Author: blackjackhero

Automated Blackjack Tables

I have been doing some more thinking about those automated blackjack tables that PokerTek has created. My mind keeps coming back to the idea that PokerTek believes that these automated blackjack tables will increase the social interaction between players at the table.

The whole reason for their belief in increased social interaction is because of the main screen. This central, main screen will have players all looking at the same place on the table. Players then use the controls in front of them to choose how to play out their hands, kind of like how you click on the appropriate button in a game of online blackjack.

But here is the thing that keeps tripping my mind. Blackjack is a one-on-one game, just you and the dealer. The other players

New Play for Real Blackjack App

Spin3 has developed yet another blackjack app for the Apple App Store. The app itself is tied to an online casino, in this case 32Red. Because of that tie, this new blackjack play for real mobile app can only be used by iPhone, iPad and iPod users in the United Kingdom and Ireland.

Which is kind of a bummer for those of us that are not in the United Kingdom or Ireland.

The app, though tied to 32Red, is found through the Apple App Store. Once the player has downloaded the app, he or she is free to play what essentially amounts to online blackjack from their phone. And this is not just an ordinary app blackjack in which you are playing with pretend money. Because of that tie to a real online casino, players can play for real money on their iPhone or other Apple device.

This is another step forward that further merges online gambling with the world of mobile interaction, which is a combination that IGT has already looked into, what with their merger of their WagerWorks and Million-2-1 subsidiaries.

Honestly it does not surprise me that online casinos are working with mobile app developers to bring their casino platforms to mobile users. As it stands most online gambling takes place in the home. But people are on the go more and more, and with that comes even more reliance on mobile technology. And that is what is causing savvy online casino operators to turn to trying to put their platforms into a mobile format.

Why not playing online blackjack on your iPhone while waiting for your flight to arrive?

Right now this Spin3 created mobile play for real blackjack app is only available to players with 32Red accounts. But there are intentions of spreading the play for real blackjack app to other mobile casinos who are clients of Spin3.

What is Blackjack Basic Strategy?

This morning I started in on how it is time to go back to the basics of blackjack. Basics are important. Think of them as the foundation for your blackjack strategy. And basic strategy should be the basis of all of your blackjack strategy.

Also this morning I talked about basic strategy. I said that it was only effective in lowering the house edge to 0.5% if you played it perfectly. But I never said why.

Basic strategy is usually shown in a chart. All of the dealer

Basics for Blackjack Strategy

Between the news, the blackjack apps and my thoughts on blackjack misconceptions, I have been rather neglectful of blackjack strategy. And we cannot have that now can we?

I figured the best way to jump back into blackjack strategy was to look at the basics again. Even experienced blackjack players should go back and look at the basics. For one thing it never hurts to see where you came from. Who knows, maybe you forgot something. And keeping firm on the basics helps to keep your more advanced strategies solid.

In other life, as I like to put it, I worked in retail and a lot of our training was

Online Blackjack Friday

It is Friday and that means it is time for some online blackjack tournament action!

If you have $10 to spare then you can play in the Weekend Blackjack Classic at Millionaire Casino. They host a three day online blackjack tournament that begins on Friday and runs through Sunday. And unlike other online blackjack tournaments, this one has players playing for a piece of a $5,000 prize pool.

But if you are running low on funds there are always the $0.99 online blackjack tournaments at Go Casino. Granted they are not offering a $5,000 prize pool and you will be playing for a percentage of the pot, but at least you do get to play in a tournament. And you know that you have only invested a little should you lose.

Go Casino alternates which type of online blackjack they use for their $0.99 tournaments. This Friday

Which Blackjack Table to Play at

When I left you this morning you had just stepped onto the casino floor and were faced with the choosing which blackjack table is the best to play at. Yes, real casinos will have more than four blackjack tables, but in this instance there are only four. Think of it as a really, really small casino.

So which blackjack table did you decide was the best to play at?

If you chose table 2 then you chose correctly.

Table 2 had the two guys playing a quiet game through a streak of low cards.

So why this blackjack table and not any of the others? It comes down to the cards.

Well, the guys at table 1 are experiencing a run of high cards. The problem with this table is that jumping in now would mean that you do not get to play through the entire high card streak, causing you to lose out on some profit opportunities.

Table 3 would be the table to join if you were new to the game of blackjack. But if you are an experienced player, the rounds would go very slowly and no doubt wear on your patience. And if only one or two of the ladies is winning in each round, it means that a streak is not happening with which to judge the table with. Table 3 is a table for novices. If you are not a novice, this is not the table for you.

A large pile of chips is not an indicator of how good a blackjack table is. Those players at table 4 could easily have started with larger bankrolls rather than won all those chips. The indicator is that the cards at that table are mixed, indicating that there are no streaks present

Which Blackjack Table to Play at

Casinos are exciting places to visit. Lights, sounds, just the general atmosphere pulls you in and surrounds you creating a one of a kind feeling. With all the excitement it can be rather hard to choose which blackjack table is best to play at.

Wait, am I saying that there is a way to choose which blackjack table is best to play at?

Why, yes, I am.

We are going to pretend that you just walked out onto the casino floor and are looking to play blackjack. You head to where the balckajck tables are and find that you have a few options. I am going to give a few different types of tables and see if you can guess which table is the best blackjack table to play at.

Table 1: The table has six of its seven seats filled by some rather rowdy guys. They are rowdy because they have been winning fairly often. They are also all friends and have been drinking some as well.

Table 2: This table only has a couple of people at it. They are playing quietly, rarely speaking and communicating their plays to the dealer in hand signals. You notice that they keep getting more low cards than high, and the dealer is winning more. You attribute this to the reason why the two players are being so serious.

Table 3: At the third table the dealer appears to be offering help to a group of ladies who do not seem to really understand the game. The dealer is being very nice about helping them, and at least one or two of the ladies beats him each round.

Table 4: The final table is only half full and each player has a large pile of chips in front them. The cards are mixed, with no real leaning on high or low cards.

Those are your four blackjack tables to choose from. Imagine that you are standing on the casino floor and have to choose one. Which blackjack table is the best to play at.?

Check back this afternoon and I will tell you which blackjack table is the best to play at and why.

Understanding the Objective of Blackjack and How to Play

It is okay to admit that you once upon a time did not truly understand the objective of blackjack. Not understanding the objective actually has an impact on how to play blackjack.

I will admit it. There once was a time that I did not know how to play blackjack correctly because I did not know the true objective of blackjack. Granted, this was a long time ago, but there was such a time. I was eleven years old waiting for classes to start in the morning; my friends and I would play blackjack thinking all we had to do was get 21.

Most often brand new players or non-regular players will hear that blackjack is all about getting a hand of 21.

This, however, is not the true objective of blackjack. The true objective is to beat the dealer without getting a card total of more than 21. And it is important to know the difference as these two objectives require two different playing and strategy mindsets.

If you were to play blackjack according to the idea that all you have to do is get a hand total of 21, it would not matter what the dealer had since all you have to worry about is getting 21. This difference in objectives becomes most evident in the hard hands.

About half of the hard hands in the game you stand on in hopes that the dealer will bust. But if you are not worried about the dealer, then a good many of those hard hands you would not stand on since the potential to get 21 is all the exists in this particular idea of the game.

But when taking the dealer into account it becomes evident how the game changes. Beating the dealer does not mean getting 21. It means getting a strong hand or playing defensively on a rough hand and hoping the dealer busts.

There are more hitting options in a game based only on getting 21. But there is more strategy involved in when you are playing a game in which you are trying to beat the dealer