"You have gotten the powder cards that are like the nine, ten and those pictures and those aces and those must not be taken too lightly. You don’t want to do dumber things than hitting those two paired eights against a powder card because that could cause those losses for you which I have caused. You must not split them aces neither. Play my way and the casinos will fear your face."

"Under every dealer up card is a ten and that is why you hit or stand."

"I never split my doubles because that just doubles your losses. The splitting is a trick by the casinos. They are very clever."

"How stupid it is to double over when you have a 11 against a dealer’s ten? You gotta loose that one am I right?"

"Surrender is for babies. You fight to the death when you play blackjack and players who surrender are babies." (Said by a dealer at Tropworld, now Tropicana, in AC.)

"Blackjack is a game with streaks. You bet more when you are winning and less when you are losing and everything adds up and you can win if you do this properly. Why players don’t do this is beyond me but I think in the future I should start winning using this method of play."

"Blackjack can’t change your life so what is the point of playing it? Slots are where the action is for changing your life."

"The person at third base known as the third baseman is the most important player in the game and he decides a lot of the time who wins and loses based on what he does with his hands. If he knows how to play he increases everyone’s chances of winning but if he is a stupid moron then we are all in trouble. I never sit at third base."

"Cards have a flow which can be interrupted by a new player coming into the game and that is why casinos have that no mid-shoe entry. If the players are winning the casinos don’t want a new player to disrupt that."

"Card counting is illegal. It is wrong for a player to be able to get the edge."

"You hit a 12 against a dealer’s 2? Are you crazy? You have a 12 and one hit can put you over but the dealer has a 12 too so let him take the bust card. I can’t understand why so-called experts like that Henry Trombone say to hit your 12 against that 2. What is wrong with that guy?"

Harrah’s has started to admit guests to its new wing, The Borgata’s new wing will open in June, and Revel has accelerated their plans and is shooting for an opening date of September 1, 2010. However, it looks like the economy and the credit crunch has at least delayed to opening one of the three mega resorts planned for AC. Pinnacle has announced that they are putting their plans on hold until credit eases.

AC casino revenues were also down 10% in Jan 08 vs. Jan 07. Slots were down a whopping 13.9% while tables were down 1.5%. It should be noted that Harrah’s table revenues were up over 30% in January. They also hosted a big BJ tournament. Perhaps hosting these tournaments improves traffic. Full report on January revenue can be found at:

I also saw the following tournament information:

Standard AC Blackjack Rules: In order to shorten my comments and to make casino variations more apparent I will assume the following as standard AC BJ rules. I will only comment were casinos deviate from these rules and penetration.

This month I spent my time in the Marina:

Revel Entertainment Group Casino: Still working on the foundation. Scheduled opening moved up to September 2010.

The Borgata: 6 decks. Mid shoe entry allowed on $25 tables and lower. They still don’t mark the higher limit tables as no mid shoe entry but that is the case. Match the dealer offered on some tables. No single deck 6/5 games. Penetration has improved some again. During a trip a couple months ago all dealers were cutting off 2 decks or more. It seems someone has called off the dogs a little. All dealers were cutting off between 1 1/2 and 2 decks. I didn’t see anything really above or below this. So penetration ranges between 67% to 75%. Still not great. Crowded as always.

Trump Marina: Standard AC conditions except the penetration was a little better than average. Lucky Ladies on some tables and single deck 6/5 were offered. I didn’t see any dealer cut off more than 2 decks and some cut off a little less. So let’s call it 75 – 80% penetration here. Plenty of empty seats to jump into.

Harrah’s: Standard AC conditions. Penetration was right up the mid in the 75% range. Pretty busy. Was hard to find many open seats based on the tables open.

Hope this helps,

Jon

Hi Frank,

I know I haven't written in a while but that is mainly because the BJ conditions in AC have steadily been going downhill to the point where I find it more profitable for me to play poker than BJ.  

It's so bad now at Showboat, that you can't even find a single blackjack game outside the high roller room, where they don't hit on soft 17's.  They have tried to mitigate the effects of this by offering $5 BJ games even on weekends.  

Resorts is still the usual 75% cutoff 8 deck game with $10 minimum tables. 

Bally's for some weird reason was packed when I went there despite them only offering S17 games on the $50 tables and up.  I also didn't see a single $15 or under table when I went there.  I was not impressed with one of their poker dealers who threw a fit after mentioning to her that she was taking the improper amount of rake.  She was counting a person's bet which caused the other player to fold as part of the pot to rake from. I have seen though, a decrease in the number of 6/5 blackjack games which is good.

You can also add in this after just having been there this past weekend.  Bally's and Wild Wild West have turned into total dumps!  Not only is it all H17 and 8 decks except for the high roller room, they are quickly becoming a smoker's paradise.  People are blatantly disregarding the non smoking signs posted everywhere. 

Apparently, Harrah's doesn't care and only the police can enforce it if Harrah's chooses not to.   That said, I witnessed 80-85% penetration at Bally's, WWW's, and Showboat, so they are going deeper.   I'd probably make Bally's and WWW's a half star and Showboat 2 stars since the hotel itself is still pretty good and they have reasonably priced food.  

