Counting in blackjack

If you’ve watched the movie “21″, then you’ll understand what we’re going to discuss. Blackjack players knowing how to count cards (and how to apply their knowledge and skills in practice), have good advantage over casino. The usually play at low limits, while there are great amount of tens and aces in a pack, which give an advantage to a player, and then raise their bets. Because of such activity, players get positive expectation value… of course till this expectation will cause indignation of casino staff.

“Pass” and “Don’t Pass” bets in craps

Craps is a bright example of the situation when a casino uses strange bets to make a profit from inexperienced and unskillful players. Certainly, craps is one of the most loyal games to the player (if you make proper bets). We advise you to set your choice on the bets “Pass” and “Don’t Pass”, where the advantage of casino is no more than 1.41%. If you confront this advantage with the chances to win, this percentage becomes more attractive.

Good video poker machines

There is one principal difference between slots and video poker machines. In slots you should hope only for luck and nothing else, and in video poker the result of the game depends on the decisions, taken by you alone. To profit from playing video poker you will first need to choose a machine with high payments, for example 9/6 jacks and better, and then just to apply appropriate strategy. In fact in casinos you can find coin-operated machine payments from which exceeds 100%, which means that players can calculate upon positive expectation value. If you play poker in online casino, then be sure to use their bonus offers in order to maximize your gain.

Baccarat – avoid a draw

Baccarat is a very friendly game, but it has one line that you shouln’t cross at any cost – bets on a draw. In all other cases the advantage of casino in this game is just 1.06% while the advantage of a player is 1.24%. If you compare these numbers with other casino games – you get a very profitable one.

Classical blackjack strategy

Returning to blackjack we would remind you that this game is not only for those who are good at counting cards. All the more there is no possibility to count cards in online casino. If you learn with basic, classical blackjack strategy, then you will reduce casino advantage down to about 1%. However in this case you should play only keeping to the strategy without any liberties.

So we’ve told you about the most rational policy to be applied in different casino games. Should you add proper bankroll controll to this advice, you will surely get the secret of profitable casino play.

Speaking of chip color meaning, one may remember a story that took place in one casino. One of the players took his sit at blackjack table and betted one 5-dollar chip, waiting for the dealer to deal him the due cards. The dealer looked at the player, then drew his attention to the green sign of table limit and stated: “Sir, this is not a five-dollar table”.

The visitor answered: “Oh, sorry, I didn’t know”. Then he collected his pile of red chips and took himself off. If from the very beginning he consulted a table limit, he could avoid this inconvenient situation. For all the games in casino there are lists of minimum bets at the table. In most cases just to look at the color marking one or another table should be enough.

Most of casinos mark play tables with the same color, which is used for painitng a color of the tip, eo ipso incicating the minimum bet limit. That is you just need to look at the corresponding table color. Chips colors used are identical in most of casinos. Below there is a table on chips color nominal values:

Color – Nominal value

White/Blue – $1
Red – $5 (nickel)
Green – $25 (quarter)
Black – $100
Purple – $500 (Barnie)
Orange – $1000 (pumpkins)

In a poker community there lives a story that happened about ten years ago in one of Las Vegas casinos where all the 1-dollar chips happened to be painted black. This provoked something like a protest among those casinos that use black color only for $100 nomilal value. Many expressed the opinion that cheaters won’t wait long to start turning this situation to their advantage, mixing black chips of different value. Under the pressure from neighboring gambling houses this casino had to stop using 1-dollar black chips.

In some rare cases it is possible to come across other colors of particular chips, but basically all the gambling houses try to apply traditional color scheme. First of all, appropriate colors help dealers themselves, service and security staff, who monitor the bets of the players with the help of cameras, located all over the pit.

Thanks to the color marks of the tables the visitors can just by one sight determine the minimum bet in the game and decide if this limit go well with their plans. Red color will tell you, that a bet of minimum $5 is accepted at the table, and green color will serve a sign of bets starting from $25. This is very convenient. Sometimes you can meet the tables, that do not correspond with any chips color, $10 and $15 tables for example. In this case it is necessary to get aquainted with the color scheme of limits, which exist in the casino. If you are a regular player of this particular gambling house, you’ll get used to the chosen colors and won’t each time check against limits tables.

