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Blackjack Tips 2012
Blackjack is one of the most
frequently-played casino games for
a good reason: it is one of the
games where players can actively
take measures against the house
edge, through skill, perseverance
and focus. Some live blackjack
players can even turn the house
edge around but that’s something
for a different article. What can
the average gambler do to protect
his blackjack odds? It all starts
when you walk into the casino. The
cavalcade of bright lights, the
sounds, the apparent sense of
urgency in everything that goes on
– it’s all designed to put pressure
on you and thus to make sure your
state of mind is not an optimal
one. Cool down, give yourself a few
minutes. Walk around the casino and
check things out. No one can force
you to start wagering as soon as
you hit the floor. Never lose sight
of your objectives. Everyone has a
battle plan formulated well before
he/she enters the casino. Stick to
that plan and don’t let anything
distract you.
Table selection is as important in
poker as a
healthy rakeback deal, and it’s
just as important in the case of
blackjack. Don’t you for a second
believe that walking up to the
first table or grabbing the first
empty seat is the optimal way to go
about this. Give it some time and
take a table-spotting stroll. Try
to spot tables where players are
winning. The way to do that is to
try to assess the size of the
stacks in front of them and factor
in the size of the stakes. If
players at the table appear
generally well-bankrolled, chances
are you’ve just happened across a
“dumping” table where the house is
losing big.
Players being generous with their
bets is another sign that you’ve
found your winning table. People –
gamblers included - are usually
cautious when it comes to investing
their heard-earned dollars. When
they’re readily pushing chips into
the middle, it usually means
they’re expecting a nice return on
them.
When you do find a table as the one
described above, do not hesitate:
jump right into the middle. This is
a dealer-breaking table, which,
unlike regular tables where the
dealer breaks 25-27% of the time,
sees the dealer break a massive 75%
of the time through the shoe, which
means a very high threshold of
profitability. Though such tables
are much less frequent than one
would like them to be, it’s a fact
that such cycles which tend to give
players the advantage do occur.
Just as there are such dumping
tables, there are tables that win
quite a bit for the house. Needless
to say, you should do everything to
avoid such tables.
Basic strategy is the single best
weapon of the player at the
blackjack tables. Basic strategy
comes in the shape of charts which
clue the player in on the optimal
decision based on his own upcard
and that of the dealer. The house
would normally enjoy a 5-6% edge on
blackjack, but basic strategy can
reduce that to 1%.
When playing blackjack online, you
should always make sure that your
casino accepts blackjack for bonus
redemption. Preferably, you should
also secure a
poker prop pay - like loyalty
deal.
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