The Captain of craps, our gambling mentor, taught us a valuable lesson in the first year of our advantage-play journey. Do not let the casinos’ 24/7 rhythm take over your natural rhythm. Go to bed around the same time you go to bed when you are home; eat at your normal times; and don’t play when you are tired. He also advocated "getting out" and doing things other than gambling.

In short, impose your rhythm on the casino (not vice versa).

So what is there to do in Atlantic City? Plenty. Here’s a list that might interest you:

Directly across the Boardwalk from Caesars.

Restaurants, coffee shops, stores of all types, along with magnificent views of the ocean and of the Atlantic City skyline. Great place relax between playing sessions.

New Hampshire Avenue
Atlantic City, NJ 08401

609-347-7600

This cruise company offers cruises on the ocean, the bay, and also offers daily dolphin watch cruises.

Virginia Avenue and Boardwalk
Atlantic City, NJ 08401

609-345-4893

This amusement park features exciting rides on steel roller coasters, as well as other rides, entertainment, and a food court.

Pacific and Vermont Avenues
Atlantic City, NJ 08401

609-449-1360

This historic lighthouse is the tallest in New Jersey and the third tallest in the United States and offers spectacular views.

609-530-7049

Right next to Bally’s. This monument commemorates the sacrifices made by the patriots who fought in the Korean War.

New York Avenue and Boardwalk
Atlantic City, NJ 08401

609-347-2001

This museum features the exhibition of many strange, unusual and hard to believe oddities, novelties and curiosities that were collected on the travels and excursions of Robert Ripley.

609-348-2880

This marine educational facility blends learning and fun through the use of aquariums, a touch tank, and interactive exhibits that present and explore over one hundred varieties of fish and marine creatures.

New Jersey Avenue
Atlantic City, NJ 08401

609-347-5839

This museum preserves and showcases Atlantic City's long and exciting history as a unique seaside resort town.

Just walk the Boardwalk and you will find many interesting performers and also many interesting bums. Yes, there’s the gospel singing woman between Resorts and the Boardwalk shops. There’s a drummer; a guitar player; a mime; singers with or without music, some of whom aren’t bad and some of whom aren’t good; a few unique dancers – meaning weird.

As far as bums, the Boardwalk has plenty of them. If you walk early in the morning they can be found sitting, sleeping, staggering all over the place and really yellow sand means…well, we think you know what that means. Most AC bums are harmless because, thankfully, the police presence on the Boardwalk is quite good. Our favorite bum used to hang out right by the Hilton. He had a unique way to ask for money, "Quarter spare you will?" He couldn’t seem to phrase properly. But boy could he spit!

These cats have become famous and they are in and out from under the Boardwalk all day long. The reason they look so well fed is because they are well fed. There is a whole society of people who take care of these felines. And the cats can be found from Showboat to the Hilton. Keep in mind these cats are feral so we wouldn’t recommend trying to hug one. But watching them scamper, play and hunt is a lot of fun.

Wherever you are in Atlantic City there are people from all over the United States and many from around the world to watch. There’s a really diverse crowd on the Boardwalk.

There are more than two hundred restaurants in Atlantic City, catering to just about every taste and every pocketbook. Someday we’ll talk about our favorites but this article is long enough!

If you wish to contribute your reports or observations, we need to receive them by the 24^th of the month for the next month. Write to: fscobe@optonline.net

Well, we seem to have two growing trends in AC, besides the fact that some casinos are losing their shirts in this economy. (Here’s a link that summarizes the 3^rd quarter results for casinos in AC: http://www.state.nj.us/casinos/home/news/pdf/2008/3rdq2008.pdf).

Trend number 1 is the bad one, the growing number of tables hitting soft 17. Trend number 2 is a good one, an increasing number of 6-deck and now 4-deck games can be found on the main floors of AC casinos.
 
First the bad news: There are only a few casinos that do not hit soft 17 on their main floors. Trump Taj has a few 8 deck games outside their high roller room that stand on soft 17. Resorts has a few 6 and 8 deck tables that don't hit soft 17. Hilton has a few 6 decks games that stand on soft 17. Trump Plaza (6 and 8 decks), Tropicana (4 and 8 decks) and Borgata (6 decks) do not hit soft 17 at all. To the best of my knowledge, every other 8 deck game in AC now hits soft 17. So where is the silver lining?
 
There is some good news. No 6 deck games in AC hit soft 17. More casinos are starting to offer $25 and $50 6 deck games on their main floors too. Of course Borgata is all six decks. Then Resorts opened a couple 6-deck games on their main floor. After that Trump Plaza set up almost a dozen 6-deck games outside their high roller room. Now, the Hilton has converted about a half dozen of their tables outside their high roller room to 6-deck games. So, more 6-deck games can be played on the main floors of AC casinos.
 
