Baccarat
May 19, 2011
Baccarat is a game that has managed to stay incredibly popular among the betting populous since its inception in the 14th Century all the way to present day where people are playing it online as we speak. This is due to its simplicity and the potentially lucrative rewards that the game is able to offer.
Because of how simple baccarat is, there has been a great many strategies offered up over the years in order to get the best out of the game, and in turn attempt to reap some serious profits – some of these strategies are naturally more successful than others and many baccarat players have had to learn this the hard way!
Card counting is a strategy that has made its way into most strategy books of table skills game; despite this, this strategy is certainly not recommended for those looking to be successful when playing online baccarat.
This is because baccarat is played, not with a single deck of cards, but sometimes up to eight separate decks being used during a single game; all of these cards in their entirety is referred to as the ‘shoe’. Trying to card count with a single deck of cards is a challenge that the majority of players are not up to, so as you might imagine, trying to card count with entire shoe in baccarat is practically impossible.
One of the most popular baccarat betting systems is known as the 1 – 3 2 – 6 system; this system turns the wins and losses of individual hands of baccarat into unique units, which can used to make the process of betting much easier to the individual playing. There is plenty of literature available on baccarat strategy, including the 1 – 3 2 – 6 system, which can quickly help the amateur baccarat player to begin to turn a profit at this exciting game.
A Guide To Finding Basic Edges in Blackjack
May 11, 2011
There are different ways to find edges when playing casino blackjack, but how much those edges help or hurt you in the long run can be a pertinent piece of information in choosing a blackjack game, either at the casino, on real money blackjack sites, or one your friends may host.
For example, if you go to a charity sponsored casino night, and they offer a blackjack table that doesn’t allow certain moves in your arsenal; splitting, doubling, and so on. Assuming a six deck shoe, losing the ability to split costs you .58% of your edge. Not being able to double is worse; it costs you a whopping 1.47% of your edge to not be able to double down! And, if both of these options are negated, 1.91% of your edge over the house is evaporated. this may seem ludicrous, but there are places that deny the player some of these edges that you may take for granted; player beware!
An edge to avoid is any blackjack game that only pays 6:5 for a natural blackjack as opposed to the standard 3:2; in a single deck blackjack game, this can knock down your edge by 1.39%, making it one of the worst bets at the casino! Any time you see a blackjack game with some sort of gimmick or nuance that seems like a benefit, it may be wise to look up the rules or odds on the game and make sure that the extra variant to the game is one that is for your benefit in the long run. Even something as simple as dealer rules for soft and hard 17’s can be a big shift in your long term profits!
As you’ve probably guessed, the easiest format in which to compare and evaluate these edges isn’t at the casino – you’d have to do a lot of driving or make a lot of phone calls. Instead, it’s the internet – specifically sites with gambling games – that will provide you with the best way to comparison shop for the best edges, as most of the major online casinos will provide detailed information about their various blackjack formats, rules and payouts right on their websites, with no sign up required.