1. Wynn Macau Blackjack Rules For Dummies
2. Wynn Macau Blackjack Rules For Real
3. Wynn Macau Blackjack Rules Card Game

Oct 16, 2014 The MGM Grand Macau This is one of several Vegas-style mega casinos in Macau, and offers the same player-friendly blackjack rules you’ll find in the Wynn and Venetian Macau: dealer stands on soft 17, unlimited splits (including re-splitting aces) and early surrender is allowed. The MGM Grand Macau. Wynn Macau The excitement of blackjack, roulette and craps mingles with a Las Vegas nightlife vibe like only Encore can provide in this unique luxury lounge. Situated across from Andrea’s, Encore Players Lounge offers gaming tables and plenty of plush seating to watch the game on one of the HDTVs.

Oct 16, 2014

Forget about Las Vegas. Go to Macau to play blackjack!

Macau is known for baccarat, but it also has some of the best blackjack tables in the world. If you ever find yourself in this fantastic city check out a few casinos on this list.

Forget about Las Vegas. The Chinese city of Macau (formerly a Portuguese colony) is now the world’s gambling center. In 2013 its 30-some casinos pulled in a combined $45.2 billion in revenue, utterly dwarfing the $6.2 billion done by Vegas.

And much of Macau’s gambling billions come from players laying down massive bets on baccarat, the game of choice for thousands of wealthy Chinese gamblers. However, blackjack is day-by-day gaining a bigger following in Macau.

Casinos are investing in more tables as more gamblers across Asia are taking an interest in the game. Here are some of the best places in Macau to play this fantastic table game.

Wynn Macau

Las Vegas casino mogul Steve Wynn has built one of Macau’s biggest and most luxurious casinos, which also happens to be one of the places in the city most conducive to winning at blackjack.

The most player-friendly blackjack table at the Wynn has a house edge of only .09 percent, one of the lowest you’ll see anywhere on Earth! Dealers stand on soft 17s!

You must be wondering: “there’s a catch. No casino would offer the player almost even odds. What’s the deal?”There is a catch is that the minimum bet is HKD 1,000 (about $128).

Wynn Macau Blackjack Rules For Dummies

This is the best blackjack table in Macau, and maybe anywhere, but it is high-rollers only. However, the Wynn offers lower stakes tables with higher house edges. Whatever your budget, there is something for you.

Venetian Macau

Never to be outdone by his friend and rival Steve Wynn, Sands China chairman and CEO Sheldon Adelson has also put up one of the grandest casinos in a city known for glitz, glamour and limitless piles of money.

Venetian Macau

The Venetian features a high limit ($128) table with a very inviting house edge of .16 percent, better than many you’ll find outside of the Wynn and a few others. If that bet size is a little outside of your budget, there are also hundreds of tables offering hands starting at $39.

And if you’re looking to take a break from the blackjack table, the Venetian is known as Macau’s premier entertainment venue, having hosted star-powered acts like Beyonce and Lady Gaga.

The City of Dreams

This not-so -modestly named mega casino is everything it claims to be: an absolutely stunning miracle of human design and engineering available only to those carrying very large sums of money.

While many Macau casinos have warmed up to mass market gamblers, “the city” remains high-rollers only. You won’t find many tables with limits under $128, but the house edge on these upper limit tables is a favorable .16 percent.

As for overall amenities, the City of Dreams includes three hotels and a total of 1,400 rooms, and the House of Dancing Water show directed by Franco Dragone is one of the best entertainment attractions in the entire city.

The Grand Lisboa

The 12-story Grand Lisboa is a city icon, built in 1970 by Lawrence Ho long before Macau was opened up to foreign casino investors. It has become a mainstay due to its architectural brilliance as well as its willingness to open its doors to mass market gamblers.

The Grand Lisboa, Macau

The Lisboa isn’t a huge casino by the standards of the day, but it features enough blackjack rules variations and minimum bet sizes to cater to almost any blackjack player.

There are tables as low as $6, albeit with a house edge of .52 percent. But if you’re a true higher roller, the upper limit blackjack tables have a house edge of only .16 percent and allow you to wager up to $380,000 per hand.

