Despite being substantially closer to my home in Kansas, I have made far fewer trips to Tunica than Las Vegas. Thanks to the near monopoly on flights through Memphis with Delta airlines, a direct plane ticket to Memphis is always higher (usually by a factor of 2 to 4) than a flight to Las Vegas. Furthermore, Tunica is just a little too far to drive (at least on a frequent basis).

For the first time in about two years, I had the opportunity in July to travel to Memphis and was able to make the short drive south to Tunica. However, as you will soon read, my July Tunica trip turned into my second worst blackjack trip of my 15-plus years of playing blackjack as an advantage player.

Geographically, Tunica is well laid out to casino hop. There are two clusters (of two or more casinos), and four other individual casinos:

• The Horseshoe, Gold Strike, and Roadhouse (HGSR) cluster
• The Hollywood and Resorts cluster
• Fitzgeralds, Harrahs, Sams Town, and Ballys.

In my past trips, and based on my review of a few month-old issues of Current Blackjack News (CBJN), the HSGR cluster offered the best blackjack for the advantage player.

My plan was to hit the HGSR cluster on my first day, and visit the other casinos for about an hour each on Friday. I started at the Horseshoe.

The Horseshoe in Tunica used to be one of the best places in the country for single-deck games. However, over the past few years, the number of single-deck tables has been reduced, but on my visit, there was one single-deck table open in the main pit and about four double-deck tables. The minimum bet was $25, and I believe the maximum was $1000 on the single- and double-deck games. The rules were:

• Single deck, H17, no DAS, RSA (unusual for single deck), for a house advantage of 0.15%.
• Double deck, H17, DAS, RSA, for a house advantage of 0.35%.
• 6 deck- H17, DAS, RSA, for a house advantage of about 0.50%.

Penetration was decent, but not great. The single-deck game appeared to be a consistent Rule of 6 (five rounds to one player, four rounds to two players, etc). Penetration on the double-deck game varied from about 55% to 60%. Although penetration is the most important factor in game selection for a blackjack advantage player, table crowding is important also. For example, a double-deck game with good (65%) penetration becomes marginal with four or more players at the table. On the other hand, I will take a 55-60% penetration double-deck games, heads up, with a fast dealer. (I did not bother to look at the penetration on the six-deck games.)

On my black Thursday, I found one single-deck table that was empty most of the night, and at least one of the double-deck tables was empty, or with one player. These are good playing conditions. Because my bankroll has increased as an advantage player, I’m more willing to bet $100 or $ 200 on the first hand after the shuffle on the double- and single-deck games. This offers a modest amount of betting cover at minimal cost in expected value. If the count goes into negative territory, I will back my bet down to $25 or $50 or take a restroom break. My max bet is generally around $600, although I pushed over that amount a few times when I was approaching an end to my session.