Casino Gambling: What's Hot Now: Top Five Tips for Blackjack Success

Casino Gambling: What's Hot Now
These articles that had the largest increase in popularity over the last week // via fulltextrssfeed.com
Top Five Tips for Blackjack Success
Nov 10th 2012, 11:48

Blackjack is a terrific game to play if you can learn a few rules and follow the top five tips for blackjack success. Like all games, the more you know the better your experience will be. If you don't know the basic play of blackjack, learn how to play blackjack.

Once you have the basics under your belt, here are the Top Five Tips for Blackjack Success.

1. Read the Limit Sign

You would be amazed at how often a player sits at a table and doesn't know what limit, or even what game they are playing.

  • Make sure you are on a standard blackjack game
  • Read the table limits for the minimum and maximum you can bet each hand
  • Read what first two cards you can double down on
  • Read what first two cards you can split, and how many times
  • Read if you have other options like surrender - early or late
2. Find a Friendly Dealer

The dealer can make or break your experience. Find dealers that are friendly so you can enjoy yourself. Dealers work for tips and should be as nice to you as a good waitperson is. If they aren't, what are you still sitting at their table for?

3. Don't Drink Too Much

Sure, the drinks are free in Nevada and available at most casinos, but don't have so much that you can't make good decisions. Playing blackjack is fun, don't ruin it by keeping yourself from playing at your best.

4. Don't Take Your Frustrations Out on Your Bankroll

Find a limit that you are comfortable with. You will make better decisions if you are not worried about what you are betting. You can't win every time you play, so play within your means. If you aren't in the mood to have fun and enjoy yourself, you shouldn't be gambling.

A good rule is to decide in advance what you are willing to risk, then put only a quarter of that amount on a table at any time. This will force you to consider quitting or finding another table if you don't do well with your first buy-in.

5. Learn Basic Strategy

Dr. Edward O. Thorp used a computer to work out a mathematical formula for optimal blackjack play in 1961 and wrote the book, Beat the Dealer. The book presented a basic strategy to play, and a way to keep track of all the cards played to decide when to bet more money on each hand.

His pioneering work led to a plethora of later blackjack books, but the basic premise that there is a strategy for each player to start with has never been questioned, although the suggestions have been improved over the years. Learn and employ these rules and you will be playing at less than one-half of a percent disadvantage to the house. That's a tiny amount, just five-cents on a $10 bet, which will allow you to win on many sessions of play.

If you are ready to learn actual strategy for playing the game, read Five Keys to Winning Blackjack

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Casino Gambling: What's Hot Now: How to Play Blackjack - A Crash Course

Casino Gambling: What's Hot Now
These articles that had the largest increase in popularity over the last week // via fulltextrssfeed.com
How to Play Blackjack - A Crash Course
Nov 10th 2012, 11:48

Learn How to Play Blackjack with this Simple Crash Course!

The game of blackjack is played with a standard 52-card deck of playing cards. While the game is often referred to as 21, it is most widely known as Blackjack, which also denotes when a player or the dealer is dealt a ten-value card and an ace on their first two cards.

Starting with two cards, each player tries to get as close to 21 as possible without going over. You are a winner when you beat the dealer.

Card Values

No jokers are used in a blackjack game. Cards 2 through 9 count as their face value and 10's and all face cards count as 10. Aces are special and may be counted as 1 or as 11, at your discretion.

When you hold an ace, if you can take a 10-value card and not go over 21, then you have a soft-hand. You have a hard-hand when your ace is playing as a 1 and taking an additional card might cause you to go over 21.

If you have an ace and a 7, your total can be either 8 or 18 - a soft hand. If you hold an ace and a 10 and a 7, you also have 18 - but it is a hard hand.

Game Goals

The main goal of blackjack is to beat the dealer's hand-total each playing round. After you place a bet, the dealer will deal themselves and each player two cards, starting with the first player on their left. The dealer will only expose one of their cards, and based on this limited information, you decide whether to take more cards or stand "pat." Players act first, and if you take a card, or "hit," and go over 21 on a hard-hand, you lose, even if the dealer later busts.

If you don't go over 21 and "stand," you wait for the dealer to finish their hand to see if your total beats theirs or if they "bust." The highest card-total not over 21 wins. If you both have the same total, you tie - nobody wins or loses. You win when you still have your cards and the dealer busts.

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Casino Gambling: What's Hot Now: Match Play

Casino Gambling: What's Hot Now
These articles that had the largest increase in popularity over the last week // via fulltextrssfeed.com
Match Play
Nov 10th 2012, 11:48

Casinos are always holding promotions to bring people into the casino and entice them to play once they are there. Some casinos offer books of coupons called Funbooks. Some of the items the coupons can be used for include free drinks, 2 for 1dinner or show tickets and casino logo items such as pens or hats. Many casinos offer these Funbooks as an incentive to those players who come to the casino on a bus trip or with a group of people. Some casinos offer these Funbooks and coupons to the general public just for asking but most of the time you will receive them as part of a promotion or as an bonus when you purchase other products.

