Blackjack - Splitting a pair.

"One of the most misunderstood aspects of playing Blackjack is that of splitting a pair of cards. Understanding when to split, and when to stay with what you have is crucial to your play. As ever, a lot depends on what cards you have and what the dealer's upcard is showing. A key aspect is to remember there are more cards with a value of ten in the pack than any other value. For a start, never split a pair of face cards or a pair of tens! With these cards you have a very strong hand of 20 and there is no point in ruining it by splitting. By contrast, always split a pair of aces. A single ace with another card is a much stronger hand than two aces and by splitting your chances of finishing with a high hand or even 21 are very good. A pair of 9s are best split if the dealer is showing a weak card of 2 to 6. If the dealer is showing an 8 you should also. Likewise, if the dealer is showing a 9 you should split because if the dealer has gets 19 it will beat your current hand of 18. If the dealer is showing a 7 then you should stand. Always split 8s even if the dealer is showing an ace. Your hand now stands at 16, which is very likely loser. You are better off taking a chance and splitting. A pair of 7s should be split if the dealer's upcard is 7 or less. A hand of 14 is a weak hand but by splitting there is a good chance you will convert that into a pair of 17s. If the dealer is showing an 8 there is a good stay with what you've got and be prepared to lose the hand. You are better off just losing the one hand against an 18 than losing two hands of 17 against a dealer's 18. Split a pair of 6s if the dealer is showing a 6 or less. It is risky to split 6s because you might end up with two hands of 16 so only do it if the dealer is showing a weak hand of below 6 that may lead to the dealer busting. Never ever split a pair of fives. Your hand is now a very strong ten. Keep the fives and take a hit. Do not split fours either unless the dealer is showing a 5 or 6. If you split a pair of 4s you are likely to hit a difficult 14. 5 or 6 for the dealer however is likely to give the dealer a difficult 15 or 16 so it is worth your while splitting. You should split 2s or 3s if the dealer is showing a weak upcard of below 7. By knowing when to split and when to take a hit with what you've got you can add decisive strategy to your Blackjack play." Some solid advice for when and how to split, I'd lov to see a stats sheet on this :) DL

Blackjack 101

"Today, blackjack seems to be one of the most popular card games. This is because playing blackjack is so easy to learn and play. Unlike poker, blackjack does not have any combinations to remember. In blackjack, the object of the game is to get the sum of the two cards close to 21. When a person gets cards that are over 21, he or she loses the game. Normally, a player receives two cards. After the players see their cards, they have to decide whether they would hit or stand. When a person says “stand,” this means the player thinks he or she is closer to 21 already. When a player says “hit,” this means that he or she still needs additional cards just to get close to 21. Players can draw as many cards as they want until they feel they are close to 21 already. A player who is nearer to 21 wins. However, there are people who have devised some tips and strategies to get an edge over the other players. There are times that these tips really can help some people win. Here’s a list of some tips that players may choose to use them so as to win the game. 1. If a player gets 17 or higher, it is always better to stand, and if the player has any number from 13 to 16 and the dealer’s card is 6 or lower, it would be better to stand. But if the dealer has 7 or more, it would be better for a player to hit. The theory here is that, if the dealer is showing a card of six or lower, the dealer may take a card, assuming that the dealer’s card facing down is a ten. The players, then, assume that the dealer is banking on a bust hand, so the other players have the tendency to maintain a lower card number. The rule of thumb: players should always assume that the dealer’s down cards is 10. 2. If a player has aces or 8’s, it would be better to split them regardless of the dealer’s showing card. 3. A player should remember not to split 10’s. Chances are, they might end up getting busted. 4. If the dealer is showing 4, 5, or 6, it would be better for a player to stand on hard 12, or hit hard if the dealer is showing 2, 3, 7, or higher. 5. In order to win, players should always remember not to split fours, face cards, and fives. Indeed, gambling is a game of chance, but with keen observation, winning is possible." I know this is uber basic, but I like to keep as much info as possible on this blog. Next week I'm thinking a strategy guide or two.... something a little more advanced. DL

BJ Strategies. Guaranteed winning at Single Deck Blackjack.

