BLACKJACK SHAKEUP
How blackjack would be played if it was my casino
By Al O’Grady
In my last article I wrote about the state of the blackjack game with the continuous shuffler. Despite what you might think of it, it is making inroads into more and more casinos for two reasons: Time is money and the continuous shuffler means there is no downtime while the dealer is either manually shuffling the cards or changing the decks from an automatic shuffling machine. If there is no downtime, then more hands are played. More hands played means more money for the casino. Money talks and everything else, walks. The other reason for the continuous shuffler is that it puts an end to card counters. If cards are constantly put back into the mix after every hand or every other hand, the true count will always be zero and will not present any advantageous situations for counters. I have a simple solution for both, but somehow no one asked me. This led me to think, what if it was my casino? What would blackjack look like that could appease everyone?
Well, I am glad you asked me. Let us start with the continuous shuffler. Plain and simple, get rid of it. No one likes it. Not the players, not the dealers, no one except for senior management for the reasons I already mentioned. Casino management must be careful not to get caught up in its own success. It wants to maximize profit but if it is at the expense of customer satisfaction then it is shooting itself in the foot. It is forgetting about Business 101: Give the customer what they want. If the customer is not seeing value, they will go elsewhere. Management’s greed and arrogance will get the better of them and it will eventually show in its quarterly report.
So how do you address the downtime issue and increase the number of hands played per hour if there is no continuous shuffler? Simple— you have two shoes. The dealer uses shoe number one to play the game. When all the cards are dealt from shoe number one, the dealer continues playing with shoe number two. There is no interruption whatsoever and no downtime. The casino will have one dedicated employee responsible for collecting old cards; having them shuffled and having them reinserted into the shoe for the table. This dedicated employee would serve several tables or the entire pit. Problem solved.
What about card counters? Let’s face it, a casino is a multimillion-dollar industry, and it is not going to let anyone cut in on its action. But instead of wiping out card counters, I say welcome their action and let them try to beat the casino. Do not turn away business. Dangle a carrot and let them try to beat you at your own game. Here is the caveat: Change the game to the point where the situations are so marginal for a counter that, even if they were a successful counter, the profit margin would be incredibly slim.
This could be done three ways. First, since I have solved the problem about going back to shoes and getting rid of the shuffler, you need to combat the counter by giving them a smaller window of opportunity. Normally when the dealer inserts the cards into the shoe, they kill about one third of the deck by inserting a cut card. During the game, when they pull out the cut card, the round is finished, and a new shoe is introduced. Now here is the revision—instead of killing one third of the deck, kill one half. This limits the counter’s opportunity in two ways: It gives less time to create a favorable count, and secondly, if there is a favourable count, there are fewer hands to be played before hitting the cut card.
Secondly, change the ratio of the minimum and maximum betting ranges at the table. Usually there is a 20:1 ratio between the minimum table bet and its maximum. For example, if you are at a $10 table, the minimum is $10, and the maximum is $200. At a $25 table, the minimum bet is $25, and the maximum is $500. Simply change the ratio to 4:1 or 5:1, making the maximum a nice, round number. For example, a $10 table would have a $50 maximum, and a $25 table would have a $100 maximum. Card counters bet the minimum when the count is low or negative and bet significantly higher with positive counts. By narrowing the ratio, you lower the amount a counter could win in a profitable count situation.
Finally, narrow profitable situations even more with a rule modification. Do not allow double downs after a split but allow the player to split as much as they want. Most casinos only allow three splits, allowing the player to play four hands. Let them re-split as much as they want. Also, when splitting aces, forget giving them only one card. Allow the player to play a full hand, but do not allow double downs and allow them to re- split aces if they get another ace after the split. Fairness is a two-way street and there must be give and take on both sides.
These of course are suggestions from a dealer’s perspective. Do you think they will ask me? We both know the answer to that question. Profits will dictate policy. The only way the casinos will change their practice is if the players stop playing. The casino will get the point and reconsider the way it does things.
I do have a warning for industry officials: Do not let greed get the better of you. Yes, you need to maximize profits, but if you squeeze the customer too much, they will go elsewhere. Casinos are not too big to fail. Unfortunately, greed is getting the better of the industry and that is showing up with the latest trend in Vegas casinos and that is paying blackjacks 6:5 instead of 3:2. I will have a lot to say about this in my next article.
Good luck at the tables and do not forget to tip the dealer.
Al O’Grady has been a blackjack dealer for over seven years. He is a freelance writer with an economics degree and is currently pursuing a degree in mathematics.