We shall better start with the most simple games. What do you thing is the biggest win or loss in such card games, as Baccarat or Blackjack? There are no cumulative jackpots in them, so it seems that there is no possibility to win or lose a small fortune. But this surely depends on how much you plan to bet!

Do you know who Kerry Packer is? He is on of the most well-known big-bet players. The record of one of the biggest Baccarat wins in Las Vegas casino belongs to him. Australian multimillionaire and media magnate, Kerry Packer added his glorious name to history of the biggest wins right after in 1997 he had won more that $20 million dollars in on of the largest gambling houses in Las Vegas – MGM Grand.

His losses were just as impressive as his wins. Some time later – in 1999, the same Kerry Packer played Blackjack in on of London casinos, and betted 250,000 pounds per each deal. Kerry Packer let himself to lose $28 million dollars, then quitted playing, forever entering the history of Great Britain.

Some words about eight-digit progressive jackpots

If there is an opportunity to win so much in simple Baccarat, then what we should expect from progressive video slots? I bet you wonder what was the biggest progressive jackpot in history, won in slot machine…

The most big jackpot won in Excalibur casino in Las Vegas in March 2003 totalled really titanic $39,7 million dollars! This time a 25 years old engineer from Los Angeles got lucky, who had a starting bet of just $100 and left the casino as a multimillionaire. Now the casino pays him $1,5 million annually within 26 years.

As for big wins in the global web, there are some impressive records also. Thus, the most significant win was registered in 2008 in slot machine “Mega Moolah”, which paid cumulative jackpot of 6 million euro in on internet casino from Microgaming company. Mega Moolah is modern video slot with bets starting from 50 cents, where the opportunity to win multimillion jackpot is given to very player, not depending on a bet.

5. Casino Royale (2006)
(Daniel Craig, Eva Green, Mads Mikkelsen)

Le Chiffre (Mikkelsen), a banker, who renders assistance to terrorist band, and at the same time brilliant poker player, tries to win the prize of high-bets poker competition, to pay terrorists off his debts. But mister Bond (Craig) appears at the table, who does everything possible to interfere with the plans of the criminal.

Bond has already got a valuable lesson – not to trust anyone, especially at the poker table. In this movie mister Bond fulfils the first mission as agent 007, and yet he has no licence to kill, signed by Her Majesty the Queen.

This is certainly not the best movie about Bond, but considering staggering sequences shot within a casino and outside it, this film deservedly takes the fifth place in our rating.

Best scene: Bond gets is poisoned during poker game.

4. Croupier (1998)
(Clive Owen, Gina McKee, Nick Reding)

This film presents a fairly unusual demonstration of casino world. Director Mike Hodges tells the viewers a story by a gambling house dealer. Unlike many other casino movies, this story takes place in London, but not an bright and shining streets of Las Vegas. One can see cold and cruel gambling world, in contrast with the luxurious casino image we’ve got used to, where the high bets lovers play.

Best scene: Jack Manfred (Owen) shows his skills, laying claim to croupier position.

3. Cooler (2003)
(William H. Macy, Alec Baldwin, Maria Bello)

Barney (Macy) is a striking example of a loser – he never gets lucky. He works for casino manager (Baldwin) who uses Barney’s skill to decrease the level of lucky gamblers. When Barney meets a waitress Natalie (Bello), his life gets much better.

Baldwin’s character is willing to do everything possible in order to keep Barney in the casino, using him as “luck hindrance”.

Best scene: Barney realizes why he has met Natalie.

