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Archive for the ‘blackjack hints’ Category

Trouble, trouble, trouble

Friday, August 12th, 2011

So everyone’s got their feathers all ruffled by these riotin’ kids in the city. I watched a little of it on the old telly-box and I must say I was thoroughly underwhelmed. Them crazy cats ain’t nothing to worry about, they’ll run right outta steam just as soon as they realise that lootin and jackassery won’t get them nowhere as fast as gamblin will.

They think they’re having a hard time? What about a 2 week losing streak! They reckon as benefit cuts is the scariest thing they gotta deal with? What about the awful 16..

Just saying its name sends shivers down this old man’s spine. The terrible 16, the worst hand in Blackjack. 70% chance o’ losing no matter what you do. And this star-crossed hapless blackjack man had the misfortune to get one but mere days ago.

So, what do you do? How do you change Lady Luck’s mind when she’s arm-in-arm cavorting with the dealer? Well I racked my brains. I thought back to my very first blackjack learnin’ and it struck me outta nowhere. ‘Boy,’ I said ‘You got three options: hit, stand or surrender. And surrender’s not an option.’

As I could recall, hittin gave me a better chance than standin so hit I did. Plucked up my last reserves of courage and hit away.

I lost.

And those kids think they got problems.

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Winds o’ change

Friday, June 17th, 2011

Ah yeah, as the good ol’ spring winds pass into the ether, summer blows into town with it’s suitcase and a newspaper under its arm. He’s here to stay, we hope, but does the weather bring the blackjack player luck?

Typical blackjack is played indoors. Four suits, four walls. Nowadays, things have changed just a lil, and you can play anywhere you want thanks to online blackjack. Seems all you need to do anything these days is a laptop computer and an idea. Lucky for me, my ideas involved getting a laptop computer just as the craze for blackjack games on the internet hit. Now that’s what I call a break…

Sometimes, yeah, I like to sit outside and shoot a few cards while sipping a cool rum and diet coke. I love the heat on my back as I flip the cards. Do I win? Well, so long as Mr. Sun keeps his hat on, I can’t lose!

I know other peeps who don’t like playing outside so much. Smoky Joe won’t play anywhere other than bed, and Dan Ham from Chippenham likes his legs in front of his antique fireplace when he asks lady luck for a favour. Just the way it goes, brother. Just the way it goes…

So this summer, here’s wishing all the online blackjack players a little bit of luck. But not just with the cards. Life too. Sometimes life can be a cold time, whatever the weather, and I’d like to raise a glass to all those affected by whatever’s going on in their lives. Hey, everyone has their time in the sun. The same goes for blackjack when the cards are shining and when they’re wet and stormy. I just got one little bitty word of advice: always wear lotion in the sun.

Success can drive a good man bad. I know that much…

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Ho ho ho

Sunday, December 12th, 2010

I think it goes without saying that Christmas can sometimes be a blackjack player’s best time of year, but also his worst. Christmas is a volatile breeding ground of emotion. On the one hand, it’s a time of joy and you have that little bit extra confidence with which to play big hands. On the other, you can be reckless. Take this tale from 1970…

It was Christmas and I found myself at my brother Robert’s house. Bob wasn’t much of a gambler but he sure liked to play. A little too much, perhaps, but I’ve learned that you should never question a man’s enthusiasm to lose, especially when it’s for money. Anyway, me and Bob were left at his kitchen table in the dead of night, drinking whisky red and putting the world to rights. I was winning, comfortably, when all of a sudden my… Christmas cheer… got the better of me.

I played hard on a pair of eights. Ridiculous. Bob wiped me out with what I remember being a simple straight. I should never have played that hand. Of course, when you’ve been playing cards for as long as I have you don’t remember the victories, just the defeats. I went to bed feeling a like I’d gambled my Christmas cheer that year, and I don’t think I got it back until 1975…

So my advice to players this coming Christmas is simple: know your limits. Don’t go in too hard, don’t go in too soft. The moment you feel it’s getting late, it is late, and it’s time for you to hit the hay. Don’t let yourself be swayed by any sentimentality towards the time of year. It’s the cards, not the calendar, that’ll determine your fate.

Happy Christmas.

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Be smart about splits

Thursday, June 24th, 2010

A while back I, rather generously I thought, decided to impart a few pearls of wisdom about some of my top tips for blackjack. The whole point of that post was to get people off my back about teaching them blackjack tricks but, unfortunately, it seems to have had the opposite affect and now everyone’s been clamouring for more.

While I don’t want to hand people tools of the trade on a silver platter, I’m feeling in a pretty good mood after England’s win yesterday so I’ve decided to explicate on one of the points I made previously, namely knowing when to split in blackjack.

