Coupon effect on house edge

I just got a book of coupons from Las Vegas Advisor (try the site, pretty cool). Anyway, I am wondering how the different coupons affect the house edge. Here are the different types:
1st card is an ace (use it once)
natural pays 2-1 for first hour of play
$5-$25 matchplay (use it once)
natural pays 3-1 (use it once)

All of these coupons limit the bet to $25, most have $5 minimum. Which coupon is mos valuable? I'm a newby KO conter and will save the matchplay and 1st card ace coupons for high counts.

Don't even count with that. You have a 2%+ edge off the top and time is of the essence.

Show up at the Golden Gate at noon SHARP! Ploppies infest that place fast. Ask for the CSM table to be lifted to a $25 minimum. Play and play fast. Know your basic strategy cold.

And bring a lot of money. I would die if I went bust during that hour. At least $1k I should think.

M.

Sounds like the trick with the 1st hour coupon is to get as many hands in as possible. So I should really go with the CSM instead of the single deck? I know I will get many more hands out of the CSM, but will the extra hands really outweigh the higher odds for a natural on the single deck table?

It's all about hands per hour.

One big benefit of the CSM is that, if you have a few ploppies come to the table, there's no extra slowdown (besides the other players). If you have so much as 2 other players at the Golden Gate 1 deck game, they'll shuffle every round and you will be pooched.

M.

four or five 3-to-1 blackjack coupons in the package? Did they have severe restrictions?

I agree with the above that 2-1 coupon is the most valuable & speed is key. A few more things to consider along those lines:

Use the coupon during a slow time, probably graveyard would be best, to avoid table crowding and therefore maximize hands per hour. During crowded times, even if you start at an empty table, others will likely join before your hour is up which slows the game or you waste time moving.

Watch the dealer before joining for their speed. Some dealers are just way too slow. If the dealer is slow, find another table, wait until shift change, or wait until the next day. To illustrate this point and also the value of the coupon, with a fast dealer (and assuming the player can play fast), it is possible to get around 400 hands/hr heads up. This should yield around 19 naturals on average during an hour, so the extra 1/2 unit payoff on $25 bets is worth about $237.50 (nice coupon!). Now say we have a slow dealer or someone else joins and we only get 150 hands in that hour. This would only yield us around 7 naturals, or only $87.50 for the coupon, which is $150 less than the 1st example.

If by chance the CSM game is not available or crowded (usually it is the least crowded though) and you don't want to wait on it, then a shoe game is much faster than pitch games as a 2nd choice. Don't sit through a hand shuffle though. Find one with a shuffle machine or be looking for another table with a near freshly shuffled shoe.

Only problem is I only have ONE night and it is a Saturday. Do shifts change at 1AM? If I can get the CSM right after a shift change or rotation I will avoid at least one dealer change. Thanks, this is going to be FUN FUN FUN!!!

The 3-1 BJ coupons are only good for your first natural. I'm guessing I should flat bet $25 until I get my natural and move to a better game/place? The places with the 3-1 all have mediocre games (GOld Coast, Barbary, Orleans).

I agree for those places.

There's also a 3-1 coupon for S u n s e t S t a t i o n, which has a reasonable game. Not sure about the games at the F i e s t a s.

I took a look at the site and yes it is cool, however I couldnt find the coupon that you are talking about. Where did you find it?

The LasVegasAdvisor.com coupons only come with a paid membership. $50 per year gets you access to their members bulliten boards as well as a monthly mailing and the coupon book. The coupon book is worth a lot more then the $50, even if you only use the gambling coupons. I don't work for them, just a happy member who can't wait to dig into his coupons!