Category: English

The American Casino Roulette system is different to the European. America first. It is generally operated by two dealers. One takes all the bets, spins the ball, announces the number, takes all the losers and pays the winners. The second dealer, in America, called a “muck er”, re-stacks the chips and pushes the winning bets out to the first dealer who delivers them to the players. Frequently, however, only one dealer handles all the action at the roulette table.

Once you understand how and where to make your bets, you begin by sitting down at the table and buying chips. Please note that roulette is the only game in the casino that uses different, non-value chips. Although they are called non-value, that doesn’t mean they don’t represent money; they do. In this case, non-value means that they are worthless at any other gaming table.

Check the minimums before sitting down. For example, if you’re playing a £2.50 minimum table, you must place at least £2.50 for every bet you make on the outside. For instance, if you are betting red, odd and the high bet (19-36), you must place £2.50 in chips on each bet. On the inside bets, however, your bets must only total £2.50. Whether you bet five numbers straight up, four numbers straight up and one split, or two corners, two split and one straight up, all your bets must total £2.50 or more. Often, the minimum will be higher.

Depending upon the minimum and your buy in, the dealer will ask you what value you want your chips to be. For a £2.50 game, the minimum value for chips is usually £1. For a £1 minimum game, chips will probably be worth 50 pence. It’s generally your choice, and will be determined by how many bets you want to make on each spin.

If you are unsure of the procedures and the minimum bets at any table, simply ask the dealer, and he’ll be glad to explain the casino’s policy.
These procedures vary in the European game. While American dealers sweep the layout with their hands and arms, European croupiers use a long stick, or “rake”, to sweep in all bets. And, in Europe, roulette games do not use non-value chips. All players use the standard casino chips which can cause great confusion when there are a multitude of bets on the layout. If you’re playing in Europe, keep an eye on your bets and be certain how much you’ve bet. Bets are paid from the outside in. The dealer will pay the bets furthest away from him and work in, until he gets to the inside bets, which get paid last.

Europe’s most popular game, roulette, must be played precisely to provide a chance of winning. Despite a hefty house advantage, players can find games that will be more favourable and, by using simple betting systems, can beat the game.

Roulette players are often the most studious of all gamblers. You’ll find them at the oblong roulette table hunched over a pad, carefully distributing their chips in a predetermined pattern only they understand. As the dealer spins the ball around the wheel, they stare at it as if their hopes and dreams can influence where the ball falls. When their bets are swept away, they turn again to the pad that only records where they’ve been, not where they’re going.

FRENCH TWIST
The roots of roulette can be traced back to prehistoric China and the French monks. In the 17th century, a French scientist, Blaise Pascal, who invented the first calculator, introduced a primitive version of roulette.

It wasn’t until 1842 that Francois and Louis Blanc invented the single “0” roulette game. Ironically, the French brothers were forced to offer the game in Hamburg, Germany, since gambling was illegal in France at the time. The new game decimated the competition, which was offering an earlier version that featured higher odds. After Louis died, Francois was invited by the Prince of Monaco, Charles, after whom Monte Carlo is named, to bring his game to the principality in southern France. Francois and his son Camille developed Monte Carlo into the world-famous resort we know today.

When roulette came to the US in the early 1800s, the Blancs’ improvements were removed, and a double “00” returned. For a while, in fact, slick American operators added a triple “000”, tripling the house advantage and virtually ensuring that Americans would never warm to the game. The European game is today played in the great gambling palaces of Europe by tuxedoed men and elegant women in flowing gowns. It is especially popular with female players who enjoy the glamour of the game.
 
 
TODAY’S REVOLUTIONS
Europe’s most popular game neyer really caught on in the US, perhaps because of the changes that the American casinos made to this glamorous game. While no longer having three zeros, with the extra “0”, American roulette carries one of the heaviest casino advantages in the house, thereby discouraging the popularity it enjoys in Europe. With 38 numbers, players haye to overcome a 5.26 per cent house advantage because whenever “0” and “00” are hit, all bets lose. This is over five times worse than playing the most favourable bets on the craps table, or utilizing blackjack basic strategy.

In Europe, roulette uses only 37 numbers – 36 numbers and one “0”. Even-money bets are placed en prison when “0” is hit. This is an option in which the player loses half the bet, or is permitted to let the bet remain in action, with the results to be determined on the next spin. Because the European version utilizes the en prison rule and a single “0”, the house advantage is a comfortable 1.35 per cent. The only American jurisdiction that offers en prison is Atlantic City, but because casinos there use “0” and “00” the house advantage is halved to 2.7 per cent. (En prison, or surrender, means that if the player has bets on the “outside” – odd/even, high/low, black/red, the dozens or the columns bets – he only loses half his bet when “0” or “00” hits.)
Nonetheless, roulette remains an exciting game, mainly because of the variety of bets available. The 38 numbers in the American game are grouped into colours, columns and sections. The layout looks complicated, but is actually rather simple, once a map is provided. 

The other major blackjack strategy in an on line casino is known as card counting. In this system, the player keeps track of how many high cards remain in the deck. The theory is that high cards are good for the player. It’s true that high cards are also good for the house, but through formulas developed by the Fifties mathematicians and computer programs written by today’s experts, it was determined that players who count cards can actually gain a short-term advantage over the casino.

But because those situations don’t occur that often, playing blackjack professionally can be a grind. Card-counting players must wade through hundreds if not thousands of hands before the odds turn in their favour. And then the counter measures employed by casinos may short circuit their chance to make any serious money.

For the recreational player, basic strategy makes much more sense. While the casual player doesn’t play to lose, he also doesn’t want to cram for an exam to enjoy a visit to a casino.

