pokerheap.com

Here we continue our look at the basics of Blackjack by examining each of the options open to us after we receive our first two cards. At this point in the game you can see the dealers up-card, and you know your first two cards. It’s time to decide if you want another card or if something else is a better option.

Hitting

To hit is to ask for an additional card on your hand. If you were dealt two fives as your first two cards, you would certainly want to hit, since your total is quite far from 21, you have no chance of going over 21 with one more card, and a total of ten is a weak hand.

To hit when playing at an online casino, there should be an obvious hit button presented whenever it is an available option.  In a land-based casino, when you want to hit you should both ask for it out-loud with the word ‘hit’, and indicated a hit with your hand. To indicate a hit with your hand scratch the table felt lightly towards you with your finger. If you are playing a game where the cards are dealt face down, use the corner of your cards to scrape the table.

You should hit until you are satisfied with your hand, at which point you indicate to the dealer that you wish to stand.

Standing

To stand is to refuse any further cards or any further action towards your hand. If you choose to stand you will not receive any more opportunities to alter your given hand.

To stand when playing at an online casino simply choose the stand option when it is presented to you, as it will only be presented when there is an option to stand. To stand in a land-based casino say the word ‘stand’ out-loud while waving an open palm, face down, over your hand. This will indicate to the dealer that you do not want any more cards.

Doubling down

The action of doubling down is one of the most important parts of blackjack. It is the rare opportunity to increase your bet part-way through your hand. Doubling down is literally doubling your original bet when you see an opportunity. Most casinos will only allow you to double down on your first two cards. If those two cards put you in a position where one additional card will likely give you a hand stronger than the dealers, you should double down.

Your best opportunity to double down will come when you recognize the dealer as showing ‘busting cards’. The concept of busting cards and their importance is covered completely in our advanced blackjack strategy section.

To double down simply place another stack of chips equal to your original bet down right beside your original bet, so that the stacks are side by side, just about touching each other. This will indicate to the dealer that you wish to double your bet. When you double down you will only be presented with one more card. This means if you double down on 10, and receive a 2, your hand is stuck at 12, and you wont get another chance to improve it.

Splitting

When your initial two-card hand is made up of a pair, you have the option to split. Say you were dealt two 8’s as your first two cards. Your total is 16, which is sometimes difficult to know what to do with. It isn’t a strong hand, but it’s risky to hit on, since it’s close to 21. Since both cards are 8’s, you can ‘split’ them into two different hands. To do so place a new bet equal to your original, beside your original bet, but with a few inches between (if it were placed directly beside it, it would mean you want to double down). At the same time tell the dealer you wish to split, and the dealer will separate your cards.

Each 8 is now the first card on a new hand. So you see how smart it was to split your pair? Now you have a decent chance of having two strong hands. Of course, if you were dealt two 4’s as your first cards, splitting would have been silly.

Taking insurance

When the dealer’s up-card is an Ace, they will stop before they deal the players a second card and ask if anybody would like insurance. What does this mean? It means that you can ‘buy insurance’ against the fact that the dealer will have blackjack. You need to put up half of your original bet for insurance. If the dealer does have blackjack you will lose your original bet, but win your insurance bet. In the end you have lost nothing and gained nothing. Statistically, although it may seem like a good idea at the time, it’s never smart to take insurance.

This concludes our extensive coverage of blackjack rules. Soon also we’ll provide detailed articles on free slots and online keno. If you have already tried online keno and you’re a huge fan of this popular numbers game, now’s your chance!

Ok, so your girlfriend doesn’t work within the British Government and you are not being blackmailed by an organization with shady international connections, so what?  Casino gambling is a terrifically exciting activity to undertake and you don’t have to take up free running to enjoy it!

If you were to enter “casino gambling” into a search engine, you would probably end up with a number of hits about online casino gambling, although it could conceivably refer to gambling in a land-based, bricks and mortar casino as well.  These two types of casino gambling obviously have similarities but they also have their distinctions too.  I would suggest though, that in general they are similar enough to that if you become accustomed to gambling in one particular sphere and are successful at it, the skills that you have developed should be transferable to the other.

Casino gambling whether on land or in cyber space is a really enjoyable thing to do.  For those of you wanting to hone your skills or for those taking your first steps, the casino gambling that you can perform online might be a more appropriate place to start.  It’s slightly slower paced, or at least you are able to take more time about your wagers and your playing of games than would normally be the case in a ‘regular’ casino.

Perhaps your thinking that the sun has got to me, or something, but training for blackjack?!  I will try and explain why in the age of online blackjack, this isn’t such a crazy idea.

Many of us have played Blackjack, won some games, lost a few here and there.  Even for those more experienced of us, who realize that there is a defined system to increase the chances of being more successful in our Blackjack play, rather than just being a game all about luck, we could all do with a helping hand, couldn’t we?

If I were to tell you that there is a way of playing Blackjack and get the benefit of a real-time training system that would be exciting news wouldn’t it?  Well there is.  If you aren’t sure how to proceed in a game once it’s got under way, wouldn’t it be fantastic to have helpful hints?  Perhaps, if you would have played the suggested move anyway, it will reinforce your confidence in yourself as someone who can handle themselves around a virtual Blackjack table.  You can get information on the probability of a winning or a losing hand, playing and wagering accordingly.  Sometimes, the best way to be successful in Blackjack, be it online Blackjack or in a casino, is acknowledging when to fold.  If you can get a feel for that, through innovations such as this, that seems like a pretty decent bet to me. 

Fair play and cheating at online poker sites have always been and will always be two of the most important subjects for the Poker industry on the Web. Ever since its beginnings, the online poker industry has played a great role in guaranteeing a safe environment and in stopping those trying to cheat online by implementing the most advanced technological security channels and endorsing fair play in more than one way.

Security features like MD5 encryption technology used for data transfer, SSL used for securing transactions, and MD5 RNG (random number generator) used to guarantee chance card dealing have been put into practice since the beginning by virtually every online Poker brand to assure their members a secure and reliable setting in which to enjoy the hottest game online. Counter wise, these same features make impossible the filtration of undesired parties in the system; that is to say, that any one trying to cheat or to carry out an illicit practice within a Poker site or software will be automatically detected by the system and penalized.

As a completely innovative initiative, the online Poker industry has also taken under its care the development of ways to promote fair play among their members. More and more, entire sections of the Poker sites are developed with the finality of offering support, advice, and information to the members about fair play. Under this subject, issues like collusive behavior and responsible gambling are discussed.

By choosing to tackle openly fair play and cheating at online Poker sites, the online Poker industry is truly ahead of the game in making of cyberspace a safer, more just gaming place.