Really Surprised at how 6:5 bj has spread even dowtown!

Can still remember, several years ago now, the marquee at Bally's flashing "Now, by popular demand, 6-5 Blackjack!". Was stunned. Figure the "popular demand" was the suits! Also I do not underestimate the math challenged individual in this country. Some probably think 6/5 is better then 3/2, after all bigger numbers!

How about the North Vegas and Boulder Higway casinos? Are they still 3-2 Blackjack. I always have a great time at Poker Palace even though it isn't the most elegant place in town.

Michael Shackleford can help you out here. Might not be totally up to date for every game, but it's a great planning tool:


wizard of Vegas blackjack survey

It's true, Jana, good BJ downtown is getting harder to find. With the upgrades at The D and the Plaza, they have crap blackjack now, either 6:5 or CSMs. I'll second what Rec said about the El Cortez, it's still some of the best BJ in town, mostly SD or DD with good rules. MSS and the Cal (maybe the Fremont, too?) still have 3:2 DD, but you can't double after splitting. As for outlying casinos, Sam's has the same game as MSS/Cal. DD at Jerry's Nugget is great (friendly, locals' place, easy bus ride from downtown). E-Can has a good DD game, too. Probably plenty of other places I haven't checked out. Not the Strip, of course. Melonhead is right, Shackleford's survey is a great place to start. Have fun!

We just went to the casinos along FSE including the Plaza. Could find some $5 3:2 during the day but not as many as used to be. Way more 6:5 now. It was even harder at night. We stayed at the Golden Nugget and they do have a $5 3:2 table usually during the day, but on our 2nd day it was all $10 early afternoon where just the day before they had at least two $5 tables. About an hour later they did change one table back to $5 and of course it was full.

Like all of you I just want to shout at the people playing 6:5 bj "You stupid idiots don't play 6:5 blackjack - you are ruining for EVERYONE!".

6:5 BJ is spreading for sure, but people have predicted the end of real 3:2 BJ as a result for years, and there's still plenty to play. I wouldn't be surprised to see the $5 games fading away, if just for inflation. $5 was a typical entry-level ten years ago when I started playing and that hasn't changed all that much (except on the Strip, of course). Can't say the same about the cost of anything else.

I think maybe 99% of the players in the casinos are clueless and will just sit down anywhere to play without knowing anything about the game. There's a selection bias here at LVA, of course, not nearly as many clueless folks on these boards. You do raise an interesting question, though, Jana: "You stupid idiots don't play 6:5 blackjack - you are ruining for EVERYONE!". Do these idiots contribute to the demise of real BJ by sending the wrong message to the casinos, or as in the case of other games, do they contribute more to the casinos' bottom line and enable them to afford to offer better games to the non-clueless? People have suggested the latter in the case of VP (not necessarily true, but people have suggested it): "if it weren't for the idiots playing 7/5 JoB, the casino couldn't afford to offer 10/7 DB."