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.”

 Share now!

BookMaker.com announces the launch of its 2007 Blackjack Tournament Season. Beginning in October, players on BookMaker’s new Real-Time Blackjack Tournament Network can compete in weekly and monthly qualifying tourneys in hopes of earning a free seat and shot at winning a lot of money in their $10,000 BlackJackBowl.

“We are extremely excited to launch our first Blackjack Tournament Season,” said Ed D’Lyne, Bookmaker Casino Manager. “Not only is it a great opportunity for us to showcase our new and exciting Blackjack Tournament game to our customers, but it’s an opportunity for them to compete in a progressive style of blackjack tournament for no small sum of money. At the end of the season we’re going to name one champion, and that champion is going to have a wad of cash in his pocket. After all, that’s why they are playing.”

BookMaker’s Blackjack Season started on October 2nd, 2007 in their regularly scheduled Tuesday Night tournament at 9:30pm EST. The season lasts for five months and ends with the BlackJackBowl in late February, early March, 2008. Every week BookMaker will be hosting a couple of cash-heavy tourneys, also granting the top places a free seat into their month-end qualifying event. The Monthly tourney prize pot will be infused with an additional $1,000 dollars above and beyond the customer entry fees everyone competes for. The top six places of the month-end event will also be awarded free seats into the $10,000 BlackJackBowl.

“We are throwing tons of cash into our Blackjack Network, and the savvy casino players and blackjack players out there are not only going to enjoy themselves and this game, but they are going to reap the financial benefits of this new tournament play,” exclaimed Mr. D’Lyne.

BookMaker.com has a Legacy of quality in service and renowned bookmaking experience of more than two decades, BookMaker.com is born to serve both professional and recreational players. Always the first sportsbook to post lines, the phrase “Where the Line Originates” will continue attracting the world’s sharpest and biggest players.

Check out Bookmaker Sportsbook and Casino at Bookmaker Sportsbook and Casino

Bookmaker sportsbook accepts US players and other players from all over the world. They have outstanding quality games and a easy way of accepting money deposits. They are one of the best rated sportsbooks right now with an A+ rating.

 Share now!

Today, I will share three such Blackjack fundamentals with you. Put on your thinking caps and commit these to memory. If you already know them, you’re ahead of the game.

Blackjack Fundamental One: Don’t Always Double Down on Eleven

What? You can’t be serious. I know, I know. We’ve all heard the catchphrase “Always double down on eleven.” But, there are situations where doubling down on eleven makes no sense.

Let’s say you have eleven and the dealer is showing a face card. Why would you double down? Think about this for a moment. You’re risking twice the money for a possible 4 out of 13 chance to win.

In each suit, there are 13 cards (A – 10, J, Q, K). Let’s imagine that the dealer has a 20. Only three cards in each suit can produce a win. One card will produce a tie and nine cards a loss.

The odds are not in your favor.

Blackjack Fundamental Two: Dealer Shows Six, Let it Fly

For me there’s one time when I get ultra-aggressive on the Blackjack table and that’s when the dealer is showing a six. There are so many possibilities for the dealer to bust.

This is the time when I like to double down on hands totaling seven to eleven or anything soft, such as a soft 18.

And I always stand on any hard hands that total twelve or above.

Blackjack Fundamental Three: Don’t Chase Wins

Streaks come and go. Steer clear of any playing strategy or system that increases the betting amount after a loss. It’s counterproductive.

Instead, you want to increase your wagers after a win-if at all.

Far too often I see players betting some losing progression system that has them losing more and more each hand. Personally, I stay away from any preset betting strategy and just bet up or down as the hands fly.

You just never know when a hot or cold streak is coming. If you’re an astute Blackjack player, you can probably gauge how a deck is going and what’s likely left. And that’s how you want to determine your bet size and not some preset up and down scheme.

Start with these three fundamentals and you’ll be on your way to playing better Blackjack.

 Share now!

Part One: Cards

First, everyone, including the dealer, receives two cards. These two cards make up your hand’s count. All cards are worth their face value, so a nine of clubs is worth nine points. Face cards are worth 10 points and an Ace is worth one or 11-you choose.

