|
Web Casino Online Blackjack Overview
Blackjack is the most popular casino card game, and with good reason. Not only does blackjack rely on both skill and chance, it is simple to learn, yet playing it successfully involves well-honed skills. It is also shrouded in the mystique of card counting, which is a way that some players change their strategies and wagers by mentally keeping track of cards that have been dealt, and more importantly, the cards that have not been dealt. Casinos prevent and deal with card counting in several ways, but suffice it to say that anyone suspected of it is promptly ejected and most likely banned.
Classic game of blackjack is played with a standard 52-card deck. Each player is dealt a two-card hand, and each player hopes that the value of the cards adds up to 21. That means that they must be dealt an ace, because in blackjack, an ace can be worth either 1 or 11. If they player's hand adds up to some value other than 21, he may choose to be dealt one card at a time until one of three things happens:
- The value of the hand reaches 21 (in which case he wins)
- The value of the hand exceeds 21 (in which case he loses and forfeits the hand)
- The value of the hand is close enough to 21 that the player feels like he can beat the dealer's hand
The winner is the player with the hand that adds up to as close as possible to 21 without going over. The game was originally called "twenty-one" for obvious reasons, but it acquired the name "blackjack" only after coming to America. To attract players, casinos started offering payouts of 10-1 if the hand added up to 21 and a black jack (jack of spades or jack of clubs) was part of the hand. The name stuck, but alas, the 10-1 payouts did not.
While blackjack is a straightforward game, there are variations based on the particular venue, and strategies for winning are highly dependent on the player. Perhaps the most basic strategy to know is that aces count as either one or 11. All face cards are worth 10, and other cards are worth their number. If a player is dealt a 21 on her first two cards, it's called blackjack and wins automatically. If a player is dealt a pair, such as a pair of sixes, he can elect to play separate hands with each of the cards or play one hand using both. Any time a player's hand adds up to more than 21, the player "busts" (loses) and the game is over.
After the player gets her original two cards, she can choose to "hit," which means to be dealt a third card, or "stand," keeping the hand as-is and hoping the dealer busts. Most of the time, blackjack is player versus dealer only. The dealer is required to hit on what is called a "soft 17." This means that the dealer's hand shows 17, and one of the cards is an ace that's being counted as 11. Usually, a dealer will stand on a "hard 17" (the hand adds up to 17, with no aces), but the dealer must hit on any value less than 17. If the dealer draws 21, the player loses unless the player also draws 21. When this happens, the player "pushes," or sits on their bet until the next hand.
A blackjack dealer typically must be authorized and licensed to deal blackjack. The local gaming commission or another official body or the casino licenses the dealer. Certification involves a background check, collection of fingerprints, and the search for any past criminal acts that would keep him from being a trustworthy dealer. The dealer changes money for customers and must have a sharp eye for counterfeit bills so that nobody can try to trade them for chips. The dealer either shuffles the cards or uses an automatic shuffler. Some casinos use six decks combined to deal from (to curtail card counting). The blackjack dealer is also responsible for paying people who win.
|
|
While there are numerous strategies for succeeding at blackjack, and while some of those "strategies" are really personal convictions, there is one basic strategy that even the brand new beginner playing blackjack at a web casino online for the first time must remember. The goal of blackjack is not to get as close as possible to 21. The goal of blackjack is to beat the dealer. Beating the dealer is sometimes possible without being very close to 21.
There are many, many strategies that people use for winning at blackjack, but for most people, the best strategy is to know when to walk away from the game. Walking away after winning a nice pile of bills, or after losing a predetermined do-not-exceed amount of money is the best strategy. Players should never forget that the house always has an edge and that they depend on people's psychological tendency to stay at a table despite losing a lot of money. Committing to a strategy of "Leave after losing 100 Euro" (or some other reasonable predetermined amount) is the actual best bet for most players.
Blackjack is easily one of the most popular table games in the world, and it has a substantial and enthusiastic online following as well. For those who use reasonable strategies, there is a decent chance of beating the house, and there are many betting and playing strategies that can help a player do well at the blackjack table. Having a strategy mapped out in advance, sticking to it, and playing with your brain and not your emotions are the fundamentals for succeeding at blackjack long-term.
Web Casino Online Blackjack History
Web Casino Online Blackjack Strategy
|
