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  1. #1


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    Hi

    Good day everyone

    I have been lurking this forum for the last couple of days, and wanted to introduce myself.
    I was a part-time AP player in the late '80's and '90's, but marriage, children, mortgage etc. means I have been away from BJ for almost 20 years.
    I play Hi-Opt 1 with Ace side count
    I used to make a couple of trips to Reno/Tahoe every year, and was mostly a single deck player.
    I have just started to get back into Blackjack, as I finally paid off my mortgage in Feb. (Yay!) and can start rebuilding my bankroll.
    My current plan is to practice red chip, low spread ( so I don't burn them) at my local stores 1-2 times a month, and make a trip to Vegas 2 times a year.

    I have a few questions for the forum:

    1) My bankroll is $3000 dollars now, but since I no longer have a mortgage I plan on adding $1000 a month until it is of useable size. What should my effective bankroll be for now?
    2) Other than El Cortez ( which the forums say is extremely sweaty) where is there single deck in Vegas?
    3) Is it worthwhile to go to Northern Nevada for single deck games?
    4) Is Laughlin worth the drive from Vegas to spread out to more casinos?
    5) I have been backed off from Eldorado, Harrah's etc. in Reno, but I look far different than I did 20 years ago. Will they still have records of me?

    I have been enjoying the process of getting back into Blackjack. I pulled out my old copy of Humble's World's Greatest Blackjack book and reread it a couple of times. The stories of 70's junkets, illegal blackjack, and cheating are most interesting when looked at from today. I have also enjoyed lurking on this an other forums and look forward to learning all that I can from the experience here on the forum.

    Positive variance to all

  2. #2


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    A few other things I didn't mention

    I am also able to play poker at a slight +EV, and know (actually I knew them in the past ...will need to practice) the strategies for Video Poker.

    I plan on staying at a home base casino that has decent VP and try and build some comps to offset expenses. Which casino in Vegas would be recommended for providing the most comps on full pay VP? According to VPfree2, the Fiesta casinos, Sams Town, Red Rock and others have +EV VP machines. Which of these provide the best comps to VP players? Also if any of the VP hotel casinos are equal, which has the worst/sweatiest BJ. Since I will not be playing BJ at my home casino, I would actually prefer to stay at a sweat shop rather than taking a good store out of rotation.

  3. #3


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    Make a trip to Wendover. They have min $3 blackjack games that are 3:2.

    You didn't mention what part of the country you are from. There are charter flights to Wendover from many cities west of the Mississippi River. Otherwise you will have to fly into SLC and rent a car and drive 120 miles to Wendover. https://wendoverfun.com/

    I feel Wendover has better games than Laughlin and I played at both places. I have posted trip reports on this site about both places.

  4. #4


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    Wendover flights are a good option. They fly from one of my local airports. I will look into a trip there. How bad is the heat in Wendover? I believe there are only about 4 casinos? What do you do for the rest of your trip if you are backed off in the first day? Rent a car and drive to Elko?

  5. #5


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    Quote Originally Posted by Old, but not dead View Post
    Wendover flights are a good option. They fly from one of my local airports. I will look into a trip there. How bad is the heat in Wendover? I believe there are only about 4 casinos? What do you do for the rest of your trip if you are backed off in the first day? Rent a car and drive to Elko?
    I don't believe there are any car rentals in Wendover. At the red chip level if you play for only about an hour and then move on to the next casino and repeat you should be fine. Spreading 1 to 6 in red chips should be fine, hell I spread much more than that. On a $10 min table I would start out with a $15 min bet and in negative counts drop down to $10 and spread up to $60 or $80. If you play rated and come on charter flight much less chance of getting a back off.

    LVBear was the expert on Wendover for many years and lasted many years before a back off. Maybe he will offer his 2 cents. By the way, if you throw some video poker in the mix you can qualify for free or half price charter flights. Harder to get than they use to be, but you can use comps to pay for the other half.
    Last edited by Midwest Player; 05-09-2019 at 04:03 PM.

  6. #6


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    Quote Originally Posted by Old, but not dead View Post
    Good day everyone

    I have been lurking this forum for the last couple of days, and wanted to introduce myself.
    I was a part-time AP player in the late '80's and '90's, but marriage, children, mortgage etc. means I have been away from BJ for almost 20 years.
    I play Hi-Opt 1 with Ace side count
    I used to make a couple of trips to Reno/Tahoe every year, and was mostly a single deck player.
    I have just started to get back into Blackjack, as I finally paid off my mortgage in Feb. (Yay!) and can start rebuilding my bankroll.
    My current plan is to practice red chip, low spread ( so I don't burn them) at my local stores 1-2 times a month, and make a trip to Vegas 2 times a year.

    I have a few questions for the forum:

    1) My bankroll is $3000 dollars now, but since I no longer have a mortgage I plan on adding $1000 a month until it is of useable size. What should my effective bankroll be for now?
    2) Other than El Cortez ( which the forums say is extremely sweaty) where is there single deck in Vegas?
    3) Is it worthwhile to go to Northern Nevada for single deck games?
    4) Is Laughlin worth the drive from Vegas to spread out to more casinos?
    5) I have been backed off from Eldorado, Harrah's etc. in Reno, but I look far different than I did 20 years ago. Will they still have records of me?

    I have been enjoying the process of getting back into Blackjack. I pulled out my old copy of Humble's World's Greatest Blackjack book and reread it a couple of times. The stories of 70's junkets, illegal blackjack, and cheating are most interesting when looked at from today. I have also enjoyed lurking on this an other forums and look forward to learning all that I can from the experience here on the forum.

    Positive variance to all
    I think this is another Moses' attempt to return.

  7. #7


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    I thought it was Jesus who made the return.......Moses split the Red Sea

  8. #8


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    Quote Originally Posted by Midwest Player View Post
    On a $10 min table I would start out with a $15 min bet and in negative counts drop down to $10 and spread up to $60 or $80.
    How much was EV/hour playing that way? I would think you'd have a hard time covering expenses with that small spread unless the rules/pen/etc. were spectacular.

  9. #9


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    Quote Originally Posted by Optimus Prime View Post
    I would think you'd have a hard time covering expenses with that small spread unless the rules/pen/etc. were spectacular.
    You don't need a large spread with single deck, and the rules are spectacular. However, often crowded conditions make playing less than desirable. I have not done very well in Wendover except for the last couple of years. Single deck is a different beast.

    In order for me to get to Wendover, I have to make a 5 hour drive to a flight city. However I make other casino stops both before and after my Wendover trip. It usually becomes at least a 5 day playing trip. My last two Wendover trips were completely comped so I only had mileage expense and some hotel expense and airport parking. My 2018 trip had only about $300 in expenses.

  10. #10
    Senior Member Jabberwocky's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Old, but not dead View Post
    I thought it was Jesus who made the return.......Moses split the Red Sea
    I thought he split the pea soup.

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