While waiting for some time to pass, I decided what the heck, I'd just play a little BJ at WWW and I think the worst players in all of AC play there.  I'm not kidding you when I say that in a negative count, I saw in one sequence, a player split 10s, another player double down on an 8 vs a dealer 9, and finally the last one stand on his 15 vs the dealer 9.   It took every ounce of energy to restrain myself from telling them to please give me their money instead of the casino.   In addition, on Saturday nights, you can expect all tables to be $25 or higher at these places except for WWW which might have two or three $15 tables.

From AC,

Ben

Dear Frank and AP:

I usually play in Tunica but the games there are going downhill. So I went to Atlantic City. The place was really crowded and very few casinos had most of their tables opened. So where are you supposed to play with so many tables closed. There were no double-deck games and some of the eight deckers had dealers hitting on soft 17.

I’ll never go back.

Ken M.

Dear Frank:

Just finished the Golden Touch Blackjack Revolution! It is really the easiest system I ever learned and I learned it in 20 minutes. But is Dan Pronovost, the guy who created this great Speed Count, as skinny as you say he is?

Alfred

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Here are our ratings for March 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 wide: 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 from last issue. More slots. More hitting on soft 17. 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. 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 star: *

BORGATA: Has fallen to second place behind Hilton. There is always a $5 table available. Penetration is now somewhat spotty too. Casino is all six-deck games, which is great – for AC, that is. Penetration varies between 70 and 75 percent which is worse than ever before. 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. Three and one-half stars: * * * ½ *

CAESARS: No change from last issue. 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. 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. You can expect about 80 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. Good casino for Golden Touch Blackjack. The craps games here are good with 12-foot tables and friendly crews. The tables are a little high so smaller controlled shooters should wear their "special shoes." Three stars: * * *

CLARIDGE: No change from last issue. The sniveling, salivating idiot pit boss is gone; one fewer ploppy pit man, yes, but fewer table games and more machines. We will repeat – this used to be our favorite casino when the Captain and his Crew played here in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The place still stinks although there is some chatter that the craps games have gotten better but we have been reluctant to play here in the past year – sour taste in our mouths from the maniac pit boss. This is now a "new dealer" break-in casino so games tend to be slow. Hitting on soft 17 is standard. One star: *

HARRAH’S: No change from last issue. One of my correspondents, Scan, thinks this is the most underrated casino in AC. In the casino you will find very friendly dealers and pit personnel. 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. Play here and at Showboat and your play counts all across the nation. For those of you who like to go to Vegas you can get some good Vegas comps from your AC action! A room that would be discounted for $80 in AC would be free in Vegas based on the same play – this is not official but based on our calculations of the offers we’ve received. 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. Two and one-half stars: * * ½*

HILTON: Is the Hilton going out of business? That’s a new rumor. Who knows? Many good reports on the games here. This is still number one in all of AC. 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 70 to 75 percent. Good casino for Golden Touch Blackjack. For craps, we are dealing with 14-foot tables and a couple of 12 footers. Three stars and one-half stars: * * * ½*

RESORTS: No change from last issue. Up and down. This casino went up in our estimation when the new company took over and now it is heading downhill. If Resorts wants to start to compete with the big boys of AC, it has to loosen up its pockets to draw good numbers of them in. Resplitting is allowed at all tables but penetration barely makes it to 75 percent now. Casino also offers multiple-action blackjack and Spanish 21 at $10 minimums. Avoid the single-deckers that pay 6 to 5 for blackjacks. Excellent place for craps; mostly small tables, with some games 5X odds. The new hotel addition is clean and serviceable, but not luxurious. Two and one-half stars: * * ½*

SHOWBOAT: I like this casino but Harrah’s has changed it into a slot joint. Where are the table games? Had been one of the best and now is the worst blackjack casino in AC. One-half star: ½*

TROPICANA: This is the Titanic that almost sank. Two and one-half stars: * * ½ *

TRUMP MARINA: Another casino that is economically bleeding to death, yet we like this property a lot. This place is giving good comps from some reports and the game is okay. Six-deck games in high roller room and 8-deck games on the main floor have penetration of 75 to 80 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. Two and one-half stars: * * ½ *

TRUMP PLAZA: Why doesn’t Donald Trump put some money into this place? It 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. Good casino for Golden Touch Blackjack. Three stars: * * *

TRUMP TAJ MAHAL: Say it ain’t so, Donald! The best national casino-hotel at one time is no longer even in the top 10. Ouch! We were there recently and the 6-deck games outside the high roller room are gone. Lucky Ladies bet now available, no thanks. Good game with 75-80 percent penetration, dealer dependent, throughout the casino. In the high roller room all the 6-deck games have $100 minimums. Now the worst casino to play craps in all of Atlantic City with incredibly bouncy and very high tables – anyone under six feet strengthen your toes because tippy-toe is the only way to play these tables. The crews spend half their time scooting around looking for the dice that have jettisoned off the tables. Good casino for Golden Touch Blackjack. Three stars: * * *

WILD, WILD WEST: 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: 1. Hilton, 2. Borgata

The Best Craps in Atlantic City: Resorts

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