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- Path: sparky!uunet!math.fu-berlin.de!swindle!server
- From: nobody@sgiblab.sgi.com (Tommy Thompson)
- Newsgroups: rec.gambling
- Subject: Current BJ Condits in Reno / Royal Match
- Message-ID: <1992Dec23.7t2hVkZ1C@nohost.nodomain>
- Date: 23 Dec 92 21:46:14 GMT
- Lines: 111
-
- I promised a Reno trip report. Here it is.
-
- Thanks to Chuck Weinstock for alerting me (via
- this newsgroup) to the free rooms at the Hilton
- properties.
-
- Reno-Hilton-Resort-formerly-Bally's
- ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
- summary: H17 DOA DAS, 1D: 7-8x1,5x2,3x4
-
- Has several single deck tables with excellent rules
- (for Northern Nevada). Except for the late afternoon
- and early evening, it was very easy to find a head-up
- game with seven or eight rounds per deck.
-
- I encountered moderate heat on the swing and graveyard
- shifts. There were several snide comments from dealers
- who apparently wished to tell me that they suspected me
- as a counter. (e.g. "Do you come up to Reno to WORK at
- playing 21?") I found this easy to ignore. After all,
- they can't really tell whether your any good unless
- they watch you for more than about 100 hours.
-
- Circus-Circus
- ^^^^^^^^^^^^^
- summary: standard N. Nev. rules, almost entirely 1D: 7x1,4x2
-
- It appears that slot machines are replacing the 21 pit
- nearest to Virginia Street. That area was closed and the
- rest of the casino was more crowded than I expected for
- mid-week in the dead of winter.
-
- Lynda (day shift) deals 7x1, but tightens to 5 or 6 rounds
- if the bets are more than a few units. (1 unit = $5.) This
- is a common disease.
-
- Harold's Club and Fitzgerald's
- ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
- summary: standard N. Nev. rules, all 1D: 7x1,8x1,4x2,5x2
-
- As usual, these places offered deeply dealt games,
- especially to those who are willing to pay the price.
- The dealers keep their own tips and make a point of
- telling you so.
-
- Horseshoe Club
- ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
- summary: one 1D game, standard NN rules ; one shoe with DOA
-
- I didn't spend much time here. The more favorable rules are
- offered only in the shoe game.
-
- Reno Flamingo Hilton (downtown)
- ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
- summary: 2D S17 DOA DAS, penetration 50-80%
-
- The Flamingo has once again "changed its rules for
- the bettor". Many double-deck tables offered penetration
- of 70-80%, dealt head-up. A notable exception is David
- (day shift, 30ish, short, slender, Asian) who dealt
- only 50% -- at least on positive counts.
-
- Another dealer to watch for is Janice (days, 40ish, platinum
- blonde, glasses). She checks the top card of the pack before
- deciding whether or not to break the deck. She does it openly
- and thinks nothing of it. Some people have no shame.
-
- Clarion
- ^^^^^^^
- summary: H17 DOA, both 1D and 2D offered, penetration variable
-
- At 10 p.m. on a monday only one single-deck game was offered.
- Earlier in the evening and in the afternoon there were at
- least two. Some dealers gave 3-4x4 and 4-5x2. Others gave
- less.
-
- Watch for Kim (days, 25ish, slender, cute). She has a nasty
- habit of frequently turning over the deck to check something
- on the outside of her wrist. Unfortunately, the face of her
- watch is on the INSIDE of her wrist. I don't know why, but
- this makes me nervous. Call me paranoid. I checked my notes
- for a trip in April and discovered that I had noticed the
- same behavior then. She may have earned a place in my personal
- blackbook.
-
- Comstock
- ^^^^^^^^
- summary: Standard NN rules, plus a losing side bet
-
- This club, as well as Fitzgerald's (and Harold's?) are
- now offering yet another side bet on a few tables. A "Royal
- Match" wager on the side pays 3 to 1 if your first two
- cards are suited and pays 10 to 1 if they are K-Q suited.
- The Royal Match bet can be any amount up to a posted limit
- ($25 when I was there), and can be larger than your 21 bet.
-
- By my calculation, the full-deck vig for this game is -3.77%,
- and appears hard to beat by any sort of tracking scheme.
- The earliest that a profitable situation arises in a single
- deck game is after six cards have been faced, and then only
- if they are all of the same suit and none a K or Q.
-
- I doubt anybody will discover a way to beat this game. However,
- if you do, keep in mind what Jim (a swing shift dealer at the
- Fitz) told me. He said that the Comstock was well aware that
- their over/under game was being tracked. Supposedly, they used
- the game to attract and photograph suspected counters.
-
- That's all for now.
-
- Replies by e-mail go to /dev/null.
-