We truly mean it when we say that the Grand Lisboa has something for everyone, a feature which is lacking in most Macau casinos.

The MGM Grand Macau

This is one of several Vegas-style mega casinos in Macau, and offers the same player-friendly blackjack rules you’ll find in the Wynn and Venetian Macau: dealer stands on soft 17, unlimited splits (including re-splitting aces) and early surrender is allowed.

The MGM offers an upper limit game with a house edge of only .09, tantalizingly low. For those looking to wager small amounts the house edges aren’t too shabby either. The casino has hundreds of gaming tables, so there’s no reason you shouldn’t find what you’re looking for.

Pharaoh’s Palace

This is a little-known local casino located inside the Landmark Hotel, which probably wouldn’t be known at all if not the for the unique blackjack rules variations offered there.

Pharaoh’s Palace, Macau

It has the same rules offered at most Macau casinos (see MGM Grand) but has a few interesting twists not seen anywhere else. For example, any time the player makes a five card hand they have half their bet returned automatically, unless the dealer shows an ace.

In addition, the player receives a tantalizing 3-1 payout on any three-card hand containing 777 or a suited 678. These rules are so good that Macau insiders claim that if one uses flawless basic strategy there is no house edge at all. Imagine what someone can do using a card counting system!

Tags: Beyonce, blackjack rules variations, card counting system, Franco Dragone, Grand Lisboa Casino, Lady Gaga, Lawrence Ho, MGM Grand Macau, Pharoah’s Palace, Sheldon Adelson, Steve Wynn, the City of Dreams, Venetian Macau, winning at blackjack, Wynn Macau

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*** Some mistakes in Lisboa Strategy

Lisboa Strategy
soft 19(4&5 cards) vs 7 = stay
soft 19(4&5 cards) vs 8 = stay
soft 18(3 cards) vs 8 = hit
7,7 vs T = hit
2,2 vs 7 = hit

***

Last update: Sept. 12, 2007

Introduction

To understand the blackjack scene in Macau it is helpful to have an historical background.

Wynn Macau Blackjack Rules For Real

Until 2001 Stanley Ho's company SJM held a monopoly on gambling in Macau. When his monopoly expired in 2001 the government initially allowed two more licenses. Each new license holder was to be at least partially owned by a Macau person or company. When one of these partnerships went bad, the gaming authorities in Macau allowed the license to be split into two. When the other two full license holders complained, to be fair, the Macau government allowed each of them a sub-license as well.

So, there are now six owners of gaming licenses in Macau. Each license holder may build as many casinos as he likes, or at least I'm told. In August 2007 I went to Macau to investigate the blackjack rules there. Usually each license holder kept the rules the same within each property and across all its properties, with the Lisboa being an exception. The remainder of this document will explain the blackjack rules for each group, indicate the house edge, and provide the appropriate basic strategy under the given rules.

Lisboa

Although the Lisboa is an SJM property, but the blackjack rules are more liberal than the other SJM properties. Following are the specifics.

• 5 decks.
• Dealer stands on soft 17.
• Player may double only on 11.
• Dealer does not take a hole card. If dealer has blackjack player will lose entire bet, including additional wagers for doubling and splitting.
• Double after a split allowed.
• Player may surrender on any initial two cards, except against a dealer ace. This is equivalent to 'early surrender' against a 10, because the player may invoke it before the dealer checks for blackjack.
• The player may choose to win half his bet with any five-card hand, except against a dealer ace, and after splitting.
• A player 7-7-7 in his initial hand will immediately pay 3 to 1. Splitting will void this rule.
• Resplitting aces is allowed.
• Continuous shuffler.

Note: After splitting, if the strategy says H3 or H4, then stand.

The house edge under these rules is a scant 0.01%. Following is the basic strategy under these rules.

SJM, except Lisboa

Wynn Macau Blackjack Rules Card Game

SJM is a Portugese acronym for Sociedade de Jogo de Macau. This translates to Society of Games of Macau. Stanley Ho is a major shareholder of SJM. The majority of casinos in Macau are SJM properties.

The SJM blackjack rules, except at the Lisboa are as follows. The Lisboa is treated separately above.