"No system will allow you to win every hand. The true method of beating the casino at Blackjack is to bet more on your winning hands then you do on your loosing hands. Controlling your bets is the key to walk away from the table with more money then you started with. The chart above shows you exactly which plays to make. Once this is done all you have left is to choose a betting strategy so you can come out a winner. Simple Betting Method To Beat The Casino When playing internet blackjack or blackjack at a casino begin betting with one chip and continue to bet using only chips of the same value throughout the game. In other words, if you choose to use $10 chips, use only $10 chips for the entire game as you apply this information. On every loss, increase your bet by one chip. Every time you win a hand, decrease your bet by one chip. When you win 2 hands in a row, start over from the beginning by betting 1 chip. If you get to an 8 chip level without winning then start over again with 1 chip. If you win a 6 or 7 chip bet, then start over again with 1 chip. Remember, the key to beating the http://www.popularcasinosonline.com casino is not to win more hands, but to put yourself in a situation where your higher bets are the ones that win. Good Luck……… Simple Betting Method To Beat The Casino In Blackjack, the objective is to try to beat the dealer by getting closer to 21. If the total value of your hand is closer to 21 then the dealer’s hand, you win an equal amount to what you have bet. If you have a blackjack which is a 21, you win 3:2 times your bet. E.g. – a $10 bet will give you $15 as long as the dealer doesn’t also have a blackjack. Aces have a face value of either 1 or 11. Face cards have a face value of 10 and the rest of the numbers are valued as their face numbers. If you receive an ace, you can either play it as 11 or 1 and that is why they are called a soft hand. If the total of your hand is over 21, you bust and you loose your bet. If you have the same card value as the dealer from 17 and up then it’s called a “push” and you receive your original bet back. The dealer must draw cards until he has reached 17 or higher. Blackjack Lingo HIT – If you are not happy with the two cards you are dealt, you can “hit” to draw additional cards until you “stand” or bust. STAND – If you are happy with the cards that you have received, then you can “stand”. DOUBLE DOWN – When you “double down” that means that you have to double your bet and you will receive only one card and your hand “stands”. SPLIT – If the two cards you are dealt are of the same value, you can split them into two different hands by placing a second bet of equal value. At most on-line casinos if you split two aces, you will only receive one card on each ace and you will have to “stand”. If you split aces and you receive a blackjack it is only considered a 21 and not a blackjack. Check out our Basic Strategy Card For Single Deck Blackjack And here's a hot tip, go check out www.galaxiworld.com they have a HOT single deck blackjack game that pays ridiculous amounts. it is paying single deck blackjack according to multideck standards. So they pay 2 to 1 on a blackjack instead of 6 to 5. They pay out percentage is actually over 100% and I am not clear whether that game is there by accident or whether it is meant to drive more traffic to other games. But if you're reading this article, i strongly suggest a visit. It is worth a shot." How many casinos offer single deck Black jack? If you know of any let me know, I'd love to test this out! The oly reason I crossed out galaxyworld, I can't check or verify it from this computer... for whatever reason. Let me know if you've had any experiences with them. DL

Counting Cards in Blackjack.

"Blackjack is a game that is geared to the house or dealer in a variety of ways. A player must go first and if they go bust their stake goes to the dealer even if he or she subsequently goes bust. Players have always tried to find a way to beat the system and card counting in blackjack is one of the most common strategies used. Card counting is a system or strategy used mostly in blackjack games, it takes a lot of practice to do however it can be used in other card games. The principal of card counting has been around since live blackjack started, and as soon as the game moved online as soon so did the card counters. Card counters try to memorise the cards that have come out so they can lower the casino edge by having a good clue which card will come out next, hoping to eventually memorise the order of each card in the deck. For example knowing if all of the high cards already been dealt out would logically lead you to believe the remaining cards are of lower values. Card counting was often easier during an online game as no one was watching you as long as you are quick to memorize the card or write it down - games give a limited amount of time to respond with hit or hold. Many have used this to their advantage and learned online before taking their skills into real casinos. This is a risky strategy to use in a land based casino as unlike virtual casinos staff will be on the look out for card counters and though not illegal the casinos owners may ask you to leave. So how has the latest gambling craze live webcam games responded to prevent players counting cards. Common methods include using multiple packs of cards, splitting the deck into 2 and shuffling them far sooner than it would happen during a game in a real casino. Casinos can often deliberately hide the remaining decks to put off card counters. It must be noted that card counting takes effort but is it rarely worth it; firstly you have to have a fantastic memory, and statistically it gives a 1% advantage to an experienced player under the best circumstances. Yet this is still not enough or only just enough to cancel out the house advantage in most cases." I'm curious as to weather it really is only 1%, if so, what's the point? Truthfully, it's something I've never learned to do, but it is on my list :) I'm pretty sure there is software for this as well... if not there should be @ on the idea!!! Tomorrow I will see if I can dig up some instructional videos, and we will see what looks good. DL