Firstly, splitting is all about considering the odds. For example, I said before to always split eights because there’s a 77% chance of losing if you stand on a 16 and a 62% chance of losing if you hit a 16. Even those of you less mathematically minded than myself can recognise the benefits of splitting in that situation.

Secondly, it’s important to make your decision based on what the dealer is showing. It’s wise to split twos and threes only when the dealer is showing any card between four and seven. That way, he’s always at risk of having to stand on a 17 or of going bust.

Are you still with me?

I know it seems complicated but winning at blackjack is really only down to common sense and a little know-how. The best thing to do is just start playing, you’ll be much more comfortable with calculating the odds when you’ve got a few games under your belt.

A friend of mine, who had a bit of experience with blackjack but was nervous to attend tournaments at my level, recently said that playing blackjack at an online casino helped him get to grips with the game, so if you’re still a bit unsure about playing in a casino that could be a good way to get started. Who knows, maybe it won’t be long before you’re jet setting down to Surrey to play alongside yours truly.

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Blackjack tips of the trade

Tuesday, May 18th, 2010

Play hard, win hardIf I had a pound every time someone asked me to reveal my secrets on the blackjack tables, well, I’d be a very rich guy. I’d have bought a flash car, a holiday home, maybe even my own island. OK, I’m probably getting a bit carried away here, but the point I’m trying to make is that it happens a lot.

Now down the years, it’s true that I’ve had a lot of success with the cards. At the risk of sounding big-headed, one of the main reasons for this is sheer talent. Some people have it, some people don’t. I’ve known plenty of players who’ve put in way more hours than me on the blackjack tables and still haven’t had a fraction of my success. They might claim they’re cursed or blighted with bad luck – a few of them might even believe it – but the hard truth is you make your own luck.

It goes without saying that not everyone has a flair for blackjack. However, even if you’re not one of the lucky few, there are some basic blackjack strategies that can set even the most erratic players on the right track. So in an effort to help my fellow man do better on the blackjack tables – and more importantly, to stop them bugging me all the time – here are my top three tips.

  • Firstly, always stand on 17s. I’m constantly amazed by the number of blackjack players who get a 17 or 18 and still demand another card. Don’t lose your head in the thrill of the draw.
  • Secondly, if you have an Ace in your opening pair, go for broke. The extra safety cushion you get from an Ace cannot be underestimated on the blackjack tables. Always be bold when you’ve got a soft Ace hand – after all, if you go over 21 with a soft Ace, you can just play it as a hard Ace instead.
  • Thirdly, know when to split. If you’ve got two Aces or two eights, always split. Personally, I’ve also found that it’s well worth splitting when you’ve got a pair of fives or a pair of nines.

I could go on all day. Really, I could. But then I don’t want to give away too many of my secrets, do I? Still, if you always keep these three rules in mind, I guarantee your luck on the blackjack tables will be transformed overnight.

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Online blackjack – Tactics and strategy

Tuesday, August 18th, 2009

In my experience, blackjack players fall into two distinct categories. There are casual players – blackjack gamers who play for fun, don’t keep records and like blackjack for what it is: a simple game which can be relaxing and occasionally profitable. And there are committed players: blackjack gamers who understand the strategies, know how to card count and play again and again because it can be profitable.

I’ve found there are two main differences between these types of players.

Whereas amateur (for lack of a better term) blackjack players gamble with their money – I’ve seen players hit and stand for no particular reason other than a hunch – professional players do not gamble. They will use logical tactics to decide their next move. Underneath the simple gameplay of blackjack and online blackjack, there is a game of immense skill and strategy.

While blackjack may seem like a game of chance to a new player – much like roulette or fruit machines – it is not. I think this misconception drives amateur players to continue gambling. Long after a rational blackjack player would have left the table, a casual gamer will remain, hoping that luck will recoup their losses.

Which brings me onto a further point about casual and professional players. Professional players do not get emotional over their blackjack game. Now, I’m not suggesting that amateur gamers will burst into tears over a loss, but rather, they let their emotions get the better of them.
A professional player knows when to walk away from the table. They know if they can recoup their losses, or not. They know the game of blackjack and they know how to play it well. I’ve found that amateur gamers play regardless. I’ve seen blackjack players become frustrated with the deal; they had piled pounds and pounds onto the table and as their funds dried out, their blackjack game became more and more erratic.

If you’re being given the hard end of a blackjack deal, it’s common to let your emotions get the better of you. You might feel frustrated or angry. The trick is, don’t let your feelings affect your game.

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