Looking for Winning Situations in Blackjack

Size up the playing conditions of a casino or club before you sit down to play.

Note the number of decks, the type of shuffle, the number of rounds (the penetration of the deck or shoe), as well as the house rules. Then ask yourself these two questions: (1) Does this house cater to "premiums" or "grinders?" and, (2) Is anyone winning?

It is disconcerting to walk into any house and detect little or no winning. After all, blackjack is a relatively close game. Little or no winning may indicate an unfavorable house shuffle. If so, do not play here, there are plenty of other casinos.

In small "grind" operations usually the best approach is to blend in with the other players as much as possible. Depict a local resident instead of an out-of-towner. Dress like the locals, even if this means dressing down, and place small bets. As a "local," you represent repeat business and this may encourage favorable treatment.

Overall, we don't recommend the smaller roadside stops. It is generally a good idea, when playing in the smaller houses, not to call attention to yourself if you are doing well. One way to divert attention away from yourself is to emphasize that the dealer is losing, not that you're winning. Another way is to credit the decisions of other players by saying things like, "Gee, the dealer broke again." "Thanks, dealer, I sure needed help that time." "Good thing you drew that five, otherwise we would've lost."

Even in houses that use an unfavorable shuffle, pay attention to winning tables. There may be "friends of the house" in the game. If so, they are likely getting a favorable shuffle. At a Las Vegas casino, we found a lucrative two-deck game in which there was 100 percent winning among four players. After playing several hands, we learned that two of the players, both female, were friends of the floorman and that the dealer was not strip-shuffling, which was the regular house shuffle. (Strip shuffling is a very unfavorable shuffle for the player.)

In another situation, we found a game in which a regular customer was being given preferential treatment after he had lost $5,000 the two previous days. He sat down and played a few hands. As soon as he left the table with a $700 win, the dealer began strip-shuffling. We left shortly afterward.

In yet another situation, a "friend of the house" was told by a floor person to be "patient," although he was down by $3,000. The floor person intercepted a particular dealer and directed him to the table. The dealer has been with the club eight years and is known for his smooth, perfect shuffle. "If you can't beat this dealer, you can't beat blackjack," the floor person told the player, who recovered $2,000 of his loss within thirty minutes.