2. Ocean’s Eleven (2001)
(George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Julia Roberts, Andy Garcia)

A remake of the famous comedy “Rat Pack”, released in 1960-s, came out to be more like an action movie, than a comedy film. Eleven professional criminals join their efforts to perform a robbery of a century. This criminal company plans to steal $150 million cash, and the robbery destinations are three famous Las Vegas casinos: Bellagio, Mirage and MGM Grand. All the casinos belong to Terry Benedict (Garcia), who dates Tess (Roberts), former girlfriend of a band leader Dan (Clooney). Taking into account the emerged situation, the robbery gets personal motivation as well.

“Ocean’s eleven” is a spectacular film full of action with a charming actors’ play.

Best scene: planning and performing of the robbery.

1. Casino (1995)
(Robert De Niro, Sharon Stone, Joe Pesci)

This cruel gangster story took place in Las Vegas. A movie by Martin Scorsese is based on a true story, that happened in one of the hotels of famous Las Vegas district, Strip. The film tells how mafia had built the city and what had happened, when the control over it had been lost.

Sam “Ace” Rothstein and Nicky Santaro (Pesci) go to Vegas in order to do business in Tangiers Casino. Ace’s wife, Ginger (Stone) leaves him for Nicky, after she has realized that she is not satisfied with family life with Ace. Love triangle doesn’t come apart, and at the same time Vegas goes out of mafia control.

Tangies Casino has never existed, the plot is based on a story of Stardust Casino. Nevertheless, many scenes were shot within Rivera Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas.

Best scene: Sam and Nick meet in the middle of a desert. With 21 word, starting with a letter “f” spoken within less than three-minute period.

The first thing that you should remember is that playing in online casino is just a pleasant time spending. Do not let losses take you up and do not aim at winning back – this surely won’t bring you the results you want.

To get profit you must know the rules very well. To become a winner in a game, the rules of which are not fully known to you, is almost impossible. And remember that luck in casino won’t be your invariable concomitant, that is why you should be able to leave in time and take the prize.

NEVER play in casino if you feel tired or uncomfortable. Do not sit playing if you are hungry, sick or depressed. In such condition you, first, won’t be able to adequately evaluate the situation and thus you won’t get pleasure from a game, and, second, you will take your loss too seriously and nervously.

If you make big bets, when your bankroll does not allow you to do that, you will quickly lose all your funds, even if you will win more often than you will lose. But small bets won’t be helpful either. If you bet small, than your prize is also small. It is important to find the happy medium, and then you will not only get pleasure from the game, but profit as well.

The next thing that you have to learn is to control your emotions. No mater glad or sad you are – it is important to be able to hold back the feelings that seize you.

Another reason of losses can be inproper game choice. If you poorly understand the rules of blackjack, than there is no sense to sit at the play table – in any conditions you will lose because luck and intuition are not enough for success. It is important to find that very game that will be very familiar to you – only in this case you can count on big win.

If you don’t have a skill of full concentration on a game, don’t expect big gains. To become a winner it is necessary to focus not only on a game, but also on realization of your thoughts, in which you aim at great luck. If your thoughts are far away from the game it is better to switch them to the things that you are seeing and your hands are doing. Remember that it’s better to stay calm during play, not burdening yourself with problems. Try your best to focus on a game! You’ve come to casino to take away stress and relax. So why to exert yourself?

Don’t play too long even if you are luck. You should know when to stop – this is the main wizdom, that you should remember. Always. As you want to feel pleasure of getting money, and if you lose them then you will feel that you haven’t won at all.

You surely know that winning in casino is not the thing you achieve during the first several minutes of play. You should remember this when you sit to play. Luck loves those who don’t concentrate on it, but simply enjoys everything that happens around. But still these guys are keeping to the plan. Fortune often indulges them!

1. Online poker

Thousands of people earn much playing online poker, as in this game a skill factor is very strong. Many players even become multimillionaires, just playing online. The main reason of online poker profitability is that users play against each other but not against casino. Of course, the enterprise takes its 5% from each bank, but it doesn’t prevent the experienced players from making their gain. Also consider the fact that poker rooms often provide free bonuses and deposit points to their clients and this makes Internet poker the easiest wealth-attaining form of gambling.

