playing style doesn't put you in the professional category; more like a "dupe in action."
Dear Mark: Recently on a blackjack game I was ahead by more than $400. The pit boss after a brief introduction comped me a pass to the casino buffet. After eating a so-so meal I came back and proceed to give back all my winnings. In hindsight, isn't the meal offering a way of making me play longer? Buddy C.
Yes, because Nevada Revised Statute176.387 does not allow casinos to use Crazy Glue on casino stools to keep players in bondage until they lose all their winnings.
Seriously, Buddy, free buffets are used by casino management primarily to encourage additional gambling. FREE and FOOD are subtle weapons that give the casinos an added firearm in reclaiming what they believe is still their money. The pit boss is simply treating you to a buffet so you feel obligated to play longer. Long enough so that the buffet will cost you $400.
It is much better to learn to win and walk, not stay and suffer (money loss and abdominal duress).
Dear Mark: Every basic strategy card, blackjack book, and yes, you, recommend splitting eights against a dealer 10. Well, fear gets the better of me, and I depart from correct play and just hit instead of splitting the pair. So what should I do about a hand that always seems to haunt me? Hit, split or play the hunch? Scott N.
You're right, Scott, eights against a 10 is a phantasmal hand that stalks most players like Marley's ghost.
As my readers know, blackjack is a game where the proper hit, stand, splitting and doubling decisions are necessary in order to cut the house edge down to a minimum. These proper decisions are called basic strategy and have been arrived at by computer simulations of millions of hands.
But fallacious logic tells you that splitting this hand creates two losers. Seems every time you split those eights you get, at best, two 10s. Then the dealer always has a nine or 10 in the hole, and bang, the jingling you hear is not Marley's forged chains but all your money falling into the dealer's tray.
So what happens to the average player? He starts deviating from basic strategy because FEAR sets in. The FEAR is actually False Evidence Appearing Real. FEAR camouflages the logic of computer studies. But according to basic strategy, the proper move is to split 8s if the game you're playing doesn't allow surrender. Why? Because you will lose more money in the long run if you hit instead of splitting.
Mathematically, when you just hit the hand, you will lose $51 for every $100 wagered. However, if you split, you will lose $44 for every $100 bet. A seven dollar difference for every hundred dollars wagered. Granted, Scott, it's a character builder to come out of pocket with additional money, but the key behind basic strategy is: Win more money not necessarily more hands.
Dear Mark: I got in a beef with casino management in New Jersey over how rudely I was treated on a blackjack game. Not only did I decided not to play at this casino anymore, but I stopped payment on a $20 check that I had written there. Well, I think it has come back to haunt me because recently when I tried to cash a personal check in Las Vegas, the cashier refused. What's the big deal? It was only $20. Anonymous
The "big deal," at least in the casino industry's eyes, is that you stiffed them. And the penalty for your ingenuous act? Blackballing you from cashing checks in most casinos nationwide. When you tried to cash that check in Las Vegas, the cashier most likely ran you through Central Credit-the TRW of the gaming industry. Bingo, you came up hot. A little disagreement and $20 later, you're an undesirable-according to a computer of course.
Solution-that is if you want to cash checks in a casino again-is to pay off the check, include a graceful apology, then, with knee pads on, appeal to the cage manager to get your indiscretion taken off Central Credit's computers. Still peeved and won't give in? You could always cash checks for $10 or less. Though casinos are required to comply with federal laws on credit approvals, some get around that by issuing credit for $10 or less without a Central Credit check. No, it's not the appropriate way to handle your predicament, but then, I believe in betting only what you can afford to lose and avoid check cashing, and casino credit, altogether.
Dear Mark: Why is it that when so many dealers get halfway through the deck, they shuffle up? It really slows down the game. David V.
Because management has egg-shell nerves when it comes to players using their brains-card counters. This fallacious behavior is unjustified and to casino executives whose belief is that their quarterly reports are in jeopardy by cerebral thinkers I offer a personal challenge: Conduct time and motion studies of your blackjack games. What the stewards of gambling will find out is that blackjack becomes more profitable for the casino when the dealer's shuffle points are deeper. By allowing additional deck penetration, the dealers will pitch more hands per hour and the action will more than make up for an occasional loss by a card sharpie. Besides, they employ pit bulls to run off the counters anyway.
Dear Mark: What are your thoughts about the blackjack game where you see the dealer's hole card in advance? Vince R.
