Blackjack
Enjoy free on-line blackjack information. All about playing blackjack and the various techniques, myths, strategy, variations and other blackjack related issues.
Blackjack in all it´s variations is probably the one most familiar on line casino game that interests a lot of us gamblers. I have to say that Internet blackjack is one of the most profitable online casino games when you know how and where to play it!
When you feel like taking a shot on the on-line blackjack, visit our mainpage for Best On-line Casinos for Blackjack and other gaming.
History of Blackjack
The story on: How Blackjack was born
The history of blackjack is still disputed but has most likely been transformed from French games such as "French Ferme and "Chemin de fer". Black Jack was conceived in sometime of 1700´s and was at that time called "vingt-et-un". Blackjack has been played in the american soil since the 1800´s.
The name "BlackJack" comes from the early rules of the game itself; When player got the Jack of spades and Ace of spades the player received a win with odds 10 to 1. As the spade is black by colour the name of "Black Jack" was born.
In the late 1950´s was published mathematic information that abled the inlightened gamblers how to even beat the house edge by gambling smart and counting the odds. One of these publications came very popular in fact so popular that it came one of the bestsellers according to New York Times. This caused a chaing reaction that is most likely the reason why Blackjack is the number one table game in U.S.
Since those days the game rules have even been changed by casinos, but later on the casinos were forced to change back to the "original" rules. However other changes have been applyed to blackjack and the one I am referring to here is the fact that more decks and more frequent shuffling has seen it´s way to the tables so that the "card counting" can no longer be used as a tool to beat the house - at least not by many of us.
So these manowers by the casinos have slighted the odds back to favoring casinos, but there still exists a fair change to win. With good judgement and knowledge by the gambler On-line Blackjack can still be very entertaining to say the least. So there you have the quick summary about the history of "the king of the games": Blackjack!
Blackjack Odds
Many believe that Blackjack, or 21, or twenty-one is the most popular casino game in the world. Blackjack is also the most researched game. It is also the only casino game with fluctuating odds (or probability). The winning chance changes with the composition of the deck.
The cards two to 9 have a numerical value equal to the number printed on the card. Tens also have a numerical value equal to the number printed on the card (10, of course). All face cards (Jack, Queen and King) have the value of 10. Aces (A) may be counted as either 11 or 1.
The rules of blackjack are relatively simple to learn. This page is not meant, however, to be a blackjack tutorial A dealer plays against a number of players, from one to seven. Every player and the dealer receive initially two cards each, dealt by the dealer. Each player's hand is played against the dealer's hand only. If a player's hand has a value closer to 21 (without going over) than the dealer's hand, the player wins. The best possible hand is known as a blackjack (twenty-one in the first two cards). This hand consists of an A (ace) and a ten-valued card (10, J, Q, K). The payout for a blackjack is 3-to-2: the player is paid three chips for every two chips bet. When both the player and the dealer have blackjacks in the kasinos online , it is a normal tie (push) situation; the player retains the initial bet.
The player has several choices after receiving the first two cards.
1) Hit or draw: take one or more cards to add-up to a better hand
2) Stand: stop taking more cards
3) Double down: double the initial amount (in cases considered more favorable)
4) Split pairs: if the two cards are equal in value they may be played in two separate hands
The dealer has limited choices. The dealer must draw until dealer's hand adds-up to 17 or more. The dealer is not allowed to stand on 16 or less. The dealer is not allowed to draw to a hand summing up to 17 or more.
It is also important to know how to hand signal player's actions.
- Hit: tapping the table next to your cards with your finger tips or by placing your hand near your cards and moving your finger tips toward you (somehow like a gesture of grabbing)
- Stand: moving your hand left to right, in a flat, palm down position about two inches over your cards (like waving off)
- Split: place another bet, equal to your initial bet, alongside your initial bet; do not touch your cards, the dealer will split your cards
- Double down: you ante up another bet equal to and alongside your first bet; the dealer will deal you one more card (only one), across the first two cards.
Both the player and the dealer can go over 21. The situation is known as bust. The player loses the bet immediately. The dealer plays his/her hand last, after all the players at the table. This rule creates the so called house advantage or house edge or percentage advantage. John Scarne was the first to calculate the house advantage at blackjack: 5.9%. There are several bonehead plays, however. Such foolish plays can increase the house advantage to 10%-15%. Example of such play: hitting a hand of 19 or 20!
The house edge can be diminished to only around 1% if the player follows certain rules. The set of rules known as basic strategy make blackjack one of the fairest games of any kind, almost as fair as coin tossing. I strongly recommend that you do not attempt to play blackjack before you learn basic strategy.
An IBM computer scientist, Edward O. Thorp, published “Beat the Dealer” in 1962. The book introduced a winning method known as card counting. The method considered the ten-valued cards and the Aces as “positive”, and the cards 2 to 6 as “negative”. If the net result in the remaining deck was positive, the player must increase the bet accordingly. The method had visible results when only one deck was used and very few cards remained in the deck. The casinos modified the rules dramatically. The “penetration” was introduced: not all the cards in the deck are played. Shuffling is done unexpectedly. Also, most casinos introduced the multiple deck blackjack.
Blackjack Strategy Chart - Coming Soon!
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