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Hypothetical situations at the blackjack tables for you to ponder By Henry Tamburin You’re playing blackjack in a Las Vegas casino when a new dealer takes over. You notice something unusual: occasionally, the dealer is unknowingly exposing her hole card. She obviously needs to practice her dealing technique, but right now you’re faced with a […]
Mastering basic strategy at blackjack means more than memorizing a chart. It’s about understanding how to play offense and defense. By playing offense—making the extra bet and splitting the 8s—we create a situation where we have an edge. Each of our 8s is a stronger building block than the dealer’s 6. My friend Ralph has […]
NON-INTUITIVE BASIC STRATEGY PLAYS By Henry Tamburin Most of the basic playing strategy for blackjack is logical to players. Players understand why they shouldn’t hit a 16 when the dealer shows a 6 upcard, or why they should split 8s against a dealer’s 5. However, some of the basic strategy is not so intuitive: […]
The little-known story of how the game’s basic strategy originated—and why it continues to impact casinos today By Basil Nestor Once upon a time there was no card counting and no basic strategy. Blackjack players made choices intuitively, or they followed “expert” advice that was generally incorrect. Players lost a lot of money making […]
The fast, easy way to master blackjack basic strategy By Michael Shackleford I play a lot of blackjack, and I seldom see other players who have basic strategy down cold. Most dealers and supervisors don’t know it, either. Even many card counters don’t know the nuances. As a gaming writer, it’s my job to […]
Where to find the best blackjack games in Vegas, and how to avoid the tricks and traps that take down most players By Joseph Pane “Since one-deck games are very hard to find in other parts of the country, a lot of Las Vegas visitors are eager to play as soon as they see […]
Rules & Strategy Winning at Blackjack Like many of our favorite casino games, the exact origins of blackjack are forever lost to history. One of the first recorded descriptions of the game places its appearance in France during the 17th century, where it thrilled gamblers under its simple, yet appropriate appellation “vingt-et-un.” Some gaming historians, […]
Debunking silly superstitions that can harm your play By Frank Scoblete It’s easy to blame a novice blackjack player for costing you a hand that you feel you should have won. But the reality is, when you’ve got a player at the table making bad decisions, he is as likely to help you win […]
Gambling at The Maxim, home of the perfect blackjack game Money was flowing in torrents everywhere you looked. It was hard to get a hotel room. Players of all experience levels and bankroll sizes figured this was a casino where they could win. By Frank Scoblete I remember the days of “perfect” blackjack games in […]
The right way to play blackjack isn’t a matter of opinion Interestingly, many blackjack players have read some articles or books here and there, and have pieced together strategies that are essentially correct—but they have backward notions about why these strategies are the best ones to use. Some blackjack players believe that there isn’t one […]