Blackjack tips and strategies

"Blackjack is one of the few casino games that are beatable in the long run. It means that by using a basic blackjack strategy you can have an advantage over the casino and eventually step away from the blackjack table as a winner. Here you can find the basic blackjack strategy explained in a simplified manner. The blackjack strategy is based on the mathematical probabilities of the game and it provides you guidance on the best decisions to make at every possible situation during the game. It takes about an hour to memorize this strategy but it is worth every minute. This does not man you will win every single blackjack game from now on, but with the help of the blackjack strategy, patience and persistence, you can significantly improve your chances of beating the casino in the long run. Note that some blackjack rules vary from one casino to another. In some casinos, both brick and mortar and internet casinos, blackjack is played with one card deck while in others the blackjack game occupies four decks or more. In addition, in some of the casinos the dealer hits on a soft 17 while in others he is required to stand and doubling after splitting is allowed only in some of the casinos. Here you can find a basic strategy to a single deck blackjack game where the dealer hits on soft 17. Playing other blackjack variants would require you to make some adjustments for a few borderline occurrences. First, here is a short introduction to the terms mentioned here: Hard Hand: two initial cards that do not include an Ace. Soft Hand: two initial cards that one of them is an Ace Stand: when a player is not asking to be dealt more cards after the two initial cards. Hit: when a player calls for an additional card to be dealt Double: when a player doubles his initial bet after the initial deal, but it requires him to hit only one card. Split: when a player separates the initial two cards into two individual hands and plays them as 2 hands. Finally, here is a basic blackjack strategy: When your initial two card hand sums up to 8 or less: hit When your hand sums up to 9 and the dealer hand value is between 3 and 6: double if else: hit when your hand sums up to 10 and the dealer hand value is between 2 and 9: double; if else: When your hand sums up to 11 and the dealer hand value is between 2 and 10: double; if else hit. When your hand sums up to 13, 14, 15, or 16 and the dealer hand value is between 2 and 6: stand; if else hit. When your hand sums up to 17: stand. when your initial two card hand contains Ace 2 or Ace 3 and the dealer has either 5 or 6: double; if else: hit. When your hand contains Ace 4 or Ace 5 and the dealer has 4, 5 or 6: double; if else: hit. When your hand contains Ace 6 and the dealer has 3, 4, 5 or 6: double; if else: hit. When your hand contains Ace 7 and the dealer has 2, 7 or 8: stand; if he has 3, 4, 5 or 6: double; if else: hit. When your hand contains Ace 8 or Ace 9: stand When your hand contains a pair of 2s or 3s and the dealer hand value is between 2 and 7: split; if else: hit When your hand contains a pair of 4s and the dealer has either 4 or 5: split; if else: hit When your hand contains a pair of 5s and the dealer hand value is between 2 and 9: double; if else: hit When your hand contains a pair of 6s and the dealer hand value is between 2 and 6: split; if else: hit When your hand contains a pair of 7s and the dealer hand value is between 2 and 7: split; if else: hit When your hand contains a pair of 8s: split When your hand contains a pair of 9s and the dealer hand value is between 2 and 7 and either 8 or 9: split; if else: stand When your hand contains a pair of 10s: stand When your hand contains a pair of 8s: split" It's the basics, but it's a great start... I have a weeks worth of postable strategies, so you will have a weeks worth of reading. DL

What happened when I tried the post from Sept 20 :)