Four decks? Is it true? Yes, the Tropicana is offering 4-deck games. According to their web site it is for a limited time only. Perhaps the casinos of AC are realizing that they need to offer a wider variety of games to keep their customer base strong. The Tropicana web site calls it, "Less cards. Better odds. Limited time only!"
 
I visited the following casinos this month. All reviews are of games on the main floor and not the high roller rooms. I'm not even going to mention the places offering single deck 6-to-5 BJ games. Do yourself, and the rest of us a favor: Don't patronize these games!
 
Borgata: Six decks, 75 penetration, S17. Offering a few $5 games. Almost always crowded. Although profits are down here, this place is still making a lot of money.
 
Trump Taj: Eight decks, 75 – 80 percent penetration; S17 on 8-deckers outside high roller room, H17 on the rest of the floor.
 
Resorts: A couple 6 deckers on the main floor. The rest are 8 decks. The row of tables outside the high roller room stands on soft 17. The rest of the place hits soft 17. About 75% penetration.
 
Trump Plaza: Six and eight-deck games on the main floor. The 6-deck $25 games are the most abundant with 75 percent penetration, S17 on the entire floor.
 
Tropicana: Okay, this place deserves some real props! 4 DECK GAMES are being offered for a limited time. Penetration is better. It's 75% on most 8 deckers (although some dealers still cut off about 3 decks). They are offering $5 tables, even during reasonably busy hours. On top of this, the Trop is still only one of three places that does not hit soft 17 at all. Aside from the 4 deckers, the main floor is still all eight decks. This place generally opens tables only on an as-needed basis, so never a lot of open seats.
 
Hilton: The hit soft 17 disease has continued to spread here. Now all 8 deck games on the main floor hit soft 17. However a few six deck games with decent penetration have been introduced on the main floor outside the high roller room.

Tropicana, Borgata, and Trump Plaza are my stars of the month for resisting the desire to squeeze every last possible cent out of their patrons by hitting soft 17 and then offering less than 8 decks on the main floor as well.
 
My losers for the month? All six Harrah’s properties (Harrah’s, Claridge, Ballys, Wild Wild West, Caesars and Showboat) not mentioned earlier. They all hit soft 17 on the entire main floor and all games on the main floor are 8 decks. Worst in AC! These properties should be avoided if we want them to offer better games. Remember, it was the Harrah’s properties that started hitting soft 17 in AC.
 
Hope this helps.

Jon

I was playing dice up at Foxwoods during the summer. Conditions are not bad, weekends get pretty full, but between the two casinos one can usually find a spot at a not too crowded table. Surfaces are not overly bouncy, medium long, and except on weekends, $10 stakes usually available.

Anyway, the cubes are coming around to me and this guy comes up the rail and plunks down his money on my right. I say to myself, "Oh, darn, now I will have to wait a little longer." The dice go to him, and I ask if he is going to shoot. He says, "No, I came to play off you." I had done a couple of moderately ok rolls prior to this, but I must have given him a look because he added quickly, "I played with you in Atlantic City and you did real well." I did not make him a lot of money, but it sure proved that the dice world is small.

I have been thinking a lot about the problems of the casual player. If you play once every several months, how best to prepare?

There is no question that dice skills deteriorate without practice. I have found the following of value in helping to get ready for a trip. First, practice for at least a week if not longer and get in about 2,000 rolls. Book them religiously and note any progression. If you do consistently poorly over stretches look for a cause, it could be the time of day, your state of mind, etc. Better to find out why you have down spots while at home rather than in the casino.

Second, make very sure that your grip is correct and second nature. Here practice is essential. Third, re-read from cover to cover Frank’s book Golden Touch Dice Control Revolution. Every time I find something new, something that I can apply on my trip. I do not agree with everything in the book, but 90% makes great sense and has proven useful in the heat of battle with the casinos. In addition, as the book says, not everything applies to everybody. You have to find what works for you. And be mindful that this may change from trip to trip and as you get more experienced over time. In the final analysis, however, there is no substitute for the real thing. Losing real money is very different from losing play money at home. Watching those green century notes disappear down the slot in the table is not a good feeling, especially when the greens or blacks are not accompanying you to the cashier later.

How you handle that feeling becomes all important, something no one can teach. It also takes a lot to return to the tables having taken a thorough hosing the previous day. But if you believe in yourself…..

Two final points. Being a sometime player is hard because when you run into the buzz saw, you can not just get in the car and drive home to come back the next day or the next week. You have to live with the disaster maybe a month or six weeks or even longer. Not easy, not fun.

