| |
| |
|
Casino & Gambling Information |
|
|
|
Blackjack - Should You Count Cards?
If you are like the average, recreational Blackjack player, you may play Blackjack in a casino a few times per year and you want to play in a relaxed, friendly atmosphere and have fun. But at the same time, you don't want to play a game where the odds are greatly against you and you want a good chance of beating the house on any given day. And you're willing to invest a reasonable amount of time learning to play properly. Does this describe you? If so, you're not alone. About 99% of Blackjack players can very likely be described as "recreational" players. If you invest the few hours it takes to lean Basic Strategy and good money management you will reduce the casino's edge down to about a half percent. This is the closest to playing even with the house that you'll find in any game in the casino. However, for those of you for whom playing almost even with the house is not good enough and you want the edge, you must become a card counter. It is an irrefutable fact that you can have an advantage over the casino in Blackjack by counting cards. There are dozens of books this subject and card counting has been mathematically proven - literally thousands of times - as a method to more accurately determine the odds that your next hand will have favorable cards. The long-term advantage gained by card counting is about 1%, versus the one half percent disadvantage from simply playing Basic Strategy. So why isn't everyone a card counter and why are casino Blackjack profits at an all-time high and climbing? Two reasons: * Casinos have made the playing conditions very difficult for card counters. * Becoming an expert card counter requires hundreds of hours of practice and a monstrous bankroll. Even then, a small lapse in concentration at the table will wipe out the small advantage gained by counting. This does not mean there aren't professional Blackjack counters who make a living playing Blackjack - there are. However, to be able to make a full time living by counting cards, you'll need to be able to do the following: * Spend hundreds of hours, and play thousands of hands, to learn to count cards expertly, plus learn the many subtle variations to hitting and standing that vary with the count. * Play 100 hours plus per month of actual table time, with average bets of $50 - $100. You can probably double this amount of time - or more - to allow for breaks, finding good tables, changing tables and casinos frequently, travel, etc. * Learn how to constantly conceal your card counting skills when playing, to avoid being asked to leave. * Play at odd hours - usually very late at night into the early hours of the morning, because it's best to play one-on-one with the dealer or with as few other players as possible at the table. * Change tables and casinos frequently, to avoid being detected. * Have a very large bankroll. As a professional, you will need about 300-500 times your average bet, to be able to take advantage of the count by stepping up your bets dramatically and playing multiple hands, while also being able to weather the wild swings in your bankroll that will frequently happen in the short run. This translates to a working bankroll of about $30,000 - $50,000, based on average bets of $50 - $100, which is what you'll need to earn a full time living. If you are indeed able to do all of the above flawlessly, then congratulations! You are an expert card counter and you will make money in the long term. For the 99% of us who are recreational players and unable - or unwilling - to make the substantial effort required to count cards expertly, then playing Basic Strategy is the next best thing. This will give a very low edge against you of about one half of one percent, while still providing the chance to come away a winner in the short term. Learning perfect Blackjack Basic Strategy takes only a few hours and can be mastered by virtually everyone. You can play any table, any time, for as long as you like, without having to worry about being noticed by the Pit Boss. In fact, the Pit Bosses will welcome you with open arms. You'll still have the lowest odds against you of any table game in the casino and you'll have a fighting chance of beating the casino with a good run of cards. This is the best way to play for casual, recreational players who want to have fun but not lose their shirts. Don't get me wrong: the bottom line is that if you want to be a serious, dedicated Blackjack player, who gets the most thrill out of beating the casino and is willing to work hard to do it, then by all means learn card counting. However, for the recreational player, Blackjack should be easy to learn and fun. With Basic Strategy, it is. Tom is the webmaster at http://www.blackjack-for-everyone.com, which is a website dedicated to the recreational Blackjack player.