If you can see what came up I goot 3 x 7, 3 x 0 and 2 x 24 in 17 plays, with single 0 table. Doesn't sound all that random though.... ties in a bit with what I wasaying about flash games yesterday. :) DL

Flash Casinos

Flash based online casinos have a distinct purpose to serve on the internet yet from numerous informal inquiries this writer concludes that in many cases the flash casino is not properly used to satisfy the need for which they are most currently necessary. It is true they were first designed so that there would be no need to download anything to your PC.This was necessary because back in the days when flash casinos first arrived upon the virtual gambling scene the download version of many online casinos was just too big of a file to merit keeping more than one casino on the home PC. The coming of the flash games changed the need for so much room to be available. In fact to play the flash games you didn't need to download anything at all. A common misconception about flash casinos is that they are faster than the download version. This is simply not true and in fact the download version (once loaded onto your PC which takes less than five minutes on my connection) is as fast as anything this writer has seen on the net. Flash casinos do need to download certain aspects of their games onto your PC although they may not make that perfectly clear because it all goes away when you close down the game. The point I'm making is that it takes time for these aspects to load onto your PC and this is a process which is repeated every time you change games or if you have to re-open the game you're currently playing because flash games are known to lose connection though this has been less of a problem in current times. In any case the flash games are going to take considerably longer than the downloaded version in terms of loading (by that and they are also slower in returning game results. and only offer you half the amount of choices. A good general rule of thumb is whatever amount of games are in the download version there will be about sixty-percent of those available in the flash casino. The actual time difference between going through the process to be able to play in the flash casino and the process to be able to play in the download version is about five minutes on a DSL or broadband connection. "What then is so important about flash casinos if they are not faster and can provide only about half the variety of the download? Convenience my friends. Although the flash casino is not as attractive for reasons already mentioned, it becomes ever so much more when the next choice is not playing at all. It is very hard to carry your PC with you at all times but if all you need to have available is your login and password and a means to access the net, then the prospect of gambling at your favorite online casino while away from your home becomes a very tangible option that many people take full advantage. This is the true manner in which the flash casino is valuable in these times because very few PCs are so stressed for space they can't easily afford the room to have a downloaded casino or even more than one." I do have a preference for flash games..... and they don't seem to get cut off as much. No more "disconnect" problems. DL

Online Flash Casino Games

"Flash Casino knockout are those that run stock and barrel in a Flash program on your web browser. By loading the on-screen ostentatious nightclub directly in the , there is no download requisite. For this reason, an virtual showy casino is also referred to as a "no download gaming club". In this insertion to Flash Casino gaming, I'll discuss some of the key to at a no download gaming house. Online Flash Casino Advantages - Realistic Gameplay The graphics and intact personal property of a no download gambling den are generally better. By better, I mean the dream are more confident, the animation smoother and the sturdy belongings more translucent. The visible and definite effects be fluent in directly to our most predominant senses, in so doing creating a more realistic, true gaming house gaming event. Online Flash Casino Advantages - Time & Space Time a key role in the haughtiness of Online Flash Casino gaming. As in most instances of our everyday , when given a choice, we decide the way to succeed our . No download casinos consent for instantaneous play, whereas a fixed electronic casino will require the download of a .zip or .exe file, predictably 5MB to 15MB or more, followed by a interminable ordination activity. Online Flash Casino Advantages - PC Safety This up additional notable question - what if the online nightclub isn't licensed? The most trendy and successful connected casinos are absolutely licensed and planned, but it would be unwise to suppose that every working gambling den guidelines. Any cyber- gaming club that lacks the veracity to be delimited may not be out for the best attention of it's players. To put it transparently, the software download may comprehend malevolent files deliberate to source destruction to the user's computer. With Online Flash Casino games, there is no time, force and computer space invested - no difficult putting in place means - no risk of placing possibly harmful materials onto your hard passion. Online Flash Casino Advantages - Compatibility Attributing at tiniest in part to the thrilling approval of no download gaming house meet is the compatibility component. The Flash Plug-In is compatible with all major going - Microsoft Windows, Mac and Linux included. Check out the coordination requirements of any accessible nightclub software that a download, and you'll find it's only compatible with Microsoft Windows. 98% of the flora and fauna's computers are already furnished with Flash. Anyone with an elder computer has likely already encountered a Flash program at some contact, then has already the Flash Plug-In on computer. Anyone with a newer computer will Flash to be pre-installed. If for any reason Flash is not already , the no download casino will ready the user to fit Flash, which is an virtually instantaneous course of action, much than and installing a software program. Online Flash Casino Advantages - Game Variety Flash equipment has been utilized to build up all of the most admired gambling den competition, giving players a nigh on to unlimited miscellany of no download gaming club sports event to enjoy. Table Games, Card Games, Slots, Video Poker, Parlor Games, - you name it, Flash programmers have created it. From BlackJack, Roulette, Craps, Baccarat, Casino War and Pai Gow Poker to 3-Reel, 5-Reel and 7-Reel Slots with compound . Deuces Wild Video Poker, Double Bonus Joker Poker, even Keno, Scratch Cards and Bingo tournament. These are just a few of the players can appreciate when playing at a no download gaming club." While I am a big fan of flash games, I'm not sure that flash programs have a decent random numer generator. Does anyone have a thought about this? DL

