Street Dog's Bone Yard: Michigan Blackjack & Casino Report From A Member Of Golden Touch™ Craps

Michigan Blackjack Report

By Street Dog

Casinos covered in this report:

Soaring Eagle, Mt. Pleasant, MI

Motor City, Detroit

Let’s start with a riddle. Why is Blackjack in the Detroit casinos like the Detroit Lions Football team?

Answer: They both Suck!

I had the chance to visit the Soaring Eagle and Motor City casinos on two separate trips and I have to say I was not impressed with what I found. If you are a card counter you will be better off playing elsewhere.

Soaring Eagle Casino / Mt Pleasant, MI   

I was there on Monday Aug 14th from 2 PM until 6 PM and saw the following conditions.

All tables on the main casino floor were CSMs (6 decks?) and therefore unplayable. Betting limits on these tables are $5 and up minimum bet, and $100 maximum bet. I didn't even bother with checking the rules after seeing the CSMs.  There were 6 of these useless tables open at that time.

The high limit area was a different story. They had two $25-$500 tables open with six-deck shoes, cutting off close to two decks. The rules were DAS, S17, re-splitting allowed, and 3/2 payoff on BJ. It was pretty much standard 6-deck rules.  I could not play as both tables were full the entire time I was there. I have no info on pit heat in the casino as there didn't seem to be anyone playing except non-counting ploppies.

Motor City Casino /  Detroit, MI

I made this trip on Sat. Sept. 23rd from 2:30 PM to 7 PM.

There were no CSMs at this casino, however all of the tables used shuffle machines and shoes.

The limits and number of open tables on the main casino floor (2nd level) were as follows:

$5 - $500 - five tables open

$10 - $500 - five tables open

$15 - $500 - four tables open

 $25 - $500 - four tables open

These tables were a mixture of 6- and 8- deck shoe games. The six-deck games cut off two decks and the 8-deck games cut off three decks.  There were lines on the outside of the shoe and the dealers would line the cards up with the back of the shoe and then insert the cut card exactly where the line was to ensure the penetration was consistent at each table. 

All of these tables were full of ploppies with more waiting in line to play. Therefore, once again I did not play and would not want to anyway with that poor penetration. I have no read on pit heat, if any, and I doubt there would be much, given the playing conditions.

About one-half of the tables had two betting spots in front of each player and if a player wanted, he could play two hands per deal. Therefore, there could be a total of 14 player hands per round.  It seemed like all of the tables with two betting spots per player were using the 8-deck shoes.

The High Limit Room is on the 4th Level and the minimum bet in this room was $50. There were 5 tables open:

$50 - $1000 - three tables open

$100 - $2500- two tables open

These were 6-deck shoes with 1.5 - 2 decks cut off.  The $100 tables were open but there was no action and there were only a couple of players at each $50 table.  All games appeared to be standard 6-deck rules (both levels) DAS, re-split aces, S17. I did not play these games, as I don't have the proper size bankroll for these betting levels.

Conclusion

These two casinos are not on my preferred list to play and I would not make the drive to either of them to play Blackjack. As an aside, both casinos also offer a poker room and good crap tables if you are a well-rounded advantage player. If you have a large bankroll, the high roller rooms in both casinos offer the best games. However, I’d rather hop a flight to Vegas for a nice double deck game any day.