Part Two: Basic Goal

The dealer is always the last to act, so it’s your job to determine what the dealer has and act accordingly. You can go up to 21 in your hand. If your hand ends up being 22 or more, you have busted and you lose. While some books might incorrectly state that the goal of Blackjack is to get as close to 21 as possible, the goal is really to beat the dealer.

Part Three: Action Time

When it’s your turn, you’ll have a few actions you can perform. If you like the count of your hand, you can stand. Stand simply means that you pass and your turn is now over. If you’d like another card, you can hit. When you hit, one card is dealt to you. You can keep hitting until you are satisfied. However, if your hand reaches 22 or more, your turn is ended and you lose.

If you have two identical cards, such as two eights, you can split them into two hands. You’d then play two separate hands. But note, when you split hands, you must double your wager. Splitting can lead to greater profit or greater ruin. Act accordingly. Never split 10s or face cards.

Another action is doubling down. When you double down, you double your wager and take one final card-that’s it. Most people like to double down when they have 11. Some casinos will let you double for less too. So, if you had a $100 original wager, you could double down for say $50.

Part Four: Blackjack

Should your first two cards equal 21, you have a Blackjack. Remember, an Ace can be one or 11, so a Blackjack has one Ace and one 10 or face card. Also, a Blackjack pays 1.5x, so if you had a $100 wager on the table and received a Blackjack, you’d be paid $150.

Part Five: Wagers

This is real simple. Aside from a Blackjack, all wagers are paid even money, so a $100 wager is paid $100. Good luck and have fun playing Blackjack.

 Share now!

In some ways, online casinos have brought back the old days of true gambling. You get a pure gambling environment. There are no side shows and other nonsense. If you don’t like the payouts, you leave. It’s that simple. Online casinos know this and that’s why they work constantly to offer the best gaming around. I bet if Las Vegas went to a pure gaming atmosphere, it would disappear, because online casinos have better payouts and action-no travel time too.

It’s true that all different types of Blackjack can be found in the world, but who the heck wants to spend valuable money and time getting to it all? Not I. Online casinos offer the perfect solution. Any type of Blackjack you want is at your fingertips.

So, how can we profit from online Blackjack? Aside from the obvious answer, winning, there are a couple primers to profiting. First, we need to understand how the game actually works. Early in this article I alluded to the fact that you can find single-deck Blackjack online. But, I didn’t talk about how it works, which is a major item of information to know.

Unlike real-world Blackjack where hands are dealt until most of the deck or shoe is gone, online casinos shuffle the deck after every single hand. This is to prevent players from counting cards. It’s a slight handicap for the players, because the hands are extremely random and there’s no way to “work into” better hands, such as getting all the smaller stuff out and loading up for possible Blackjacks.

Another thing you must do is abandon silly strategies. And one of those is card counting. Sorry, card counting helps in the real world only. If you try to count cards with online Blackjack, you’ll just be screwing yourself. It doesn’t work (again, reshuffling kills it). So, don’t waste your valuable time trying to learn how to count cards and what card counting system is best. It’s not needed.

Since the hands are more than extremely random, don’t utilize any progression system. You could easily lose 20 hands in a row and you could easily win 20 hands in a row. It’s that random (thanks to the reshuffling after every hand).

Learn the game, learn how it works online and play smarter to win more often.

 Share now!

 

In the Betting exchangeonline zero blackjack game, the odds have been slightly rewritten to be more preferable to the player. The online casino now pays out at 2-1 when the player has a suited natural Blackjack and also when they have a five card 21.

 

The suited natural blackjack occurs when a player receives their first two cards which amount to 21 and both belong to the same suit, an example of which may be receiving the Ace of Spades and the Jack of Spades. This would pay out as 2-1 as opposed to the 3-2 which would normally be given to a blackjack. The suited blackjack is not viewed as better as a standard blackjack and if the dealer and the player both have any form of blackjack, a “push” is the outcome.

 

Similarly, anytime a player has taken 5 cards and their points amount to 21, a payment of 2-1 is immediately paid out. If the dealer draws a 21 the 5 card player will be the victor but this is not enough to defeat a dealer Blackjack. Also, having a 5 card 21 is not applicable with regards to the dealer which will result in a “push” against the player who has 21 with fewer than 5 cards.

 

Betting exchange online casinos have been at the forefront of offering more variety and better odds to the player and the zero blackjack addition to their list of games gives another opportunity for serious players to have a chance of making some winnings.

