Soboba Casino Blackjack Review

Soboba Casino is run by the Soboba Band, who are part of the Luiseño Indians and are one of the five federally recognized Luiseño tribes in Southern California. Soboba is located in the foothills of the San Jacinto Mountains.

The Soboba Casino is open 24 hours a day, and its total gaming area is 74,000 square feet. There are few other amenities in addition to the casino, including Soboba Café, Coffee Kiicha, the AC’s Lounge which has a 300 guest capacity and a large outdoor event arena which has a 10,000 capacity.

Casino Offer

At Soboba there are over 2,000 slot machines, more than 200 video poker games and more than 200 Keno machines. In addition, there are over 200 gaming tables and the total gaming area is 74,000 square feet.

Blackjack at Soboba

Despite the fact that there aren’t too many tables, there are several Blackjack variants available at this casino.

6-Deck Blackjack

6-deck Blackjack comes with various minimum table limits, it may be as little as $5, or $10, $15 or $25, depending on the day of the week and the time of the day, whereas the maximum bet is $500. The rules are the following – surrender is allowed and so is doubling down after splitting and doubling on any two cards. The dealer hits soft 17 and you can’t re-split aces. The house edge for this game is 0.52%.

Double-Deck Blackjack

The double-deck Blackjack has somewhat different rules. The dealer also hits soft 17, but the player can only double down if they have either 10 or 11. Furthermore, doubling after splitting is not an option and neither are re-splitting aces and surrender. The minimum bet is $10, whereas the maximum is $200. Despite the fact that double-deck games are generally more favorable, due to the rule alterations, this game has a house edge of 0.72%.

Spanish 21

Spanish 21 is a Blackjack version that was introduced as early as 1995 and it is available at Soboba Casino. This game is played with a 48-card deck, i.e. the 10s have been removed from the deck. This makes the game more favorable for the casino and that is why another rule is introduced – a player’s 21 always beats a dealer’s 21, same goes for natural Blackjack.

Furthermore, bonuses are paid out, without the need for an extra side bet, on certain combinations of the initial two cards held by the player and the dealer’s face-up card. If the three cards are suited 7s, then the pay-out may be in the amount of $1,000, or even higher if the player placed a higher bet.

House Money Blackjack

House Money is an interesting side bet available at some of the games at Soboba. If the player gets any of the two as their starting hands – a suited combination of an ace and a king, a straight flush, a pair or a straight, then the side bet wins and the player is paid out according to the appropriate pay-table. If the player wins the side bet, they can either collect their winnings and the original bet, or add them to the standard Blackjack wager and possibly win even more at the end of the hand. If the dealer has a Blackjack and the side bet has won, then the player can collect the winnings and the wagered side bet amount.

King’s Bounty

King’s Bounty is another side bet where the players can win an additional money if they have the right starting hand. Whenever the first two cards of the player are suited tens, a total of 20, or suited royalty the player wins according to the pay table. In the event where another player gets suited kings of spades, whereas in the same hand the dealer gets a spade-suited Blackjack, all other players on the table win a so called ‘envy bonus’. This is a progressive side bet.

Royal Match

Royal Match is another side bet based on the first two cards. Whenever, the player gets a combination of a king and a queen of the same suit, they win the bet. This side bet also has a progressive element. The fixed pay-outs are based on the player’s first two cards only, whereas the progressive win is based on both the player’s and the dealer’s initial two cards.

Card Counting at Soboba

Despite the fact that this casino featured double-deck games, you are still advised to try card counting at the 6-deck tables, due to the fact that the rules and the penetration at the double-deck games are not in your favor. At the 6-deck tables you might be successful, but bear in mind that the maximum bet limits at this casino are quite low, which means that you won’t be able to earn a lot of money. Although, if you are patient, you might leave the casino with a profit.

Conclusion

Despite the fact that the maximum table limits are not too high and the fact that there aren’t a lot of tables at this casino, it can be said that Soboba Casino has plenty to offer, especially as its games feature a lot of interesting side-bets which you can’t find elsewhere.