More on L.V. Hilton blackjack

In a comment to my post, a reader asked whether the Hilton dealers hit soft 17. Yes, they do, on all games that I've seen there. This has become the standard rule in Las Vegas, with only a few exceptions, and gives the house an additional .2 percent edge compared with the dealer standing on all 17s. The reader also asked about penetration, a reference to what percentage of the pack of cards is dealt out. This is of interest to card counters for two reasons. First, the more cards that are dealt, the more likely that a high count will be reached. Second, the more cards that are dealt, the more accurate the information is about the composition of the remaining cards.

Penetration in double deck games generally ranges from about 50 percent (very poor) to about 80 percent (excellent). In most casinos, pentration is determined by the dealers, who place the cut card manually, usually according to a house standard. Other casinos, including the Hilton, eliminate variations in penetration by having the dealers use a notch placed in the discard rack (for double deck games) or shoe (six or eight deck games) to place the cut card. Double deck penetration at the Hilton appears to be between 60 and 65 percent, about average. A player can "improve" the penetration by spreading hands, which requires each bet to be double the table minimum.