Online Casino Gambling

Blackjack is a very popular online casino game, and with the need for strategy it is very attractive for players wanting to use their skill to win. Any game which uses card values as the main component needs careful understanding so that you don’t make unnecessary errors which could cost you the hand and therefore your bet. And by understanding the basic rules from the outset, you can ensure that your online blackjack strategy is confident and helps you win as many hands as possible.

Maximizing Your Chances

When you’re playing online blackjack you should remember that you need to aim to score 21, or as close to 21, as possible. Playing individually, or amongst a number of players, a winning hand will be had if you can score above the dealer’s hand without your cards totaling 22 or more. ‘Blackjack’ can be easily achieved with three cards, and if you’re lucky, with just a picture card and an Ace. However, it is important to remember that you don’t need 21 to win, and shouldn’t take unnecessary risks if you have a high scoring hand.

Time to ‘Hit’

Blackjack has two main options; to ‘stand’ or to ‘hit’. As cards are being dealt you will have the chance to take these options, with a ‘stand’ resulting in you holding on to your cards and not take another deal. Meanwhile, you can ‘hit’ as many times as you wish until you reach more than 21, at which time you are ‘bust’. Dealers are also governed by these rules, with a total of 17 or more ruling that they must ‘stand’, whilst having 16 or under results in the dealer having to take another ‘hit’.

Betting Returns

Like the rules of the game, the rule of winnings is usually fairly straight forward. If the dealer and your hand’s are identical, the bet you placed is returned. If however you win, whilst not scoring 21, normal rules state that you’ll receive your betting amount back, with a bet of $10 noting a $10 win. And, if you’re lucky enough to score ‘Blackjack’ normal payouts are 3:2, with a $10 bet gaining $15 in winnings.

By understanding the card values, in addition to moves made by the dealer, you can maximize your chances of winning. And by a careful mix of winning gains, you can ensure your Blackjack career gets off to a flying start.

Card counting in the casino game of blackjack is solely used for the manipulation of the wagering pattern to exploit the information on the cards. In other words, it is a practiced and developed skill blackjack players use to their advantage to track various cards in a deck giving them a larger edge over the casino. As a result, this practice is banned at all casinos.

When using card counting in blackjack to manipulate betting patterns, there are three parameters players must remember:

• Running count (R)
• Side count (X)
• Balance number of decks in the shoe (D)

The true count of cards is adjusted based on the formula: (R + X) / D. The result is a factor that helps the player decide how to deviate from the typical blackjack strategy. Therefore, the larger the count, the more beneficial the deviation is for the player. Variables R and X take on positive and negative values which combine to determine whether the true count is positive or negative. This is a direct result of the distribution of cards within the shoe.

The most critical parameter for determining the size of the true count is D. A small number for D results in a large true count while a large value equates to a small true count value. D is indicative of the rules set forth by the casino which communicates to the player where the card counting skill will be useful.

One of the primary factors in determining D is the total number of decks used. The second factor of significance is penetration which is the percentage of all cards from the dealing shoe prior to the shoe being exhausted. For example, if all cards in the shoe are dealt, then the penetration is 100 percent with the D factor being close to 0.

The aforementioned true count is utilized in two ways. The first method is a mathematical formula known as the “Kelly Criterion” which determines the overall percentage of bankroll remaining to be wagered based on the calculated true count value. The other method is to use the typical blackjack strategy which reflects the true count.

Card counting for blackjack can be difficult to learn and even more difficult to master. You also must factor in that casino surveillance is under constant scrutiny of all players betting patterns, therefore it is important to not deviate from normal blackjack play. However if you can master this combination, a great deal of money can be made.

Spanish Blackjack is not a well-known game. The rules resemble regular Blackjack but with a few twists. For instance, the decks in the game only have 48 cards because all tens are removed. Unfortunately, this gives the dealer an advantage because it is less 10-value cards available for the player. However, there are other rules to balance the playing field. The most important include:

• The player 21 always wins
• The player has the option to surrender after doubling
• The player can double on any cards
• Late surrender is acceptable
• Double after split is acceptable
• 6-7-8 and 7-7-7 of mixed suits pays out 3 to 2, same suit pays 2 to 1, of spades pays 3 to 1
• 5 card 21 pays 3 to 2
• 6 card 21 pays 2 to 1
• 7 or more card 21 pays 3 to 1

Different online casinos have different rules. For instance, Microgaming employs the following:

• 8 decks can be used
• Redoubling is only permitted once
• Dealer hits on soft 17

In order to play the game you must have some type of strategy which at Microgaming sites varies from standard casinos. Like other variants of Blackjack, Microgaming provides the player with a strategy card. On the card there are values of the dealer’s face up card from 2 to 10. The player’s hand is divided into 3 sections consisting of hard totals, soft totals and instructions for splitting on pairs.

For hard totals the player should hit for hand values of 4 to 12 and stand with a value of 17 or above. The soft totals section advises players with hands from 12 to 19. The player needs to stand on 19 and above but should stand, double or hit on all other cards based on that particular strategy found on the card.

Finally, the instructions for splitting include, never split on 4’s, 5’s and 10’s. On the other hand, 8’s and Aces must always be split. The strategy cards differ depending on the casino but remain consistent within the specific site developer.

Learning to use the strategy card for Spanish Blackjack as well as regular Blackjack is one of the most important actions to take. It teaches you the best moves to make in specific situations. This is based on millions of hands of simulated situations so it is accurate. As you learn to use the card, you will see a significant decrease in the house advantage.

