I just came off a very long session of blackjack. around 90% pen since they deal past the 87.5% cutcard to finish the last round, that was entirely hand shuffled. I can attest that the very nature of the game of blackjack is that the shoe "seems" to be stacked favorably for the house. And it is stacked, but in a natural way, due to the house advantage. The occurrences of dealer advantage "seem" unreal. In one shoe, the dealer actually had 20 or 21 every hand but one, the only hand I won.
If it doesn't "appear" that the shoe is stacked, you haven't been playing blackjack long IMO.
I have come to expect the dealer to draw a 21 against my pitiful 19 or 20, and when he doesn't I breathe a sigh of relief.
It's the nature of the d*$m game! But I don't believe for a minute that the house did anything to cheat me, other than give themselves a half percent advantage. If you play long sessions, as I sometimes do, you will see long stretches where the dealer always has an upcard of 10, or if he has a 5 or 6, there is always a 6 or 5 in the hole to compliment it.
Just ponder the fact that in order to beat the house, you are required to bet up to 10 or 15 times your minimum bet in plus counts just to swing the odds a tiny percentage in your favor. Sometimes you will swear that it's the dealer who has the advantage in plus counts, because that's the way it often goes when you're dealing with a very small percentage in your favor.
Bookmarks