Stick with the old tried and true, Vince. This form of blackjack is not worth playing. Because you lose pushes and only receive even money on blackjacks, the house edge is 2% higher than normal blackjack.
Dear Mark: Nothing irks me more than when two pit bosses in the same casino interpret the rules differently. I had a pit boss allow me to replay my hand (I didn't signal a hit and the dealer hit me anyway for a bust). Another pit boss instructed the dealer to take my wife's money on an identical error one hour later. Don't they play from the same rule book? David M.
Floormen, a.k.a. dealing referees, at times render contrary decisions. Calling a particular play differently ultimately confuses casino clientele. You, and yes, even the dealer, have a very legitimate gripe against management on inconsistent calls.
Casinos where customer service prevails always side with the player unless the mistake is illegal or egregious. Why lose a customer for life over a $10 error? They realize the math is always on the side of the casino.
Funny how it works, David. When the house lets you keep your mistake, they always seem to get it back on the next hand.
Dear Mark: In blackjack, why is it that when the deck is rich in aces and face cards it favors the player? Gary C.
There are two reasons. First, blackjacks will appear more often when there is a higher proportion of aces in the deck, and as you know blackjacks pay the player 3 to 2. Second, the dealer will bust more when he has a "stiff" (12 through 16). The player, given the same opportunity, would stand on stiffs, whereas the dealer is forced by the rules of the game to hit away and hopefully bust.
Dear Mark: Is there ever a time when you would double down for less in blackjack? Sal G.
Never is the correct answer. Because you only double down when you are more likely to win the hand than lose, you always want to wager the maximum amount. It is the double downs and blackjacks that take your blackjack play from the red to the black. Don't shortchange yourself in these situations.
Dear Mark: Is blackjack still the number one game in Las Vegas? It seems I'm seeing fewer and fewer 21 tables and more and more slots. Grant G.
If I could be "Gambling Czar" for just one day, collecting casino profits on just one game, it would not be the casino win at blackjack but of the 25¢ slot machine. Yes, the quarter machine takes in more in net profit for the casino ($2.6 billion in Nevada) than blackjack, baccarat, craps, roulette, keno and the sports books combined.
Yes, Grant, you are astute in you observations. Vegas is becoming an adult pinball palace.
Dear Mark: When you have a 16 in blackjack, would you advise surrendering against a face card? Also could you please explain the difference between early and late surrender? Sara G.
Surrender is an option in which the casinos allow players to "surrender" half their original bet total after they have examined their first two cards and have viewed the dealer up card.
If the casino's blackjack rules permit surrender, jump on their offer. Let's face it, Sara, a 16 is a garbage hand faced off against a 10. The best move when dealt dealer debris is to relinquish half your bet. Never, Sara, think of surrender as giving up half your wager, just getting back half your probable loss.
Early surrender permits a player to relinquish half her wager even if the dealer has a blackjack. With late surrender, if the dealer possesses a blackjack, the player loses her complete bet.
Dear Mark: What are your thoughts regarding those shuffling machines found on blackjack games? Carrie C.
No aficionado of shuffling machines here, in spite of these shuffle mechanisms finding wide acceptance by casino operators and players alike. With a Shufflemaster, a leading industry shuffle machine, dealers do not have to waste time manually shuffling cards. From the casino perspective, time is money. The more hands per hour the better. From a player's perspective speed kills in a casino environment. The more time you are exposed to the house advantage, the more it will wreak havoc on your bankroll.
I recommend finding a table with the fewest decks possible. This forces the dealer to constantly shuffle and not expose you to any casino edge while shuffling.
Dear Mark: How much edge does the casino have in blackjack? Bert B.
It strictly depends on the skill level of each individual player. Against the average Joe the casino has about a two percent edge. A hunch or superstitious player can easily give back eight percent.
Depending on the rules of a particular casino, a Deal Me In reader who uses perfect basic strategy has only a half of a percent disadvantage. They also get rated and work the casino over for comps. Because many casinos give back between 20 to 40 percent of the expected win-not the actual win-in player gratuities, the Deal Me In player actually shows a positive expectation when playing blackjack.
Dear Mark: I was listening to a radio talk show about casino gambling when a caller claimed he does well in blackjack by looking for warps. Well, the guest on the show didn't give a response because the host went to a commercial and they didn't come back to the subject. So, Mark, what is a warp? Rhonda A.
