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Blackjack History and Basic Strategy

March 23rd, 2011

Most people who have gone to a casino before have probably heard or even played a game of blackjack. Many people who have not even set foot in a casino before might have heard about this game or played it with friends or at parties. Unlike many card games where players pit themselves against each other, blackjack plays you against the bank or the dealer rather than against other people seated on the same table. Its most basic rule – come as close as possible to 21 without going over – can be fun and exciting and mentally challenging as well.

The game of blackjack is one of the older games that are still in existence and played extensively throughout the world. It is not flashy or attracts much attention than other card games such as Texas Hold’em Poker, but the game does have its own following at both online and offline gaming sites at most parts of the world. With its rich history, several strategies were developed and tested throughout the years and have been used by prominent players as well as renowned blackjack teams to gain an advantage over dealers and win the game. The following gives a brief overview of the history of blackjack and how it developed over the years as well as some brief insights into the basic strategies that newbies and veterans alike can use with their game.

A Brief History of Blackjack

Blackjack is played by millions of players worldwide and continues to grow more popular as many more people learn the magic behind this amazing game. To have a full understand of what blackjack is, it would be quite helpful to know a little bit of its history and how the game was developed. However, no one really knows exactly how or when and where the game actually started but the earliest recorded histories point to France, Italy or Spain as the birthplace of this card game.

Blackjack has several elements that are quite similar to the French chemin de fer. Spain on the other hand claims that blackjack is a descendant of an old game called “One and Thirty”, while the Italians believe that blackjack evolved from two other card games called “Baccarat” and “Seven and One-Half”. The term “blackjack” however, may have come from the French term vingt-et-un which means “twenty and one” which was used in the early eighteenth century France to call a hand with a jack of spades and an ace of spades as the first two cards drawn. A special price was given to anyone who receives such a hand and was eventually called “blackjack” as an alternative to the term vingt-et-un.

The game became famous in Europe but it took another hundred years before the game reached American soil, particularly during the early 1800s when the Wild West was born. Gambling was not illegal and there were actually several licensed gambling parlors available operating in various areas across the county and was a good source of revenues for civic purposes.

Basic Strategies Blackjack

The basic rules and strategies behind blackjack changed very little over the years, although most casinos employ certain in-house rules that would increase house advantage. Unlike other card games that rely solely on blind luck, blackjack is affected by mathematical percentages and probabilities that players can utilize to their advantage to balance out or even nullify the house advantage. However, you don’t have to be a mathematical genius to succeed in this game.

For anyone who is just learning the ropes and wanting to know more about blackjack, they must first learn the basic rules on how the game is played. Bets are placed first and the dealer deals the card and each of the players at the table get two. The cards can be played face up or handled manually by the players, while the dealers can have one card facing up while the other down. Players can now decide whether to hit or hold. If your hand is too low you can hit and try not to exceed 21. On the other hand, if your cards are high enough for you, you can simply hold or stand until the dealer shows his face down card to decide who won the deal.

Knowing these basic rules, you can now employ basic strategies such as: hitting or standing; splitting pairs; playing a soft hand; doubling down on a hard or soft hand and several other strategies that increase your chance of beating the dealer. These strategies may just be basic but these fundamentals are vital to have a full understanding of how the game should be played as what past and existing master have done – which eventually led to them winning the game.

Martin Zimerman is an expert Blackjack player. For more information on Blackjack training, and how to defeat the casino’s huge edge, go to http://www.edgeof21.com.

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Blackjack Strategy and Gambling Strategies

February 21st, 2011

Today blackjack is the most popular casino banking game in the world. Like any other form of gambling, blackjack too has some strategies, following which the chance of winning becomes high. Gambling strategies especially blackjack strategy can be mustered and practiced by everybody. Blackjack strategy is followed while playing hard hands, split pairs as well as soft hands.

Now what is a hard hand? It is called a hard hand when the two starting cards do not contain an ace.

The idea is that if a player has a total of eight or less then he should always hit. Such gambling strategies or in other words such a blackjack strategy helps the player to attain a higher number. If the dealer has a number between three and six and the player has nine then the player should double it otherwise he should hit. Blackjack strategy or for that matter any other gambling strategies involves cunningness and hence it is required of the player to observe the dealer and the other players constantly.

