Laughlin Blackjack – With summer coming and many of you heading out to the Colorado River for some fun in the sun, I thought it would be a good time to post a guide for playing blackjack in Laughlin. If you’re a serious blackjack player (aka card counter), then you’re going to be better off in Las Vegas, Reno or Wendover. However, if you’re just out having some fun with friends in Laughlin, then this guide will help you get the most out of your money at the blackjack tables.

Side Note – If you’re attempting to count cards in Laughlin, at the end of this article I will cover the strategy I suggest using to maximize your winning potential. If you don’t know how to count cards or are just simply ineffective with your current way of doing things, then you might want to consider one of my upcoming blackjack classes.

Best Blackjack Odds in Laughlin

The smallest house edge you can find in Laughlin will be at the single deck tables at Golden Nugget and Pioneer. These games give a full payout on blackjack and hold a house edge of under .2% if you know how to play your hands correctly. If you’re looking to get these great odds, then I suggest brushing up on your single deck basic strategy. Beware of the single deck at Harrah’s Del Rio and Aquarius, because they pay 6:5 on blackjack rather than 3:2. That gives the house nearly a 2% edge rather than a .2% edge.

Your next best option is the single deck blackjack at Riverside. They also give a full 3:2 payment on blackjack, although they restrict your doubling down to just on 10 or 11. The house edge on this game is still under .5% if you use optimal basic strategy.

Laughlin Double Deck Blackjack

The double deck games you’ll find in Laughlin are all pretty similar. There’s no doubling after splitting and no resplitting aces. The odds hang around .5% for a basic strategy player. If you’re not card counting, then you’re better off on the full paying single deck games. If you are card counting, then you may want to consider the deep dealing 6-deck options. Either way there’s never really a reason to be playing double deck in Laughlin.

Laughlin 6-Deck Blackjack

The 6-deck shoe games in Laughlin have the worst odds other than the dreadful 6:5 paying single deck games. Even as a perfect basic strategy player you will be facing nearly a 1% disadvantage. Being a Professional Blackjack Player myself, I probably wouldn’t play these games unless they had extremely good dealer penetration and I was using a team strategy. The 6-deck dealer penetration in Laughlin is typically pretty good.

Laughlin Blackjack Rules

All blackjack games in Laughlin have the dealer hitting on Soft 17. The majority of the games will not allow you to double after splitting and you cannot resplit aces or surrender anywhere that I’m aware of. Since the rules are pretty consistent, you will get the better odds going with a game that uses less decks. Single deck is best, followed by double deck, then 6-deck and 8-deck. This isn’t always the case in other parts of the country (especially Vegas), but it is clearly the case in Laughlin.

Card Counting in Laughlin

When it comes to counting cards in Laughlin, you have a couple of choices. You can go with the better odds on single deck and use a minimal betting spread, or you can go with a large betting spread on the 6-deck games that have good penetration. In order to fly under the radar I suggest using both strategies so you can move from casino to casino without overexposing yourself in any one place. You’ll find the greatest return on your investment using a good team card counting strategy with a friend or two. This will allow you to take advantage of a huge betting spread on the 6-deck tables. These 6-deck games have terrible initial odds, but you can often find great penetration to offset it. Pioneer would be the number one option for good 6-deck penetration followed by Tropicana Express, River Palms, Riverside and Harrah’s Del Rio.

Now go enjoy the river, the sun and the blackjack. Just be sure to use this guide to increase your chances of going home a winner!