Many of today’s blackjack tips can be traced to the period of time from the 1960 to the 1990s when blackjack was the most popular casino card game in the world. Thanks to televised tournaments beginning in the 1990s the popularity of Texas Hold ‘em soon grabbed the attention of gamblers worldwide, but winning blackjack tips are still coveted by the fans of this legendary game.
The first forms of blackjack began in France in the 1700s. The game was imported into the United State after the French revolution and its popularity spread quickly throughout the country. With gambling prohibited in the early 1900s blackjack became an underground phenomenon so that by the time Las Vegas legalized gambling in 1931 the game had become popular throughout the country.
The ultimate of all books on blackjack tips was published in 1962 when Professor Edward Thorp used his skill in mathematics to create a card counting strategy that was outlined in his best selling book Beat the Dealer. Afraid of suffering losses thanks to the book’s revelations, casinos across the country changed many of the rules of blackjack to counteract the strategy. But when gambling revenues dropped sharply as a result of their action the casinos gradually restored the more favorable rules and blackjack remains a casino favorite today.
The concept behind the card counting strategy is that by calculating the number of cards remaining to be dealt and the ratio of the cards within that remaining count an experienced player can actually determine when the odds to win are in the player’s favor. At those times, the player will dramatically increase the amount of the bet to capitalize on the favorable situation.
Most of the best blackjack tips take advantage of this same concept, even in basic strategies designed for beginning or novice players. Like all games of chance, players will lose more hands than they win at blackjack. The key to having financial success lies in the players’ ability to bet more money on hands they’re likely to win and less money on hands they’re likely to lose. If you are counting cards, you know before a hand is dealt if you have better or worse odds of winning that next hand. But if you are merely playing a simple basic strategy, that knowledge comes only after the hand has been dealt.
The most important of all blackjack tips, then, deal with ways in which the player can add more money to his wager after he sees the cards that are dealt. As a player you should first memorize the correct ways to play a hand in terms of when to hit and when to stand. But to convert that knowledge into winning money at blackjack, tips regarding the player’s ability to put more money on the table at the right time are just as important.
Splitting pairs and doubling down are the two keystones to placing larger wagers on favorable hands. As an example, when the dealer is showing a 4, 5 or 6 the player has a distinct advantage. Similarly, depending on the dealer’s card, when a player is dealt cards totaling 10 or 11 the dealer may be at a disadvantage. It is at times such as these that the player must use the rules allowing splitting pairs and doubling down to increase the money wagered on what is now an advantageous situation.
Cary Clark is an avid traveler & prolific writer who has written extensively for newspapers & travel magazines. For the more on online blackjack, official blackjack rules blackjack tips and strategies, visit Casino Affairs.com.
