Category: English

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.

Blackjack, the most popular casino game, offers the best chance at winning. Players with varying levels of expertise in card counting can gain an edge over the house, and even casual players can play close to even.

There was a time when craps was the most popular casino game in America. Two world wars and “police action” developed craps players who crowded the tables of Reno and Las Vegas, as well as the many illegal casinos across the country in the middle of the 20th century.

In the mid-Fifties, a group of mathematicians discovered that a basic strategy could be employed to reduce the house advantage at blackjack, or “21”, to virtually nothing. Casinos suddenly realized that the game could be beaten, and have predictably taken various precautions to protect it ever slllce.

The American publication of Beat the Dealer by Ed Thorp, in 1962, began a rush to discover systems and methods that would indeed beat the dealer. Card counting, the method first described by Thorp, has been refined over the years, and today casinos employ various methods from shuffling after every hand to actually barring players accused of card counting from playing in casinos.

The casinos like to call blackjack a game of chance, but it is as much a game of skill as anything. But you won’t hear the casinos denying very strongly that blackjack can be beaten. After all, casinos make most of the money they take at the table games via blackjack. It’s great advertising when someone reports a big win at the blackjack tables. Players have been encouraged for many years to believe that blackjack can be beaten, and the casinos don’t want to do anything to disrupt that message.

But becoming an effective card counter is difficult and time consuming. And unless you’re planning to make blackjack your occupation, it’s unnecessary.

Blackjack can be played successfully by using variations on the basic strategy developed by that group of mathematicians in the Fifties.

Most people carry cash to the casino. Since cash is the fuel of the gambling business, it is the essential tool of the games. But carrying cash can be dangerous, particularly when you’re on holiday.

There are other options to bringing a pocketful of cash with vou to the casino.

Travellers cheques are a good choice. As they are with any other business, travellers cheques are as good as cash in the casino. They offer security and peace of mind to the player, but sometimes are difficult to handle. Exchanging travellers cheques is easy enough. Simply take them to the casino cage and you will receive cash. Losing travellers cheques means you must track down a representative of the company that issued them, but that is generally not very hard in a casino where most companies maintain offices.
 
Another option is to bring your credit or debit card to the casino. You’ll usually be able to find a machine but, eventually, you will still have to walk around with cash, albeit not as much as you would normally bring at one time.

Cash advances from your credit card are very convenient, but not recommended. Most casinos have cash machines on their casino floor. These are very profitable for their owners as well as for the casinos where they are located.
Most serious gamblers and frequent casino guests have established credit with the casino. Casino credit enables them to travel with the minimum amount of cash, and to deal with a casino on the same level as a bank. You make withdrawals and deposits.

Yes, casino credit can be dangerous. Like everything involved with gambling, casino credit requires discipline. But if you plan to frequent a particular casino on a regular basis and want to travel without the fear of losing your cash, it makes the most sense of any of the “cashless” options. Think about it.

Establishing credit is easy. Simply head to the casino cashier and explain that you would like to get credit. They will send you to the appropriate person. You will be asked to complete a form very similar to one you’d use to apply for a credit card. You’ll be asked for bank account numbers, the status of your home ownership, and several credit references – credit cards and so on.

Most casinos use credit agencies. They will examine your finances and then recommend whether to accept or reject your application. If you’re accepted, you will be given a credit limit, similar to the limit issued for a traditional credit card. This is called your “line”.

Once you’re approved, you can draw on that line at any gambling table or slot machine. When you approach a gambling table you tell the dealer you’d like a “marker”. A marker is simply a cheque like you’d find in a bank. You then give the supervisor your name and the amount you’d like to withdraw. He will put it in the system, and within five minutes, the marker will be ready. You sign it, and the dealer counts out chips in the amount of your marker.
Besides not having to carry a large amount of cash, the advantage of using casino credit is that you have a clear record of your gambling funds. That doesn’t help much if you lose it all, but if you employ money management techniques, casino credit can be a valuable tool. You are also automatically rated when you take a marker, so you never have to Worry if a supervisor is watching your action.

The casino wants to encourage you to use casino credit so, in most cases, they don’t charge interest on the money they loan you for at least 30 days. If you are disciplined with the use of casino credit and you payoff the balance quickly upon returning home, casino credit can be a bonus for the knowledgeable player.

But remember, it pays to be sensible. Don’t panic and run up huge debts, always hoping you’ll get that lucky win which will suddenly alleviate all your problems. If you haven’t had any major wins before, why should one happen right now? Life isn’t like that.

And if you do run up massive debts, you’ll be a two-way loser. Not only will you be blackballed by the casino but also, eventually, you will be taken to court.

Gambling is exciting, but don’t let it go to your head.