Despite its simplicity (Blackjack is truly accessible to all); some players inevitably try to complicate Blackjack. For all the talk of systems and odds, all you need to know is how to win and how to avoid losing! Here’s how it works: Two cards are dealt to every player and play moves from the dealers left – each participant elects whether to hit (take another card,) stand (play with the cards they were dealt,) or surrender, in which case they fold at the cost of half their original bet. Once all the participants have finished hitting, the dealer plays his hand and pays out to players who beat his score.

The good news is: Blackjack dealers are bound by the house rules; you’re not. For example, dealers stand on all 17’s. In other words, he’ll keep hitting until he reaches or exceeds 17. If he draws a king and a six, he’s bound by convention to play on, while you’ve got the get-out clause of an early surrender.

The better news is: you can ‘Double Down’ and double your winnings! Double your bet on a potentially winning deal, provided you can hit once and stand. You can even ‘Split Your Pairs’ and double your chances! If you’re dealt two cards of identical value, split them and play two hands for the price of one!

The best news is: in Blackjack, you can win big and win quickly. Blackjack is the name and the aim of the game. A Blackjack is a total of 21 in your initial deal; a picture card / ace combination. A blackjack can only be beaten by a dealer’s blackjack. Any other score of 21 just won’t cut it.

Blackjack is a truly elegant game: uncomplicated enough to engage players, but sufficiently captivating to keep them coming back – once you start playing Blackjack, you might just find you can’t stop. Blackjack is enjoyable, exhilarating, and instantly compelling. No wonder it’s played and enjoyed the whole world over.

How To Play Blackjack is a post from: Online Casino Blog

Standard multibox Blackjack gambling game is played with four standard decks of 52 cards. The goal of the game is to beat the dealer. First of all, learn to count cards. You need to keep up with the ratio of high cards to low cards in the deck. You have better odds to hit a blackjack when the deck is rich in tens, so you should increase your bets accordingly.

The fewer decks you play with, the better. This way the house edge is lowered.

If the rule “surrender” is applied, it is in Blackjack players’ favor. This rule has 2 variations- “early” and “late” surrender, “early” is the best one.

Do not take insurance in the Blackjack gambling game, it has high house edge.

Available “dealer stands on soft 17″ rule is favorable to players.

The Blackjack game rule that allows you double down after splitting makes your chances better.

You should always stand on “hard 17″ or higher.

Split 7’s against a dealer’s card of equal or lower value; split 2’s or 3’s against a 4, 5, or 6; split aces and 8’s, no matter what the dealer’s up card is.

During the game try to stay calm, keep your mind clear. If necessary, take a break, have some rest so you will return to the table refreshed.

Always place a reasonable limit on the money that you are going to gamble with. Do not evere gamble with borrowed money. That is a golden rule for all gambling games including Blackjack.

Try your luck, hope for the best and have fun!

Free Blackjack Tips is a post from: Online Casino Blog

Counting cards in Blackjack will give the good Blackjack player better odds to come out ahead in the long run. It’s not some super-secret formula for winning millions of dollars at Blackjack overnight.

Also, when you count cards, you’re just trying to get a read on what type of cards are left in the deck and not trying to guess what exact card is due next-ala the Rain Man.

Here’s the basic premise. When there’s a great chance that big cards will come out, the win meter swings to your favor. When there’s a great chance that small cards will come out, the win meter swings harder to the dealer.

So, the ideal situation is one in which lots of large cards are left in the deck and in which the probability of those cards coming out is greater. When this happens, you bet larger than normal.

And that’s really the main philosophy. When there are greater numbers of small cards left, reduce your wager. When there are greater numbers of large cards left, bet bigger. That doesn’t mean you bet $5 on one hand and $5,000 the next. A typical swing might be $5-$15. But, you’ll need to decide this for yourself.

Counting cards doesn’t work online. Why? Well, online casinos shuffle their deck(s) for each hand-unless noted somewhere. Since they do this, counting is of no value.

In the real world, you’ll typically find that counting pays off as decks get smaller. But here’s the catch. To count successfully, you must be able to see all the cards. That’s right. If the player next to you just tosses in his or her card face down, you’ve lost an edge. The more it happens, the worse your count will be.

Let’s dispel one false misconception about counting cards right now. You don’t need to be a math genius to do it. Can you count from 0 to 2 and from 0 to -2? If so, you’re talented enough. All you need to do is practice.

