It was time for a trip to Tunica from my Midwest home. Accompanying me on this trip was my blackjack-playing friend, Louie, and our wives. If you are considering going to Tunica, be aware that there seems to be a standard set of blackjack rules for this area. The blackjack playing rules are hit soft 17, split three times for four hands, double after split, double any two cards, and surrender is not offered. Some casinos will allow re-splitting aces; however, some do not. On appositive note, I found no restrictions on the double down rules on the single- and double- deck games. The only other difference I noticed were that some casinos limited mid-shoe entry, or required max bets on mid-shoe entry.

We arrived at the Gold Strike casino after driving most of the day. My first session was at a six-deck game. The table was full; consequently, the count did not vary much. Spreading one to three units, I dropped 36 units in 1.5 hours. This was not a good start to this trip.

Day 2

I began my second day with an early morning six-deck game. Things started well when I played heads up against the dealer. I was getting good penetration, down to 1.4 decks. (The double-deck games were cut off at one deck.) Then a high count came along and, unfortunately, that wound up being my downfall for this session. That one shoe did me in and I finished down 28 units (I was spreading a modest one to three units.)

After breakfast, we strolled over to the Horseshoe casino. The blackjack tables were not busy and the high limit room did not have any open 21 tables. The main casino had single-, double- and six-deck games open. I decided to play a six-deck game. The table remained full for the 1.5 hours that I played. I spread 1 to 4 units and wound up losing 4 units at this session.

Back at the Gold Strike, I played another six-deck game. The table had a colorful, clueless player. As I sat down, he was trying to split 7s against a dealer 10 up card. The dealer checked for blackjack and pushed his second bet back as he exposed his ace in the hole. Jokingly, I said to the player, "The books says, you should never split 7s against a dealer blackjack". He gave me a serious look and said, "Is that what it says"? The dealer was trying really hard not to bust out laughing. This clueless ploppy managed to hit several, three-card poker side bets and wound up outlasting me at the table. However, I was getting good penetration (down to 1.4 decks), and managed to slowly build my bankroll over two hours, finishing up 28 units. At last ... my first winning session for this trip.