Blackjack ettiquette question.

Factual Questions
1

I really don’t play Blackjack all that often, so I’m not too sure of the hidden traditions and was wondering about something. Over Christmas I hit the casino and played a couple 5 buck hands.

At one point the dealer hand got a streak of four or five good hands in a row. The table was full, and nobody had won in that time. The next hand the dealer turned 21 on four cards. The Pit boss immediatly called her over for a quick word(all friendly like) and she came back to the table, she dealed again without collecting the bets from the before hand, and we all played like they were new bets. Nobody else batted an eyelash, and I certainly wasn’t going to say anything.

I was wondering if it was common for the pit boss to call a do-over to throw everybody a bone so they don’t get discouraged, or if it was more likely she actually got confused and forgot to collect, and we “cheated”.

2

I don’t know where you were playing, but at many casinos, the dealer is required to stand pat on a hand of 17, and must hit below 17. Is it possible the dealer took a hit on hand of 17 or higher?

3

I have never seen that happen, but I can see why it did.

Everyone at the table was doing exactly the same thing as you.

And what the dealer forgets, the eye in the sky always remembers.

4

No, she went 3-4-6-8

5

Probably, the house didn’t want to piss off the table and keep them playing.

Just a question: When this happened, was it the last hand in the shoe? If it was, I understand it. Many players are apt to leave a shoe as it’s being shuffled.

PS: What casino?

6

Wow, I’ve never heard of that happening. I suppose you were at a low-limit table, because I’m sure that wouldn’t take place at a $100 and up table.

I agree with PhilAlex. And I can’t imagine that would have happened on any day other than Christmas, or perhaps New Year’s Eve.

7

I’ve played a lot of blackjack and that’s never happened to me. I’ve been paid on pushes many times but I’m pretty sure that’s just the dealer screwing up.

8

I lost a $300 bet by the count of BlackJack (by the dealer) to 21 (by me). Damn if they didn’t take every penny of my bet. I think you may have been part of a very rare hiccup in the space-time continuum. Their entire enterprise counts on players having a good run of bad luck. Maybe a dealer at another table was busting 4 times in a row - they needed that winning dealer to make their math work…

9

I don’t understand you. Perhaps I am misinformed, but I thought if the dealer is dealt blackjack, nobody gets to hit/stand, so you couldn’t have made 21 - and if a player happened to be dealt blackjack as well, then it’s a push.

Please enlighten me.

10

Well crap. I was trying to talk my self into thinking that it was the pit boss playing diplomat, because I really feel bad that the dealer fucked up and will be suspended.

The casino was downtown Reno, I can’t remeber the name of the one I was at , but it wasn’t the Legacy or the El Dorado 'cause I always remember those two.

11

I thought it worked like this:

Player draws cards, hits 21 and then dealer turns over his/her cards.
If dealer has blackjack then this beats players hand unless the player also has blackjack.
What?

12

Spogga, dealer checks his hand if he has an up ace. I don’t recall exactly, but they might also check on a face card, although this doesn’t seem like it would be universal. BTW, they check the bottom card with that little mirror deal on the table in front of them. I do know that they only offer insurance on an up ace.

13

It depends on the casino. Some check the hole card on a ten, some don’t. All do with an ace, of course.

The net result is zero. If you double down against a blackjack, you won’t lose more than your original bet.

14

That’s something that I found unusual in the States…that the dealer deals 2 cards to him/herself. Here in the Caribbean, the dealer only deals one face-up card to himself and then goes on to hit/stand the players cards before dealing himself the second card. Therefore they never know what they’re going to get.

15

The dealer doesn’t know if he has blackjack until the end, if he only has a face card showing. If he’s showing an Ace, then yes, he will check & know whether or not he has BJ.

16

And remember, some casinos have those neat-o automatic readers, where the 10’s, court cards, and aces all have indexes on all sides.

So, when a dealer has an ace up, they put the card over this reader, which has two mirrors at right angles. If they see a 10, they claim blackjack. If they don’t, they see nothing. (Non 10 indexes are blank).

I thought of something last night. It’s possible there was a high roller at the table, from another casino, losing badly at this casino, and said casino, and boss were happy about the action, and didn’t want to lose him.

It’s also possible the pit boss or floorman was more than a pit boss. He may have some “points” or ownership in the house.

BTW: A tip I’ve always liked is this: Go to the best casino in the area and get some high demonination chips. IE: $500’s or $1000’s. Go to the casino you want to play in, and ask if you can use these chips if you get “stuck”.

You’ll normally get better treatment. (Here’s a mirage customer giving us some business, we better be happy with his action)