2. Poker in casino

In terms of profitablility right after online poker there goes poker in real casinos. Of corse, a casino does not give the players such bonuses as doubling the deposit, but here are big competitions with prize money up to millions of dollars. Just on WSOP Basic Event each year more than $60 million dollars are drawn. Like online poker, real poker in casino increases the chances of good players, especially good psychologists, as it is played by people against people. The only reason, why poker in real casino gets the second place after online poker is the lack of rewards and bonuses.

3. Blackjack (card count)

The art of card count in blackjack is glorified by several movies like “21″. Counting the cards a player can get 1-2% advantage over casino. If we assume that a player sits in a casino all days and nights long, it can bring him thousands of dollars per session. At that a casino zealously watches the players that are aiming at such advantage. If you count cards too openly, you risk to be turned out of casino.

4. Videopoker variations

The top of the list includes another version of poker – videopoker. However not all the variations of this game can be profitable. Double Bonus (100.2% of return), Double Double Bonus (100.1% of return) and Deuces Wild (100.8% of return) – these are three vido games, where perfect strategy guarantees profit. However to make the gain one should keep strictly to the strategy and use maximum number of coins.

5. Blackjack

This is the game where the advantage of a player ends and the profit of casino starts. But even with such layout the advantage of casino is only 0.5% on condition that you keep to the perfect strategy. With such small preponderance, you still can earn big money if the luck will play on your side. Just use hand chart and consider strategic aspect.

6. Craps (common bets)

Playing craps you can place not many bets, but the most typical of them are Pass Line, Don’t Pass Line, Come and Don’t Come. Keeping to the basic bets and placing them at the right time, you can gain an advantage of 1%. Of course, the profit of casino depends on the game rules and on the presence of double coefficients. It is necessary to understand, that you can smooth the advantage of casino out by placing reasonable bets.

7. Baccarat (betting on a banker)

The best way to achieve success in Baccarat is to bet on a hand of a banker. Betting on a banker, you get more chances than a casino. However the casino returns its advantage by imposing commission on winning bets on a banker’s hand. Initially the advantage of casino is 1.06% on bets on a banker.

8. Baccarat (betting on a player)

If you are tired of betting on a banker, you can switch to betting on a player, not losing much. Bet on a player can be fully winning. A casino has an advantage of only 1.24% on a bet on a player, that makes this bet one of the most profitable.

9. Pai Gow Poker (playing a banker)

In Pai Gow at every occasion one shold place a bet being a dealer. The reason is that being a dealer you confront real people, but not a casino. In this case you decrease the chances of an enterprise from 2.66% to 1.5%. But you should possess a big amount of money, as you’ll have to pay each player separately if you lose. In some cases risks can be shared with a casino on condition 50% from win and 50% from loss. Also you should not forget, that a casino charges commission of 5% of your gain.

10. Craps (6/8 bets)

As it has been indicated earlier, the advantage of a casino can be reduced by placing only basic bets. More venturesome players can also bet on numbers from 6 to 8 from time to time. Betting on 6, you forecast that this number will fall befor 7. Your chances are 45.5%. You will get your payment if 7:6 will appear. All these combinations give a casino an advantage of only 1.52% on 6/8 bets.

1. Ignore Dealer
Do you want to believe it or not but the dealer in the game is not just handing out cards still tries to keep with you a pleasant talk which will contribute to your pleasant and more joyful holding time for the game. So do not hesitate to ask the dealer has any questions you may have, including, and how to play a specific hand in blackjack.

2. Forget about the signs with his hands
While playing a game of chance should duplicate all of your actions because in a noisy environment the dealer can not hear what you’ve told him, moreover in the case of the disputed issue “heavenly eyes” must see clearly all the actions made by you.

3. Advising another player how to play
No attempt should be advised to close a player is playing, unless of course he did not ask this from you. If you give advice to the player whom he did not need it, then it is to be not just unpleasant, but you hit him with his thoughts that would interfere with the decision of the player, and therefore slow down the game.