A host of factors interfere with the way one shoots. I had a horrible run once until I discovered that the weight of a couple of rolls of life savers and a cell phone in my pocket were interfering with my balance for the throw. Similarly, one’s moods, time constraints, economic pressures, clothing, and conditions inside each casino (lighting, air quality, noise level, pit and/or dealer pressures, other players, etc.) all have an influence on the outcome.  No wonder it is so hard to even come close to breaking even at the tables.

My last two trips to AC have proven interesting. There is no doubt that traffic is down considerably. Not only that, but spirits are subdued. There are few high rollers in the low stakes pits. The restaurants are emptier. And this is pretty much all over.

As noted in the BJ Insider, conditions are deteriorating too. Except for high stakes games, hitting soft 17 is become almost universal. In most casinos one has to play $50 minimums to get six decks and a dealer standing on S17.

Dice tables are much harder to fiddle with and so the games remain about the same. Anyway, the first two days of my last trip proved an unmitigated disaster. I don’t think I ever got three rolls beyond establishing a point during the period. I usually cut back a bit and hope things change. Well, they actually did. Miracle of miracles I put together a 37-roll turn not including eight come-out rolls after points and a couple of 7s and 11s. So this was close to a 50 roll hand in all.  The experience proved a bit weird in that only a few players were at the table so the usual applause and shouting that accompanies such an event did not happen. But it still felt good. The rest of the trip proved uneventful, but I left knowing that I had done ok overall.

Atlantic City is heading down the dumps. They just took back the no-smoking stuff and that might help get people to play longer and not take cigarette breaks but the whole atmosphere of this resort town is going down. The economy and the Pennsylvania slot parlors are eating away at AC’s treasury. But instead of offering even better games and better machines the bean counters at these casinos are taking their games down. Even comps have become tighter. These dopes are doing the exact opposite of what brings customers in. Frank has a term for these jerks and he calls them "ploppies." The term fits.

BIG BEN

* * * *

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And now: Golden Touch Speed Count DVD is available! Click here for the details.

* * * *

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If you’re going to play blackjack, why not play with an advantage? The Golden Touch Blackjack class will give you the easiest method for getting an advantage at the game. You’ll learn it in 10 minutes, practice for two days, and be able to go into the casino and have a verifiable edge! Learn Speed Count and the new optimum basic strategy in this class. Call 1-800-944-0406 to sign up for our classes in Las Vegas or for more information about the course.

Or buy our new book The Golden Touch Blackjack Revolution! book or DVD and learn the easiest advantage-play method ever developed for blackjack.

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Here are our ratings for December 2008. We thank many of our readers for helping us to stay as updated as possible. There may be some disagreements in ratings among our correspondents but all these reports are based on individuals’ experience. A word to the wise: it’s always best to check out the casinos for yourselves.

Rating system:

***** = Excellent

**** = Very Good

*** = Good

** = Fair

* = Poor.

BALLY’S PARK PLACE: No change. Night time is not the right time if you wanted to play at Wild Wild West – they now send you over to Bally’s. This place is packed with fewer blackjack tables than in the past. A lot of carnival game players here. This used to be a premium property but it now seems to be a Harrah’s after thought. No mid-shoe entry in high roller room and on a few of the main $50 tables in casino. Mixed reviews about how deep the penetration is but we found it in the 75 percent area. All 8-deck games except for the high roller room action. The hitting on soft 17 is now a fact all over the place. For craps players, this is a good casino for the game. All tables are now 5X odds, with a range of minimums. Crews are friendly. Tables are somewhat high so short shooters get your platform shoes. Some correspondents disagree with this statement but we are guessing they are all over 6-feet tall! There are many more carnival games than ever before. Looks like Three-Card Poker rivals blackjack! Hotel has declined a lot. One and one half stars: * ½ *

BORGATA: No change from last issue. One of the three casinos that are not hitting soft 17 and thus deserves our respect. Penetration is much better now too. Casino is all six-deck games, which is great – for AC, that is. Penetration is almost 80 percent which is also an improvement. Craps has long tables, 14-footers, and very bouncy, and not worth playing unless you like to see dice flying off the tables or gaze upon beautiful cocktail servers. Go elsewhere for craps, except for Taj which has mimicked Borgata’s craps tables. This is a happening place and caters to a swinging young crowd. Good casino for Golden Touch Blackjack. Four stars: * * * *

