Normally I'm not one who enjoys tooting my own horn. However, in this blog entry it just can't be helped, so I'm going to throw all modesty aside and blast that trumpet. I'm proud to announce that I am the winner of the World's Greatest Blackjack Player tournament at the 2011 Blackjack Ball.
For those of you who have never heard of the Blackjack Ball, it is an annual gathering of the world's best blackjack players and those who have contributed to the study of the game. For years it has been hosted by gambling writer Max Rubin at a secret location in Las Vegas. The tab is paid for by the Barona casino in San Diego, which I think is very sporting of them. It is a prestigious thing just to get invited. For more information, I highly recommend the article The Blackjack Ball by Michael Konik, which appeared in the Sep/Oct 1999 issue of Cigar Aficionado magazine.
DarkStar talks about something that happened at a blackjack table recently. There are several lessons for advantage players in this story. Top among them is. This blackjack calculator will help teach you the correct play to make for every scenario possible. Our advanced algorithm allows you to customize different table rules so you can make the best informed.
The evening starts with a cocktail reception, dinner, and then voting on an inductee into the Blackjack Hall of Fame. Handy stitch manual pdf. The winner is a little-known, but one of the best blackjack players ever, Zeljko Ranogajec. Next came the tournament for the Grosjean Cup for the 2011 World's Greatest Blackjack Player. It starts with a Calcutta, in which everybody can bet on who will win. No, I didn't bet on myself, unfortunately.
As always, the first step is to narrow down a room of about 100 outstanding blackjack players to just six. This is done with a 21-question test on knowledge of blackjack and casinos. Some questions were serious, some trivial. A good question, that I'm embarrassed to say I missed was, 'Which Clark County casino has the most 3-2 single-deck blackjack games?' I'll post the answer at the bottom. Another one, which I did get correct, was in what city is the Chumash casino? Having lived in Santa Barbara for five years made this one easy — Santa Ynez, which is a small town inland from Santa Barbara, close to Michael Jackson's Neverland Ranch.
My score on the test was 11. I didn't think that was a score good enough to qualify, but I tied with six other people with 11 as the highest score. One had to be eliminated. This was done by taking turns naming any Harrah's (I still have trouble calling them Caesars Entertainment) property in the country. As soon as somebody gave a wrong answer, or a repeat, he or she was eliminated. We went through all the Vegas properties first. After a about two or three more rounds somebody else got one wrong, and I advanced to the table.
However, the table had five spots only, and six people advanced. A game of darts was used to eliminate one person. Just that morning I had been shooting a BB gun with my son, so I was primed and ready! I'm proud to say that not only didn't I lose, but I won, giving me the first-base position at the table, and some positional advantage, although I'm not sure if it helped.
Next came various games of blackjack skill. Some serious and some fun. These included: chip shuffling, cut-card placement estimation, a Blackjack Switch type game, and a charades-type game of signaling a chosen teammate something a card counter might need to convey with hand signals. My instruction was 'This game stinks, let's leave.' At various points in the game players were eliminated either for having the fewest chips, or by Survivor style choice of the chip leader. I did well at the chip shuffling and cut-card estimation. Who would have ever thought shuffling chips would serve me any purpose?
To try to make a long story short (I know, too late), it came down to three of us: Anthony Curtis, a guy I didn't know, and myself. Anthony mentioned his place at his own lasvegasadvisor.com, so I don't think he will mind that I mention this. I was chip leader and got to eliminate somebody. I knew the final competition would be who could count down a deck of cards fastest. I'm by no means the fastest counter, so my expectations were not high. However, the choice was whom to bring with me. I know that Anthony Curtis used to be a very active card counter, so I would probably be in trouble going against him. As I said, the other guy I just didn't know. Anthony is the publisher of my book and a good pal for years. I chose him as my opponent because friendship means a lot to me, and if I didn't win, I would have liked to see Anthony win the cup.
So our great host Max Rubin gave each of us a single deck of cards. He drew four cards face down off the top of each. Then he said the first person to count his deck, slap the table, and correctly indicate the count of his deck, as evidenced by the four remaining cards, would win. I have not practiced counting down a practice deck in about 20 years, so I was not feeling very confident. However, back at UCSB in the eighties, I taught myself counting out of Revere's Playing Blackjack as a Business. Between classes I counted down a deck for at least an hour a day until I got my speed to about the point where my hands just could not turn cards over much faster. Fortunately, this training stuck with me somewhat 25 years later (seems like yesterday).
After explaining the rules, Max had us pick up our decks and wait for the 'go.' After Max gave the word I did my best to turn over cards two at a time while keeping a running count in my head, just as I did in college many years ago. However, never have I been so nervous doing it. Fortunately, my deck never went very far from neutral. I think it is a bit harder when the count has extreme swings, which fortunately was not the case.
