Casino Basic Skills – Blackjack – Part 2

In order to give yourself the best possible chances of winning a game of blackjack, it is a good idea to search out a casino with rules that are the most friendly towards players. Hostile rules make playing conditions difficult and reduce chances of winning. Look for the most favourable combination of rules to ensure your own strategies work effectively. The best possible combination will include a game using a single deck. The fewer cards are in play, the easier it will be to judge what the dealer’s second card may be. Surrender should be allowed, both early in the game and later on. This will allow you to reduce your losses if your cards do not improve even with a third or fourth card. Double downs should be allowed both on any given two cards and after splitting pairs, so should be multiple pair splitting. Once you have chosen a casino, it will be helpful to have a strategy card at hand. If you continue losing at one table, set yourself a limit of hand losses (for example 3 – 5); move on to another table when you reach your limit. Concentrate on the dealer, as well as the card facing up in front of him – ignore how other players are doing. Should other player’s strategies upset you, choose another table. Never consider raising your bet while you are losing. This could turn into blackjack suicide and get costly! If you are winning, you may wish to increase your bets – a progressive method of pre-deciding on a percentage by which to increase (for instance a predetermine percentage of 50% after every second bet) could give an increase in winnings such as $4, $4, $6, $10, $14, $20 and so on. Stick to it and only bet the minimum table limit when losing. Keep cool – cards are dealt randomly, the dealer is not responsible for your cards – he only deals them. Avoid drinking while playing – alcohol is known to be one of the main reason people lose a lot of money as it tends to blur judgement (as well as vision)! Set yourself limits for losses; be disciplined about it and stick to your limits, don’t be tempted to make up for losses by continuing to bet more and more – chances are you will just continue losing as desperation can impair judgement – and have the sense to only bet sums you know you can safely afford to lose! No casino in the world will offer to pay your rent, mortgage, hire purchases or other living expenses! Remember that the thrill of the game is not worth losing your home or even your family – many couples have split due to the financial pressures caused by excessive gambling!

If you start feeling tired, do have a break, or better still, stop playing for the day/ night and try again another day – playing blackjack when half asleep is a sure recipe for disaster.