 Share now!

One of the most famous ways to help increase the chances of winning at blackjack, is counting cards.  Counting cards is fairly simple to do.  This strategy has been around since the early 1950’s and used ever since then.  This strategy requires some memorization of this routine.  However once the routine is down, it is quite simple to apply to the game.  First off, each card is assigned an imaginary number.  Low cards like two through nine are generally assigned either a zero or a one.  High cards such as face cards, ten, or an ace, are assigned a negative number such as negative one.  The point of counting cards is to tell the odds of winning.  Depending on the type of blackjack game, the added up total of the imaginary numbers will help determine whether it is a good idea to ask for another card. Although counting cards is a popular strategy to many people, it does not tell you what the next card will be.  However, it will give you a better sense of what cards are left in the deck.  This strategy will most likely improve your odds of winning.  Even though many people count cards at casinos, this technique is generally banned in most casinos.  This strategy gives the blackjack player an advantage over the dealer and casino.  If you are going to count cards, be sneaky about it because casinos can easily point out a card counter.   

Another popular strategy when playing blackjack is called back-counting.  This strategy involves the player to stand near a blackjack table to observe.  The player generally counts the cards this way without actually playing.  When the time is right, the player should enter the game.  The odds should be in favor for the player if he or she counted the cards correctly.  However, this strategy can have some downsides too.  Casinos may become suspicious and kick the player out for having an advantage over the casino.  Players also may become irritated if you stand too close to the blackjack table without placing a bet.  Although card counting seems illegal, really it is not.  There is no law stating that this strategy is illegal.  Casinos set these rules because they have lost lots of money from people counting cards. 

With some practice, you can easily pick up these different strategies.  Try practicing these different techniques with friends.  Then when you feel ready, go out and try them yourself.  Make sure to follow all rules at the casino.  Call up ahead of time to make sure that there is no punishment for card counting.

 Share now!

1. Basic strategy should be rigid

Player should predetermine the play in order to make as large average gain as possible. This is done by creating a basic strategy table of probabilities which are actually based on statistical analysis, through which player makes his next decision. It tells when the player should stand, double down, hit or split.

2. Insurance should never be taken

When the dealer’s up card is in ace and you get to naturally deal with 21 i.e. the online blackjack game on a single deck table, then after removing your ace and ten and dealers ace, there will be left 49 cards. So, the dealer will be left with fifteen tens for a blackjack. Hence, you will be paid 3 to 2 thirty four times and push fifteen times. When fifteen tens are subtracted from a total of 49, you will get 34, which results your winning percentage 104. If you are counting cards you can take insurance.

3. Find table with your least gambling money

For those beginners who aim at trying out what they have learned so far in blackjack game and for those experienced players who want to add some new strategies in their successful blackjack playing tips, the best option is to search for a table which has maximum 4 % of your gambling money .

4. Never play ‘STAND ON 12’ or ‘NEVER BUST’

On playing these the biggest disadvantage to the player is that whenever the dealer busts, these give player a delusion that they are secure and their chances to win are high whereas actually the house gets grand advantage.

5. Dealer rule should not be played

The dealer rule disallows efficient usage of splitting, doubling or taking insurance. You should not believe that the card of the dealer is of 10 points as mathematically, the real likelihood is below

 Share now!

It’s this edge that makes blackjack the preferred game for the serious player interested in making long term profits.

To win at blackjack long term you need to have a strategy, but you also need to play games with favourable rules and use strict money management techniques.

Here are four tips to help you make big consistent profits:

Tip 1. Basic Strategy

When you play blackjack correctly and use basic strategy, you cut the casino edge – it’s a mathematically proven fact.

The casino’s initial edge in the game is 5.75%, but by using basic strategy, you can reduce the casino edge to around 0.5%

There are plenty of free sources on the net that have strategy cards to tell you how to play.

Tip 2. Card Counting

After learning basic strategy, you can gain a positive edge over the casino (about 0.5 -1.5%) by card counting.

There are many card counting systems.

A Player needs to know the system they are using well and execute it without errors. Errors are costly and they will wipe out your advantage.

A simple system executed correctly will make you more long-term profit than a complicated one, which causes you to make errors.

