Murrow said:
Does anyone have any advice on how to tell a 6 deck shoe from an 8 deck shoe? Is it just one of those things you learn over time, or are there tell-tale signs at any given table?
To be sure about it, you simply need to be able to visually tell a 6 deck stack from an 8.
Yes, you can ask the dealer, but I've seen the dealer give the wrong answer.
Yes, you can look at the discard tray, but occasionally a 6 deck game will be dealt with an 8 deck discard tray.
Yes, card thicknesses do vary depending upon the manufacturer. But a 2 deck difference will always be obvious to an educated eye.
6 decks will just about always measure between
3.5 inches and
3.75 inches.
8 decks will just about always measure between
4.6 inches and
5.0 inches.
The thin ones are Gemaco and Paulson. The thick ones are Bee and Aristocrat. It's good to look for the Ace of Spades to come out the first time you sit down if you don't recognize the card back.
Can card thickness affect true count conversion? Here's about a worst case scenario. You're near the shuffle in an 8 deck game and the Hi/Lo RC is +5.
With an 8 unit bet up, you've got blackjack against an Ace. Being used to skinny cards, you estimate that 6.5 decks are in the tray. That converts to a +3
.3 true -- and you take Even Money. In reality however, you were playing with Aristocrats and there are only 6.0 decks in the tray, making the actual TC +2
.5. At all shallower penetration depths, it'll matter considerably less.