8 decks in lci london.

[blazin22]

A friend of mine recently visited the lci casinos in London and he told me they have switched to 8 decks, can anyone confirm this?

 

[Percy]

Nightmare.

I REALLY hope this is not true. I doubt its been applied to all of their casinos but will be able to check some of them tomorrow. I will report back my findings.

 

[tezzadiver]

I REALLY hope this is not true. I doubt its been applied to all of their casinos but will be able to check some of them tomorrow. I will report back my findings.

Casino at the Empire has now converted to the 8 deck game:sad: Golden Nugget is still using a 6 decker. Information valid from yesterday- visited both clubs:cool2:

 

[blazin22]

Our games are deteriorating :sad: on the upside you can now take insurance against an ace at any time. If you visit, Please report back on the type of shuffle used. I recently visited an Alea casino using six decks and they have a bizarre shuffle I have not seen before, they basically break the shoe in half and riffle and re stack both halves before doing the same on the combined decks.

 

[Percy]

Wow, our games are deteriorating... I can also now confirm that Empire has gone to 8decks. Apparently Nuggett has too but tezza could be right. Blazin22, which company allowed you to take full insurance?

 

[blazin22]

Apparently on the 8 deck empire game.

 

[blazin22]

Our dealers don't have experience with handling 8 decks, they are unwieldy to manipulate without sometimes showing/dropping chunks of cards. Take advantage of this while you can. I'm quite upset by this, the only positive is that 8 decks take allot longer to shuffle, making them much more vulnerable to tracking due to the simpler shuffles employed. Evolve or die.

 

[tezzadiver]

Our dealers don't have experience with handling 8 decks, they are unwieldy to manipulate without sometimes showing/dropping chunks of cards. Take advantage of this while you can. I'm quite upset by this, the only positive is that 8 decks take allot longer to shuffle, making them much more vulnerable to tracking due to the simpler shuffles employed. Evolve or die.

Penetration was still fairly decent though. Might be worth a wong in and out. The tables are always crowded so its pretty easy to get away with if you have the patience!

 

[blazin22]

Wonging 8 decks is worthless in my book, the hands per hour are pitifully low. Really not worth the bother.

 

[UK-21]

Agreed. But look on the bright side - it may not last for long. Correct me if I'm wrong, but LCI are now owned by Harrahs and so it looks as though some edict has come from the other side of the Atlantic telling the management at Empire and GN to screw down the games (and they've done exactly as they've been told). But with Napoleon's, literally tennis ball throwing distance from the Empire offering a four deck game, I'm sure even the regulars will eventually wise up. Four decks or eight decks? It's a no brainer really?

Napoleon's could, of course, throw in the towel in offering four deck games, but as they advertise the fact heavily that they offer the best game around (so it's their market USP so to speak), and no doubt that this in itself attracts regular money, they may opt for business as usual. Watch this space.

 

[KOLAN]

win in a row

dealer newer lost 1o times in a row, 6 players on a table
it is true or not
???

 

[blazin22]

Yus, dealer newer have bigger *****
eye seen dealer newer lose 56 times in row, dealer newer more chance to bust than old dealer. dealer newer defy odds with earth hit by big asteroid.

 

[ycming]

Hmm between 6 decks and 8 decks the house edge increased by 0.03

Really, if you are a hi lo user, you would still hit an advantage play at a TC +1.5. It is not as good as 6 decks but is not end of the world!

What is bad is when you are barred from 3/4 casino in your home town!

Ming

 

[London Colin]

Hmm between 6 decks and 8 decks the house edge increased by 0.03

Really, if you are a hi lo user, you would still hit an advantage play at a TC +1.5. It is not as good as 6 decks but is not end of the world

The house edge is not the issue. The issue is the frequency with which you see the various TCs.

Penetration is still the final arbiter. Take a look at these SCOREs from BJA3 for 6 and 8-deck, S17, DAS (With Hole Card, and full insurance allowed in both cases)...

75% pen.
Play-all, with a 1-12 spread:-
6-deck: $20.64/hr.
8-deck: $11.58/hr.

87.5% pen.
Play-all, with a 1-12 spread:-
8-deck: $27.81/hr.

That being said, the UK's 6-deck game is worse than the above, due to only being allowed to insure your blackjacks, whereas the 8-deck must now be broadly similar to the above figures, ENHC being the only remaining difference.

 

[johndoe]

The house edge is not the issue. The issue is the frequency with which you see the various TCs.

Penetration is still the final arbiter. Take a look at these SCOREs from BJA3 for 6 and 8-deck, S17, DAS (With Hole Card, and full insurance allowed in both cases)...

75% pen.
Play-all, with a 1-12 spread:-
6-deck: $20.64/hr.
8-deck: $11.58/hr.

87.5% pen.
Play-all, with a 1-12 spread:-
8-deck: $27.81/hr.

That being said, the UK's 6-deck game is worse than the above, due to only being allowed to insure your blackjacks, whereas the 8-deck must now be broadly similar to the above figures, ENHC being the only remaining difference.

This is a bit misleading, as 75% pen is 2 decks of 8, but 1.5 of 6. A better comparison is 1.5 decks cut from each, which is more typical of what you'd find out there. In this case, the SCORE between 6 and 8 decks is pretty much the same.

 

[London Colin]

This is a bit misleading, as 75% pen is 2 decks of 8, but 1.5 of 6. A better comparison is 1.5 decks cut from each, which is more typical of what you'd find out there.

It was a deliberate choice, not to be misleading, but to highlight that, with all else being equal (including the percentage pen.), the number of decks has a big impact for counters, but greater penetration can still make an 8-deck game better than a 6-deck one.

In this case, the SCORE between 6 and 8 decks is pretty much the same.

The 8-deck figure for that, from the same table, is $17.64. Still down, but certainly a big improvement.

 

[Mr Twentyone]

Empire.

Blazzin,

Just to confirm in the Empire and or Nugget... You can take insurance at any time versus dealers Ace up?

Furthermore have they added early surrender as an option, and also is it H17?

 

[JVR]

Guys, Golden Nugget now uses 8-deck as well..............

 

[Mr Twentyone]

Thanks for update, awful news they are ruining the game for everyone.