You need to use a card counting system that you can execute with confidence and without errors to make it effective in giving you an edge over the house.

Tip 3. Look for Favourable Rules

For card counting to be effective, a player needs to play blackjack games with favourable rules.

Here are some rule variations and the effect that they have on a player’s long-term profits.

Favourable Rules for the Player

Early surrender +0.62%

Late surrender single deck +0.02%

Double down after splitting +0.13%

Drawing to split aces +0.14%

Re-splitting of aces +0.03%

Double down cards any number +0.20%

2:1 payoff blackjack +2.32%

Unfavourable Rules for the Player

No doubling on hard 11 -0.89%

No doubling on hard 10 -0.56%

No doubling on hard 9 -0.14%

No doubling soft hands -0.14%

Dealer hits soft 17 -0.20%

Dealer takes no hole card -0.13%

2 decks (v single) -0.35%

4 decks (v single) -0.51%

6 decks (v single) -0.60%

Pairs no re-splitting -0.05%

You need to play with favourable rules otherwise; the casino will wipe out the edge you gain through card counting.

Tip 4. Money Management

You need to decide what your bankroll is going to be and play at a level that will enable you to ride out losing periods.

Keep in mind card counting is not a predictive theory, it’s a probability theory, and losing periods can and do occur.

To win at blackjack you need staying power. There is no point in having a great strategy and no bankroll!

You need to vary your bet size. This is one of the most important keys to playing blackjack like a pro – having the courage to bet big when the odds are in your favour.

Winning at Blackjack Requires More than Card Counting

To win at blackjack not only do you need to know basic strategy and card counting, but you also need to be able to play with favourable rules and execute proper money management techniques.

Using a combination of the above four tips will enable you to make money over the long term playing blackjack.

 Share now!

This is something you can learn and profit from quickly and easily.

Before you learn to card count however, you need to be familiar with blackjack basic strategy, the system that all card-counting strategies are based upon.

Here we will introduce you to why card counting works and dispel some common myths.

Card Counting Myths

Before we begin lets dispel two common myths about card counting:

1. Card counters do not memorize every card they have seen dealt out of a deck or shoe, and card counting does NOT need to be complicated.

In fact, simple systems can be very effective. It is the logic the system is based upon, NOT its complexity that makes a system successful.

2. Card counting also does not allow a player to foresee with certainty what card will be dealt out the deck next.

Card counting is simply a probability theory NOT a predictive theory.

While it puts the odds in your favor longer term, short-term losing periods occur for ALL players, so be prepared!

1. Why card counting works

Players who use correct blackjack strategy with a card counting system can beat the casinos edge.

The reason for this is simple. Low cards favor the dealer in blackjack, and high cards favor the player.

Low cards favor the dealer because they help him make winning totals on his hands when he is stiff, (has a 12, 13, 14, 15, or 16 total on his first two cards).

2. Card Counting Your Advantage over the Dealer

In casino blackjack, you can stand on your stiffs if you want to, but the dealer cannot. He has no choice to make but you do, and herein is your advantage.

Rules of the game require that he hit his stiffs no matter how rich the deck is in high cards that will bust him.

It is the fact that you have choices and he does not, which can give you the edge in blackjack.

3. Card Counting Increasing The Odds Of Hitting a Blackjack

The high cards favor the player not only because they may bust the dealer when he hits his stiffs, but because the 10s and Aces create blackjacks.

Although blackjacks are of course, evenly distributed between the dealer and the player, the important fact is that the player is paid more (3:2) when he gets a blackjack.

4. You Don’t Need To Count All the Cards

In card counting, you do not have to count the numbers of each of the individual card values in order to know when you have an advantage over the casino.

You only need to know when the deck is rich or poor in high cards i.e the cards favorable to the player.

5. Card Counting – You Have To Act On Your Advantage!

Card counting by itself can reveal when you have an advantage, but to maximize your profits you need to vary your bet size up when you have an advantage and down when you don’t.

For card counting, to be effective you need to ACT and capitalize on the situations that are favorable to you.

6. Card Counting Technique Learn It In 5 Minutes!

So how does a blackjack player actually card count?

There are many different techniques; some are difficult to master, while some are easier to learn.

In fact, you can learn a simple effective card counting method in just 5 minutes!

 Share now!