When you book a vacation package you are usually given some sort of coupon book for the casino where you will be saying. Magazines such as Casino Player and the Las Vegas Advisor solicit the casinos for coupons and offer coupon books to their subscribers as an incentive to renew their subscriptions. Steve Bourie's book, The American Casino Guide has coupons in the back.

The most valuable coupon that the casinos offer is one that is sometimes over looked by many players. It is the Match Play coupon.

How they work.
A match play coupon is used for the table games. The match play coupons can come in different denominations. Some of the coupons may pay 2 for 1 or 3 for 2 or 7 to 5. Most coupons are limited to the even money bets such as blackjack, the passline in craps or the red and black or odd or even on the roulette table. You place your bet along with the match play coupon and when you win your are paid for your bet along with a bonus for the values of the coupons. For example: If you were playing blackjack and had a $10 match play coupon you would bet $10 along with the coupon. If you win the hand you would be paid $20. Ten dollars for your original bet and $10 for the match play coupon. If you had a $7 /$5 coupon, you wold bet $5 along with the coupon band be paid $7 if you win. Five dollars for you original bet and two for the coupon.

On most of the even money bets your odds of winning are a little bit under 50/50. With the house edge your odds are a closer 49/51. The casino has a house edge because they do not pay off bets at true odds. When you are getting paid double or even $7 for $5 for your bet by using a match play coupon you actually have an advantage over the casino. That is what makes these coupons so valuable. However many players do not realize the value of the coupons, especially if they do not play the table games.

Even if you are a slot player you can take advantage of the match play coupons by making a single bet at the table. You don't even have to take a seat at the table. You can just jump in and play one hand and then go about you merry way. If you are not sure about blackjack you can bet on the red or black or odd or even at the roulette table or for some real excitement you can make a pass line bet on the craps table. In fact if you are with another person and each of you have a coupon; I can show you a bet that will guarantee a win.

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Casino Gambling: What's Hot Now: Card Counting Income Rate

Casino Gambling: What's Hot Now
These articles that had the largest increase in popularity over the last week // via fulltextrssfeed.com
Card Counting Income Rate
Nov 10th 2012, 11:48

How much can you profit from counting cards is a question many casual blackjack players have. Not everybody is cut out for learning blackjack and counting cards in the same way that not everybody can learn to drive, learn to paint, or learn to hit a baseball. However, if you can concentrate, commit the basic strategy rules for standard blackjack to memory, and keep a running count in your head, you may have what it takes to play blackjack for profit.

The big question on every player's mind is of course how much can they earn. In a nutshell, card counting allows the player to memorize a number of variables from the current condition of a deck of cards, or a whole shoe of cards, and make play and betting decisions based on that information.

If a player learns a simple Hi-Lo count and gets favorable house rules for blackjack, their earn rate might be as high as three-quarters of a percent per 100 hands played. The win rate is based on the total number of hands played and the total amount bet.

Calculating Win Rate

A speedy blackjack dealer can deal out 400 hands per hour. If you play on a table with two other players, you will receive 100 hands per hour. You need a minimum spread (the difference between your lowest bet and your highest best) of 1-4 units and a desirable spread of 1-7 units. You bet the least when the deck is negative, or in the house's favor, and the most when the deck is heavily in the player's favor - all the while trying to act like a novice and not get barred from playing the game.

(Hands played) times (average bet) times (player edge) equals (win rate)

If you get 100 hands per hour and average $25 per bet you will make a total of $2500 per hour in wagers, which you multiply by your .75 (.0075) of a percent edge to arrive at $18.75, expected income. This can be achieved with an average off-the-top bet of $10 and a maximum bet of $70. If you make a $1 tip every 15 minutes and pay $1 for a soda from the cocktail waitress each hour, you can expect to maintain a steady win rate of about $15 per hour over the long run.

Keep in mind that the long run is all of your play. If you make more than a couple mistakes per hour, don't get good deck penetration, and don't get a good spread for you bets, you won't make this much. And, your variance is going to be significant because you have such a tiny edge on the house. To keep from losing your bankroll, start with a minimum of 200 times your upper bet. If you bet $10 to $70, you need $2800 to be comfortable.

Make More Money

Can you expect to make even more money? Sure. If you get more hands per hour your income potential goes up. Get 150 hands instead of 100 and your income goes from $15 to $22.50 If you make bets from $25 to $175 and maintain 100 hands per hour, your income potential goes up to about $40 per hour. Get 150 hands at that formula and your income potential is closer to $60 per hour.

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