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Face Cards
To play blackjack you need to know two important things—hand values and card values. Fortunately, learning both of these things takes just minutes. As part of our continuing series on playing and winning a blackjack I’ll be covering hand values and card values and a couple other odds and ends. I may even throw in a couple winning tips.
Card values in blackjack are pretty simple. The first thing you need to know is that unlike poker the suit of the card has absolutely no meaning at all. It doesn’t matter if your cards are clubs, diamonds, hearts, or spades.
The value of a card is the same as its number. For instance, a two is worth two points. There are two differences in blackjack. Face cards are worth 10 points. An Ace can be worth either 1 point or 11 points.
So, let’s look at an example. You are dealt a 6 and an Ace. You would have 17. Whenever you have an ace that is being used as 11 points that number is a soft number. For instance, an Ace and a six would be soft 17. This is important to know because some casinos have the dealer stand on soft 17 and other casinos have the dealer hit on soft 17.
Here’s another note about lingo. A “stiff hand” is when you have a hand that could possibly bust. For instance, if you had a 16 this would be a stiff hand. All it would take is one more card valued at six or greater to bust you. Therefore, hands 12 – 16 are considered stiff hands.
You may have a heard someone say “I’m going to stand pat”. This comes from blackjack. When the hand is valued at 17 – 21, it’s called a pat hand. Therefore, when someone has a hand like this you may hear him say that they’re going to stand pat. Unless someone has a real desire to push the limits these are the hand you stand on. The only exception would be if you had a “soft hand”.
And of course if your hand goes over 21, you have busted and the hand is over for you immediately. Remember, the object in blackjack isn’t to get as close to 21 as possible, it’s to beat the dealer. I’ll probably say this a couple more times in the series because it’s so important to understand.
The next part in our series, we will talk about splitting pairs, insurance, dealer’s play a little bit, and about basic strategy. Now that we’ve laid a decent foundation for playing blackjack, we can start to expand our horizons into playing the actual game and winning at blackjack. Until we meet again, good luck at the blackjack tables.
Tags: Ace, Blackjack, Card Values, Casinos, Face Cards, Hand Values, Pat Hand, Play Blackjack, Poker, Poker Card, Stiff Hands, Winning Blackjack
Categories: Blackjack, Card Games, Strategies, Systems
Blackjack, it’s a game and culture. When I look back over history, Blackjack was the one game that really started the concept that informed gamblers could beat the system. I don’t think any other game has spawned as many books, videos, etc. Today, I’m going to give you five great tips for playing Blackjack. I hope you’ll enjoy them and use them.
Hit a Triple, Stop at Third
If you’re playing in the real world, and you know the game some, sit at third base (the seat immediately to the right of the dealer). This seat is the last to act before the dealer and it can be crucial some hands. I would sit there if I were you.
Split Those and You Die
It’s got to be said, don’t split 10s or face cards. Oh, it’s so tempting for some players, but don’t do it. You have 20, which is as good as it gets aside from Blackjack. Why on earth would you kill that? Greed, yes. I don’t care if the dealer has a 6 showing, don’t split those cards. Your Blackjack life depends on it.
Count All You Want, It Won’t Help
I’m speaking to the online Blackjack players, perhaps you. Counting in the real world is a good activity, but online it’s all for not. You see, online casinos reshuffle the deck after each hand. So, it doesn’t matter if you count, because all of the cards are in the deck each hand.
I just wanted to share this, because I know of some online Blackjack players who didn’t know online casinos did this. Don’t waste your time counting cards online.
Shoes Are For Your Feet, Not Blackjack
Let’s jump back in the real world for a moment. When venturing out to play Blackjack, make sure you’re playing single or double deck Blackjack. Don’t get in games that use the “shoe,” which means you’re playing with 4 – 8 decks. That’s just stupid.
There’s a reason why all the $1 Blackjack tables use shoes. It’s worse for the player. Most good online casinos use single decks (as seen above, they shuffle after every hand, but at least it’s single deck Blackjack).
Don’t Bet the House. Know Your Limits.
No matter where you play Blackjack (or any other game), you’ve got to set limits for yourself. If you’ve only got $100, don’t start betting $10 hands. Ideally, you want to give yourself a 20 hand cushion—to account for swings in play.
And don’t start playing without limits and with an open wallet. You run the risk of spending way more than you can. Always gamble responsibly and have fun doing it. Set your limits and follow them. You’ll be glad you did.
The only thing left to do is hit the Blackjack tables and win a lot of money. Good luck!
Tags: Blackjack, Blackjack Counting, Blackjack Players, Blackjack Tables, Counting Cards, Deck Blackjack, Decks, Double Deck, Face Cards, Gamblers, Online Blackjack, Online Casinos, Play Blackjack, Playing Blackjack
Categories: Blackjack, Card Games, Strategies, Systems
Okay, here’s part two of our Baccarat guide. In part one we went over some of the basics. Now, we’ll continue forward by looking at hand play, strategy and how things work.
The End
Each hand of Baccarat has one main goal—to get as close to 9 as possible. Both the Player and the Banker try to hit 9. Each side starts with two cards and can draw one additional card if desired.
The Player acts first and the Banker goes last. Because of this, the Banker has a slight edge as it only draws a third card if certain conditions are met. Face cards and 10s equal 0. All other cards equal their rank, so a 7 of diamonds equals 7 points. The count resets at 10, so if the Player gets a 6 and a 5, the score is 1 (11 – 10 = 1). And if the Player had a 5 and a 5, it would have 0. Basically, you just drop the first digit in two digit counts (10, drop the 1, becomes 0).
Player Rules
While it’s possible to play Baccarat without knowing how the two hands work, it’s good to know—increases the fun. If the Player’s first two cards equal 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5, a third and final card is drawn.
