Blackjack – The Hidden Playing Secrets the Pros Knew That You Did Not
Blackjack is one of the most popular gambling games today, both in land-based and online casinos. The object of the game is to beat the dealer. A player does this by having a hand totaling more than the dealer has, without going over twenty-one. If it goes over twenty one, it is called ‘going bust’, and the player has lost, regardless as to whether the dealer goes bust or not.
The game is played as follows. The dealer first shuffles the cards in face down manner (standard at most casinos). Previously, most casinos used only one deck, but when casinos became aware that any one with the right skill could beat the game, it became common to see casinos use four or six decks. Using eight decks is also becoming popular. In multiple decks, casinos would use a dealing box called a shoe, as the cards are difficult to handle. Before the dealer places the cards in the shoe, he offers the cards first to any of the player for a cut.
Before a player can start to bet, he has to change his cash into chips as casinos disallow betting in cash. A player does not give his cash to the dealer, as dealers are not allowed to receive cash handed over. The standard practice is that the player puts the money on the table and tells the dealer he wants it changed into chips. It is for the dealer to spread the cash, so the pit boss and the camera overhead can check on it. However, the player cannot do this if the play is in progress. The player has to wait until the round is over, or before the game begins.
You notice that there are seven circles printed across a Blackjack table. They are called betting spaces and it is where players put their bets. This means that only a maximum of 7 hands can be played at a time. When a table is full of players, the first seat is called the first base and the last is called the third base. Most expert players prefer sitting in either the first or third base.
All the cards in Blackjack have corresponding values. All the face cards (Jacks, Queens, and Kings) have a value of ten. The ace has a value of either one or eleven, at the discretion of the possessor. The rest of the cards are counted as their face value indicates. The cards’ suits (clubs, diamonds, hearts, and spades) have no significance in Blackjack.
Before the dealer starts dealing, he sees to it that all the players have properly placed their bets. When the deal is in progress, no player is allowed to touch the chips in the betting spaces. In the case a player decides to double down or split a hand, the player pushes forward the required chips and it is the dealer’s responsibility to place them in the betting space.
The dealer gives a card to each player (including himself) starting from the player sitting at the leftmost seat in a clockwise direction, and repeats the process so all of them receive two cards each. The first two cards the players receive are called the initial cards.
Casinos deal the cards face up when multiple decks are used. The dealer actually gains no advantage even if he sees the player’s cards as his decisions follow definite rules that he cannot deviate. In either face up or face down dealing, the dealer’s first card is always held face up. It is called the dealer’s up card. The dealer’s second card is always kept face down, and it is called the dealer’s hole card. Remember though that in some casinos, the dealer does not have a hole card. In which case, the dealer acts on all the players hands first before he deals a second card to himself.
After the dealer has dealt two cards to each player, (including himself) he checks his up card to see if it has a value of ten or ace. If it is ten, he has to see if his hole card is an ace. If it is, it is called Blackjack, a two-card combination totaling twenty-one. (In this case, the ace is counted as eleven.) The dealer wins all the players bets except those players who also have Blackjack. In case both the player and the dealer have Blackjack, it is called a push and the player neither wins nor loses his bet. If a player is dealt a Blackjack and the dealer is not, the player immediately wins and is paid three to two. (Three to two means that a two-dollar bet wins three dollars.)
In the case the dealer’s up card is an ace, the players are allowed to put up an additional bet called an Insurance bet. It is usually half of the amount of the player’s original bet. The player places his Insurance bet at the betting space provided for the purpose. When putting up an Insurance bet, the player is actually betting that the dealer will have a Blackjack, which is, having a Ten-value hole card. In which case, his bet wins two to one.
One option a player can make in Blackjack is called Surrender. However, not all casinos offer this option. Surrender means that after the player receives his initial two cards, he is allowed to surrender half the amount of his bet and plays no further in the round. A player does this if he thinks his initial hand has a bigger chance to lose.
Split means that the player may have an additional hand to what he originally started. The casinos allow split if the two initial cards dealt to the player have the same numerical value as in two Eights or the same paint cards as in two Jacks. (Remember that card suits have no significance in Blackjack.) In split, the player separates the two cards apart, places an additional amount equal to the original bet on the second card, and receives a card to each. In effect, the player is now playing two hands instead of only one. After a split, some casinos allow further split or double down, and some do not.
Double down is one decision a player can make. In double down, the casino allows the player to add an additional bet equal to the original amount. In which case, the dealer deals only one additional card to the player’s hand. Should the player receive a bad hand, the player can no longer ask for an additional card. The player does this if he thinks his initial hand, like ten or eleven, has a big chance of winning by hitting only one additional card.
Most casinos allow doubling down on soft hands. A soft hand is a two-card combination with an ace. It also means a hand with an ace, whose total value will not exceed twenty-one if an additional card is dealt into it as the ace may be counted as one instead of eleven. Any hand with an ace that may go bust when an additional card is dealt into it is called a hard hand.
Hitting and standing are the two most common decisions a player makes in Blackjack. Hit means asking for an additional card from the dealer. A player may do this by telling the dealer, or by making a hand signal that the dealer understands to be so. A player may hit as many cards as he wants, as long as the total does not exceed twenty-one. In which case, the player already loses and the dealer takes his bet and his cards. Stand means not asking for an additional card and staying with the cards you have already been dealt.
In the round, the dealer acts on the players’ hands first. He collects the chips and the cards of the busted players. It is then that the dealer acts on his hand. The dealer follows a definite rule from which he cannot deviate. He opens first his hole card. If his two initial cards have a total value less than seventeen, he must hit until he gets the minimum total of seventeen regardless of the players totals. (Some casinos deal additional cards to soft seventeen.) If the dealer goes bust, that is, his hand total exceeds twenty-one, he has lost. He pays the remaining players an amount equal to their bets and collects their cards. In the case the dealer does not go bust, the dealer and the player hand is compared. Whichever has the highest value wins. The dealer collects the chips from the losing hands and pays the winning hands an equal amount of the bet. In the case the two hands have the same value, it is called a push. The player neither wins nor loses.
Mathematicians have found that in the Las Vegas strip casinos with the best rules, the casino’s advantage is only a little below a fifth of one per cent. In Atlantic City casinos with liberal rules, the casino’s advantage is only about a little below one half of one per cent. Even in casinos with harder rules, the casinos advantage can only run as high as around one per cent.
About The Author:
Alan S. Samonte is the creator of Samonte Gambling System, a clever methodical play that can beat the casinos without having to cheat. In his first attempt the casino frantically alerted its security guards to arrest him thinking he was a cheat. You can download his gambling ebook here for free.