If the player has points between seventeen and twenty one he should always stand. These are a few basic gambling strategies that need to be kept in mind while playing a hard hand.

A soft hand means that one of the starting hands of a player contains an ace. In this scenario if the player has an ace, a two or an ace and three and the dealer have five or six he should otherwise hit.

If the player has an ace and six, double it if the dealer has three, four, five or six, otherwise hit. If the player on the other hand has an ace and an eight or an ace and a nine then he should always stand.

Today, thanks to the popularity of gambling especially blackjack many websites have been dedicated to providing blackjack strategy.

Now we discuss a blackjack strategy when played in pairs. If say a player has an ace and an eight he should always split.

If on the other hand, he has a pair of twos and threes then he should only split if the dealer has two, three, four, five, six or seven. If the player has a pair of nines then he should only split if the dealer has two, three, four, five, six, eight and nine and should stand if the dealer has seven, ten or ace.

But if the player has a pair of tens then he should always stand and not think of splitting. Now if you are new to the game then before learning any gambling strategies or any blackjack strategy you should first familiarize yourself with the terms commonly associated with blackjack.

Hit, here means that the player should pick up another card.

Stand, means that the player should not take anymore new cards.

Pair, here means that the player has two cards of similar number.

Splitting would be separating the pairs by placing a second equal bet on the betting box beside the original bet.

When playing with a good Blackjack Strategy you can give yourself an edge. Maximize your odds by playing with our online gambling strategies. Learn the best online Gambling strategies such as Blackjack strategy craps strategy and further strategies.

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A Simple Three Stage Blackjack Strategy

February 15th, 2011

Blackjack is a great game and I love to play it. But if I’m honest, I get a little frustrated having to constantly consult the strategy cards.

I know why the strategy cards exist – to lower the house edge (ie the percentage of money staked that the casino expects to win) to as close as 0 as possible.

But because the ultimate strategy must cover every possible combination of your cards and the dealer’s cards, I find them too complex to memorize exactly. The result is that I’m taking time away from the game to pore over the charts to see what the optimal move is. All of which reduces my enjoyment of the game.

And of course, this is only possible when I’m playing Blackjack online. If I were playing it at a real bricks and mortar casino, I’d be politely asked to leave before I’d made half a dozen bets!

The ideal Blackjack strategy would be easy to remember and apply, and result in a house edge of 0%. Of course, that ideal can’t exist, so all Blackjack strategies are a compromise between those two goals – simplicity and accuracy.

Any strategy is going to be more or less inclined towards one of these extremes. When choosing a strategy, your decision comes down to which end of the scale you want to be at – do you want an easy strategy with a lower chance of winning, or a complex one that means that the last 0.01% has been shaved off the house edge?

Personally, my ideal is one that is smack in the middle – a strategy that has an acceptable house edge, but which is so straightforward that I can just get on with playing and enjoying the game.

After studying the available strategy cards, I’ve devised a strategy that is intended to take players from beginner to high roller in 3 easy stages.

The beauty of this is that as you master each stage, you add on the next one when you feel ready, but you can always step back down again when you don’t!

The house edge is a little over the optimal, but the accuracy (ie the percentage of times it makes the right call) is around 98%. But what’s important is that it’s really simple to remember (even the third stage.)

Although not complex, it’s easier to present the strategy in tabular form. My website Fortune Palace (see link in the resource box below) is designed to provide strategies for popular gambling games aimed at all risk levels and styles of play. On my simple 3 stage Blackjack strategy page, I explain everything clearly and simply.

You’ll also find a straightforward guide to the rules and bets of Blackjack and – perhaps best of all! – you’ll get the chance to play Blackjack for free. I’m very confident of the effectiveness of my system. Once you’ve tried it, I hope you’ll agree that it’s the best of all possible strategies – it gives you a great chance of winning without having to remember endless charts.

And best of all – it keeps Blackjack fun! Happy playing.

