The table limit is the minimum and maximum bet that a gambler can make at a gaming table. It is a form of yield management in that the limits can be changed to optimize the profit from a gaming table. Gaming tables have a limited resource to sell: the seats used by the players.

Minimum table limits[edit]

Table limits can also be used to manage, in a limited manner, who plays at tables. A casino that wants to project a more exclusive image can set the limits higher so that the casual player walking through would not be as likely to sit down and play. Also games with a lower house edge often have a higher minimum bet. Baccarat almost always has a high minimum bet since the house edge is relatively low. Often a casino will advertise a low minimum game as a teaser, a sign might read $2 blackjack 24 hours a day. However, the $2 minimum game might be available at only one table and the payout might be 6:5 for a blackjack.

Each player at the blackjack table has a circle or box to place bets in. There will always be a minimum bet and a maximum bet for the table. The maximum bet is normally ten to twenty times the minimum bet, meaning that a table with a $5 minimum would have a $50 to $100 maximum. Each player decides how much to bet on a hand before the deal. Hi I have a question. Some one know the table limits of blackjack, for example, some table have limits of Minimun bet $50 max bet $500. I want to know all the limits, and if this limits are part of the rules of the Blackjack.

Historically the attitude has changed about table limits. In the early 1990s in downtown Vegas, quarter minimum bets were common. The low minimums created a general excitement in the casinos as hundreds of people would jostle to play table games. However, casinos floors generally had twice as many employees as they do today. It also made it much easier to introduce new gamblers to table games. Most casinos today would prefer that the low rollers play slot machines which do not require as much oversight.

Normally the limits are set to optimize the return from the seats. Since all table games give the house an advantage, the larger the bets, the larger the house's profit, so the house needs to manage the minimum bets to keep the seats full. This usually results in a low limit early in the day when there are fewer players with the limits increasing as more players become available.^{[original research?]}

Players who are seated when the limit is changed are usually grandfathered in at the old limit. In some casinos they retain the old limit until they leave, in others the lower limit will last for a limited period of time.

Casinos are increasingly turning towards expensive virtual gaming tables to offer low minimum table limit games to customers. Although electronic versions of table games like blackjack have been available for years, they typically raise the house edge by paying even money on blackjack to handle the very low table limits. The more expensive virtual games with high definition video simulations of real dealers pay normal 3:2 payouts, but still include some limitations like limiting the player from doubling soft combinations. Since the electronic machines are available 24/7 and do not require a paid dealer, they are popular ways to augment the gaming pit.^[1]

High table limits[edit]

Table maximums can be as low as $50 at the small locals casino Poker Palace,^[2] but major strip casinos usually offer some tables with a $10,000 maximum. Exceptions are the Golden Nugget in downtown which permits $15,000 bets, and three tables at Caesars Palace which permit bets between $5,000 and $50,000.^[3]

High table limits have their own requirements. For instance as of the year ending September 2009, the 231 blackjack tables in downtown Las Vegas earn an average of $531 per day and the 36 craps table earn an average of $2258 per day in gross revenue before expenses. Although the house has a statistical edge on the expected return, the casino has no control over variance. The outcome of a small number of players making huge bets is unpredictable. The casino could make record profits, or the players could wipe out the cash in the casino or eliminate the profit for the month. Maximum table limits prevent the casino from taking too much of a gamble. For a small casino table maximums are set at $100–$500 per bet. The larger casino can afford larger maximums.^{[original research?]}

Tim Poster and Tom Breitling purchased the Golden Nugget casino in downtown Vegas in January 2004. Although they personally invested $50 million of their own money in the project, they did not have the deep pockets of a major corporation. In order to create the ambiance of Old Vegas, and to attract the high rollers to the aging casino, they elected to work with lower house edges and high table limits. The strategy worked for around 9 months until a high roller won $8.5 million over a two-week period and wiped out their profit for a year. The owners elected to return to table limits to something less risky. After selling the casino to Landry's Restaurant Tom Breitling wrote a book entitled Double or Nothing about running a high risk business.^[4]

High rollers are usually handled by the largest corporations with revenues of several billion dollars a year. The corporations can handle large quarterly variations in profits. In the 21st century Las Vegas changed their policy established in 1931 that all gaming should be public. They permitted small clubs to be opened strictly for high rollers. The Paiza Club in the Palazzo hotel requires that players have at least $300,000 of credit or on front money deposit to play.^[5] Live feeds directly to the State Gaming Commission are a requirement.

A table or a game without a limit is commonly referred to as no-limit. These tables generally allow the player to bet as much as they wish. This is a common form of Texas hold 'em in tournament play where the size of the bets are limited by the chips in play or cash games where the bet is limited by the size of the 'buy in' or chips one has accumulated prior to the current hand. No-limit can be a somewhat deceptive term, however, as one may not bring more money to the table once a hand has started or place a bet for more than the total amount that one has in play when the hands starts.

