Blackjack Casino Games

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Learn The Basics of Blackjack

If you can count to twenty one and are accurate in your arithmetic skills, you are already on your way to playing this widely popular casino game.  Once your counting surpasses that twenty one mark (or “pontoon” in British English), rest assured your wallet will begin to hurt, so no need to show off how high one can count in this game.

Sitting yourself at the blackjack table pins you solely against the dealer and, unlike many other games, not against the other players.  Blackjack rules are quite simple. The foremost objective is not to bust, or reach a hand with a higher total than 21.  Only then can you still be eligible to vie with the dealer and be in the running to collect winnings.

Card values are the following: Two through ten are worth their face value and face cards (jack, queen, king) are worth 10.  The ace’s value is 11 unless such a value would bring the player’s hand to a bust, in which case it is worth 1.  The ways to reach that cherished 21 are varied:  if in your two-card hand you’ve accumulated 21 through an ace plus a ten-value card, your work is done, for you’re an automatic winner (except for the rare cases that the dealer also has a blackjack, in which case nobody wins).  If this is not your luckiest day and you have to work towards your win, you can do so by requesting (or “hitting”-see glossary of terms in the advanced player link) additional cards beyond the two dealt to you to get as close as possible to 21 without going over.

Ok, so how do I win?

As stated above, in this game, your only competitor is the dealer.  He is bound by a set of rules that guide how he will play and represent the house.  It is the player’s aim to gauge the dealer’s position throughout the game and make his moves accordingly.  There is no reason why several players on the table can’t win simultaneously on the same hand.

Hit or stand on 17? Blackjack Strategy

As stated already ("Learn the Basics of Blackjack"), the dealer at the blackjack table is guided by a set of rules that conduct his play in a specific way. A major one of these revolves around the number 17. The blackjack dealer is obligated to continue feeding his hand with more hits until he reaches a card value of at least 17, while the player may stop at any point he wishes.

Additionally, once the dealer reaches seventeen or above, he must stand and may not add any cards to his hand. You as the player are free to take your chances at such a stage and go for the low card values that would lead you closer to a 21. The house’s advantage is that it does not experience the dilemma in the way that the player does at such a stage since its actions are guided by rules. Attached is commonly-used chart of probability and basic strategy that has been used by players worldwide to determine how to act on certain hands and how beset the dealer.

The table below is a part of basic blackjack strategy and its purpose is to reduce the casino advantage to a smaller percentage. The strategy table is aimed to the Las Vegas Strip rules which is much more common than the Atlantic City rules where the dealer stands on a soft 17. Additionally, most casinos no longer offer the option to surrender.

Key:

• S = Stand
• H = Hit
• D = Double
• SP = Split
• Rh = Surrender if allowed, otherwise Hit
• Rs = Surrender if allowed, otherwise Stand
• Rsp = Surrender if allowed, otherwise Split

Simpler than it looks:

This strategy chart may look overwhelming but it is actually quite easy to use. The left hand column shows all the possible combinations that you, the player, might start with when play begins. The dealer, as we’ve learned, only exposes the top card. It is based on the information of these three cards that the chart advises you how to take action. For example, if you were dealt an 11 and a 4, your hand total comes to 15. Locate this row in the “Your Hand” column. If in the same game the dealer’s face-up card is a nine, drag your finger across the 15 row until you reach the dealer’s 9 value column. The intersection of the two brings you to the letter ‘H’. This, according to the chart, is a situation in which you are statistically advised to hit. That is, the dealer has a high probability of beating your 15.

Set for yourself some more hypothetical hands like the one above and get well acquainted with the chart. Become a smarter player.

Who's counting cards? - Swinging the casino

A hugely talked about topic in Blackjack has always been that of Card-counting, or counting the deck.  Many people have even asked whether card counting is considered illegal.  Card counting is defined as “the process of gaining an advantage by tracking the cards which have been played, so the player has an idea of the value of the cards remaining to be dealt”.  Classic stories and urban legends about teams of gamblers backed with mathematical genius and determination who took on the casino are plentiful (keep posted to stargambling.net for our upcoming piece about the MIT Blackjack teams.).   

While counting the deck is a tactic used in many other casino games, it is most popular in blackjack.  The primary goal of card counting is to assess the number of high-value cards in relation to low-value cards that are left in the deck by keeping track of the cards that have already been dealt and exposed.  The card counter watches closely every card that is dealt on the table between the dealer and the players and aims to judge through deduction what cards are still remaining in the deck.  Since it is very difficult to memorize every single card that has been exposed on the table throughout the course of playing, most players divide what they believe to be left in the deck into two categories- high cards and low cards.   