After what must have seemed like a very slow performance from the audience, I put down the cards, slapped the table, and said 'zero!' That means that my deck had balanced in terms of high and low cards, meaning the four remaining cards would too. Max turned over three of them, two small cards and one large. Before turning over the last card he said, 'If this is a ten or ace, Shack wins.'
It was a ten! I think the queen of diamonds. I couldn't believe it! Max handed me the trophy and I proudly accepted the applause from the audience. This was truly a night to remember. I fully admit there were plenty of other people in the room with greater money-making skill at blackjack than myself. However, when you mix in general blackjack and gambling knowledge, I think I'm no slouch. I also fully admit there was a lot of luck too, and I got more than my fair share of it that evening.
Single Player Blackjack
After I wrote about this in my Wizard of Vegas blog, my father wrote, 'Now that you are officially the world's greatest blackjack player, will you be banned from playing everywhere?' Maybe I'm the first winner foolish enough to openly broadcast it, using his real name. However, I fly so high above the radar already, what more harm can it do? Thanks Max for hosting the tournament and to the Barona for paying for it.
Answer to trivia question: The Riverside in Laughlin.
There are dozens of blackjack options in Las Vegas. The choices range from the number of decks dealt, whether double down after splitting, surrender and re-split aces are permitted, blackjack paying 3-2 or 6-5, as well as video blackjack and variants. We took to the Las Vegas Strip, downtown, and the entire locals market to find the best and worst games available.
The OnlineUnitedStatesCasinos complete list below will help you find the game you're looking for and which tables to avoid. These include sections related to location and type of game.
Blackjack Casino & Table Locations
North Las Vegas Strip
Monodraw 1 408. Our Las Vegas blackjack surveys break the Strip into three sections. The North Strip blackjack survey includes all casinos from Treasure Island up to Stratosphere. The North end of the Las Vegas Strip houses a modest amount of blackjack tables, with roughly five tables at each casino, some with better rules than others.
Central Las Vegas Strip
The Central Strip survey includes all blackjack casinos from Planet Hollywood and Cosmopolitan up to Harrah's and Mirage. These casinos tend to offer higher limit tables with much better player rules. With Eleven casinos to choose from, they all offer a variety of good and bad blackjack tables.
South Las Vegas Strip
Our South Strip blackjack survey includes all casinos south of Harmon. This runs from Aria down to Mandalay Bay. These are some of the more popular casinos on the strip, offering blackjack players a lot more than just the gaming tables. The majority of blackjack games are 6 and 8 decks, with a few 2-deck high-roller tables available.
Downtown Las Vegas
Our downtown Las Vegas section lists all blackjack casinos on Fremont Street and anything within walking distance of it. This includes Downtown Grand, California, and Main Street Station. This is the 'old' part of Las Vegas, but you can often find some great action at the blackjack tables when downtown.
Locals / Off Strip Blackjack
The local blackjack survey includes any casino in the Las Vegas market that is not considered to be on the Strip or downtown. This ranges from Boulder Highway to Red Rock, and to properties that are within walking distance of Las Vegas Blvd. If you plan on playing blackjack at these casinos, be prepared to stay at the hotel overnight.
Las Vegas Blackjack Games
Single Deck Blackjack
There are only two single deck blackjack games in Las Vegas that pay 3-2. El Cortez offers a $5 game that permits double down on any two cards. Silverton has a single deck game that only has double down on 10 and 11. Neither permits double down after splitting. All other Las Vegas single deck blackjack games pay 6-5.
Double Deck Blackjack
The best blackjack games in Las Vegas casinos tend to be double deck. The best is at M Resort. It has a $50 minimum bet and stands on all 17s. Players may double down on any two cards and after splitting. This game also permits re-split aces. There are several casinos on the Las Vegas Strip that offer this game without re-split aces.
Six-Deck Blackjack
The best six-deck blackjack games in Las Vegas stand on all 17s. These great tables also have double down before and after splitting, surrender, and re-split aces. Treasure Island offers these tables for $25. For $50, players will find it at M Resort MGM Grand. Higher-end MGM properties have the game for $100.
Video Blackjack in Las Vegas
Vegas video blackjack was once a great way to get favorable rules for lower limits. Those days are over in Las Vegas. Most video blackjack machines pay 6-5 and you won't find much better odds around town. The exceptions are at The D and Venetian, where you can still find video blackjack games that pay 3-2.
Blackjack Variants
Get a complete list of all blackjack variants dealt in Las Vegas. Games include Blackjack Switch, Free Bet Blackjack, and Super Fun 21. There are some interesting blackjack games that should be tried at least once, even if their rules and odds are not favorable, they may be entertaining to play.
Contact the Vegas Survey Team
Kc Blackjack Player
If you have updates about Las Vegas casino blackjack games, online blackjack for real money or any comments regarding the exclusive survey contact us at @OUSC_Official or send us an email at [email protected].
Who Is The Best Blackjack Player In The World
Some house edge information in the blackjack survey was determined by using the Wizard of Odds Blackjack Calculator.
