Sitting At A Blackjack Table

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Although blackjack is a form of casino gambling, it is also a social game that involves significant interaction among the players and with the dealer. To prevent cheating, avoid misunderstandings and promote enjoyable play, a set of appropriate behaviors has evolved, and every player is expected to know the basics of blackjack etiquette before sitting down at the table. Following are some important cautions to keep in mind that can help guard against unpleasant incidents and ensure a fair game.

Don’t Sit Right Down – Although a seat may look empty, that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s available. Sometimes players leave the game temporarily to use the restroom. Quite often, the player next to an empty seat will use the vacate spot to play a second hand. Be courteous and ask if the seat is taken before sitting down.

Sitting at first base might allow someone to feel comfortable since they see cards first. Meanwhile, third base might be better for someone who’s concerned about the cards the dealer plays. Sit wherever you feel most comfortable at the blackjack table. There’s nothing like sitting at a blackjack table inside an actual casino. The online casino business is growing, but the ambiance and atmosphere of actual casinos just makes everything that much more thrilling and exciting. Somehow, it’s more fun when you can see who you’re playing with and against.

  • Most blackjack players think that the most important position at the table is the one that’s last to act. At a full table, that’s the seat farthest left as you face the dealer, or the “third base” position. Because what that “anchorman” does with his hand determines which card the dealer gets if he.
  • Clint Fillmore said. There’s nothing like sitting at a blackjack table inside an actual casino. The online casino business is growing, but the ambiance and atmosphere of actual casinos just makes everything that much more thrilling and exciting.
  • Live Blackjack in the United States. The excitement that comes with playing live blackjack USA is like no other. By a click of a button, you are transported to a brick and mortar casino, sitting at a Blackjack USA table and being dealt your hand.
  • Too intimidated to sit down and play, I wound up sticking with the slot machines. It wasn’t until I moved to Las Vegas that I learned the etiquette of casino gambling. I also realized that a large number of players avoid the blackjack tables—which can be your best bet in the casino—because of the intimidation factor.

Don’t Interrupt the Game – Some blackjack tables do not allow players to enter a game mid-deck. It is necessary to wait until the shuffle to buy in by exchanging cash for chips with the dealer. When that time comes, place currency on the table in plain sight. Don’t thrust it toward the dealer. Stacks of chips will be counted out and pushed back across the table. It is the player’s responsibility to confirm that the amount of chips received is correct.

Don’t Misplace Chips – The blackjack table has clearly marked betting areas on its surface. If a chip touches any of these areas, it will be treated as wagered, so make sure any unwagered chips are neatly stacked, not scattered, near the table rail out of play.

Don’t Misbet – The table limits will be clearly posted. Don’t bet below the minimum or above the maximum. For chips that are bet, the lowest denomination chips are stacked on top and the highest go on the bottom, entirely inside the betting area. Once the dealing has begun, wagered chips cannot be touched again until after all bets have been settled. When doubling, splitting or taking insurance, don’t stack more chips on top of the original bet. Push the chips toward the dealer to count and arrange in the betting circle.

Don’t Touch the Cards – In blackjack games where all of the players’ cards are dealt face up, only the dealer is allowed to touch the cards. Don’t attempt to rearrange them, split them or move them to the side when you double down. That’s the dealer’s job.

Don’t Mishandle the Cards – In blackjack games where the cards are dealt face-down, the player is allowed to use one hand only to handle the cards. Take care not to bend or crease them. Also, the cards must be held above the table surface at all times. They may not be removed from the playing area.

Don’t Blow the Cut – After each shuffle, the dealer will ask one player to cut the cards using an unmarked plastic card. It must be inserted mid-way into the deck, at least a full deck from either end when multiple decks are used. Don’t cut to shallow and don’t “double clutch”—cutting the deck the pulling the card out to cut somewhere else.

Don’t Say It, Show It – Every action at the table is monitored by surveillance cameras. This protects both players and the casino from cheating. For any action taken, such as drawing a card or increasing a wager, verbal commands cannot be picked up by the cameras. Therefore, every action—hit, stand, split, double down, etc.—must be accompanied by an appropriate and unambiguous gesture or hand signal.

Don’t Neglect Winnings – Only after the hand has been completed should winnings be retrieved. Some exceptions exist, such as claiming 3-2 odds for a natural blackjack or a side bet on Perfect Pairs. Be sure to rake in all winnings. Should any chips remain in the betting area at the start of the next hand, they will be treated as a new wager. Even players who want to “let it ride” following a win or a push should remove the chips, count them out again, and then replace them in the betting area.

