Author: blackjackhero

Blackjack App Thoughts

I have a couple of really good idea for a blackjack app for all these mobile devices out there, all of the smartphones and iPads and iPhones and what not. But I lack the technical know-how to actually create such mobile apps. So what I want to know is why someone without the technical know-how can think of these blackjack apps, but no one with the actual ability to create them has not done so. I mean, I would buy the apps.

I have heard about mobile blackjack apps that will help teach you the game and its rules. And I have heard of mobile apps that let you play blackjack on the go.

But there are two apps or parts of apps that I want to see.

I want to see a mobile blackjack app that can sync with others with the same app nearby. Kind of like those dating/flirting apps that people have

To Switch or Not to Switch

The game of Blackjack Switch sounds quite easy to play on the surface. Especially since it allows you the option of switching your second cards. Because this blackjack variation gives you that option it seems like playing Switch would be a pretty easy thing to do.

Not always.

How do you know if your original hands are better or if the switched hands are better? There is no basic strategy for Blackjack Switch, just your own brain and logic.

Take a look at this example to get what I mean:

We are going to say that the dealer has a 7 showing. When the beginning dealing is down you have an Ace/7 on one hand and a 10/9 on the other. You have a soft 18 and a hard 19.

If you were to switch them, you would strengthen one hand to soft 20 (Ace/9) and weaken the other to a hard 17 (10/7)?

This sort of situation is what makes Blackjack Switch not as easy as it seems.

So which is better: to have two reasonably strong hands, or one really strong and one that is one the weak side?

For your answer look at how I summed up the situation in the last sentence.

Still do not see it? Here it is:

When facing a dealer who is holding a fairly strong card and you have the option of two reasonably strong hands versus one really strong and one fairly weak, it is best to go with the two reasonably strong hands.

If you were to switch to the soft 20 and hard 17, you run the risk of winning one hand and losing with the other. That sort of winning will only cause you to break even and you will not walk away from the round any better off than when you started. True, it is better than losing both hands, but what if you could win both hands and make a profit?

Which is exactly what you can do by having two reasonably strong hands. While they are not guaranteed to win, they still put you in a better position to win both hands, which is your goal when playing Blackjack Switch.

This is why Blackjack Switch requires some brain work and logic when choosing to switch the second cards or not. This is not a blackjack game in which you just have the cards switched just for the sake of switching them.

Playing in Blackjack Switch

Blackjack Switch is a newer blackjack variation. And while players do have to wager more in a round than they would in a standard game, I find that I do not mind. For one thing the extra wagering is not for a side bet, it is for a second hand that is mandatory to play Switch with. And for another thing this blackjack variation relies on skill, logical thinking and blackjack strategy.

The way Blackjack Switch is played is with two hands per player. The round begins with the player setting out two wagers of equal amounts. The player is then dealt one card for the first hand and then the first card for the second hand; once both first cards are dealt each hand will receive its second cards.

The unique thing about Switch is that, once it is your turn to play, you can tell the dealer to switch the two second cards of your hands. The strategy is to strengthen your hands and your position against the dealer.

For example if you were dealt a 10 on your first hand and a 5 on your second hand, and then received a 6 on the 10 and an Ace on the 5 you would be in a tough spot if this were an ordinary blackjack game.

But you are not in an ordinary blackjack game. You are in a game of Blackjack Switch.

At this point you have a soft 16 on your first hand and a hard 16 on the second hand. Tricky spot to be in normally. But in Switch you can signal to the dealer at the beginning of your turn to switch your second cards. Once that switch is made you then have 10/Ace and a 5/6: a natural blackjack and hard 11, which you can double down on.

Unfortunately you would only receive an even money payout for the natural blackjack. Normally I would not play in a game that paid me even money for a natural. But in the case of this game, I am willing to take the even money payout so that I can have the ability to switch my cards. The ability to switch does make for more blackjacks.

That and in the case of the above example, I would rather have the even money payout than lose my wager like I probably would have done if I had not switched.

See, this is the kind of logic that I am talking about. Players have to think about whether their original hands are stronger than the hands that would be formed if they had the second cards switched. Because of that logic and that little extra challenge, Blackjack Switch has become the variation I would turn to if I wanted a break from blackjack but still wanted to play.