However, if the Player has a 6 or 7, the Player stands. And if the Player’s cards equal 8 or 9, it’s a Natural, so the hand is over. The Player wins unless the Banker has an 8 or 9 and ties the Player.
Banker Rules
The Banker draws a card with a 0, 1, or 2. The Banker draws on a count of 3 if the Player’s count is anything but an 8.
With a count of 4, the Banker will draw as long as the Player’s hand is 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 or 7. With a count of 5, the Banker draws when the Player’s hand is 4, 5, 6 or 7. And the Banker draws with a six if the Player’s hand is 6 or 7.
The Banker always stands on a 7 and just like with the Player, 8 or 9 on the first two cards in a Natural and the hand is over.
Quick Strategy
The first strategy idea is very simple. You bet only on the Banker. Since the Banker has a slight advantage, you stand a good chance of coming out ahead in the long run.
The other strategy is to look for patters and bet against them in time. So, if you see the Player win 5 times in a row, start betting on the Banker, and vise versa.
Either way you go, Baccarat is a fun game worthy of your casino time.
Tags: Baccarat Player, Face Cards, Fun, Mini Baccarat, Play Baccarat, Ties, Two Hands, Wins
Categories: Baccarat
If you’ve played Blackjack, you can probably skip this tutorial and check out one of the other articles on this site about Pontoon.
This article will assume you don’t know anything about the game. The goal is to get you up and playing within minutes from now.
Pontoon is generally played with two decks of cards and those decks are shuffled after every hand. To start playing, you must put a wager down.
Once all bets are in, the hand begins with each player and the dealer receiving two cards. The cards are worth their face value. For instance, the two of clubs is worth two. All face cards are worth 10 and the Ace can be one or 11-your choice.
The goal is technically to beat the dealer. However, the usual goal listed in books is to get as close to 21 without going over. So, keep that in mind when you start to play.
When it’s your turn, you have various options. First, if you like your hand as is, just stand, which means to end your turn for the hand.
Should your hand need some work, you can take a hit, which means to take one card. If your hand is 21 or less, you can then hit again or stand. If your hand goes over 21, you bust and you lose. This is why the dealer goes last. It gives the casino an edge.
If you have 5 cards and have 21 or less, you’ll win unless the dealer does the same thing. It’s important to note that the dealer wins all ties.
When you stand with 4 or fewer cards, your hand count must beat the dealer’s hand count. The dealer will hit on soft 17, which means a 17 that was created using an Ace.
I can’t stress this enough. The dealer wins all ties. Think about this when you’re playing. Should the dealer have 21 or less with five cards, you lose-period.
Another option you have it splitting. If your first two cards are the same, such as 7,7 or Q,Q, you can split them and make two separate hands-adding another wager of equal value to your original bet.
Your last option when it’s your turn is doubling. You’ve probably heard “double down” a billion times. Well, in Pontoon, you can double down. When you double down, you increase your wager and draw another card. In Pontoon, you can hit after doubling too.
The payouts are pretty simple. If you win with a two-card 21, which is called a Pontoon, you get paid 2-1. So, a $10 wager earns $20. Another way to earn a 2-1 payout is by having a five-card hand and being at 21 or under.
All other winning hands pay even money. And there you have it. Pontoon the easy way.
Tags: Ace, Bet, Bets, Blackjack, Bust, Decks, Face Cards, Face Value, Game, Pontoon, Ties, Wager
Categories: Card Games, Strategies, Systems
I bet if you walked into casino in Las Vegas, you’d find that 90% or more of the players have no clue what Pontoon is. Do you?
The odds are, you know how to play the game and don’t even know it. Do you know how to play Blackjack? If so, you’ll pick up Pontoon in seconds, because they are pretty much the same there. There are some slight differences.
In Pontoon, like Blackjack, the object is to come as close to 21 as possible without going over. Of course, the real object is to beat the dealer-even if that means standing on a lower hand like 13.
The game is played with two decks of cards and those two decks are re-shuffled after every hand. Now, be careful here. A casino can do whatever they want usually, so they might reshuffle after every two hands or something different.
All players and the dealer receive two initial cards. With each hand, you must decide if you want to take another card or stand with what you have. Since I’m assuming you have some Blackjack knowledge, I’m not going to go into intricate details with these moves. I’ll do that in another article.
If your cards equal 22 or more, you lose. Once all the players have played, the dealer takes his or her turn. Like Blackjack, the dealer will hit on soft 17-some casinos may be different and have the dealer hit a soft 17, but not likely.
Here’s a huge kicker in this game; the dealer wins all pushes (ties). This is a great reason for the house to have dealers stand on 17. The dealer also wins if he or she has five or more cards that total under 21.
As the player, you can win if you get five or more cards and haven’t busted-unless the dealer gets five or more cards and has under 21 too.
The card values are the same as Blackjack. A 7 of clubs is worth 7 points. An Ace can be used as 1 or 11. Face cards are worth ten.
Here’s another interesting-and profitable-difference. When your first two cards equal 21, it’s called a “Pontoon” and not a “Blackjack.” In Blackjack, this pays 1.5 to 1, but in Pontoon, you get paid 2-1. That’s a nice increase in your pay.
And just when you thought that was as good as it gets, here’s another big payout difference. If you win by having five or fewer cards that total 21 or less, you get paid 2-1 as well. So, there’s two ways to score a 2-1 payment in Pontoon.
If you like Blackjack, give Pontoon a crack. You might like it.
Tags: Ace, Bet, Blackjack, Card Values, Casinos, Decks, Face Cards, Game, How To Play Blackjack, Las Vegas, Odds, Pushes, Ties, Two Hands
Categories: Card Games
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