Tips for Blackjack

Tips for Blackjack

Blackjack, also known as twenty-one, is one of the most exciting and best loved of all the card games. Blackjack is a game of skill and much more than luck and a skillful player can do a lot to tip the odds in his/her favor. Here are some tips one should be aware of to make the best out from the game.

Basic Tips

• Never split your 4s, 5s or 10s
• You can split your 8s and Aces, despite of which card the dealer is showing
• If you are not counting the cards you should not take insurance. You can take it if you are counting cards
• If the dealer’s face up card is a 7 through an Ace, you should hit
• If the dealer’s face up card is a 6 or lower, you should stand on a hard 13 through 16
• You should stand of a hard 12, if the dealer is showing a 4, 5, or 6.
• You should hit a hard 12, if the dealer’s face up card is a 2 or a 3, or 7 and higher.
• If the dealer’s face up card is a 10, you should hit a soft 17.
• If the dealer is showing a 0 point card, you should continue to hit until you have around 17 points.

A player can double down on two card combinations totaling:

• 9 – if the dealer’s face up card is any one from three to six.
• 10 – if the dealer is showing a 10 or an Ace
• 11 – if the dealer’s face up card is an Ace

Things are little different in the case of Soft hand. As you cannot “bust” a soft hand with just a single hit, you can follow these tips:

• If the dealer’s card is 7 or higher, the player should hit soft through 17
• One can always hit soft 13 through 17 with hands of 3 or more cards
• One can double down soft 15 through 17 against a dealer’s 4
• If the dealer’s face up card is 3, the player can double down soft 17
• If possible, try to stand on soft 19 or higher

Popular Variants of Blackjack

Blackjack – also called pontoon and twenty-one in Britain - is a very popular casino card game played in casinos and clubs all over the world. If to analyze the game closely, it is an eclectic mix of the player’s skill and decision making, coupled with the element of indecision involved in the whole procedure, that makes the game unpredictable at times and hence exciting for the common man. The early version of blackjack was founded in France in the 1700s, and it was called vingt-et-un ("twenty-one") then. It was introduced in America in the early 1900s, and at that time, in order to attract more crowds, casinos used to offer various bonus payouts to the players. One of those bonuses was 10-to-1 payout, for which a player becomes eligible if his/her hand consisted of the ace of spades and a black Jack (either the Jack of spades or Jack of clubs). Such a hand came to be called a Blackjack, the name with which the game is popular nowadays.

During the British colonalization, the game of twenty-one got popularized in almost all parts of the globe, and with some variations that happened over the period of time, these are still played in the clubs and casinos of those countries. Some of the popular variants of blackjack are the Spanish 21, Double Exposure Blackjack, Double Attack Blackjack and Chinese Blackjack.

Spanish 21, as compared to conventional blackjack, offers several liberal rules such as payout bonuses for five or more card 21's, 6-7-8 21's, 7-7-7 21's, late surrender, doubling down any number of cards with the option to ‘rescue’ or surrender only one wager to the house, and player blackjacks and player 21's always winning, at the cost of having no 10 cards in the deck (though there are kings, queens and jacks). If one has a fool proof basic strategy in place, Spanish 21 guarantees a definite lower house edge than a normal blackjack game.

In Double Exposure Blackjack, both the cards of the dealer are revealed to the player at the start of the hand itself. This is in fact significant piece of information, and without change in rules, it is advantageous to any player irrespective of his/her skill levels. Therefore, the casino wins back some house edge by two main rule changes, paying even-money on blackjack (opposed to 3:2 at normal tables) and ties losing (compared to pushing in standard blackjack). Other rules detrimental to the players are also introduced over the years, such as restricting doubling down and splitting, and not allowing any doubles after splits. This game is thought to be invented by Bob Stupak, former owner of Stratosphere and Vegas World casinos.

Double Attack Blackjack is even liberal and it gives the option to increase one’s wager after discovering the dealer’s face-up cards. It is dealt from a Spanish shoe and blackjacks only pay even money.

Chinese Blackjack is more popular in Southeast Asia, and in regional tongue, the game is called 21-point, ban-nag (Cantonese) or ban-luck (Hokkien). The game uses one or two 52-card decks and any number of players can join the game, only thing is that one of them has to be a dealer. Also, the game does not allow splitting of cards and there are some house rules, which may differ a lot from conventional blackjack and within Chinese blackjack itself.