Don’t Forget to Tip – Tipping is always appreciated by casino personnel. To do so, push a chip toward the center of the table while pointing to the dealer, and saying, “For the dealer.” Remember the surveillance camera must see what is happening, so don’t try to hand the tip to the dealer. Keep it on the table surface.

There's more to mastering any game than a fundamental understanding of how to play. You must also know the customs of the game and how to finnesse the rules.

Etiquette

When you sit down at a table, wait for the dealer to finish the hand in progress. Then you may buy chips by placing currency on the layout, pushing it toward the dealer, and saying, 'Change, please.'

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Do not leave currency in the betting box on the table. In most newer gaming jurisdictions, casinos are not allowed to accept cash bets. However, casinos in some places allow cash bets with the call 'Money plays.' Don't leave the dealer wondering if that $100 bill is a request for change or a bet on the next hand.

Once you make a bet, keep your hands off the chips in the betting box until the hand is over.

If you are betting chips of different denominations, stack them with the smallest denomination on top. If you put a larger denomination on top, the dealer will rearrange them before going on with the hand. It's one way the casino guards against someone attempting to add a large-denomination chip to their bet after the outcome is known.

In multiple-deck games, give playing decisions with hand signals. In single- or double-deck games dealt facedown, pick up the cards with one hand, scratch the table with the cards for a hit, and slide the cards under your chips to stand. Turn the cards faceup if you bust or if you wish to split pairs or double down. At the conclusion of play, let the dealer turn faceup any cards under your chips.

If you are a novice, you might want to avoid the last seat at the table, the one all the way to the players' left. This is called 'third base,' and the player here is the last to play before the dealer. Although in the long run bad plays will help other players as much as they hurt them, in the short term other players will notice if a mistake by the third baseman costs them money. For example, the dealer shows a 6, the third baseman has 12 and hits a 10 to bust. The dealer turns up a 10 for 16, then draws a 5 for 21, beating all players at the table. The third baseman is likely to take heat from other players for taking the dealer's bust card instead of standing. If you don't want the heat, sit elsewhere.

If you wish to use the rest room and return to the same seat, you may ask the dealer to mark your place. A clear plastic disk will be placed in your betting box as a sign that the seat is occupied.

The House Edge

Because the player hands are completed first, the players have the chance to bust before the dealer plays. And the house wins whenever the player busts, regardless of how the dealer's hand winds up. That is the entire source of the casino's advantage in blackjack. Because of this one edge, the casino will win more hands than the player, no matter how expert.

The casino gives back some of this advantage by paying 3-2 on blackjack, allowing players to see one of the dealer's cards, and by allowing the player to double down and split pairs. To take advantage of these options, the player must learn proper strategy.

Basic Strategy

Played well, blackjack becomes a game of skill in a casino full of games of chance. Studies of millions of computer-generated hands have yielded a strategy for when to hit, when to stand, when to double, when to split. This strategy can take the house edge down to about 0.5 percent in a six-deck game -- and lower in games with fewer decks. In a single-deck game in which the dealer stands on all 17s and the player is allowed to double down after splits, a basic strategy player can even gain an edge of 0.1 percent over the house. Needless to say, such single-deck games are not commonly dealt.

Compare those percentages with players who adopt a never-bust strategy, standing on all hands of 12 or more so that drawing a 10 will not cause them to lose before the dealer's hand is played, to players who use dealer's strategy, always hitting 16 or less and standing on 17 or more. These players face a house edge estimated at 5 percent — about 10 times the edge faced by a basic strategy player. Bally s9000 slot machine parts.

Basic strategy takes advantage of the player's opportunity to look at one of the dealer's cards. You're not just blindly trying to come as close to 21 as possible. By showing you one card, the dealer allows you to make an educated estimate of the eventual outcome and play your cards accordingly.

One simple way to look at it is to play as if the dealer's facedown card is a 10. Since 10-value cards (10, jack, queen, king) comprise four of the 13 denominations in the deck, that is the single most likely value of any unseen card. Therefore, if you have 16 and the dealer's up-card is a 7, you are guessing that the most likely dealer total is 17. The dealer would stand on 17 to beat your 16; therefore, you must hit the 16 to have the best chance to win.

On the other hand, if you have 16 and the dealer's up-card is a 6, your assumption would be that his total is 16, making the dealer more likely than not to bust on the next card. Therefore, you stand on 16 versus 6.

That's an oversimplification, of course, but very close to the way the percentages work out when the effect of multiple-card draws are taken into account.