MORE RESOURCES:
Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Blackjack Strategy: How To Avoid Unnecessary Losses By Avoiding Emotion Most blackjack articles seem to be written by people who were never unsuccessful when playing the game. Well, I've got to say straight off to you that in the beginning, I did lose about $200. Online Gambling For Newbies Often incorporating creative and realistic graphics along with high tech software, online casinos offer a wide variety of game themes with Slot Machines, Roulettes, Craps, Specialty games, Black Jack and Poker rooms. Anyone new to online gaming will want to do a bit of reading up on whats popular and who is reputable before they reach for their credit card. Heres Texas Hold em for Poker Lovers Texas hold'em is the most popular of the community card poker games and in western America it is the best poker variant played in casinos. Though the game can be played by up to 22 players, it is usually played with between two people or ten. Slot Machines - Does Location Make a Difference? Books have been written on this subject and the debates and arguments about where the "hot" machines are placed in a casino are still raging - 60 years after slots were first installed in casinos.The classic rule is that the best slots were placed just inside the door of the casino, so that people walking by would see jackpot winners and be enticed to come inside and play. Always Look For The Best Online Sportsbook Before You Start Betting Online Before you sign up with an Online Sportsbook and start betting online, you sure need to find out what to look for in a sportsbook service.The main idea of sports betting is to defeat so-called oddsmakers in order to win some money. Heres an Easy Exercise to Improve Your Texas Holdem Play Many beginning Texas Holdem players develop a playing style that is tight but weak. Maybe they have learned the value of playing only a select few starting hands. The Difference Between Bankroll and Money Management I am sure you would have heard comments like, 'if you don't have good money management skills then you simply won't win'; or how about 'money management is much more important than the selection strategy used'; or even 'you won't win if you don't have good money management skills'.There will always be a group of punters who is always bleating about the virtues of money management. Building Your Bankroll The first thing one needs to do before they even think about laying a bet down is: set your bankroll before the season even begins. You have to know how much money you are going to start with. Introduction to Texas Holdem Strategy - 3 Concepts Concept #1 - Pot OddsLong-term profits in holdem come from making bets with a positive expectation. You only have a positive expectation when your payoff is higher than your risk. Earn Money Playing Slots...or not Yay, what a life would that be - sitting behind the fancy slot machine, hitting buttons, sipping Bud Light and constantly cashing out big bucks, or coins. Sure, we know that casinos (even online casinos, yes) take their "edge" and earn hideous profits, but we don't think about it when we step into a local casino or log on to our favourite online casino. Las Vegas Whales What Las Vegas jargon names "whales" is in fact the creme of the high rollers species. They are a handful of people that in some opinions don't exceed 500 individuals in the world. Depositing Funds to Your Online Casino & Poker Room Account - The Best Options Ways To DepositWhen I first wanted to start playing in online casinos and poker rooms, I thought it would be as easy as 123 to start playing - surely all you need to do is to download the software enter your credit card details and away you go?Well yes kind of, but you may already have seen there are a multitude of different payment and deposit methods available ranging from credit and debit cards right the way through to the good old snail mail check!There are a range of options but it is vitally important that you choose the right one otherwise your casino and poker play may not be as rewarding as you first think.Credit CardsHistorically credit cards have always been the first thing people think of when looking to deposit money - and why not - these days most of the major banks offer internet fraud protection and depositing via credit card is pretty instantaneous - so what is the problem - well there could be a few. Insider Tips For Finding A Great Online Poker Room Even though they look pretty much the same and they're all selling essentially the same few games, all Online Poker Rooms are NOT created equal! The differences can go far beyond the look and feel of the software. After you've played at several different rooms, you'll start to see the tell-tale signs of a quality room as opposed to the "back alley" type. Wisconsin Casinos, The Top Three I have been gambling in Wisconsin since I was 16 years old! I snuck in for two years straight. After legally gambling at the age of 18 for a few months they moved the age limit up to 21. Online Poker Satellites - How to Turn as Little as $1 into Millions What do Dr. Vic Fey, an obstetrician from Clinton, Oklahoma, and Erick Brenes, a farmer from Costa Rica have in common? They both made it to the final table of The World Poker Tour's Aruba Poker Classic. Asian Handicaps Explained The most common way to bet on football in the UK is with 3 way betting (sometimes called 1X2). The three options are home win, draw and away win. Why Play Texas Hold em? Ah, yes-the Texas hold 'em explosion. Seven years ago, when I first started playing, the Texas hold 'em community was comprised almost entirely of the collection of retirees who haunted the local 1-4-8-8 games, a sprinkling of mild mannered pros who played for a living, and a healthy percentage of truly degenerate gamblers who would now and then stagger into the card room after a blistering run at the craps table. How to Win Texas Holdem Texas Hold'em.. Do You Believe These Four Online Slot Machine Myths? The fact that people don't really understand how online slot machines work in terms of the Random Number Generator RNG used, has led to several myths that players believe in. Here are four of the most common. Your POSITION Of Power In Holdem In Hold'em poker, the importance of your position in relation to the dealer can not be stressed enough. The reason for learning position is that the later your position is the more information you will have about the other players.
|
| home | site map |
| © 2006 |
