How to Find the Best Blackjack Table to Increase Your Chance of Winning
Do you want to win at blackjack? Have you spent hours honing your strategy or card counting skills? Then learn to pick the right casino and table like a pro with our tips here on BlackjackChamp.com.
Blackjack is one of the few casino games you can turn to your advantage, and while smart strategies can certainly get you far and even turn you a few extra dollars, knowing where to play is just as important as knowing the rules.
For both normal players or a card counters alike, check out our blackjack tips for finding the optimal place to play.
Finding the best table for all players
Whether you’re a card counter or just your average blackjack player, there are certain elements to look out for when you want to find the best table for a good game of blackjack.
The first thing to look out for is a table with favorable rules. You’re going to want to play at a table that pays 3-2 and not 6-5.
The reason for this is that your blackjack payout for the latter is worse than the former. Betting $10 on a 3-2 bet and getting a blackjack pays out $15, whereas a 6-5 would only pay $12. The odds are not stacked in your favor in a 6-5 game.
Other rules to look out for is a table where the dealer stands on 17. This will increase the advantage in your favor, and you’ll also want a table where you can double after a split.
While the number of decks is an important number for those playing a card counting strategy, non-card counters can also benefit from a game with two or one decks.
Playing with only two decks changes the gameplay for a variety of scenarios and increases your odds.
The most favorable casinos in Las Vegas for blackjack:
• M casino in south Las Vegas has a house edge of 0.20%, with a game of 2 decks and dealer stands on soft 17. Minimum bets $100, maximum $5000
• Aria is located on the Strip and has a house edge of 0.27%. Minimum bet $50, maximum $10,000
• Hard Rock is located near the strip, and while it has a house edge of 0.27%, its bets are the same as for M
It’s easy to tell which table would be the best, since one or two deck games are often played from the dealer’s hand instead of from a shoe like with a six or eight deck game.
The variation in the rules and decks will affect your advantage. To find the best blackjack game, it’s a good idea to find a place which has many casinos in the area.
Las Vegas offers some of the best games of blackjack due to having an abundance of casinos in the area, since the casino offering the best gaming conditions gets the most customers.
Playing for a minimum and maximum bet that fits within your own budget is also important, but you’ll find higher stakes games offer more favorable rules, however, playing during the day is a good idea, since most casinos have lower minimums during the day.
Finding the best table for card counters
One of the key elements to a good game as a card counter is deck penetration, this is a percentage referring to the number of cards that have been dealt from the deck before being reshuffled, and you’ll want to play a game where the depth penetration is high.
The higher the depth penetration, the more likely the card counter is to have a “true count”, which significantly increases their advantage.
Part of this issue also lies with picking the right dealer. If you can find a dealer who deals deep into the pack before reshuffling, that will certainly work in your favor.
Otherwise, you’ll also want to find a dealer who doesn’t deal too fast or distracts you by talking too much. At a casino, look at the deck to see where the notch lies marking the reshuffle.
The number at a table is also important. Playing alone at a table might get you more hands and you’ll be able to concentrate more, but it might draw attention to the fact you’re card counting.
However, a table that’s too crowded also means you won’t get to play so many hands, and could also be a distracting environment that will make you lose count.
Finding the right casino
It’s a good idea to research the casinos in the area you wish to play to see if they have the right rules.
How many decks do they use? What is the blackjack payout? What are the rules when it comes to splitting and soft 17s?
But it’s also worth checking out the monetary side of things. You’re going to obviously want a casino that caters to your budget.
How much money can you afford to lose? If you can only spare $100, then you’re not going to want to play at the high-roller tables, are you?
The secret to winning at blackjack not only lies in your card counting skills or ability to use strategy effectively, but finding the right table and casino is just as important as knowing the game well.