I used to play blackjack all the time about 10 years ago at Kickapoo but now I only play in Vegas because of the ante you have to pay her. However, I've been hearing of this myth that there are casinos in Oklahoma that offer ante free promotions or hours on blackjack. Does anyone know if this is true?

I've heard about 30 different reasons for antes on blackjack, but with the success of grand, winstar, riverwind, ect.. you would think that it would go away. I personally think its a sham and more people would play if you didn't have to pay $.50 each hand. Esp since most players do $5-10/hand. You have to play almost perfect to come out ahead.

I don't play in Oklahoma for the same reasons..... Well that and I'm trying to pay my home loan off in 5 years and gambling clashes with that goal.

So I can't confirm this 100% but I've heard Black Hawk (formerly Sac & Fox) in Shawnee and Thunderbird Casino east of Norman both have ante free blackjack. I do not know what kind of games they offer though.... If it's the standard 6 deck shoe, another reason I don't play in Oklahoma, free ante is still not going to draw me back.

I had a casino rep that was out the fair several years back ask me why I didn't play blackjack in Oklahoma and I told him about a recent trip I had made to Detroit.

I played for two hours and walked out about $200 ahead.... If had played that same amount of time in Oklahoma I would have walked away even.

I'm a pretty solid blackjack player (not a card counter, but have basic strategy down pretty cold and a good feel for when to push), but pretty much every time I play in Oklahoma I leave even or down a few bucks and realize after roughly counting how many hands I've played that I would have left a winner but for the ante. It's enough to keep me from playing regularly at all, which is probably a good thing. I know that some casinos have ante free promotional nights, but it's a pain to track them down or keep up to date. So I just don't play.

I would say that if I were looking to play I would drive to the Kansas Star Casino south of Wichita, which is always no-ante. I usually stop there on visits to Kansas.

...I played for two hours and walked out about $200 ahead.... If had played that same amount of time in Oklahoma I would have walked away even.

Exactly. Has happened to me more than once. You're supposed to leave feeling halfway good about walking away even. Screw that.

I haven't been in an Oklahoma Casino for anything but a concert for about 12 years.... Are they at least still paying 3:2 blackjack or have they gone to that horrible 7:5 that the Vegas casinos started screwing the players with?

I could be wrong but I think it is still 3:2. When I wandering into Binion's a month ago off Freemont the blackjack they had there was 6:5, which I found very strange. Luckily I didn't stay long when morons started splitting 10s and doubling down on hard 12s and 13s and hitting 12-16 when dealer had 6 or less showing.

I could be wrong but I think it is still 3:2. When I wandering into Binion's a month ago off Freemont the blackjack they had there was 6:5, which I found very strange. Luckily I didn't stay long when morons started splitting 10s and doubling down on hard 12s and 13s and hitting 12-16 when dealer had 6 or less showing.

6:5??? Good grief! They might as well just get it over with and start making the player pay the house when the player blackjacks.

As far as I know, these are all "No Ante" 7 Days a week:
Black Hawk (North of Shawnee) = 3:2 Payout
Firelake Casino (South of Shawnee) = 3:2 Payout
Thunderbird Casino (East of Norman) = 3:2 Payout

Anyone know of any others that do No-Ante?

One $5 hand a $.50 ante is 10% and greatly tips the scales further into the casino's favor. You need to be playing $50 hands for the ante to become insignificant. Can't remember where I read that, I'll try to find it.

Isn't the ante a tax for the state or no?

One $5 hand a $.50 ante is 10% and greatly tips the scales further into the casino's favor. You need to be playing $50 hands for the ante to become insignificant. Can't remember where I read that, I'll try to find it.

Isn't the ante a tax for the state or no?

The ante is the only money the state (10%) or the casino make from black jack.


All other money the house makes from blackjack they have to return in giveaways

As of May 2015, both Back Hawk and Thunderbird are now charging ante...at least on the weekends.

I forgot to post this a while ago but it seems like every Monday -Thursday at (Firelake) Grand Casino all table games are ante free.

I forgot to post this a while ago but it seems like every Monday -Thursday at (Firelake) Grand Casino all table games are ante free.

Yes this is how they are doing it now at Firelake (at least a month or so ago). The used to alternate months and would do one full month of free ante and the next month was full ante. They switched to this a year or more ago (the Mon - Thur schedule).

What rules are they running out there?

I'm assuming it's probably still a 6 deck shoe.... is blackjack still paying 3:2 or have they gone to 7:5?

What rules are they running out there?

I'm assuming it's probably still a 6 deck shoe.... is blackjack still paying 3:2 or have they gone to 7:5?

6 deck and i believe still 3-2. Better than Vegas if you can avoid the dreaded ante!

6 deck and i believe still 3-2. Better than Vegas if you can avoid the dreaded ante!

Ante was the reason I quit playing in Oklahoma.

Several years back Riverwind had a booth setup out at the state fair and you could play blackjack for candy. The person working the booth noticed quickly that I knew my way around a blackjack table and asked if I ever played there. I told him a story about a 2 hour blackjack session I had played in a Detroit casino earlier that year.

After two hours I walked away ahead $200. If I had played those same two hours in Oklahoma I would have walked out either even or down due to the ante because at about the 1 hour mark that day I was down to my last $10 chip.

You probably played at least 150 hands of blackjack which would have cost you $75. You likely played more if you had good dealers and no goofballs at the table. So yes, I agree with you and hardly ever play with the ante or if I do I play much larger hands over shorter time.

The only way you can win with ante blackjack is to play high enough stakes to make the mounting ante inconsequential. I prefer to stay on $10-ish/hand tables and push when things are hot, lay back when they're not. Sometimes they NEVER get hot, but I can keep things going for a long time at a traditional table for not a lot of dough. So no-ante is a non-starter.

Yep.... I'm not playing to get rich. I'm playing using basic strategy for the enjoyment of the game. So I prefer to play on the $5 minimum tables and ante really hurts me there..... So the longer I can play with the best odds I can find the happier I am. Coming out ahead is just gravy.

Best game I ever played was a single deck game in the Bahamas. I had almost even odds and I made enough money there to cover the ex's slot machine losses and buy all of our meals...... Really odd thing was the whole time I was there I almost always had the single deck table to myself or one or two others while the 6 deck tables with odds more in favor of the house were always packed.