The first time you go out to count, it’s best to play with a small table. Also, if you can find a game that deals the cards face up, you’ll have an easier time learning.

Remember, counting cards by itself does absolutely nothing. If you’re a poor Blackjack player, counting cards won’t help you win. In fact, it can help you lose more money and faster. Counting cards in Blackjack is a tool to aid those who understand the game and can play it properly.

How do you count cards? We’ll go over that in another article.

Does Counting Work? is a post from: Online Casino Blog

Card counting is a system or strategy used mostly in blackjack games, it takes a lot of practice to do however it can be used in other card games. The principal of card counting has been around since live blackjack started, and as soon as the game moved online as soon so did the card counters. Card counters try to memorise the cards that have come out so they can lower the casino edge by having a good clue which card will come out next, hoping to eventually memorise the order of each card in the deck. For example knowing if all of the high cards already been dealt out would logically lead you to believe the remaining cards are of lower values.

Card counting was often easier during an online game as no one was watching you as long as you are quick to memorize the card or write it down – games give a limited amount of time to respond with hit or hold. Many have used this to their advantage and learned online before taking their skills into real casinos.

This is a risky strategy to use in a land based casino as unlike virtual casinos staff will be on the look out for card counters and though not illegal the casinos owners may ask you to leave.

So how has the latest gambling craze live webcam games responded to prevent players counting cards. Common methods include using multiple packs of cards, splitting the deck into 2 and shuffling them far sooner than it would happen during a game in a real casino. Casinos can often deliberately hide the remaining decks to put off card counters.

It must be noted that card counting takes effort but is it rarely worth it; firstly you have to have a fantastic memory, and statistically it gives a 1% advantage to an experienced player under the best circumstances. Yet this is still not enough or only just enough to cancel out the house advantage in most cases.

Counting Cards in Blackjack is a post from: Online Casino Blog

If you are willing to set through a pitch for a vacation club, you can get your room and some shows for free. These vacation clubs use these incentives to gain access to prospective clients.

Casinos with large room occupancy offer specials for those visiting during the week and at what are considered off times. If there is no offer ask if there is one coming up or is there one you might qualify for in the near future. Maybe you could shift your visit in order to save a great deal on this necessary expense.

Holiday seasons and weekends are difficult times to locate deals if you wait until these dates are just around the corner. The only way to get a deal for these dates is to make your reservation well in advance.

If you are going to have an extended stay, look into renting a furnished condo for the month or longer. If you and another couple are making a similar vacation time, this can save a great deal of money over renting from a hotel or motel. Also you will probably save on the room tax as these rentals are considered in a different class than hotel and motel rooms.

Private residences are also open for longer stays as the people who own them are trying to use their property to make a little extra money.

If you are an RV person or a travel trailer owner, the places that rent to these owners are wiling to make deals for stays longer than a day or so. It never hurts to ask what they have to offer or are they wiling to negotiate an arrangement.

All of this information is readily found on the Internet using any good search engine. These searches are worthwhile as you can get a handle on what is being offered and at what price. Most of these sites will have a special for longer stays.

Casino Resort Room And Food Deals is a post from: Online Casino Blog

The most famous achievement in the sphere of “system” game against the casino was the so called “card counting” at blackjack – mathematically based methods of game allowing to get some advantage over the casino. The casinos, surely, knows about the existence of “counters” and are trying to oppose them – from changing the rules to banning the game. Sometimes even exceeding the limits of reason and legality. In fact, all the history of the blackjack is the struggle between the gamblers and the casino which is more clever.

More than half a century passed since the first attempts of beating the casinos in blackjack, based not on the marked cards and intuition. There has been a peck of salt eaten since then, but the struggle is still going on…

Mammoth.
Probably the first person in history who applied mathematic analysis to the game blackjack was Jess Marcum (originally Marcovitch) was born on 30th December 1919.

It happened at the turn of 1949 and 1950, when Jess, being an excellent mathematician and physicist-theorist got to Las Vegas. Then his mathematic flair prompted him that most possibly not everything depends on intuition in blackjack.

Marcum started analyzing blackjack. First, the uniqueness of his attempt is that he performed absolutely all calculations with his pen on the paper, on principle without using any technologies whatever weak they might be at that time. Second he had found the solution!