4. Accuse another player
That’s very ugly on your side and will be charged if you would advise how to play to another player First, the result of this action may be good or bad, because it will be random. Secondly, the player does not specifically does it, so spoil your hand, or may even improve it. So next time better take a deep breath and try to calm down, if the player will take you to a map that you think should come to your box.

5. Scold
There are cases when players start cursing and swearing, these cases are much worse than simply blame the other players and dealer. Yes, there are moments in the game when it’s truly a shame, for example, you make double on 11 and comes to an ace, but still it does not give you the right to shout and swear at the other side.

6. To touch cards
On the set of existing tables of blackjack players are not allowed to touch the cards. So it should not attempt to violate this rule – try to fix them, or bring closer, so a better look. Such actions may cause suspicion of fraud on your part.

7. Insurance
Insurance is a good sign of a bad game.

8. Lush
Drinking of alcoholic beverages during the game is not very nice from your side, the more generally drunk. This significantly slows down the game and is the result of the appearance of unwanted and unpleasant conversations at the table, and thus spoiled the mood of the players.

9. To touch your bet after the cards
If you want to improve your staged a big stack of chips, which you think you’ll fall down, then in any case do not need to do. This creates the impression that you want to put a stake in your chips yet, if the cards are good, or vice versa – to remove, if bad, i.e. This would give the impression that you want to cheat the casino.

10. Do not take into account the basic strategy
An important indicator that you are playing well in the casino, is a game of grand strategy. Sometimes the game on a basic strategy in blackjack can give you a good advantage over the casino. The more you stand out among the players, not playing well in comparison with you.

The signals, which “reads” the opponent are of several types:

• So called “common signals”. These signals are characteristic of almost all poker players and they can be used confidently to “read” the other player.
• Individual signals. Those signals are specific and characteristic only of some individual players.

By popular common signals include the following: you portray with a combination of weak confidence, pursuing an aggressive game and trying to force the enemy to believe that you have a bad combination. That is done either with a strong combination portray uncertainty or when trying to convince the opponent you have a weak hand. However, many players are aware of these nuances and, quite possibly, could take advantage of this.

Common signals are an excellent opportunity to “read” an opponent if you know it’s bad. During the game try to keep track of not only the game but for each player individually. That it will help you explore the behavior of each player in any given situation, that is, you will learn to recognize signals of individual players.

In fact, all actions in poker online player commits two ways:

• After waiting for their turn he/she clicks the appropriate button (or raise, call, bet, check).
• Time ahead put a tick in the button raise, call, bet, check, and then move the player should automatically and naturally, without delay.

Need to remember more about this situation. Sometimes players can play the game simultaneously on multiple tables. This can be found by looking at the list of players at the tables. In turn, this dramatically reduces the reaction time rival, and to him will not be possible to use any of the following signals.

Somewhat more signals to be taken into account in poker online:

• Check after a long reflection shows the weakness of the hand. Sometimes the players after a long hesitation and expectations they say “check” while trying to force opponents to believe that they have an “arm”. Like, I thought long and not place a bet for myself but in reality the state of affairs is as follows via bluffing player tries to force his opponents to say “check” to the next card he got for free. Typically, a player who wants to make a check-raise does it after a short pause and then he increases his/her bet to your bet.
• Rate after long reflection indicates a strong “hand.” Long thought a rival and then sharply forward, as a rule, has a strong “hand.” With its long doubtful thoughts he wants to portray weakness cards that you have answered “Call”.
• Instant rate-raise on the River spoke about the strong “hand.” An aggressive play, as a rule, considered to have weak cards but it is often said by no means the weakness. Sometimes, experienced players use against their rivals back mentality while trying to get them in their weakness, so that they in turn have “call”. This should be avoided.
• Instant “check” indicates weak “hand.” Most of the players, if collected at any rate to fold and make the “check-folded. This is also true for those players who play just behind the two tables. However, others are such crafty player who used “check-pass” for slow playing out of their very strong cards. It is also necessary to distinguish between immediate “check” and a quick “check” – this is not the same thing. Use the button to automatically and instantly “check” said the desire to fold at any rate.
• Fast “check” indicates weak “hand.” The only thing necessary to guard against is that when a player after a “check” does “raise”. This kind of trick that forces you to attack first.