In the casino industry, we call it a "dealer tell," meaning, a dealer who gives away information that the casino believes players shouldn't possess. In this case, when a dealer checks the hole card under tens or aces, some inexperienced dealers will unknowingly bend those cards upwards. This will cause the tens and aces to have a different shape than the rest of the cards in the deck. With this information, the sharp-eyed player believes he knows the dealer's hole card by its disfigured state-which is known as "playing the warps."
But believe me, Rhonda, pit bosses who aren't asleep standing up are always on the lookout for dealers who hack their cards to death, and they'll correct this transgression. How effective is this type of play? Well, if you knew the hole card, it could be very lucrative, but it still comes down to casino management's ability to monitor their pit.
Dear Mark: Besides card counters, have any other players ever been barred from playing blackjack based on certain strategies? Melvin D.
I really can't answer for every casino on why, or if, they would heave-ho a player based on playing strategies, Melvin, but how about being banned for having too much capital? It happened when Australian billionaire Kerry Packer beat the MGM in Las Vegas out of $26 million, most of it while playing blackjack. The casino finally barred him, not because he was a card counter but because he was more capitalized than the casino.
When you put together a lucky streak and a player with more financial resources than the house, you've got a possibility of casino closure-permanently.
Dear Mark: What is the worst move a player can make with a hand while playing blackjack? Susan L.
Getting ridiculous here, Susan, it's actions like doubling down on a natural blackjack. Actually I've seen this done once with a $200 wager where alcohol got the best of this party animal. Now for the average player in the casino, it's standing on a pair of eights versus a dealer upcard of 7 instead of splitting them. A player making this basic strategy error will lose 70% of the time.
Susan, you are the type of player who always plays perfect basic strategy, right?
Dear Mark: I hate gambling with my cousin. Not only is he irritating to other players on the table, he is very abusive to the dealer. You have no idea how many times the dealer has to tell him, could you please do this, don't do that. How about some written table manners I can pass his way? Janie T.
A front-line employee of a casino, Janie, must obey two rules when it comes to customers-even your cousin. One, the player is always right, and two, if the player is wrong, see rule number one. Not easy when a decent percentage of players are running on high octane drinks and losing money. And though Bozo players (what we would call your cousin) get their fair share of negative commentary in the employee breakroom, a dealer who lashes out at any customer would be severely reprimanded-fired!
But me, I've been paroled from my 18-year casino sentence, so I can dole out some table etiquette without repercussion. Here goes.
Know the proper hit/stand signals for the blackjack game you're playing. In baseball, it's two hands for beginners; on a live blackjack game, the opposite. Some casinos are real touchy-feely (throw you out) about you doing anything funny to the cards.
Once you've placed your wager, don't touch your bet until you get paid. If the cards are running against you, don't keep asking for a new deck. If you don't like your cards, move to another table. Expect with abusive language an early departure from the casino. Don't ask the dealer what her hole card is. Dealers won't risk their job over your wager. There's nothing wrong with asking for advice, but not after the dealer looks under her face/ace.
If you lose several hands in a row, don't accuse the dealer of cheating. Most (99.999%) don't. It's most likely a bad run of cards plus let's not discount poor play. Also, abusing "the messenger" for crummy cards lacks any form of civility.
If you're using a basic strategy card (recommended), don't refer to it each and every hand. You should have a basic understanding on how to play most of your hands well before you sit down on a game.
Using these lines? "Are you going to be nice to me?" Question is, are you going to be nice to them. "Where are you from?" It's most likely on their nametag. "Do you live here?" Yes, we're not Martians commuting from Mars. Try some other light conversation. Note: About every recipe I know, from avocado dip to chicken wings, came from some customer.
Don't walk up to a dealer and tell him he looks bored, make him shuffle a 6-deck shoe just to play one $5 bet, lose, then walk.
When betting for the dealer (worth at least three separate columns), keep the ratio a reasonable one. I once had a professional baseball player betting three hands at $500 a whack, with just a 50¢ bet for me, the dealer, every third shuffle. One month earlier he signed a multi-million-dollar, 5-year contract. His initials are. I better not.
Once the hand has been completed, don't turn your cards over to help the dealer. Dealers have a routine and you're just slowing them down. Besides, dealers need to spread the cards a certain way so the cameras can read them.
Finally, dealers really don't care if the sign outside their casino says "certified friendly dealers." They just want to be treated like you would want to be treated.