Do bad rules hurt casino profits?

[Cardcounter]

In Reno the profits of the major casinos has gone down by about $20 million dollars in the last five years and the rules at the blackjack table have given the house a much larger edge with perfect play. I believe that poor rules are hurting the bottom line of the casino. The reason why poor rules hurt the bottom line of the casino is that a lot of people stay away from games with poor rules. If there is nobody playing your game with poor rules and they go some where else that offers better rules the other casino will make the money instead. Or maybe even worse than that they won't gamble as much or at all. On the blackjack table restricting doubling to only 10-11 reduces the amount of double down mistakes that a player makes and they make a lot of them when doubling is allowed on any two cards. Sure good rules decrease the house edge when optimal stragedy is used but 99% of players don't use optimal stragedy and bad rules make the 99% of losing players want to play less or not at all.

 

[Preston]

Also factor in that although we count cards, we are raising our bets significantly when the count goes up. Now the dealer has a good chance to catch the good cards too... that pays off pretty well.

I think a lot of what kills blackjack is the 6 to 5 horse shit.

 

[bj bob]

Bad Rules?...

...or something else. The primary reason the Reno's profits have been down for the past several years are not their rules, it's their competion in the Valley. Yup! It's them dadblamit Injuns!! The effects of Thunder Valley and Cache Creek have really put the skids on poor 'ol Reno. Just ask some of our local members here and they'll tell you all about it.They're packed to the gills! Those two casinos inercept loads of traffic from the Bay Area. Why should the average Ploppy drive an extra 4 hours(round trip) and fight the snow in the winter? Most of the games in Reno i.e. D10 , H17 are still there and some have even gotten better, e.g. DD DAS DOA 75%+pen. at the Biltmore and Happy Hour at the Siena, not to mention the juicey one at Boomtown. From what I'm hearing, the City is planning a rebuilding of Va. St, getting rid of those sleezy pawn shops etc. by the tracks. Those two factors, and not the games, in my opinion are the biggest factors for the slump in that town.

 

[EasyRhino]

they had a nice construction pit that replaced Virginia Street between Harrah's and Fitzgerald's this weekend.

I'd like to think that if casinos offered better games, and stopped the 6:5 horseshit, then they'd see improved results. But I doubt that. If you have casinos moving 70% of their BJ games to 6:5, it's got to be at least moderately successful.

Also, I suspect that double on anything is not a moneymaker for the casinos, just because I usually see players doubling too little, not too much (except for the one drunk trucker over the weekend, who kept doubling on 12).

I'll blame the Indians too. Not just the Norcal ones, but the ones everywhere else, including the riverboat Indians.

 

[shadroch]

I've never been to Reno,so I can't comment on the games there.But what I can say is that in the 80s and early 90s,it was just as easy to get to Reno as it was to Vegas,from the East Coast.Back then,there were multiple groups running junkets to Reno,now I know of none.Casinos can't profit off gamblers that don't get to their casinos.
I'd love to hit Reno. I'd love to spend more time in Tunica.But when I can fly to Vegas for half the cost of going to those places,why would I spend more to go there?

 

[Automatic Monkey]

No. The way the typical player plays BJ, going to 6:5 isn't going to increase the house edge much. It obviously does not deter unskilled players. But it will keep us away.

I really believe that the typical gambler in a resort location is intending to lose and they neither understand nor care about the rules.