The most common decision a player must make is whether to hit or stand on a hard total -- a hand in which there is no ace being used as an 11. Basic strategy begins with the proper plays for each hard total faced by the player. You can refer to this simple chart:

Basic blackjack strategy

Many players seem to hit the wall at 16 and stand regardless of the dealer's up-card. But that 16 is a loser unless the dealer busts, and the dealer will make 17 or better nearly 80 percent of the time with a 7 or higher showing. The risk of busting by hitting 16 is outweighed by the likelihood you'll lose if you stand.

Basic strategy for hard totals is straightforward enough, but when it comes to soft totals many players become confused. They seem lost, like the player aboard a riverboat in Joliet, Illinois, who wanted to stand on ace-5 --a soft 16-- against a dealer's 6. The dealer asked if he was sure, and another player piped in, 'You can't HURT that hand,' so the player finally signaled for a hit. He drew a 5 to total 21 and was all grins.

In a facedown game, no friendly advice is available. Once, at a downtown Las Vegas casino, the dealer busted, meaning all players who hadn't busted won. One player turned up two aces and a three. 'Winner five!' the dealer called out. Though it worked out that time, five (or 15) never wins without the dealer busting, and the player could have drawn at least one more card without busting. That's too big an edge to give away.

Nothing you could draw could hurt a soft 16, or a soft 15, or many other soft totals. Just as with hard totals, guesswork is unnecessary. A basic strategy tells you to what to do with soft hands.

The hand of ace and 6 is the most misplayed hand in blackjack. People who understand that the dealer always stands on 17 and that the player stands on hard 17 and above seem to think 17 is a good hand, but the dealer must bust for 17 to win. If the dealer does not bust, the best 17 can do is tie. By hitting soft 17, you have a chance to improve it by drawing ace, 2, 3, or 4, or leave it the same with 10-jack-queen-king. That's eight of 13 cards that either improve the hand or leave it no worse. And even if the draw is 5, 6, 7, 8, or 9, you have another chance to draw if the dealer shows 7 or better, and you're still in position to win if the dealer busts while showing 2 through 6, and all you've given up is a chance to tie a 17. You can refer to this chart for soft-hand strategies:

Soft-hand blackjack strategies

Standing on soft 18 will lose the player money in the long run when the dealer shows 9, 10, or ace. When the dealer shows 3 through 6, the chances of the dealer busting are strong enough to make doubling down the best play here.

The final category of hands consists of those in which the first two cards match. Then the player must decide whether or not to split the pair into two hands. You can refer to this chart for pair splitting advice:

Pair splitting advice in blackjack

Some Strategy Variations: Double Down After Splits Permitted

Many casinos allow the player to double down after splitting pairs. This is a good rule for players -- in fact, any rule that allows a player an option is a good one if the player knows when to take advantage of the option. If you split 8s against a 6, for example, and a 3 is dealt to your first 8, you now are playing this hand as an 11, and it is to your advantage to double down if the house allows it.

If the casino allows doubling after splits, the following strategy variations are necessary:

If you have 2, 2; 3, 3: Split against 2 through 7 instead of 4 through 7.

If you have 4, 4: Split against 5 and 6 instead of just hitting against all.

If you have 6, 6: Split against 2 through 6 instead of 3 through 6.

Single-Deck Blackjack

You can find many single-deck games in Nevada, and they pop up occasionally in other parts of the country. You will need a few variations for single-deck blackjack. Basic strategy is much the same as in the multiple-deck game, with a few twists, given below:

If you have 11: Double down against all dealer up cards.

If you have 9: The difference comes when the dealer shows a 2. In multiple-deck you hit; in single-deck, double down.

If you have 8: Double down against 5 and 6.

If you are holding ace, 8: As good as that 19 looks, it is to the player's advantage to double down against a 6. Stand against all else.

If you are holding ace, 7: Stand against an ace, unless you are playing in a casino in which the dealer hits soft 17. In that case, hit.

If you are holding ace, 6: Double against 2 through 6.

If you are holding ace, 3 or ace, 2: Double against 4, 5, and 6.

If you are holding 2, 2: Where doubling after splits is not allowed, split against 3 through 7 in a single-deck game. Otherwise, follow the same strategy as in multiple-deck games.

Table

If you are holding 3, 3: If doubling after splits is permitted, split against 2 through 8.

If you are holding 4, 4: If doubling after splits is permitted, split against 4 through 6.

If you are holding 6, 6: If doubling after splits is permitted, split against 2 through 7; if not, split against 2 through 6.

If you are holding 7, 7: If doubling after splits is permitted, split against 2 through 8. Also, stand against a 10 in the single-deck game.

Blackjack Tables For Sale

In our final section, you will learn the most advanced strategy for playing blackjack -- counting cards.