Month: June 2010

Blackjack Myth

While you may not have seen this in online blackjack, unless you were the one doing it, this is a pretty common occurrence at blackjack tables in brick and mortar casinos: players who have lost several hands of blackjack in a row (hope they were not using a progressive betting system) and now feel it is their due to win a round.

It is all too common. Whether the blackjack player has only lost a couple of hands or is just having a bad run with the cards, he will begin fussing about how it is high time he won a hand. As if the cards were really listening. But cards are inanimate objects and the odds in a round of blackjack do not bend to a player

Microchip Blackjack Happening

Imagine a game of blackjack in which you place your chips on the table and your betting total is instantly calculated by the casino. The casino is watching you and your chips, and how you are betting in blackjack, how much you a betting.

Sound a tad Big Brother?

Well, it does kind of sound that way. It seems casinos may have found a way to track their chips. The Meadows in Pennsylvania says that it might have in place microchipped casino chips. These chips would use a radio frequency identification technology to communicate with the casino.

According to the Meadows these microchipped casino chips can be used at a blackjack table to add up a player

Blackjack Odds vs. Other Casino Games

When it comes to playing online blackjack, it is one of the best online casino games to play. For one thing, online blackjack is easy. But in terms of making a profit from a casino game, online blackjack is the way to go considering that it offers you the best odds.

Seriously, it does. Let

What Would Make Up the Best Blackjack Game?

While we all enjoy our blackjack games, be it blackjack in a brick and mortar casino or blackjack online, we all will imagine from time to time what would be our perfect blackjack game. Granted, we do not expect to ever actually find our perfect game of blackjack, but every now and then we will all sigh and let our minds wander to this perfect game and imagine the fun and the winnings.

So what would my perfect game of blackjack be? Well, naturally it has all kinds of player favorable rules.

For starters I would have natural blackjacks paying 2-1 instead of 3-2. While a 3-2 payout is awesome, a 2-1 payout will not only pay more but it will also increase a player

How Card Counting Works

Part of the image of blackjack is card counting. And that image is of a smooth blackjack player who slips in and, using his incredible intelligence, overcomes the house edge, wins lots of money and slips out before the casino staff can catch on to him.

The idea that card counting can be used to beat the house is not new. And it can help a skilled blackjack player to break even with the house

Blackjack Myth

The only time that this myth would come up is when you are dealt a natural blackjack or a 20 and the dealer has an Ace showing. In fact, the only time you are offered insurance in blackjack is when the dealer has an Ace showing.

The belief on this blackjack myth might sound reasonable, but it is in fact not practical. Here are the reasons these myth-believing blackjack players will insure their blackjacks and 20s:

– If you insure your blackjack you will get an even money payout no matter what even if the dealer has a blackjack.

– If you insure your 20 and the dealer does have blackjack you will wind up with the equivalent of an even money payout because you will lose that round

Blackjack Myth

I have said it before and I will say it again. Soft hands are some of the most misplayed hand in blackjack. I have seen a good number of blackjack players who, while they can handle their hard hands, do not seem to know what to do with soft hands. And a soft 18 is one of those misplayed blackjack hands.

A fair amount of blackjack players will stand on a soft 18. To them it seems like there is no other possible way to play this hand. They get caught up in the 18 part and forget about the Ace.

When facing down a dealer

Who is Winning When?

For those who play blackjack fairly often, for those who have researched blackjack, studied blackjack, they know the odds. They know that blackjack games start with a house edge of 2% to 5%. These studied blackjack players know that they can reduce the house edge to 0.5% just by playing perfect basic strategy.

Unfortunately 0.5% is the best odds an online blackjack player can be after. For blackjack players who play in brick and mortar casinos, they can employ their skills at card counting, and even out the odds or even tilt the odds in their favor.

But what do odds tell you about winning? They tell you the chances of you winning, but those odds apply to each and every hand. They do not tell you on average how often you could win at blackjack. And the well informed player should know how often they could win.

On average a player will only win 44% of the time while the dealer will win around 48% of the time. Those percentages apply to blackjack game when basic strategy is applied. But either the player winning or the dealer winning only accounts for 92% of games. The other 8% goes into pushes. Meaning that 8% the dealer and the player will have a push.

Of the average 44% of games that the player will win, 5% of those games will be won with a natural blackjack. Interestingly enough, the dealer

Blackjack Myth: Never Hit 12 Against a Dealer

For blackjack players who play according to basic strategy, I know, this myth does not make any sense.

And players believe this regardless of whether they are playing online blackjack or blackjack in a brick and mortar casino. Some are absolutely steadfast in this myth.

In truth they are only hurting their own blackjack odds.

Here is what happens in the mind of blackjack player who believes this myth

Rhode Island Blackjack Hits Another Snag

Lawmakers in Rhode Island are certainly taking their time in deciding what to do with a bill about expanding the gambling offerings in two slot parlors. The two slot parlors are the Newport Grand and the Twin River in Lincoln.

The bill would allow for gambling expansion, which includes adding blackjack tables. But it seems that either lawmakers are a bit intimidated by blackjack, or there simply are not a lot of blackjack players in Rhode Island.

The bill would allow the state to determine how many blackjack tables there would be, their placement, their rules and odds, and to collect receipts from blackjack.

In 2006 citizens were allowed to vote on an amendment that would allow the Narragansett Indian Tribe to become partners with Harrah, and open a casino in West Warwick. The citizens voted no.

So lawmakers are aware that Rhode Island citizens are not crazy about the idea of having full casinos within their state. However, the state is hurting for money like a good number of states. And like those states, the lawmakers are eyeing revenue from legalized gambling to fill in some of the holes in the budget.

But lawmakers are not being too nasty about this and trying to force this through. There have been several revisions of the bill since it was first voted on. And for once the lawmakers are being considerate. They are going to have another review before voting.

But some citizens are not happy even with the lawmakers taking time to review the bill again. Barry Flynn, a resident of Newport, referred to the lawmakers as