The player’s advantage in most cases is that he is not bound by the dealer's rules to hit or stay at any point and so is free to decide his actions on what he has seen up to that point in the game.  So, when a player's hand shows a 16, he is faced with the dilemma of whether to stay (16 is a good hand, but still not very strong), or to hit in attempt to get closer to 21 but risk a bust.  The dealer does not have this freedom and is forced to hit until he has at least 17.  Though the player cannot see the dealer's hole card, he has “counted the cards” distributed thus far and can asses the dealer’s position by the card that is showing and by knowing whether the deck is more dense with high-value cards than low ones or vice versa.

The practice of card counting is a very costly foe to the casinos and they have developed numerous methods to combat this popular technique.  Many gambling houses try to combat card counting by stacking more than one deck for the dealer and by that making it much more difficult for the player to keep track and memorize the cards that have been dealt.  Before attempting to outsmart the house and count the deck, the beginning player should first make himself well versed in the basics of the game and become proficient in safe play.

Simplicity is its popularity: vingt-et-un, a short history of Blackjack

Twenty one. That’s the whole story. Ever since Blackjack’s French precursor originated around the year 1700, its main attraction to players has been its simplicity. Although it has experienced varying waves of popularity both in Europe and in the United States, it has always pulled gamblers to its simple and yet brilliant structure. A massage for the intellect, if you will. The game in its earlier form was played quite differently while sticking to the basic principles of every player trying to reach or get as close to 21. The earlier version of the game only permitted the dealer to double down. Players would owe triple the amount to the casino if the dealer received a natural hand.

And the name Blackjack?

During Twenty One’s arrival to the American gambling houses in the early 1900’s, its popularity was still modest. One of the incentives offered to lure players to the blackjack table was a bonus payout of 10:1 if the player’s hand included the Ace of spades and a black Jack (clubs or spades). The incentive offer has long been eliminated, but the catchy name has stuck with the game through its rise to casino popularity.

Blackjack online games secrets

Blackjack is a great and simple game to play. This ebook aims to show you how to play, and also how to progress through the game using "simple" through to "advanced" strategies. Once you are fully confident, you can start using the Winner Secrets and increase your chances of winning. The Blackjack Strategy shown is very easy to follow. I hope you find the information contained in these pages a good addition to your playing pleasure.

If you'd like to find out the best way to play blackjack, then read this. You'll study further blackjack strategy in order that you'll be able to improve you possibilities of winning.

Ahead of going towards the casino, it truly is critical that a player knows ways to play blackjack. Blackjack is amongst the oldest casino games and almost certainly the most preferred one particular. We can safely say that its popularity is mainly because in the games pretty effortless game rules. Blackjack is very easy and simple to know.

In order for you to successfully play blackjack you need the vital abilities and strategies for instance card counting, when to spot and when to improve bets, and several other individuals. Most of the so-called professional blackjack players would say that the best avenue to practice playing this card game is more than the internet. There are lots of net web pages these days which provide absolutely free membership to its buyers. Playing on-line is very advantageous due to the fact there are various techniques on the way to earn additional funds even whilst that you are nonetheless practicing and familiarizing your self concerning the mechanics in the game.

Listed here are some crucial factors which you ought to not do when playing blackjack:

Throughout the game, the dealer or perhaps some players would convince you to take insurance coverage. Do not the largest mistake of falling into this trap. Insurances aren't useful and advantageous to you. That is since most of the time; the dealer does not get 21. Casinos will only let you know to take insurances to ensure that they're able to get extra dollars from you. The most beneficial way on the way to play blackjack successfully and successfully is usually to stick for your card counting method.

The next factor which you ought to not do will be to split your 10's. Although the card that most likely to hit is a ten, it wouldn't be a good solution to split two 10s. The principal reason to not split your two 10s is that you already have an excellent hand with it for the reason that you have got a total card count of 20. Twenty is already an excellent hand. So it is hugely encouraged which you hold on to it for the reason that you currently have high probabilities of winning against the dealer.

Among the many errors that amateur players make is tipping the dealer. Never tip the blackjack dealer. When we visit the casinos, we have this culture of tipping persons for any very good service, excellent entertainment, or for getting a good hand. Always bear in mind that tipping the dealer will in fact ruin your earnings in the lengthy run because you might be throwing revenue which is critical so that you'll be able to have profit or maintain a great bankroll for you personally to be able to play far more. Yes, it can be courteous to tip others inside the casino, however, do not tip the dealers and just retain the money to your self.

And lastly, don't get drinks when you might be playing since this can distract you specifically if you are counting cards. After you are drinking it would be effortless for you to lose track from the score count. You have to have total concentrate on the game. Lessen the amount of chit and chats and focus on winning. This really is the way to play blackjack.

21 Blackjack Video Guide