From: dg10+@andrew.cmu.edu (David Goldreich)
Newsgroups: rec.gambling
Subject: Toronto Trip Report
Date: 2 Sep 92 15:54:18 GMT
Organization: Doctoral student, Industrial Administration, Carnegie Mellon, Pittsburgh, PA


I went to Toronto this past weekend to visit the folks, and while I was
there on Sunday, I visited the Canadian National Exhibition, (known
as the CNE or as the Ex.)  The CNE is a fair/amusement park type thing
(very large) and is open only for the three weeks before labour day.
(It is home to the Hockey Hall of Fame, a temple to the gods of
hockey, home of the real Stanley Cup, Bobby Orr's stick ...
sorry, I'm Canadian.)

Anyhow, while we were there we found at that they have 2 casinos
on the grounds (only open during the 3 weeks of the CNE).  
As casinos will be open year round in Toronto starting in a
few years (depending on the whims of the politicians), these 
casinos may give an indication of the future conditions in Toronto.

To get into the CNE, it costs $7.50/adult $2/child, well worth it,
of course rides are extra.

The casinos are open 12-12 on weekdays, 10-12 on weekends.  ( I believe
they close at 6pm on labour day).  The minimum age is 18 (those of
you under 21 may start salivating now.)  Is this the only place
within many thousands of miles that people under 21 can play?
(For some reason the minimum age for the blackjack tournament is 19).

They are very strict about not letting in kids under 18.  My wife and
I were at the CNE with our one and a half year old daughter (no,
she cannot pass for 18, although we are trying to teach her basic
strategy) and they wouldn't let us in with her.  So my wife went in for
5 minutes while I waited outside, then I went in for 5 minutes while
my wife waited outside.

(There is a sign by the entrance stating " Anyone abandoning children
near the casino will not be permitted to play at either casino in the
CNE for the duration of the summer."  Darn - there goes that idea.)

So we went home, dropped the kid of with the grandparents and came back.
(Make sure to get your hand stamped so that they let you back in to the
CNE without paying again)

Now, for the real stuff:

There are 150 tables total (both casinos), this is almost all BJ,
a little roulette (American wheel - 0 and 00), a little baccarat, 
perhaps a big wheel or two.
No craps, no slots.  (Oh yeah, they also have those little pull tab
thingies)

The rules of BJ are: 
Dealer stands on all 17s
Double on 9,10,11
Double after Split
Resplitting Allowed(3x ??)
One card on split aces (no resplitting aces)
Insurance Allowed

and get this...  EUROPEAN No hole Card  :(
(i.e. you lose all splits and doubles on dealer BJ)

(with hindsight I should have asked about surrender, but I didn't)

4 decks, about 1 deck cut off (leads to aboout 80% penetration - 
by the time the final hand is dealt)
However, penetration did vary from 50% to close to 100% depending on the
dealer.  
Six spots per table (As if it matters on a shoe).

There was always one table of $1/$5 (max/min) open 
There were a couple of $3/$10 tables
All the rest were $5/$25
In theory, you could play two spots if you played the table max
on each spot.(In reality, there was rarely an open spot).

The place was mobbed (20 minutes to get a seat)
My wife and I split up and after a while I found a seat, after waiting
for the longest time, she found a seat at the other end of the casino
only to sit down and find that she left all her Canadian money at home.
(she got a seat at my table 10 minutes later.)

I have never seen such incompetent players and dealers in my life.
(Hmm' I think I'll split those 4's against the dealer's 10)

The dealers and pit personnel ("pit critters" is reserved for
professionals) were locals who were obviously inexperienced.
On the Farenheit scale, the heat was about 300 degrees below zero.
The pit wouldn't know if the dealers were cheating them blind.

There was a ratio of about 1 eye in the sky per 20 tables
(I mean those spherical mirror things on the ceiling).

POSITIVE EXPECTATIONS BASIC STRATEGY:

In the course of a half an hour, the dealer helped me and my wife 
3 times.  First, he paid off my push of $5.  Next he paid off
my wifes push of $10 (a $5 bet that was doubled).  
I was sitting at first base, and the dealer would pull out the card
from the shoe in front of me with his left hand, pass it over to
his right hand and then deal to me.  Once, the guy at 3rd base was slow
to get his bet out, so the dealer pulled out the card from the shoe
and then stopped to wait for the guy at first to bet.  The method of
pulling out the card allowed me to see that it was a ten.  I promptly
increased my bet and drew a blackjack.
After a while, I was dissapointed when my pushes didn't get paid off.
I was sorry to see the dealer go.

Although there is only D9,10,11, my wife got away with a soft double
on one occasion.  I later tried it also, but the guy next to me kindly
announced that I'm only allowed to double on hard hands.  Thanks mister.

Another dealer took my wifes push of $5, and when she complained, the dealer
said "oh sorry, did you have $5 or $10 out?"  Being honest, she said $5.
(It helped that the same guy that helped with my confusion about soft
doubling, helped her by loudly reminding her that she only had $5 out.
Thanks again.)

Occassionally, when there was a problem, the dealer would pull out the
discards without calling over the pit or anything.  They did call out 
to color up/make change, but when the pit was busy elsewhere they
just colored up/made change anyways.  (oops, this is Canada.  They
COLOUR up.)

It was odd that the dealers never burnt cards, either after a shuffle
or after a mid shoe dealer change.


RAPID BLACKJACK

At one of the casinos (the one next to Exhibition Stadium)  they have
something called rapid blackjack. It is sort of like a mini tournament.
A table has between 4 and 6 players.  Entrance fee is between $5 and
$100.  You get $250 in fake chips and play through *one* 4 deck shoe.
The house keeps one entrance fee and the rest goes to the person with
the most fake $$.  (It's a big house rake, but if the players are as 
incompetent as those at the regular tables it may be lucrative).

This might be interesting, as the game is about 10 hands, so the
game-theoretical aspect might be tractable.  However, with only ten
hands, luck plays a major role, and you might not be able to beat
the house rake.

I didn't try it.

There was also a big tournament with a first prize of $50,000.
I don't know the details, but there is no limit to the number of
entrants.


REFRESHMENTS

There is a snack bar in each casino.  A coke cost $2.  Don't think
they have milkshakes :)


It's been to long since I've been to Vegas.  I needed this fix.

(Oh yeah... Bottom line Down $16.50 ..er.. 3.3 units)

David
Newsgroups: rec.gambling