Casino Crushing

Hi there. I am interested in starting up a "forum" for people to discuss methods, games, advice, questions, jokes, and thoughts about gambling. I am curious about all things gambling related and would love to be part of a group that teaches and learns together. While I am new to the world of blogging, I am not new to gaming and gambling, and have plenty of articles and information I would love to share, both written by me, and by friends and experts. Hopefully I'll be able to teach others as much as I hope to learn!!

Biggest Slots Jackpots – How they grow and how you can win them!

"A brief History of Progressive Slots In the beginning there were no such thing as progressive slots; they only became possible in the early 1980’s when microchips were added to slots machines. Even then it wasn’t until March of 1986 that the first multi site linked progressive slot machines were introduced by the slot machine manufacturer IGT. Having the same jackpot being fed from a number of different machines (which are often spread across a number of different casinos) means these progressive jackpots can quickly grow to be very large indeed. I have heard of casinos in Las Vegas where slots players have won over $8 million in a single win on a progressive jackpot. How Progressive Jackpots Work Progressive Jackpots grow by skimming an amount of money from each and every bet; this means that their payout rate on normal wins (non jackpot wins) is lower than that of a regular slots machine. However if you take the progressive jackpot into account the payout would be the same. For example if you were playing at a Las Vegas casino on a linked progressive slots machine with a fixed $5 bet per spin. Your money could be divided as follows, 25 cents adds to the progressive jackpot, $1.25 goes to the casino and the remaining $3.50 is paid out in non jackpot wins. If however you were playing a non progressive slots game at that same casino it is likely that your money would be divided as follows. $1.25 to the casino and $3.75 paid out on wins. The example above assumes the casino has a 75% payout rate, in reality slots at land based casinos typically have payout rates ranging from 70% up to 87%. This is in stark contrast to the online casinos which typically have payout rates from 89% up to as much as 99.5%! So at a typical online casino with a 95% pay out rate the money you pay in for a $5 per spin online progressive jackpot slots would be divided up something like this. $0.25 for the online casino, $0.25 added to the progressive jackpot and the remaining $4.50 is paid out in non jackpot winnings. Given these statistics it is not hard to see why many hard core slots players are now playing online from their computers. Online Progressive Jackpot games So apart from the free drinks playing online sounds more favourable as a player (in that you should win more). However I have already said how large jackpots can be at land based casinos so your next question is no doubt going to be just how large are progressive jackpots at online casinos? The answer to that is that they are growing all the time, the current record is $1.76 million and interestingly the exact same slot machine that paid that out in December 2005 currently has a Jackpot of over $3.6 Million and still rising! The slots game in question is millionaires club progressive jackpot slot and when this jackpot is eventually won it is going to set a new record for being the highest progressive slots jackpot of any online casino to date. I have no doubt that even after that has been won a new record will be set within a space of less than a year, the rate at which progressive jackpots online are growing is amazing, only a couple of years ago a jackpot of a little over $1 million held the record. It is my opinion that sometime within the next couple of years the highest jackpots will be being paid out from the online casinos. So how do you pick a winner? Choosing which progressive jackpot to play is really not all that complicated. Once you know what the progressive jackpot starts at, what its highest payout was and what its average payout amount is. There are a number of slots sites that give you this information including any of the progressive jackpot reviews at slotsjam.com. Obviously once the jackpot in question is higher than it’s historical average the chances of it paying out are greatly increased, and if it goes higher than its previous highest payout your chances are further increased again. So if you are chasing the biggest jackpots don’t play the games just after the jackpot has been won instead wait until after that games historical average payout has been passed for the best chance of winning big."

