BLACKJACK INSURANCE MULTI DECK



Taking out insurance in blackjack is a part of basic strategy. The only time during the game you will be offered the option take insurance is when the dealer’s up card is an ACE.


If you choose to take insurance you will be asked to bet up to, but not exceeding, 50% of your original wager. This must be placed on the line marked 'Insurance'.


If the dealer does not have blackjack you will lose this insurance bet and then continue to play out the original bet just like any other hand.

In the event the dealer has blackjack your insurance bet will be paid out at the odds of 2-1 however you will lose the original wager.
The final result of all this means that you end up with a push if you placed the full 50% of insurance available. The bottom line here is that you’re simply being invited to make a bet on whether or not the dealer has a blackjack.




Inside the Swag Bag


Have you ever come across an insurance company that you trusted? If so please let me know about them as I definitely have not. Insurance in blackjack is no different - it’s generally a bad bet. The only time I would recommend you even consider taking out insurance is when you have a blackjack.

In most Casinos these days if you do have a blackjack and take Insurance they would just simply pay your original bet and then remove your cards - this helps speed up the game and the end result is exactly the same.

BLACKJACK: SPLITTING PAIRS


Splitting pairs is a major part of blackjack strategy when you have a pair in Blackjack for the most part its going to be to your advantage. If you’re going into the casino and you want to come out a winner try studying this section very carefully.


Splitting cards means making one hand into two. For example, if you make a $10 bet and receive a pair of sixes (6.6), instead of staying with a total of 12 you have the option to wager a further $10 and have two hands of six.


Some casinos will allow a player to split as often as he or she likes, while others will have a restriction on the amount of splits you can make from a single box.
Once you have made the decision to split you will play them like any other hand in blackjack.





There is one exception, a pair of ACES. A lot of casinos will only allow the ACES to be split one time, in addition to this when the ACES are split, they will only receive one additional card to complete the hand. You must also remember that blackjack must be the first two cards dealt to a box. If you split ACES and then get dealt a 10 or face card you have a total of 21, not blackjack. You'll lose if the dealer has a blackjack.








INSIDE THE SWAG BAG


Basic strategy for splitting pairs on a multi-deck blackjack game:

If you split a pair of tens expect to get a good old Fashioned smack to the head.

BLACKJACK SURRENDER:


If you happen to find your self involved in a blackjack game that offers the
Option to Surrender remember this:

Surrendering is not such a good idea for the most part. However if you do choose this option, the dealer will take away both your cards along with 50% of your original wager.








Inside the Swag Bag


Listen to me my good friends: These are the only times you should declare yourself:


A prisoner is when:
You have a 10.5 or 9.6

and the dealer has 10.
You have a 10.6 or 9.7

and the dealer has 10 or ACE

BlackJack


Also known as '21', Blackjack originated in France durning the 18th Century. The French called it:

VINGT-ET-UN Translated 21

The game has since been played in most parts of Europe for well over Two Hundred (200)years. The game really started to become popular in the mid to early 1960's, when mathematicians relaised that playing to a simple basic strategy, coupled with the knowledge and ability to count cards flipped the game in their favour - good player can turn the odds so dramaticly that the Casino becomes the underdog. Although it's not aganist any law to count cards, Casinos frown upon card counters and will stop them from playing not when discovered - and notice I say when, and not if. With the technology that's in place today, they're always caught.


Well let's be honest casino's don't need to give a reason to stop any patron from participating in any casino game. Allowing a card counter to get away with it wouldn't make for good business and you have to remember - casino's are not, as many people think, in the business of gambling. They're in the percentage business.



Inside The Swag Bag







Don't be a moron before you take a set to the blackjack table - study the bacic strategy card to give yourself a better chance. Most casino's will allow the use of such a card during play at the table. I'll talk about card counting at a later date.

Below you’ll find the absolute ‘Bare-Knuckle Basics’ of the 3 most popular casino games.