Jess manually developed what is now called basic strategy and counting systems ten years before someone else has done that. He counted that theoretically he had an advantage over the casino of about 3% – under the conditions of that time it was quite real. Moreover, Markum had been playing blackjack in all known to him casinos- both in the USA and abroad. His name appeared on the pages of the newspapers as an example of “lucky man” who managed to hit the jackpot.

Jess Markum also went down to history as probably the first man thrown out from the casino because of cards. Though at that time casinos did not understand that such system existed. Jess lived in Las Vegas for about a year. The casino owners exchanged the information when they gathered at the general meeting. And they were terrified. After that Markum was not admitted at all Vegas casinos. He went to Reno. The same story- in half a year after unbelievable “luck” the casino owners started making inquiries about the incredible gambler. Then other states and cities. Then Cuba, the Bahamas. Nobody knows how much money he has won during that time. One thing is known for sure- in fact, Jess Markum started the war between the gamblers and casinos in blackjack, that is still going on and getting more and more strained.

He did not share his calculations with anyone, and completely gave up playing against casino after a wide public publication of blackjack methods by other authors.
Jess Markum died in 1992, at the age of 72.

The four of Neanderthals.
The next effort of great influence on the blackjack math was made in 1956 by the group of four mathematicians- Roger Baldwin, Wilbert E. Cantey, Herbert Maisel and James McDermott.

These people had never played in casino before, having spent a great number of m/hr, they created basic strategy of playing blackjack according to the most popular at that time rules and published it together with the calculation methods in the specialized math journal for statisticians – Journal of the American Statistical Association entitled “The Optimum Strategy In Blackjack”.

They made several slight mistakes in calculations which is nothing serious taking into account their enormous contribution. A year later they issued a small book Playing Blackjack to Win, which is now a bibliography rarity.

In fact their book and the article did not spark much furor, and remained almost without attention regardless of their innovative approach. However, the word almost turned out to be the key for all the gambling industry, as someone did paid close attention to the research of the excellent four.

Casino Games History Or How People Have Learnt To Count Cards Part1. is a post from: Online Casino Blog

So how do you reach 21? In blackjack, the cards have values. Number cards two through ten are counted at face value, while all face cards (King, Queen and Jack) are worth ten points. The ace is a special card in blackjack: you decide whether it’s worth one or eleven points. Since casino players are dealt two cards to start, if you get an ace and a face card or ten, you have 21—an instant win, as long as the dealer doesn’t get 21 as well. This two-card winning hand is called a “blackjack”; hence the name of the game!

Casino rules for blackjack are basically the same at all casinos. After you get your first two cards, your options are to hit, stand, double down, split, or sometimes surrender. Hit means to take another card; stand means to keep what you have. A double down means you will double your bet in exchange for taking only one more card (you can draw up to five cards in blackjack). If your first two cards are the same value, you can split, or separate them and play each card as a different hand. Not all casinos offer the option to surrender, which means you would withdraw from the hand and receive half your bet back.

When you play blackjack at a casino, be sure to know which table to choose. Most casinos have color coded blackjack tables according to the minimum bet the table accepts, usually $3, $5, $25 or $100. In any casino, it’s a given the $3 and $5 tables will be crowded, but they’re great for beginners at casino games because all of the cards are dealt face-up, as opposed to the one-up, one-down method at higher tables. So the next time—or the first time—you visit a casino, make a stop at the blackjack tables and aim for 21!

Casino Games – Blackjack is a post from: Online Casino Blog

Generally it is seen that the cards carrying low value such as 2, 3 are of positive value and the cards carrying higher value are at the negative value. But the different card counting method assigns different value of each card to be dealt. The card counter can make a tally of the point values in his mind although it is better to make a count on counter’s own estimation regarding dealt cards and undealt cards as well. That will definitely present an accurate value or proportion or percentage of the cards which have been left in the deck shoe. Keep in mind that a larger range of point values always make the counting process complicated. Counting process of the card valued the smaller value such as 1, -1, 0 is level one count that denote the most easiest task of performance while multilevel count is what assign the higher point values, increase much difficulty.

In the process of card counting in blackjack the main complication remain in the treatment of aces which is much valuable when it comes for having a blackjack. Generally aces are not advantageous for the card players but it is beneficial when it is in the field of blackjack and remains in the deck. It should have a positive count.

The main advantage that a player can get through this card counting formality is that the player can make more betting of larger portion when his deck of card allows him and in adverse the deck itself give signal to make smaller amount in betting and accordingly can modify its situation by taking other various strategies. The player can also get information relating to value of each and every card to be dealt in or any type of composition that will help to make a better result.