Calculating The Odds In Poker, And Using Online Tools

"Television... Has anything done more to create interest in Poker? Now, everyone knows about the big tournaments, but just a short while ago, that knowledge was contained within the small group of professional players. The biggest tournaments pulled in less than 1000 players.

But, oh how the times have changed!...

Every month there are 100s of 1000s of new people signing up on the internet to play online. As the numbers get bigger, the players get better. As the competition gets stronger, you will run into better players. Therefore, you must always learn new techniques and adsorb new information to keep you ahead of them.

Once you are totally confident in your knowledge of the rules and terminology of the game, your next task is to learn how to calculate the odds.

Knowing how to calculate odds is essential to a serious player. You cannot succeed without it.

First, get a book on poker math and read it. After that, get a tool and start using it when you play online. You will soon see poker math in action.

Poker math is odds and outs. Knowing your outs is very important when you are trying to decide what plays to make and when to make them. Once you understand this, you can manipulate the odds in your favor when you have the best hand. This will deny your opponents the right odds to draw out on you.

When playing in a Casino, you are armed with only your intelligence, your knowledge of the game, your being able to recognize your outs, your ability to calculate the odds on the fly, and your ability to read your opponents.

However, playing online poker has some distinct advantages, one of them is being able to use poker tools to help you learn the game and to perfect your playing ability. When first learning to play poker, you can use these tools to learn poker math, and you can use them while you are playing at the table.

The software actually does all the work for you. Once you get used to using an online tool, you will get a sort of second sense for what moves to make. Most of these types of tools also allow you to adjust them to your playing style.

When you use the software, it’s like having a pro with you to give advice. The program helps you through all the levels of the game… from how to play at a full table, to how to adjust your game as players drop out.

After a few months of using a program, you’ll be able to quit using it because the information will become so ingrained in your game that you’ll know what to do with out it. It’ll also improve your skills in the local home games you play.

With the recent changes in online gambling for Americans playing with real money, it is important that you find a room that excepts cash, and to make sure that the software will work there before you purchase or use any of these free poker tools."

Quick and Easy Lesson in Calculating Outs and Pot Odds

"Calculating outs (the number of cards that could improve your hand) and pot odds (ratio of the money in the pot versus the amount required to make your next call) is often used as a basis for a Texas Holdem Poker player on whether to draw and try to make their hand. 

However this in my opinion should not be the sole basis of your decision on whether you should draw for another card.

You also have to decide on whether the hand that you are trying to hit will win you the pot or not. 

How to calculate pot odds:
In this example, if the current pot contains $80, and the amount required at the next call is $20, the pot is laying you odds of $80 to $20 or 4 to 1.

As long as your odds of making the best hand are 4 to 1 or better than making the call is the right move.  A hand that is 4 to 1 means that you will hit once in every 5 tries.  You will hit the draw 20 percent of the time.

This next example takes into account calculating pot odds and outs.

Assume that your hole cards are a six and a seven (for this example suits do not matter) and the flop came down 8-9-3.

In order to complete your hand you need a 5 or 10.  You have eight outs – 4-5’s and 4-10’s.  Multiply your outs (8) by 4 and you get 32.  You have a 32 percent chance of making your hand.  If there was only one card left to draw you would multiply by two.

A 32 percent chance of making your hand means you have a 68 percent chance of NOT making your hand.  This is roughly 2 to 1 that you won’t make the hand.  So, as long as the pot contains $2 for every $1 that you have to call, it is worth going after your straight.

Doing these quick calculations and interpreting them can be very difficult and confusing for a beginner (and many advanced players as well!).  But I would recommend that you at least be able to quickly calculate your outs to give you an idea of just how likely you are to make your hand.

Then decide if that hand will win the pot for you or not."