But the key to the basic strategy is to stick to it; avoid a rush of blood to the head. To be successful at basic strategy, you have to play it faithfully and approach the game confident that your basic strategy will be successful.

Misplaying hands will be the downfall of recreational players. Standing on a hard 12 against a dealer’s upcard of Seven to Ace will cost players as much as 25 per cent of the hands. Hitting a hard 15 against a dealer’s Five or Six upcard costs just as much.

Doubling down on a hard eight against a dealer’s Seven to Ace is a common mistake, costing between 25 per cent and
60 per cent of the player’s bets. But a blackjack player who doesn’t double down on a hard ten or 11 costs himself over 30 per cent of his money.

Splitting cards is often an overlooked aspect of basic strategy. Players who neglect splitting can give away between 16 per cent and 50 per cent depending upon the dealer’s upcard. If you’ve ever tried to split Tens at a blackjack table, it won’t be long before you’re playing alone.

Other players instinctively know that it is one of the worst moves. And the facts back them up. Splitting Tens can give away more than 50 per cent of your bets, depending upon the dealer’s upcard. Even against the Five or Six, the worst upcards for the dealer, splitting Tens costs nearly 20 per cent of your bets.

The lesson is that the basic strategy has proven to be the best blackjack strategy for recreational players. It gives you the best chance to beat the casino. When you go with a feeling or decide to take a shot, you’re helping the casino, and it certainly doesn’t need your help.

Understanding and perfecting basic strategy in blackjack at a casino can make the difference between winning and losing at online gambling in the same way as with 80 Ball Bingo. Outside of poker, where the players compete against each other, not the house, blackjack is the only casino table game where the player can affect the outcome by his skillful play.

While card-counting may yield slightly greater results, basic strategy is much easier and can be mastered by learning a few key rules. Luck still plays a major role in the outcome of playing sessions, but over the long term, basic strategy gives a player the best chance of winning.

Playing situations vary widely at casinos in America. For maximum benefit, the basic strategy should be altered for different conditions. Basic-strategy players looking to get the best of the casino should look for situations where they have the best chance before they even sit down to play.

The single most important variable is the number of packs used. Players want games that use as few decks as possible. One pack is ideal but two or four packs can also provide positive situations. Games dealt with six or eight packs are more difficult to beat. Keep in mind that the number of packs can vary not only from casino to casino, but also from table to table within the same casino.

Rules also vary between jurisdiction, and, ideally, basic strategy should also be altered to account for these differences. The most important rule variation is the dealer hitting or standing on soft 17. In Downtown Las Vegas, for instance, dealers hit a soft 17, which adds to the house advantage. On the Las Vegas Strip and in Atlantic City, dealers stand on all 17’s.

Also important are restrictions on doubling down and splitting pairs. In some casinos, players are only permitted to double down on card totals of 10 and 11, another rule adding to the house advantage. On some Caribbean islands, doubling down is only permitted on 11, further reducing a player’s chance of winning. Other casinos restrict the number of times players can split pairs. Since players theoretically only split pairs when they have the advantage to begin with, the casinos that deny additional splits want to limit their exposure. It is for that reason that many casinos also bar players from doubling down after splitting, another option that adds to the players’ advantage.

Whenever possible, players should look for the most liberal rules when scouting out a positive blackjack situation. The following review of basic strategy is applicable for any playing situation, but players who want to obtain the best chance of winning must remember that different rules and conditions may affect the outcome

The second option to increase your original wager in Blackjack is known as “splitting”. When you receive two cards of the same value, you are allowed to match your original bet, and split the two cards into separate hands. You are not required to split; you can play the hand like any other hand, but in some situations, it is advantageous to make two hands out of a pair. It is entirely up to you.

Each card of the pair becomes the first card of a separate, totally independent, hand, and each bet – the original stake and the second stake – applies only to the hand to which it is attached. The dealer gives one additional card on the first hand, and then takes instructions on additional hits. When that hand is completed, the second hand proceeds in the same manner.

Since the two hands are independent, you may win both, lose both or win one and lose one. To split a hand, place an identical bet next to your original bet. The wager must be the exact amount; it cannot be any more or any less.

Depending upon the rules of the individual casino, you may be able to split hands up to four times. For example, if you have two Eights, split them, and receive a third Eight, you may split that hand to make three independent hands. The rules concerning how many times you may split vary from casino to casino.

The only card that has different splitting rules is the Ace. When you receive two Aces and split them, you only receive one card on each Ace. If that card is a ten-value card, it is simply a count of 21, not a blackjack, which must appear in the first two original cards.

In many casinos, you may also double down after splitting. The same rules apply for doubling down on a split hand as would for an original hand.

PEEKING
In most casinos today, if the dealers have an Ace or a Ten-value card up, they play the hand through, and if they have blackjack, all double down, and split bets are returned to the players who only lose their original bets. Since this wastes time and causes some player discontent, some casinos allow dealers to peek at their hole card to determine whether they have a blackjack. If they have blackjack, they immediately turn it over and take all losing bets, which saves time and aggravation.
 
Occasionally, you can find a dealer who “gives away” the value of his hole card (when he doesn’t have a hole card that completes a blackjack). This is called a “dealer tell”. You have to understand body language or psychology, but this has been one of the most consistent winning blackjack secrets down through the years.

Recently, technology has been employed to speed up the game. Several companies have marketed laser devices that will read the value of a card by slipping the edge of the card through a narrow opening. It tells the dealer whether that card is a Ten or an Ace, but not the specific value of the card. This allows him to complete the game without the knowledge of the value of the hole card, once again saving time, but also preventing dealer tells.