The English variety familiar to all of us by the name Black Jack has the first mention of such version of Blackjack starting in the 19 century in some gambling houses in England. Most popularity this kind of Black Jack obtained in the twentieth century. The main differences between the game “Pontoon” from the most common Black Jack is that game is done with the help of a few decks of cards of 52 card decks each in total comprising up to 8 decks – 416 cards. The ultimate combination in the game of Pontoon is deemed or an ace and a ten (as in standard Black Jack), and three sevens (like in some types of blackjack games) as a game of “Pontoon” sometimes there are such interesting rules, unlike blackjack, such as that the split or separation of cards only occurs when aces, or a point in the game that if the number of points a player with four cards counts four (e.g. this is on a roll of four Aces) can not do buy-in extra card. You can find a rule in which the player with the combination of cards from the pictures and an ace against ace and a ten. Spectacle number of cards in the game “Pontoon” is the same as in Black Jack:

• Ace – eleven or one point
• Pictures – ten points
• All digital cards on their face value

The dealer deals cards to the players one by one and then to himself but not more than five cards, because when playing Pontoon of five cards with the amount of points before or equal to twenty-one is considered as the “Five Card Trick” and is the second after 21 (Blackjack) winning combination of cards. While distributing the player two cards spectacle advantage of less than twenty-one player in Pontoon can double the bet after the dealer again lend him a card and a player in this kind of blackjack can once again make a bid or buy a card if after the distribution of player two cards he/she did not raise bid the more he can do it and just play Originally rate player. This is due to the distribution of the last fifth card if there is no sorting is playing Five Card Trick.

Split in the game Pontoon can be produced only in the dispensing of identical cards with two different cards regardless of whether they are on 10 points in total splint is not possible like a game of blackjack but in return you can split cards a numerous times if appropriate cards come unlike standard Black Jack.

Sarenda or giving up for the particular game can be done by the player with the loss of half the rate of the player can do after the distribution of any one dealer card.

Winning is such a system:

• Royal Pontoon (three sevens) – 3:1
• Pontoon (Ace and a picture or a dozen) – 2:1
• Five Card Trick (5 cards prior to or equal to 21 point each) 3:2
• other combinations 1:1

With a roll of the same combinations of cards in Pontoon the dealer wins.

As a rule in casinos and slot machines the counting goes on this circuit:

1 card differences – 5:1
2 cards difference – 4:1
3 cards with a difference – 2:1
4 or more cards difference – 1:1

Suits in the game of Red Dog are not considered.

The chances of the player to win at the casino at a difference of up to 6 playing cards are very small so the inexperienced players in the Red Dog is recommended to increase rates at a gap of seven or more cards.

Playing in the Red Dog is done according to such rules:

Once the player has to place his bet while the casino dealer deals on the table, two cards with the suits upside. The distance between these two cards which can vary between them is still enough to place another playing card i.e. the third one. Under option when handed by the dealer two cards of the true (points) are in a row (five, six, etc.) the game result is a draw.

If you dropped two games of a kind the dealer deals a third card placing it between the first two.
Now, if the third card of the same advantages as the first two the rate of the player is paid at the rate of 11 to 1. And if a different card comes that means a draw.

In Red Dog when the dealer handed 2 cards of various denominations and is not going in contradiction to each other e.g. 10 and an ace then the player gets a good chance to double your bet to win and it will happen if the dealer is dealt a third card appreciated is located between the first two delivered to a dealer casino. The player wins according to the scheme i.e. the smaller the gap of the first two cards then the bigger the payout to the player in Red Dog is if the dealer deals the cards which dignity is outside the chain (e.g. three) then the player loses.

As you can see, the rules in the Red Dog are very simple and this game is probably closer to the well-known to us from the childhood game of “drunk” than poker. And perhaps this game is closer to the roulette table as a player to bet on what will appear in the right map it range.