Blackjack Machine

What are your other favorites at the casino?
MikeA
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Blackjack Machine

Post by MikeA »

I've mentioned Blackjack several times on the forum.  No surprise.  I became proficient with Blackjack before I really got into Video Poker.  It was a natural progression to go from Blackjack at the tables to trying my hand at the Blackjack Video Poker machines. I'm talking about those that are single player machines otherwise identical to a Video Poker machine.I am not at all fond of these machines!  Usually, blackjack pays only 1:1 on these machines and the split and double down options are not favorable to the player.  These machines bear only superficial resemblance to the table game Blackjack.Well, over the past couple of weeks, I've found another type Blackjack Machine that I find much more comparable to the table game!This "machine" consists of a curved desktop (player console) that seats up to 5 people.  It is arched like a normal blackjack table except instead of a human dealer on the other side, there is a largescreen monitor.  There is no visible animation of a dealer but there is audio (female voice on the machine I played) that calls out the hand counts as you take hits.The controls are pretty simple.  You have a bet button that increments your bet by $1 with the minimum being $1 and the maximum being $100.  There is a split button, a double down button, a stand button, a hit button, an insurance/jackpot button, and a deal button.  Hmmm, there is also a "collect" button if you wish to cash out.The deck is made up of 4 decks of cards which are shuffled after each round of play, just like a Constant Shuffle Machine so card-counters, go elsewhere to play <LOL>.Blackjacks pay 3:2.  Insurance is 2:1.  Dealer STANDS on soft 17 so you do get that .20% player advantage on that rule!You can split any pair ONLY ONE TIME but you can double down after splitting except with Aces.  With Aces, you only get one card.You can double anything except a Natural Blackjack.This is a progressive machine though the Progressive is virtually impossible to hit.  You have to have 4 aces all in the same suit (4-deck game remember).  To qualify for the progressive jackpot, you pay an additional $.50.  There are lesser bonuses with that Jackpot and a schedule is provided.  However, you will get $1 for your $.50 bet if your first card is an Ace.  If you have two Aces the same color, it pays 15 to 1.  It is 10,000 to one for 4 aces that are the same color.  And so forth.  It seems pretty obvious to me that with the constant reshuffling, this "side bet" is a sucker bet.I bought in on this game over Labor Day Weekend for $20 intending to play $1 a hand just to see how close it came to table play.  I played for 4.5 hours on that $20 and cashed out with $40.  It played pretty closely to what I'd expect out of a table with a human dealer.  I'm not a good judge of this game though because I've always steered away from Constant Shuffle Machines.  I just am not used to playing Blackjack on a table where the deck does NOT change in makeup as you progress through the shoe!  I suspect that this game truely is an emulation of a live table.Certainly, you do get the entertainment value from playing alongside real people!  And, when the Option in Oklahoma is to play on a real table with a $.50 per hand ante that you are going to lose on EVERY hand you play, well, I'll definitely take the machine over the hand shuffled 6-deck human dealer tables!

EDC1977
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Post by EDC1977 »

Mike, same setup here in Calif. except video of a real dealer on the opposing screen with accompanying voice commands. All other hits and limits you mentioned also apply. We don't however, have that half-a-buck bet on quad A's. I played several hours on basic strategy on a $20 and cashed out slightly ahead so I liken it to real Pai-gow.

MikeA
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Joined: Tue Oct 24, 2006 3:50 pm

Post by MikeA »


Mike, same setup here in Calif. except video of a real dealer on the opposing screen with accompanying voice commands. All other hits and limits you mentioned also apply. We don't however, have that half-a-buck bet on quad A's. I played several hours on basic strategy on a $20 and cashed out slightly ahead so I liken it to real Pai-gow.I don't think I'd like a video image dealing virtual cards to me.  There were times that just hearing "BUSTED", no matter how sexy, almost put me over the brink in temptation to put my fist through the screen!

faygo
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Post by faygo »

Ah MikeA was that pun intended? 

MikeA
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Joined: Tue Oct 24, 2006 3:50 pm

Post by MikeA »


Ah MikeA was that pun intended?    No, that one was not intentional  But that's exactly what that *%^$# dealer said!

bigsteve5273@yahoo.c
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Post by bigsteve5273@yahoo.c »


I saw a machine like the one EDC spotted. It was at Hobbs, N.M.  The video dealers were quite fetching if in a strange automated tape loop way.  After learning basic strategy and practicing,  Mike , do you think a machine of this type would be ok for a newbie's first time experience?   

MikeA
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Joined: Tue Oct 24, 2006 3:50 pm

Post by MikeA »


I saw a machine like the one EDC spotted. It was at Hobbs, N.M.  The video dealers were quite fetching if in a strange automated tape loop way.  After learning basic strategy and practicing,  Mike , do you think a machine of this type would be ok for a newbie's first time experience?   


I don't see why not BigSteve. It is blackjack. The same as the tables, with the same environment except you DON'T have a dealer who knows nothing but Voodoo Strategy telling you how you should play.

Remember though that it is like playing against a CSM (Constant Shuffle Machine) so you will not even begin to get a feel for the makeup of the "remainder" of the deck.

The only really different rule that you'll normally not encounter at a multi-deck table is that you are only allowed to split one time no matter what the pair. Normally, that rule only applies to Aces.

It might play like this:
You are dealt 33.
Dealer has a 6 showing.
You split the 3's
First three you are hit with an 8 so you double down.
Second 3, you are dealt another 3. You cannot resplit that hand <sigh>

The only other quirk to the game is that "Jackpot Progressive". I'd stay away from that. Pretty much, to win you not only have to get an Ace, but it also has to be the first card dealt to you.

Other than that, you have it just as it would be if you were playing at a table except that where the table minimums on a game like this in most casinos is $5 or $10, the table minimum on this machine was $1. A beginner can make a LOT of mistakes on this machine without going broke!

I would recommend it to a beginner without reservation.

bigsteve5273@yahoo.c
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Post by bigsteve5273@yahoo.c »


Thanks, Mike.  I will keep this in mind for future reference.  Do you have a beginner's strategy you'd recommend? 

MikeA
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Joined: Tue Oct 24, 2006 3:50 pm

Post by MikeA »


Thanks, Mike.  I will keep this in mind for future reference.  Do you have a beginner's strategy you'd recommend? 



Bet Low. Win High!

Seriously, I'd pick my $-amount for a wager and stick to it. There is no advantage to changing you amount bet. You'll lose the same number of hands on the average regardless of how much you bet and there is no way to predict the condition of the remaining cards in the deck.

So, I'd just "flat bet" all the time and not try chasing my loses.

jslosky
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Post by jslosky »

[QUOTE=bigsteve5273@yahoo.c]
Thanks, Mike.  I will keep this in mind for future reference.  Do you have a beginner's strategy you'd recommend? 



Bet Low. Win High!

Seriously, I'd pick my $-amount for a wager and stick to it. There is no advantage to changing you amount bet. You'll lose the same number of hands on the average regardless of how much you bet and there is no way to predict the condition of the remaining cards in the deck.

So, I'd just "flat bet" all the time and not try chasing my loses.[/QUOTE]

nice tip

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