BLACKJACK TOURNAMENT E-BOOKS BY BJI AUTHOR KEN SMITH! How to Win EVEN MORE Blackjack Tournaments - Volume II... only $14.95. Ken Smith's second e-book on tournament blackjack contains more of his winning strategies that have made him one of the best tournament blackjack players in the world. Or, purchase both Volume I and Volume II together for $24.95... over 15% off! NEW! Read how Ken used skill to win a recent blackjack tournament. Get his books and you could too!

JPB has been playing blackjack and counting cards part-time since 1996. He plays throughout the country but primarily in Missouri. He has been a Green Chip member of BJ21.com for five years and one-time winner of the Post-of-the-Month. JPB is a professional engineer with three engineering degrees and works as a consulting engineer.

From the period of approximately 2007-2011, I made several trips to Phoenix but I avoided the Phoenix casinos like the proverbial "chopped liver" in lieu of the "gold mine" blackjack games in Tucson. Even though Tucson was an extra 70 mile drive, based on what I thought were the conditions in Phoenix, and what I knew existed in Tucson (two of the best blackjack games in the country), I was confident I was making the right decision. Fast forward to 2015 where my blackjack action is no longer welcome at any of the Tucson casinos; therefore, when I had planned two recent trips to Phoenix, I decided to reevaluate the "chopped liver" I had previously labeled the blackjack games there.

These two casinos are under the same tribal ownership and share the same player card, and I would assume, also share information about players. On my first trip to Phoenix, I only had time to visit one casino: Wild Horse Pass. It is located about 15 miles east of the Phoenix Airport. I received a free play bonus (they were advertising $50 free play) for signing up for a player's card.

The casino is a large resort attraction adjacent to a golf course, with a hotel and large selection of restaurants. In the main pit, there were only six-deck games. The rules were H17, DAS, and RSA, for a house advantage against a basic strategy player of about 0.56%. Penetration varied from about 4.3 to 4.6 out of 6.0 decks.

This game qualifies as very mediocre based on their rules. Table minimums were $10 and I believe the maximum was $500 or $1000. Tables were not very crowded so I was able to hop from table-to-table trying to find a big plus count. They also had a high-limit area where there a few four-deck games with the same rules. Because of the four decks, the house advantage is reduced to about 0.52%, compared to the six deck equivalent. Penetration on the four-deck game was fairly consistent at around 3.0 out of 4.0 decks. Table limits were $25-1000. The four- deck game qualifies as a good, but not great game.

After my initial visit, I started receiving free...

...enter your member login information below to read this article/newsletter...

Paid Members-Only Article

You have clicked on a link to a Blackjack Insider web page or article for paid subscribers. You must have a paid membership to the Blackjack Insider newsletter to view this content. About 1/2 of the articles in each issue of the Blackjack Insider are for paid members only, while the rest are viewable by everyone. Your purchased membership will allow you to read all Blackjack Insider articles for 12 months.

Enter your user name and password below (they were listed and e-mailed to you after you purchased your Blackjack Insider membership):

Forgot your membership id or password? Click here.

How do I get a membership?

A membership can be purchased online at our secure store with your credit card for only $19.95 per year. You will receive a user name and password immediately by e-mail which you can use to read the all past and future members-only articles for 12 months, as well as the regular free articles.

CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE A ONE YEAR MEMBERSHIP NOW... only $19.95

Do I have to buy a membership?

No. Blackjack Insider will continue to be published as a free monthly e-newsletter. But about 1/2 of the articles each month will be for paid members only. Subscribers without a membership can still view and read the non-members articles for free.

What happens after I buy a membership?

Immediately after you complete your purchase, you will receive a unique login user name and password. These are displayed on the final purchase page, and are e-mailed to you. When you click on a members-only article in our web site, you will be prompted for this user name and password (as shown above). Simply enter them, and enjoy the article! Note: make sure you turn on the checkbox above when you login, to save the user name and password so that you don't have to re-enter them every time you view members-only articles.

Why did you switch to paid memberships?

Blackjack Insider is a professional monthly publication with top-notch articles by world-reknown gaming experts. In addition, we have regular reporters that monitor game conditions and tournament schedules throughout North America. We use a partially paid subscriber model to enable us to continue getting the best content for our readers from leading authors on blackjack and gaming.