casino

I was at the Treasury Casino last night (no this wasn't my idea). Blackjack is the only game there where skilful play can result in the player instead of the casino having the edge. On the tables I saw, the Casino seemed to be using a machine called the one2six with six decks. I have been reading about it today googling around.

It is called a "continuous shuffling machine" (CSM) and the idea is to reduce the effectiveness of card counting.

There is a guy ZenGrifter who found a strategy to beat one of the first CSMs but claims there's no strategy "practically speaking" to make the one2six beatable. Other opinions - "CSMs are not worth playing"; CSMs are not enjoyable for the dealer to work with and cost $15,000 each; don't even try to beat one2six; not aware this is beatable; expected player return 0 etc.

Most useful though was an an Australian FAQ page about CSMs. There are lots of disadvantages to them. In summary I won't be sitting down at a blackjack table any time soon, but it's fun to read about others' successes there. It is romantic somehow, but I don't know why. A carefully constructed advertising campaign perhaps? Or I am a thrill-seeker?

Last night there was also a guy playing with $100 and $500 chips at the table where everybody else was using $5 chips. Someone said he was a famous jockey. Do jockeys really make lots of money? Or could he have been working for the casino, encouraging everybody else to bet more, like a shill on eBay?