The very main thing about this card counting is that the method of card counting will be performed very genuinely and accurately so that it cannot make any negative effect and with this the counting process must be taken to avoid the casino countermeasures. Otherwise many can make errors in this process and lose huge amount of money as well.

Card Counting in Blackjack! is a post from: Online Casino Blog

Before playing any game of Blackjack (or any casino game) it’s important to know the rules and the payouts. Nothing could be worse than having a huge bet out there and being told that you can’t do something, like split Aces and hit. That’s the pits. Know the game before you play. Ask if you must. Online Blackjack is easier, because all the rules are usually just a click away. And the rules are vital if you plan on playing some sort of system. Not all systems are universal.

One variation of Blackjack is European Blackjack. It’s played with two decks. Unlike some places on the Las Vegas Strip (unless they offer this variation), the dealer must stand on a soft 17. Oh, and here’s a big difference. You can only double down on 9 and 11. That’s right. So, if you have an Ace and an 8 with the dealer showing a 6, you can’t double.

For most people, this limitation is no big deal. But, it can be tough to swallow for the more aggressive player. Another aggressive player killer is the fact that you can’t double down after a split no matter what. In this version of Blackjack, the house has a 0.39% advantage.

Moving on, we come to Atlantic City Blackjack. This version of Blackjack is always played with eight decks via a shoe. As with Euro Blackjack, the dealer must stand on soft 17. And that’s how Downtown Las Vegas plays it too. Splitting is allowed, but only up to three hands. And you can double on the first two cards after splitting too.

Another interesting option is late surrender, which is allowed in the Atlantic City version. The house advantage is slightly lower at 0.35%.

And that brings us to Double Exposure Blackjack, which is a crowd favorite-at least at first. You can see both dealer cards. Easy win right? Not so fast. The dealer wins all ties. Yep, no pushes, you just lose. It’s the price to pay for knowing what the dealer has.

Another feature that I don’t personally like is Blackjack payouts only paying even money. There’s no bonus at all, which kind of ruins the game for me. The game is played with a shoe that holds 8 decks and the dealer hits on soft 17.

Even though the dealer shows both cards, the house advantage nearly doubles the previous two versions we talked about. It’s 0.69%.

Blackjack Variations is a post from: Online Casino Blog

Comps – This is the main reason for playing for many people. A Comp is basically anything you get for free from the casino. It could be food, rooms, cash, travel, drinks and so forth. Here’s a tip. Most casinos comp players based on the data from a player’s card. Whenever you walk into a new casino, ask about their player’s card and get one-they are free.

Cut Card – When you cut the deck in Blackjack-at real live tables-you use a cut card. This card is the same size as a regular card in the deck and it’s usually red. It’s also plastic. Slide that baby in the right place and let’s win some hands!

Discards – These are the cards that have already been played. In a real live game, you’ll see the discards off to the side of the table.

Double Deck – A Blackjack game typically uses 1-8 decks of cards. A Double Deck game of Blackjack uses two decks of cards. In a real live game, this game is hand shuffled and dealt from hand. Shoe games start with four or more decks.

Double Down – You’re so money! Even non-gamblers know this phrase. When you double down, you double up your original bet and take one final card. You can double down on your first two cards only. While online casinos typically make you double your bet on a double down, live casinos will allow you to “double for less,” which means you can put any additional amount down-up to the amount of your original wager.

Double Exposure – This is a variant of Blackjack. You’ll find that there are various Blackjack rules that a casino may or may not use-like surrendering. In this variant, both dealer cards are dealt face up. Sounds like easy money right? Not so fast. These games also have additional rules-usually something like dealer wins all ties. You may like this type of game though, so check it out. Make sure you ask about the rules differences before playing.

Draw – Most everyone says, “hit,” but draw is the same thing. When you draw a card, you’re not getting out a pencil and sketch paper to make an art masterpiece; you’re taking one additional card for you hand.

Edge – Do you have an edge? The edge just means who has the best ability to make money over the long haul. As a gambler, you take steps to reduce the house’s edge and increase your chances of winning. A Blackjack example of this would be card counting. Another example would be playing only certain types of Blackjack games, such as single deck.

We’ll pick up our Blackjack series next time with “Even Money.”

Blackjack Terms – Part Two is a post from: Online Casino Blog