• 5 decks.
• Dealer stands on soft 17.
• Player may double only on 11.
• Dealer does not take a hole card. If dealer has blackjack player will lose entire bet, including additional wagers for doubling and splitting.
• Double after a split allowed.
• Player may surrender on any initial two cards, except against a dealer ace. This is equivalent to 'early surrender' against a 10, because the player may invoke it before the dealer checks for blackjack.
• A player 7-7-7 in his initial hand will immediately pay 3 to 1. Splitting will void this rule.
• Resplitting aces not allowed.
• Continuous shuffler.

The house edge under these rules is 0.89%. It is this high mainly due to being allowed to double only on 11. Following is the basic strategy under these rules. Note that the 777 bonus does not change the strategy for splitting sevens.

Wynn

As of the last update the only Wynn property in Macau is the Wynn Macau. I hear of talk of plans to build a second property on the Taipa side.

The Wynn blackjack rules are as follows.

• 4 decks.
• Dealer hits on soft 17.
• Player may double on any first two cards.
• Dealer does not take a hole card. If dealer has blackjack player will lose only original wager. Additional wagers made due to double or splitting will be returned.
• Double after a split allowed.
• Player may surrender on any initial two cards, except against a dealer ace. This is equivalent to 'early surrender' against a 10, because the player may invoke it before the dealer checks for blackjack.
• Resplitting aces allowed.
• Continuous shuffler.

The house edge under these rules is 0.32%. Following is the basic strategy under these rules.

Sands

As of early August 2007 the only Sands property in Macau is the Sands itself. On August 28 the Sands will open its second property, the Venetian, on the Cotai side.

The Sands blackjack rules are as follows.

• 5 decks.
• Dealer stands on soft 17.
• Player may double on any first two cards.
• Dealer does not take a hole card. If dealer has blackjack player will lose entire bet, including additional wagers for doubling and splitting.
• Double after a split allowed.
• Player may surrender on any initial two cards, except against a dealer ace. This is equivalent to 'early surrender' against a 10, because the player may invoke it before the dealer checks for blackjack.
• Resplitting aces not allowed.
• Continuous shuffler.

The house edge under these rules is 0.26%. Following is the basic strategy under these rules.

Galaxy

As of August 2007 the Galaxy properties include the StarWorld, President, and Galaxy Waldo. They also have a huge project under construction on the Taipa side, I believe opening in 2008.

The Galaxy blackjack rules are as follows.

• 6 decks.
• Dealer stands on soft 17.
• Player may double on any first two cards.
• Dealer does not take a hole card. If dealer has blackjack player will lose only original wager. Additional wagers made due to double or splitting will be returned(double only, all splitting lose on dealer blackjack).
• ***the dealer will not take doubles, but will take splits, against a dealer blackjack
• Double after a split allowed.
• Player may surrender on any initial two cards, except against a dealer ace. This is equivalent to 'early surrender' against a 10, because the player may invoke it before the dealer checks for blackjack.
• Resplitting aces not allowed.
• Continuous shuffler.

The house edge under these rules is 0.16%. Following is the basic strategy under these rules.

Criticism: I have an unconfirmed report that at the Galaxy itself (in the Waldo Hotel) the player loses all to a dealer blackjack. The same source said at the other Galaxy properties (StarWorld, President) resplitting aces is allowed, and the dealer will not take doubles, but will take splits, against a dealer blackjack. (Sep 7, 07)

Crown

As of August 2007 the only Crown property was the Crown casino, located in the Hyatt.

The Crown blackjack rules are the same as Galaxy's, as follows.

• 6 decks.
• Dealer stands on soft 17.
• Player may double on any first two cards.
• Dealer does not take a hole card. If dealer has blackjack player will lose only original wager. Additional wagers made due to double or splitting will be returned.
• Double after a split allowed.
• Player may surrender on any initial two cards, except against a dealer ace. This is equivalent to 'early surrender' against a 10, because the player may invoke it before the dealer checks for blackjack.
• Resplitting aces not allowed.
• Continuous shuffler.

The house edge under these rules is 0.17%. Following is the basic strategy under these rules.

For more information on blackjack, please visit my companion site, Wizard of Odds.