The rules posted on the machine do not make this clear at all! Michael Shackelford talks about the affect on house edge. (John Grohowski contacted the manufacturer and they confirmed this.) Some states require that video casino games probabilities are not affected by decisions made by others on the same machine. Ridiculous rule - Absolutely. Note: If this was not true the later your position at the table the better off you are since strategy adjustments could be made.
Yes all cards are shuffled after each round. Shufflemaster wants to have these games everywhere it can so it follows that law. Since Let it Ride and Ultimate Texas Hold Em are "stud poker" style games, using the normal single deck for these does not affect player chances. In addition to the Majestic Star, I have also seen this machine at Sunland Park Racetrack in Sunland Park NM (Just across from El Paso TX.) The VP was awful there so that and the Ultimate Texas Hold'Em were far and away the best plays. (VPfree has my report from last fall.)
The type 2 game is probably a normal six deck game. Like I said, some states have the very silly rule stated above. My comment relates only to the Shufflemaster product which is relatively new. (Remember "Blackjack Blitz"? That dealt single deck to up to 5 positions with basic strategy break even rules at the Rio LV. Late position card counting and player's club points made that a positive game. Betting limit was only $10 per hand.)
Be aware that each player position and the dealer uses a different six deck shoe. >>>>
What makes you say that? I have seen two rules variations posted on the six deck games I have played. Type 1 games say cards shuffled every round. This leads me to believe there is one six deck shoe for all cards dealt in a round. Are you saying it is theoretically possible to see more than six Ace of Spades, or any other card, on the table in a single round? Type 2 games say cards shuffled after 2/3 of a shoe. This again leads me to believe there is one six deck shoe for everyone at the table, like in a real table game. What has always baffled me, is how to tell when the cards are shuffled, since the display never shows a shuffle. For a while I thought the cards were shuffled only when there was a change of dealer. I experimented with card counting and bet and strategy variation based on the count using this method, but my results were not positive. I have no doubt my sample size was insufficient to draw any strong conclusions as to game fairness.
Several times people have asked about VBJ that pays 3 to 2 for a blackjack. There are some nice 5-player tables at The Riviera, which is on the north end of The Strip. The rules are 6-decks, dealer hits soft 17, double any 2 cards, double after split, late surrender, dealer peaks. From blacjackinfo.com for those rules, I got a 0.58% house edge. There is also an auto win for a 7-card charlie, and no re-splitting is allowed. You can bet $2-$200 on a hand. The game is made by ShuffleMaster.
I checked out this game tonight. Be aware it requires twice the coin-in to earn a point when compared to video poker.
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-----Original Message-----
From: vegasvpplayer
Sent: Nov 22, 2009 8:12 AM
To: vpFREE@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [vpFREE] Re: XVP: Video Blackjack at The Riviera