Betting Options in Blackjack

Blackjack, also known as twenty-one, is one of the most popular card games enjoyed by millions of casino buffs. There are several betting options in blackjack such as Insurance, Surrender, Splitting, Double Down, and Even Money. Let us look at these betting options in detail.

Insurance

Insurance is the side bet offered to the box holder up to half the original bet, if the dealer’s face up card is an Ace. By taking insurance the box holder is making a second bet for half the initial amount. If the dealer’s face down card is a 10 point card, then the box holder is paid 2 to 1 on the insurance bet, but the player loses if the dealer’s card is any other card than the 10 points card.

Surrender

A box holder may give up the first two cards in his hand and loses half of the initial bet.

Early Surrender – the dealer permits to surrender the box holder before checking for blackjack.

Late Surrender – in late surrender the dealer first checks whether he has blackjack. Surrender option is not allowed if the dealer has blackjack.

Splitting

Splitting option is permitted when a blackjack player is dealt with two cards with equal values. To take splitting option, the original bet has to be matched. Each hand will be played separately. If the box holder splits two Aces, only one more card is dealt to each hand. A hand will be allowed to split only once.

Double Down

Double down option allows you to double the original bet after the two card deal. When a box holder doubles the bet, the original bet has to be matched and you can hit one cared only. One can also go for the “double down” option after “splitting” a pair. Double down is considered as a good bet if the box holder is in a strong position.

Even Money

The box holder is offered “Even Money” if he is dealt with a natural blackjack and the dealer’s showing card is an Ace. Taking “even money” option means the player believes the dealer’s face down card is a 10 card. If the “even money” option is not taken, then the player is paid at 3 to 2 and the dealer has no blackjack.

How to Play Blackjack

Blackjack, also known as twenty-one, is one of the most popular card games enjoyed by millions of casino buffs. Blackjack is easy to play and the excitement it offers is beyond words. The object of blackjack is to obtain a total card value of 21 or close to that total without exceeding the 21 points.

Traditionally blackjack is played on a semi circular table with one seat for the dealer and the remaining sears for the players. The players of the game are known as box holders. The box holders take decisions when the game is in progress. The cloth on all seats is labeled with one double circle or several single circles – the designated area where the blackjack players put their money and/or the value chips.

Before the blackjack game begins, that is the dealer deals any cards, the players place their bet in the double box. All players play blackjack against the bank – that is a croupier, who is known as the dealer. For those who are playing together with the box holders can place their value chips in the single circles marked in the cloth. Blackjack starts with the dealer giving two cards to each box holders and then to himself. One card of the dealer is dealt face up and the other is dealt face down.

The face cards - Kings, Queens, and Jacks - are all worth 10 points. The Ace can count as either an 11 or a 1 point card (the value of Ace card is your choice). All other cards from 2 to 10 take their normal values.

The box holder’s aim is to draw cards until their hand adds up to 21 or close to 21. If the first two cards dealt to you total to 21 points, then it is a natural Blackjack. You are the winner of the game or simply you have Blackjack! The box holder who wins blackjack will get one and one-half times his/her bet unless the dealer also has blackjack.

If the box holder is dealt with any two cards other than a blackjack, he has two options – “hit” (accept another card) or “stand” (refuse any further cards). A player who selects the “stands” option will not be given any additional cards. Cards are dealt till the player stands or “busts” (exceeds 21 points). When a box holder “busts”, he suddenly loses his bet despite the dealer’s hand result.

After the box holder’s final actions, the dealer reveals the down card. If the dealer’s hand is less than 16 points or 16, the dealer has to continue the “hit” option until he reaches 17 or more. The dealer need to stand on soft 17 and should not take any additional cards. The box holder wins, if he stood without busting and the dealer “busts” (exceed 21). The dealer wins if the dealer stands on 17 or more and has a higher point than the box holder. If both the dealer and the player have the same points, it’s a “push” (tie).

Let's Take a look at Poker

Poker is one of the most popular card games played in card rooms, casinos, and internet. Like any other card games the main aim of play poker is to win. One can play poker just for fun or for money. If you learn the rules and other details on how to play poker you can easily win the game with your skills and strategic abilities.

