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Thread: Blackjack in Greece (beginner questions)

  1. #1


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    Blackjack in Greece (beginner questions)

    Hello guys!

    I am a beginner in blackjack and the last weeks I study and read about it (basic strategy, card counting, etc) as much as I can before I go to a local casino (I have never played blackjack in a casino).
    I have some questions which I hope you can help me with...

    Does anybody know if in the casinos of Greece and the Balkans:


    1) Do the tables play the classic american or european blackjack? And if the answer is the european, are there at least some tables where I can play the american one or this is not found anywhere in Greece (and the Balkans)?
    2) Are only CSMs used for shuffling?
    3) What are usually the tables minimum? Can I find somewhere tables starting with 5€?
    4) The shoe contains 6 decks or are there tables that use 1 and 2 decks?
    5) Is (late) surrender available?
    6) Regarding doubling down, for example the Regency casino says "it is allowed when the first two player's cards total to 2 through 11". This means all hands or only the hard ones? For instance, can I double down (Ace, 2) or not because it can be considered as 13?


    And one last question, the Illustrious 18 indexes for european are different than the american? If so, where do they differ and what are the changed indexes? I guess they differ only at the indexes where the dealer has a ten or ace face up?
    Finally, in general, what are your opinions of the casinos here in Greece and the nearby Balkan cities? Card counting is possible here or everywhere exist already countermeasures?


    Thank you all in advance for your time!

  2. #2


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    I find this post somewhat humorous. Why don't you take a drive down to your local casino and then report back on what the conditions are. 99% of this board has not played in Greece. Maybe you will get lucky and someone can chime in.

    CSMs are used to shuffle after every hand so you cannot count it. ASMs are shuffled after every shoe; you can count it.
    It sounds like at the Regency you cannot double soft hands, only hard hands.
    There may be different indices for European No Hole Card for your count. You should consult your book where you learned your count from.

  3. #3


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    Quote Originally Posted by Avincow View Post
    I find this post somewhat humorous. Why don't you take a drive down to your local casino and then report back on what the conditions are. 99% of this board has not played in Greece. Maybe you will get lucky and someone can chime in.

    CSMs are used to shuffle after every hand so you cannot count it. ASMs are shuffled after every shoe; you can count it.
    It sounds like at the Regency you cannot double soft hands, only hard hands.
    There may be different indices for European No Hole Card for your count. You should consult your book where you learned your count from.
    You should first care of the differences in Basic Strategy. Card Counting and deviations from Basic Strategy make absolutely no sense if you are a beginner not even knowing the rules and correct Basic Strategy. And lots of practicing before even trying to play in a casino is also necessary.

    In Europe, the dealer draws his hole card only after all players have finished their hands (ENHC rule), so you never double down or split against dealer Ace or Ten because you might lose additional double and split bets in case of a dealer blackjack. (The only exception is you still split (A,A) versus dealer 10 because a dealer Ace is less likely to be drawn). If no soft doubling is allowed, this further reduces your options (and of course also the number of index plays when counting).

    See also

    https://wizardofodds.com/games/black...gy/calculator/

    https://www.blackjacktheforum.com/sh...tions-for-ENHC

    I have played little in Europe because I'm so sick of this CSM crap, but can say in Tenerife (Spain) the table min at my CSM ploppy table was 5 Euros, in Davos (Switzerland) it was 10 CHF (the only other table was even 20 CHF but closed, and both were CSM), which corresponds to 10 USD or 9 Euros.
    Last edited by PinkChip; 01-08-2020 at 03:08 AM.

  4. #4


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    Greece is 100% CSM. There are other shoes nearby. Usually poor pen from being burnt out by Russian counters. Rumors of cheating in one locale nearby.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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