HELP ME, THE HOUSE!!

[Steuben]

Tonight my friends and I played blackjack; I acted as the house. Even though there was plenty of whiskey and I used three decks, my hammered friends still managed to net a little more than 400 dollars off of me, a college student who is not so rich anymore. Should I hang up the gloves and quit, or continue the fight against my seemingly lucky buddies. I still need more advice on how to maximize the house advantage! Thanks for all of your advice.

[Grifter]

Steuben – Nothing short of being a good mechanic is going to ensure you are a winner in the short term because of the normal fluctuations pointed out by others in your original thread, but you can increase your advantage by using the following rules for your game.

- Use 8 decks
- Dealer Hits Soft 17
- No doubling after a split
- No doubling of soft hands
- Double on 10 or 11 only, (or better yet)….
- Double on 11 only
- No re-splitting of Aces

The above will about triple your edge, but the best suggestion has already been offered by Nickels&Bullets……… Dealer wins all ties. This alone increases your advantage by about 9.3%.

Regards….Grifter

[midnite]

There can be cheating (on both sides) in a home game, if you don't know what to look for.
House : Marked cards, rolling the deck, etc.
Players : Capping their bets, switching cards, etc.
I am Not saying your friends are cheating, I am sure you just had a bad run. The house doesn't "always" win, but they have the bankroll to get through the ruff spots.
It would be a good idea to not drink when you are dealing (if you do)
Grifter and Nickels gave you some good advice, about all I would add is you could lower the betting limits for a while. But "if" your friends would play that game, I wouldn't even do that.

Midnite

[Grifter]

Steuben - Don't lower the limits as suggested above. You have the large advantage so you keep the limits as high as your bankroll can cover.

Grifter

[Nickels_n_Bullets]

Dealer wins ties ... are you listening?

[esarem51]

Okay, here's another angle I just thought of: Get more players, or encourage the ones you've got to play more hands each. This will dampen the fluctuations.

Go ahead and try the rule changes that have been suggested, but I still think your problem is that you are undercapitalized. You don't have the $$$$, or maybe the nerve, to ride out the normal fluctuations.

This is interesting, though. It's not the usual thing around here to be thinking of ways to help the house. Keep us posted!

[Mike]

If you started giving comps, I'd play at your casino.

[jm2552]

You need a cooler! :lol: :lol:

John

[Grifter]

esarem51 - I agree, and I think it is a combination of all. With the rules Nickels and I suggested above and assumed lack of skill by the players, Steuben is running at about a 10%-15% advantage. With an adequate bankroll, this should pay off rather quickly even with given fluctuations. I ran/dealt/floated games in the 60's and 70's and made good money with rules far more generous than suggested.

Grifter

[Mike]

esarem51 - I agree, and I think it is a combination of all. With the rules Nickels and I suggested above and assumed lack of skill by the players, Steuben is running at about a 10%-15% advantage. With an adequate bankroll, this should pay off rather quickly even with given fluctuations. I ran/dealt/floated games in the 60's and 70's and made good money with rules far more generous than suggested.

Grifter

You worked for Bugsy Segal didn't you?
:lol: :lol: :lol:

[Grifter]

Hell, Mike....I am Bugsy Siegel 8)

[Mike]

I never see you two at a party together.

[Buffarino]

Dealer wins ties ... are you listening?

I played at a house game about 5-7 years ago where the dealer tried to pull that BS. He tried to take my $ on a push (said everyone in Vegas did it that way - lmao). I grabbed my bet before he could take it and left the table.