Andy Follin is author of Fortune Palace fortunepalace.co.uk, an eCOGRA ‘reputable gambling portal’ that explains how to play the most exciting online casino games, gives you tried and trusted gambling strategies and recommends the very best online casinos With full, impartial reviews, detailed online casino bonus and deposit information and a complete beginner’s guide to online gambling, it’s all you need to win!. The site also features a comprehensive online casino depositing guide.

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A Slice of Blackjack Strategy

February 9th, 2011

Blackjack has become one of the most popular casino card games in the world. While this historic game dates back over 300 years the objective remains the same: score as close to 21 as possible without going over. Strategy books will hype up card counting and dealing patterns, but the key to winning blackjack lies in one important question: hit or stand?

The true blackjack pro knows exactly when to hit or stand. They can compare their cards to the dealer’s upcard and mathematically determine their best move. Unfortunately, we are not all blackjack pros and could use help when it comes to mastering the strategy.

Movies and books have glorified the art of card counting. Counting cards can give a blackjack player a 0-2% advantage over the dealer when done correctly. However, modern advances have made this technique very difficult. Most casinos use multiple decks at each blackjack table, and online gambling sites randomize each hand which makes card counting impossible.

With card counting becoming increasingly difficult, most gamblers rely on a Blackjack Strategy Table to determine whether to hit or stand. By clicking the link above you can access a free blackjack strategy page, which includes everything from basic rules and tips to advanced strategy charts and gambling sites to test your skills online.

When viewing the strategy table above, it is important to follow it exactly. Even a small deviation from the table can significantly decrease your odds of winning. Many players treat blackjack like a guessing game, and hit or stand based on what “feels” right. This is foolish. The only way to minimize the odds against you is to run every single hand through the formula we have provided for you.

Always remember that blackjack is a gambling game with the odds stacked against you. Some blackjack players think the game can be neutralized by playing identical to the dealer (hit until they have at least 17). The house advantage exists because the player is always first to act, and if the player busts (goes over 21) the bet is automatically forfeited, even if the dealer would have bust too.

In conclusion, blackjack is a game of both talent and luck. By mastering the talent you can minimize the luck. Following the blackjack strategy table in the link above will ensure you make the best move every hand and will take the guesswork out of this casino card game.

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Blackjack Betting Strategy Options To Use

January 31st, 2011

There are many different types of blackjack betting strategy options that can be used in a game of blackjack. These work differently from one another but they are all similar in that they are used to help with getting a player to have an easier chance with figuring out what needs to be done in a game of blackjack. Here is a look at some of the strategy options that can work.

In some cases it might help to use lower bets when one wins. For example, the bet can be half as much as the first bet if the first bet was a winner. This is something that could be done in order to reduce the risks associated with the game and to see that a player can keep from easily losing the winnings involved.

The first blackjack betting strategy is the Martingale strategy. This is where a person bets one unit on a bet. If the bet loses then the player will bet two units. The person keeps on adding one at each time until the person wins. At this point the player will go back to betting one unit.

A Paroli system can be a good option to use as well. This is where a winning bet can be doubled and the bet can be doubled again if that bet wins. However, after the third straight winning bet the fourth bet will work with the same value as the first one. This is used with the assumption that a player is able to win four times in a game.

The parlay system can also be used. This is a unique system that works to take advantage of the profits that one has already gotten off of earlier hands. This is used in that the player will take one’s original bet and the profits that were made off of that bet and put it all together into one simple bet. This is something that can get any player to get a larger profit over a period of time.

Of course it should be noted that doubling down and splitting can also work. However, the times when it is fine to do any of these things can vary. For example, it will be best to focus on splitting when the player is dealing with a pair of smaller value cards. Also, a double down can be used when one has a 10 or 11 hand because these are hands that can be more likely to deal with blackjack counts above anything else. The options that can be used here will help to allow a player to figure out what can work for a bet.

These are all good blackjack betting strategy options to use. They should be used with regards to figuring out what can go right in a game.

When you play blackjack online, you can use blackjack betting strategy along with various other techniques to ensure you do not lose money and increase your chances of winning.