Blackjack teams are groups of professional blackjack players that work together using advanced card techniques to maintain a positive expectation. This indicates that for each $100 wagered, the team expects a return of greater than $100. As a result, over the long-term, these groups are able to win large amounts of money. The most common techniques used include:

• Card counting
• Shuffle tracking
• Hole carding

Card counting is keeping track of the cards played to determine whether the shoe is holding more high-value cards. Shuffle tracking occurs when a player identifies the location of aces or groups of cards in the deck during shuffling. Hole carding is getting a quick view of the dealer’s covered hole card which can help you determine the best move possible.

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Blackjack Team is infamous for beating the house in Las Vegas. However, they were not the first blackjack team to attempt to break the bank. Actually the MIT team expanded on ideas implemented by previous blackjack teams. The reason the MIT team is so famous is they were active over a 12 year time period.

In 1979, J.P. Massar took a class at MIT entitled, “How to gamble if you must” in which a small segment featured card counting methods. For the next year, Massar created a team of students to gamble in Atlantic City with the goal of exploiting the tips ascertained from the course. These actions were unsuccessful.

In 1980, Massar met with Bill Kaplan to discuss his successful blackjack team. The team became tired of playing in a single place so they branched out to Europe. Massar asked Kaplan to accompany him to Atlantic City to observe his team and discover what they were doing wrong. Kaplan realized Massar’s team was making fundamental blackjack mistakes. They were using different card counting techniques.

At this point Kaplan agreed to form a team with the conditions that they would follow formal management procedures, strict training, a dedicated card counting system, meticulous casino tracking and a player approval process. The team began with $89,000 and doubled their winnings within ten weeks. The players made $80 per hour and investors saw a return of 250 percent.

The MIT Blackjack team took millions of dollars from casinos over many years utilizing the techniques ascertained by Kaplan. Over the past few years, this successful time period has been revisited through books and the creation of a movie documenting the team’s success.

Many variants of Blackjack allow the player to purchase insurance on their hand. In general, if the dealer’s face up card is an Ace, the player has the opportunity to take insurance. If the player opts to take this action, they must place half of their wager in an area marked “insurance.” If the dealer receives a natural Blackjack, the payout to the player is 2 to 1. If the dealer does not have Blackjack, they lose the insurance bet.

The Insurance Bet is a Losing Wager

In general, the insurance bet is a losing wager. As a result, many choose not to take this and move on with the game. However, there are many mathematically minded Blackjack players that would like to know why it is a losing bet.

The Mathematics of the Insurance Bet

In a single deck game, 3 cards out of the total 52 are face up when the insurance bet is offered. The dealer’s face up card is an Ace so let’s assume the player has not been dealt any 10 value card. This leaves 49 cards in the deck, 16 of which are valued at 10. The probability of winning the insurance bet is 0.327 (16/49). If the bet was $1, then it pays out $2. Therefore the expected payout is 2 * 0.327 = $0.654.

The other 33 cards out of 49 are not valued at 10 so the probability of the insurance bet equates to 0.673. If the insurance bet loses, the player loses his bet of $1 resulting in an expected losing payout of -$0.673. Therefore, the overall net expectation is ($0.654-$0.673) -$0.019. In the long run, the player is expected to lose money because the net expectation is negative.

The player’s expectation actually worsens when dealt 2 10 value cards. Out of 49 cards in the deck, only 14 are worth 10. As a result, the probability of winning is 14/49 which is 0.286. With a $1 insurance bet that pays out $2, the expected payout is $0.572 (2 * 0.286).

35 cards of the 49 in the deck do not have a value of 10 so the probability of losing is 35/49 which is 0.714. Factor in a loss of $1 on the insurance bet and you get -$0.714 with a net expectation of -$0.142. This is considerably worse than the previous example. The numbers prove that the insurance bet is a losing wager and should be avoided at all costs.

First introduced in 1993 by Shuffle Master, Inc., Let it Ride has developed into a popular game due to the high payouts. Since players are betting against the house, a fun and social atmosphere develops at the table or in online casinos. Also, the rules of Let it Ride are easy to learn and many simple strategies have been developed.

Let it Ride is played on a table that resembles Blackjack. Each seat has three circles on the table marked with the numbers 1 and 2 and character $. Play commences with each player placing three equal bets in each circle on the table. The dealer distributes three cards at a time to each player. The dealer takes three and removes one card, leaving two face-down cards.

Next, you are permitted to view your three card hand. The betting options include:

• Taking back your bet placed in the first circle
• Accepting your hand and letting it ride

The most common indicator of a take back is scraping your cards against the table. Once you have made a decision, the dealer flips the first of the two community cards in front of him. This card represents your fourth toward the five card poker hand. Once again you can take back your second bet or let it ride. You can take away the second bet only, but the first bet will remain.

During the final round, the dealer turns over the second community card for you to make your best five card poker hand. The dealer will now pay out the winners according to a specific betting chart.

When playing the correct strategy and robust poker, the house edge for Let it Ride is approximately 3.5 percent. To play correctly, you must know which hands to take back the bet and which hands are worthy of letting the wager ride. There are specific strategies for each betting round within the game.

Let it Ride is a fun and exciting twist on five card poker. The camaraderie that develops at the table, the high payouts and the easy to learn rules make this one of the most popular games in the casino. The strategies are also easy to learn and can be applied instantly to either an online or live game with only memorization. Let it Ride is a great game to try when looking for excitement.