CAESARS: Down, down, down the BJ games go. So many more tables hitting soft 17 now. That brings this casino down a big notch. Directly across from Caesars is The Pier, which is a pleasure to walk through – a must see attraction in AC with some of the finest restaurants and views [see our main article in this issue]. Caesars itself also has excellent restaurants but you have long walks to find them. Cheerful place and worthy of the name it bears. Hotel/casino rating is A. They are going deeper at blackjack too but that H17 detracts from this somewhat. You can expect about 75 percent penetration with most of the dealers. The main floor of eight-deckers has some of the upper-limit tables ($25 and $50) with no mid-shoe entry. All the games in the high roller pit are also no mid-shoe entry with $100 and higher minimums. Table game action has improved and that is very noticeable in the blackjack pits – which are all 8-deck games. Six-deck games in high roller room have 80 percent penetration, as do the eight-deckers on the main casino floor. The craps games here are good with 12-foot tables and friendly crews. The tables are high so smaller controlled shooters should wear their "special shoes." Two stars: * *

CLARIDGE: Dump. One star: *

HARRAH’S: No change from last issue. Harrah’s has ruined more good casinos in this country than hoof-and-mouth disease has ruined more things with "hoofs" and mouths. Hitting soft 17 now. Penetration now ranges somewhat below the 75 percent area. Resplitting allowed except aces. No midshoe entry in the high roller room of 6-deck action, with the rest of the casino being 8-decks. But we must warn you; this is a big slot place. Sadly, Harrah’s properties in Las Vegas and in Tunica are getting awfully bad reports about how some of the boxmen treat customers who practice a careful shot at craps and there is overwhelming paranoia at the blackjack games as well. So beware when outside AC. Harrah’s prefers their slot customers and all their casinos tend month after month to be adding more machines. One and one-half stars: * ½ *

HILTON: No change from last issue. The hitting of soft 17 brings this place down a peg. Resplitting allowed except aces. High roller room is 6-decks; rest of the casino is 8-decks with a few $25/$50 6-deckers on occasion. No mid-shoe entry on the six-deckers. High table minimums, especially on weekends, a lot of $25 tables, rare $10 tables. Penetration about 75 to 80 percent or higher. Good casino for Golden Touch Blackjack. For craps, we are dealing with 14-foot tables and a couple of 12 footers. Four stars: * * * *

RESORTS: Getting a little better. But more tables are hitting soft 17. Not really worth playing. Two stars: * *

SHOWBOAT: This used to be a great hotel-casino. Now it is a great hotel and forget the casino. Another Harrah’s disaster. High roller room got some good reports but the rest of the casino is becoming one big slot machine. Harrah’s has changed this into a slot joint. Where are the table games? Had been one of the best and now is one of the worst blackjack games in AC. Great rooms; good restaurants and that about sums it all up. One star: *

TROPICANA: Not hitting soft 17 and so we go up somewhat in our rating of this casino. Also is offering four-deck games. This is now a good place to play in Atlantic City. Penetration is now around 70-75percent percent. Four stars: * * * *

TRUMP MARINA: No change from last issue. This place is hitting soft 17. This place’s tone has become somewhat strident. Six-deck games in high roller room and eight-deck games on the main floor have penetration of 75 percent mark, but you won’t find any dealers going much deeper. Games are mostly $15/$25 and up, especially on weekends. No mid-shoe entry on the 6-deckers but you can jump in and out on the eight-deckers. Craps tables are 12-footers with 2X odds. Pit is getting a little paranoid and nutty on the craps games. Foolish ploppies. One star: *

TRUMP PLAZA: Major disappointment in the center of the Boardwalk. Blackjack? Paranoid. Craps? Paranoid! I don’t think the management really understands their games or what it means for the casino to have an edge. Big Ben said it a few issues ago; seems every lowlife street creep now parades with his baggy under-the-ass pants through this place acting tough. Who needs that when you have a lot of cash on you? Just about all 6-deck games with somewhat low penetration of penetration of 70-75 percent, depending on the dealer. No midshoe entry on games outside high-roller pit but you can find $25 (a few) to $50 minimums on these. Allows resplits, except aces. All tables are $10 and higher. Craps tables are 12-footers. Very friendly crews but a dark casino with a real smattering of low-lifes. Two stars: * *

TRUMP TAJ MAHAL: Now they are hitting soft 17. First they screwed up the craps tables so the dice go flying off the table every third roll and now they have decided to give the blackjack games a wicked colonoscopy. Great hotel and great restaurants and great entertainment. Too bad it isn’t the place to play any more. One star: *

WILD, WILD WEST: No change from last issue. Smoke gets in your eyes. Lacking the spark it used to have. All 8-deck games with most offering H17 games – insane. This is a part of Bally’s Park Place and Harrah’s is looking to sell this complex like a pan of gold. Penetration is about 75 percent on all games. For craps this is a fun place to play with one 5X odds table and one 2X odds table. I remember when this place had many more tables. Crews are very friendly. One star: *

THE BEST BLACKJACK IN ATLANTIC CITY: Borgata, Hilton and Tropicana

The Best Craps in Atlantic City: Resorts

The Best Hotel/Casino in Atlantic City: Borgata, Taj Mahal