Blackjack by DC » Las Vegas

If win, press your bets. If you lose, bet less.

DC — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 23:48:38 +0000

One of the most successful ways to minimize your expected loss playing blackjack is this old Vegas wisdom: “If win, press your bets. If you lose, bet less.”. It pretty much boils down to betting more after a win, going down to the minimum of your bets after any loss. It’s a way to minimize your losses on the inevitable losing streaks — the one that kills people playing the Martingale system…

The “If win, press your bets. If you lose, bet less.” is basicly playing the Parlay system.

More info on these betting systems can be found in my post titled “Blackjack Betting Systems: a Method to my Madness“.

Good luck at the tables!

Happy to report on my gambling addiction

DC — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 20:06:19 +0000

Hi guys – thanks for the comments! Quite a few people have sent me positive reactions on me openly fighting my gambling addiction, and I think that’s great! I have good news for all of you — basicly I feel pretty okay, and I think I have things under control pretty well.

A few things:

I am hitting a casino once every week, basicly to play poker, and never play over one hour of table games. I’m proud of that. I know this sounds like I still gamble 1 day out of seven, but basicly I gamble like an hour every week. As I’m a winning poker player, I’m actually in the plus for this month, and it’s steady! Same goes for December!
I went to Las Vegas, and I didn’t gamble nearly as much as I did last time. I did one of those Las Vegas Exotic Car Rental things and rented myself an Aston Martin Vanquish and it was great. Drove to the grand canyon, drove to Hoover Dam. All the time I didn’t feel like gambling at all.

I’m happy. I really am. Please pray for me, I appreciate it a lot!

Interview with MIT Blackjack team member

DC — Mon, 24 Dec 2007 12:31:45 +0000

This is quite an interesting video considering Fox being the source. The interview about Mike, a former MIT Blackjack team member, a bunch of geniuses counting cards in Vegas…

The MIT team is now banned in a lot of casinos, which is sad…

Click here to view the embedded video.

Good to see mike stressing the basic strategy… It’s SO important, even when card counting!

When to double down in Blackjack: Doubling Down to Double Up Profits

DC — Thu, 06 Dec 2007 17:37:15 +0000

Many casinos offer the option to double up on a single hit card. Some of us look to divine inspiration on when to double up, others use a lucky charm, I myself like to use mathematics.

There are some hard and fast rules about when to Double Down. They are as follows.

If you have 11 you can double. There is a 30% chance of making 21 and no way to bust out. If you do make 21 the dealer can only beat you with a Blackjack and even then you’ll have your money returned.

If you have a hand of 10 you can double. The odds of winning are similar to that of if you have 11 and you have no chance of going bust.

If you have 7/8/9 don’t double. As tempting as it is that you might make 17, 18, 19 or even 20 it is unlikely. Any card other than a 10 will leave you with a vulnerable hand. The only exception to this is if you have a nine and the dealer had a low (2-6) up card and thus has a good chance of going bust.

If you have 12 or more DON’T DOUBLE. As tempting as it may be when you see the dealer has a card that means he is likely to go bust. You also have a high chance of busting and losing out.

What you must remember with Doubling Down is that you can only have one further card.

I would stress that doubling up can also affect the effectiveness of your betting strategy. Especially if you are using the Paroli or Martingale system. You should make the decisions about when you are going to Double Down and stick to them so you don’t click the double button on a whim.

Blackjack lesson by the Sahara Casino

DC — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 10:09:38 +0000

A pretty good lesson on single deck blackjack by the Sahara casino. Obviously in these tutorials you’ll see everyone winning and the bank pretty much busting all the time — but hey — we all know that’s not too reaslistic hehe!

Still, a pretty solid first tutorial for anyone who never played single deck blackjack before — so check it out if you’re new to the game!

Click here to view the embedded video.

By the way — excellent dealer skills!

Blackjack – The Basics

DC — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 18:50:06 +0000

We have all played 21 as kids and so the rules of blackjack shouldn’t be too daunting. Before you play for money you should learn the lingo and the rules to look out for.

The object of blackjack make the highest total you can without going over 21 (going bust). Simple.

Each numbered card 10 and under, has a value equal to the number on the card. All the face cards count as 10. This leaves the magic Ace which can count either as 1 or 11, depending on what helps your hand the most. A hand that is 21 is called ‘blackjack’. If you are dealt blackjack you are paid immediately (and you get to do a little dance).

There are 2 ways to win. Either you have the highest total or the dealer goes bust. You can play with other players at the table but you are only trying to beat the dealer. If the dealer gets a blackjack, the players automatically lose unless they have a blackjack too.

Each player receives 2 cards (usually face up) on the table. The dealer receives 1 card face up and 1 card face down.

The player has the following options while playing blackjack:

Hit Taking another card
Stand You have made your best hand
Double Down Doubling your bet and taking one more card
Split Splitting your pair into two separate hands
Surrender Surrendering half of your bet and giving up your hand right then

You have the option of taking as many hits as you want as long as you don’t go over 21.

The dealer must play his hand according to the house rules. Usually the dealer must hit until he has a total of 17 or higher. If the dealer starts with a total of 17, he stands.

See simple. This seemingly easy game has driven grown man too tears with joy and despair. Try it and see how you fair.