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JPB has been playing blackjack and counting cards part-time since 1996. He plays throughout the country but primarily in Missouri. He has been a Green Chip member of BJ21.com for five years and one-time winner of the Post-of-the-Month. JPB is a professional engineer with three engineering degrees and works as a consulting engineer.

There a few characteristics of the Oklahoma blackjack market that make it unique:

• The shear number of casinos. I believe there are over 100 casinos in Oklahoma (some but not all offer blackjack)
• Information regarding blackjack at the casinos is often sparse and difficult to obtain.
• Blackjack conditions vary dramatically - not only from casino to casino but from day to day.

In this issue, I try provide an overview of Oklahoma blackjack. I provide specific information regarding: Oasge Casino near Ponca City, First Council/7 Clans in Newkirk, and Buffalo Run in Miami.

On a recent trip from Kansas to the heart of Oklahoma, it seemed I drove right by a casino, or see a sign for one, at just about every turn. However, trying to get information regarding blackjack conditions at these casinos is difficult. Note: The majority of the 100+ casinos in Oklahoma do not offer blackjack.

The tool that most serious blackjack players use to evaluate blackjack conditions in areas they are not familiar with is Current Blackjack Newsletter (CBJN). The information in CBJN is not perfect on penetration, but it is usually accurate at identifying casinos in major destinations that offer blackjack, and the base rules and approximate table limits. In the last issue of CBJN I received, there were only a few of the many Oklahoma casinos that offer blackjack listed, and the information regarding the listed-casinos was very outdated. Most of the casinos have websites, although some of them are terrible. In most cases, it is difficult to ascertain the rules, table limits, number of tables, and if and when they have no-ante games from their websites. In most cases, I wound up calling the casino if it required an extra drive to visit them. For the casinos that I stumbled on, it was often easiest to walk in and check out the conditions. In some cases, I found either no blackjack games, or unbeatable blackjack games; however, the casino volunteered anywhere from $5-25 in free slot play for signing up for their Player's Card.

The one condition that makes some of the Oklahoma blackjack the worst in the country (and probably the world) is the ante. In these casinos, the player has to pony up an ante typically in the range of $0.25-$1.00 on every hand. On a $10 bet, a $0.50 ante is a full 5% house advantage on top of the inherent advantage the casino has on the base game of a minimum of ca. 0.4%. In short, the ante makes blackjack a horrible game for players. Unless there is some incredible promotion (such as a 2:1 blackjack payoff or incredible bonus for rare hands), you should steer clear and find a casino that does not charge an ante, or play at a time when the casino does not charge ante at a specific day/time. And get this ...I saw one casino that had the audacity to charge an ante and only pay 6:5 on blackjack. Clearly, that is the worst blackjack I have ever seen.

In general, you are more likely to find ante free games as you travel...

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