Things I Do Like About Blackjack

Earlier today I gave a couple of the things that I do not like about my beloved blackjack. So now it is time to name some of the things that I do like about blackjack. These would be the incentives to play blackjack, people.

First off it has the lowest house edge out of all of the casino games out there. And that is before applying any blackjack strategy to the game.

Depending on what the house rules are, a standard game of blackjack will start with a house edge of 2% to 5%. When you compare it to the 14% that slots games have

Things I Do Not Like About Blackjack

I love the game of blackjack. The one on one feeling that you get from playing only against the table, even if you are at a full table. The smooth feeling you get when you know your blackjack strategy is doing its thing against the house edge. The feeling of knowing that I am playing the one game in the entire casino or online casino that has the best odds for me to win and make a profit.

But it is true that there are some things that I just do not like about blackjack.

For one thing I do not like insurance.

I do not like the sneaky way the casinos present this playing option as something that benefits the player when in fact it is designed purely to try to take more money from the player

Blackjack Tournaments for Almost Nothing

While online casinos will prominently display their list of slots tournaments that they are hosting, it is possible to find online blackjack tournaments. I do not need to say again why blackjack is superior to slots. Actually some of the online blackjack tournaments that are offered are quite nice.

Take for example the online blackjack tournament series being offered by Online Vegas. Every single Monday, Wednesday and Friday players can play in a twenty four hour blackjack tournament for all of $0.99.

Yes, it will cost you one penny less than a dollar to play in one of these blackjack tournaments. Granted you are only playing for a percentage of the pot, but it is better than nothing. And not too shabby when you consider that you are playing for only $0.99 and it is a twenty four hour tournament.

The $0.99 entry fee will get you 50 tournament credits to play with. After that rebuys are $2.49 for another 50 tournament credits.

Each tournament starts at 8 pm on the starting day

Blackjack News, Players and Shadows

I think of blackjack as a respectable casino game. It is not all loud and rowdy like craps. It does not have a steep house edge like slots. And you can actually use strategy to impact your odds of winning, unlike roulette. In fact, I think blackjack is right up there with poker as one of the best casino games.

But I am a blackjack player, not a poker player.

Also in my opinion blackjack players tend to behave themselves better and are not the subject of gossip like poker players. In fact blackjack as a game is not surrounded by the aura of gossip, further increasing its respectability.

This is why you never hear about all the little scraps blackjack players get into like how the poker players do. Blackjack players do not show up in the news for having dressed up as a member of the opposite sex to enter a tournament. On top of that blackjack tournaments are not steeped in controversy like the women-only poker tournaments.

So that is the positive side of blackjack

Online Blackjack for Florida

Now that blackjack tables have been straightened out between the state and the Seminoles, the state of Florida is now turning its attention to online gambling and the possibility of regulating it. This would mean that online blackjack would be available to those in Florida.

There are two aspects of this online gambling regulation that fit together. One, there are one million residents in Florida who gambling online be they online blackjack players or online poker players or a fan of some other online casino game.

Two, despite the Seminole compact and the $1 billion in revenue it will generate, Florida is still around $2 billion short of its budget after considering the compact revenue.

So what can Florida do with its one million residents who gamble online and its budget shortfall?

They can regulate online gambling, thus allowing revenue to be generated from the online gambling.

The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) allows for each individual state to choose whether or not to regulate online gambling within their borders. This compliments the enforcement of UIGEA by the financial institutions. See, US citizens are not banned from gambling online, but financial institutions are banned from knowingly processing transactions between citizens and online casinos.

But if a state were to regulate online gambling, residents of that state would be able to gamble online legally, and financial institutions would not be prohibited from processing those transactions going to online casinos licensed by the regulating state.

In short, if Florida were to regulate online gambling, those of you who are in Florida and play blackjack online would be able to do so. So you would get your online blackjack and Florida would get its revenue.

How much revenue? It is estimated that Florida could make $200 million in the first year and $100 million in subsequent years. While it will not entirely cover the budget shortfall, the revenue would certainly help Florida