There are several varieties of poker games across the world. Of the various variations of play poker game the most popular games played include Texas Hold'em, Omaha Hi/Lo, Omaha, 7 Card Stud Hi/Lo, and 7 Card Stud. However, almost all the poker games follow the basic format:
" All poker players donate to a central 'pot' which have play chips or chips which symbolize original money. " Players are dealt cards - a 'hand' - most of them are concealed. " Wagers are generally made on the strength of the cards in rounds of betting." When the betting round is completed, the last player who is standing after all other players have folded or the player who has the strongest hand will be winner of the play poker game.

To become a successful play poker player one need to understand the deck and know the rank of hands well. Generally all poker games are played with a standard deck of 52 playing cards. An exception is the Ross Perot Poker which is played with less than a full deck. The poker playing cards are separated into four suits - Clubs, Spades, Hearts, and Diamonds - each of which has 13 ranks in the following order (from highest to lowest) - Ace, King, Queen, Jack, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, and 2.

All poker players are dealt with five cards. Whichever poker game you are playing, the aim of the game is to complete with the highest valued hand. Poker hands fall into one to several categories, such as Royal Flush, Straight Flush, Four of a Kind, Full House, Flush, Straight, Three of a Kind, Two Pair, One Pair, and High Card. The player who ends up with the highest ranking hand will be the winner of the game.
Nowadays there are several websites which offer facilities for poker buffs to play poker online. Online play poker games are expected to pay more profit when compared with brick and mortar casinos.

Enjoy Free Online Blackjack

The enticing objective of getting as close as possible to the sum of 21 without going over, has always made blackjack a favorite of casino lovers. Blackjack online lets you play at a time and place of your choice. The great thing about gambling blackjack is that you can play for just a few minutes or for hours on end, just as you please. Bring the royal pleasures of a grand blackjack ballroom casino to the privacy and convenience of your computer screen. Snatch a refreshing break during work or fill idle hours while on vacation and during weekends. Internet blackjack turns your leisure time in to a profitable venture. Who knows, you may end up as a top expert in gambling blackjack in days!

It is easy to play blackjack. Anyone can learn the rules and the terms in a matter of minutes. The game blackjack entertains players thoroughly and always offers a sporting chance to win. Card veterans love to play blackjack and often prefer it over other options for private parties. Online blackjack gives the profitable pastime a new angle, enabling those who seek superior entertainment on the web, to participate in the 21st century pleasures of Internet blackjack. Turn your home, office or even your cell phone in to the best gaming rooms of Las Vegas, Monaco or whichever other place catches your fancy! Spice up the routine of your life, and let online blackjack give you a new stream of revenue.

Pontoon and 21 are other names by which blackjack is known in various parts of the world. It is a test of mental skill apart from being a source of quality entertainment. Estimating the value left in the deck, also known as card counting, makes you alert and forces you to improve your math! You exercise your brain and have fun doing it when you play blackjack. It is equivalent to a mental workout, which makes online blackjack a great way to pass time on your hands. A key is to play internet blackjack for a few minutes everyday to stay on top of the game. This also improves your profit chances. Since blackjack online costs nothing to enter, it beats the entry barriers of an elegant casino, while giving you all the monetary benefits at the same time.

Some people like to play in small groups or with a special companion. Gambling blackjack allows you to do this, and respects your privacy at the same time. So do get a circle of friends to join you in online blackjack, and increase your mutual enjoyment and revenue. The longest and most boring commute becomes something to which you can look forward if you have mobile access to the web. Internet blackjack can also be a healthy alternative to a calorific break from work for lunch, and has the potential for some unusual business entertainment as well. However, the most popular attraction of blackjack remains its ability to banish boredom from your life. Gambling blackjack is one of the fastest growing forms of entertainment. You could be up and running right now!

Play BlackJack

Welcome to our new blog about playing BlackJack on the Internet. We don't have enough space on our site www.7bj.com to go into all the details of play, so we will do so here.

We will be bringing you tips for play and general information on our weblog. Stay tunned for some good information about the game, where to play (at our casino ofcource), and how to stay one step ahead of the game.