Obviously, by far the most popular attractions at any casino are the Slot Machines. These machines bring in up to 80% of their revenue, but we’re ignoring them here. If you need instructions on how to use the slots, you shouldn’t walk into a casino in the first place.


The Bare-Knuckle Basics of Blackjack:
The object of the blackjack game is to accumulate cards with point totals as close to 21 without going over 21. Face cards (Jacks, Queens and Kings) are worth 10 points. Aces are worth 1 or 11, whichever is preferable. Other cards are represented by their number.

If player and the House tie, it is a push and no one wins. Ace and 10 (Blackjack) on the first two cards dealt is an automatic player win at 1.5 to 1, unless the house ties. A player may stand at any time.


The Bare-Knuckle Basics of Roulette:


Players, usually up to eight, play against the house represented by the croupier also called the dealer, who spins the roulette wheel and handles the wagers and payouts. In the European roulette and French roulette version, the wheel has 37 slots representing 36 numbers and one zero. In the USA most roulette wheels have two zeros and therefore 38 slots.
Each player buys-in a different colored chips so their bets don't get mixed up. At the end of play, if you won, you exchange back the colored chips with cash chips. These are special chips with the value amount imprinted on them. There are several denominations in various colors. You then take these chips to the cash desk where they will give you actual cash money in exchange.

To play roulette, you place your bet or bets on numbers (any number including the zero) in the table layout or on the outside, and when everybody at the table had a chance to place their bets, the croupier starts the spin and launches the ball. Just a few moments before the ball is about to drop over the slots, the croupier says 'no more bets'. From that moment no one is allowed to place - or change - their bets until the ball drops on a slot. Only after the croupier places the dolly on the winning number on the roulette table and clears all the losing bets you can then start placing your new bets while the croupier pays the winners. The winners are those bets that are on or around the number that comes up. Also the bets on the outside of the layout win if the winning number is represented.


The Bare-Knuckle Basics of Craps


Craps is one of the most exciting casino games. It is common to hear yelling and shouting at a craps table. It is played on a purpose-built table and two dice are used. The dice are made after very strict standards and are routinely inspected for any damage. As a matter of course, the dice are replaced with new ones after about eight hours of use, and casinos have implemented rules in the way a player handles them.
The player must handle the dice with one hand only when throwing and the dice must hit the walls on the opposite end of the table. In the event that one or both dice are thrown off the table, they must be inspected (usually by the stickman) before putting them back into play.

The craps table can accommodate up to about 20 players, who each get a round of throws or at 'shooting' the dice. If you don't want to throw the dice, you can bet on the thrower. Several types of bets can be made on the table action. The casino crew consist of a stickman, boxman and two dealers.
The first roll of the dice in a betting round is called the Come Out roll - a new game in Craps begins with the Come Out roll. A Come Out roll can be made only when the previous shooter fails to make a winning roll, that is, fails to make the Point or seven out.

A new game then begins with a new shooter. If the current shooter does make his Point, the dice are returned to him and he then begins the new Come Out roll. This is a continuation of that shooter's roll, although technically, the Come Out roll identifies a new game about to begin.
When the shooter fails to make his or her Point, the dice are then offered to the next player for a new Come Out roll and the game continues in the same manner. The new shooter will be the person directly next to the left of the previous shooter - so the game moves in a clockwise fashion around the craps table.

The dice are rolled across the craps table layout. The layout is divided into three areas - two side areas separated by a center one. Each side area is the mirror reflection of the other and contains the following: Pass and Don't Pass line bets, Come and Don't Come bets, Odds bet, Place bets and Field bets. The center area is shared by both side areas and contains the Proposition bets.
Pass bets win when the come out roll is 7 or 11, while pass bets lose when the come out roll is 2, 3, or 12. Don't bets lose when the come out roll is 7 or 11, and don't bets win when the come out roll is 2 or 3. Don't bets tie when the come out roll is 12 (2 in some casinos; the 'Bar' roll on the layout indicates which roll is treated as a tie).


Thanks to Il Dado for much of the information on this page