There is a widely held belief that casinos instituted maximum table limits to limit Martingale betting strategies. The simplest of these strategies involves a player doubling his or her bet every time a loss is incurred on a bet with even odds, until he or she wins.^[6][7] In reality casinos are not at risk from Martingale players. They are at risk against the lucky player who is betting an amount that would be proportionately high for that particular business.It is considered that the number of high and low limit tables are unique to each casino. For example, in Las Vegas Neighborhood and Downtown casinos usually have lower limit tables than Strip casinos. Locals point, that The El Cortez on Fremont Street has plenty of low-limit games, plus blackjack from a single or double-deck shoe.^[8]

References[edit]

Blackjack Side Bets Explained

1. ^'Table Master'. Archived from the original on November 26, 2009.
2. ^'Poker Palace web site'.
3. ^Wizardofvegas.com: Las Vegas Blackjack Survey
4. ^'Tom Breitling's Web Page'.
5. ^'Nevada Gaming Control Board'.
6. ^'The Martingale system at Baccarat'.
7. ^'Martingale in Baccarat'.
8. ^TERRISA MEEKS. 'Make a Date With Lady Luck at Las Vegas' 10 Best Casinos'. 10best.com.

All Las Vegas Strip casinos, as well as some in the downtown and locals markets, short-pay some blackjack tables with a 6:5 payout. The list below shows the minimum bet it takes for you to find a 3:2 blackjack table so that you can get the best game for your bankroll.

The minimum bets and rules listed are based on my observations when visiting Las Vegas casinos in December 2019. Minimum bets may increase during peak hours or due to a policy change.

The list assumes that the game is a six or eight-deck shoe with double down before and after splitting and the dealer hitting soft 17. If there is a variation from these rules, it is included in parenthesis.

$1

• Lucky Club

$2

• Poker Palace

$3

• Jokers Wild (no double down after split)
• Sam’s Town

$5

• Aliante (double deck or shoe, latter adds surrender)
• Arizona Charlie’s Decatur (double deck and shoe)
• Bighorn (double down before or after split on two or three cards plus surrender and re-split aces)
• Boulder Station (surrender)
• California (double deck or shoe, no double down after split in both)
• Cannery (double deck or shoe, latter adds surrender)
• Club Fortune (double deck or shoe)
• Downtown Grand (surrender and re-split aces)
• Eastside Cannery (double deck and shoe with re-split aces, shoe adds surrender)
• El Cortez (single deck with no double down after split or double deck and shoe with double down after split)
• Ellis Island
• Fiesta Henderson and Rancho (double deck and shoe, latter has surrender)
• Fremont (double deck and shoe, no double down after split in both)
• Gold Coast (double deck and shoe)
• Golden Gate
• Jerry’s Nugget (double deck and shoe)
• Longhorn (double down before or after split on two or three cards plus surrender and re-split aces)
• M Resort (double deck and shoe)
• Main Street Station (double deck, no double down after split)
• Orleans (double deck and shoe)
• Palace Station (double deck and shoe, latter adds surrender)
• Plaza
• Railroad Pass
• Rampart (double deck or shoe, latter adds surrender and re-split aces)
• Santa Fe Station (double deck and shoe, latter adds surrender)
• Silver Nugget
• Silverton (surrender and re-split aces)
• Skyline
• South Point
• Suncoast (double deck and shoe)
• Texas Station (double deck and shoe, latter adds surrender)
• The Strat (surrender and re-split aces)
• Tuscany

$10

• Bally’s (surrender)
• Circus Circus
• Cromwell (surrender)
• Green Valley Ranch (double deck and shoe, latter adds surrender)
• Oyo
• Palms (double deck and shoe, latter adds surrender)
• Red Rock (double deck and shoe, latter adds surrender)
• Rio (surrender)
• Silver 7’s (double deck and shoe, latter adds surrender and re-split aces)
• Sunset Station (double deck and shoe, latter adds surrender)
• The D
• Treasure Island (double deck and shoe, latter adds surrender and re-split aces)

Las Vegas Blackjack Minimum And Maximum Bets

$15

• Caesars Palace (surrender)
• Flamingo (surrender)
• Golden Nugget (surrender)
• Harrah’s (surrender)
• Paris (surrender)
• Planet Hollywood (surrender)
• Sahara
• Westgate

Online Blackjack With Side Bets

$25

Blackjack Minimum Maximum Bet

• Four Queens (double deck, no double down after split)
• Cosmopolitan (surrender and re-split aces)
• Encore (surrender and re-split aces)
• Excalibur (surrender and re-split aces)
• Linq (double deck, no double after split, or shoe with surrender)
• Luxor (surrender and re-split aces)
• Mandalay Bay (surrender and re-split aces)
• MGM Grand (surrender and re-split aces)
• Mirage (surrender and re-split aces)
• New York New York (surrender and re-split aces)
• Park MGM (surrender and re-split aces)
• Tropicana (double deck and shoe)
• Wynn (surrender and re-split aces)

$50

• Aria (surrender and re-split aces)
• Bellagio (stand on all 17’s with surrender and re-split aces)
• Palazzo (double deck or shoe, latter adds surrender and re-split aces)
• Venetian (double deck or shoe, latter adds surrender and re-split aces)

Las Vegas casinos with no 3:2 blackjack games

Blackjack Bet Spread

There are three Las Vegas casinos with table games that do not offer any traditional 3:2 blackjack games. Those casinos are Binion’s, Casino Royale and O’Sheas. I found 3:2 tables with a forced $1 side bet at Binion’s but no other ones. The other two casinos have no 3:2 tables of any kind, based on my observations.