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It pays to pay attention to what the house rules are in the casino you are in for how the dealer is allowed to play his hand. There are two basic rules followed in US casinos which are:
- The "dealer stands on all 17s" rule – which means that the dealer is only allowed to keep getting a "hit" or get more cards for his hand until he reaches the numeric value of 17 for his hand or a greater value. The dealer must then stand on that number without going over 21. This rule is the most popularly used. VegasRed as well as Dublin bet both stand on 16 and hit on 17.
 = 16 (The Dealer must hit)
- The "dealer hits soft 17" rule – which means that the dealer has an Ace in his hand so he has a soft total. He can get cards until he reaches a 17 value and has to stand on that card.
 = soft 17 (The dealer can hit until getting 17)
Now, let us discuss the possible winning hands you – a player – can get:
- A natural or blackjack – this is the best possible card hand you can get, meaning your first two cards total 21 already. You will only get a natural if you draw an Ace and a 10 – to get more cards is no longer considered a natural or blackjack but just allow you to reach a total of 21. When you get a blackjack or natural hand, the winning payout is at odds of 3 to 2.
 =natural or a blackjack (first two cards total 21)
- A tie or push – this means you and the dealer both happened to be dealt a blackjack hand apiece (or that each of you have two cards that are composed of an Ace and a 10.) This is the only time when a player's natural or blackjack will not beat out the dealer's hand.
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To receive your winnings, you may either get it when you present your blackjack or natural hand when it is your turn to play (during the face-down games), or when game is culminated with all hands shown with the dealer having proven that his 10 will not result in a blackjack after flipping over the second card. The odds of ever getting a player's natural or blackjack is estimated at once per every 21 hands dealt. But it does happen which is great for you (especially if you are a beginner – like striking gold with your first swing of the pickaxe in a gold mine.)
If blackjack is so easy to play, then where does the thrill come in? Part of the fun is that it is simple to play, and part of the fun is when the bets are placed. This is why you need to know what the betting limits are for the table you just joined – if you are a recreational player who bets low (like $5 per hand) then you will be pleasantly shocked to find that there are people who think nothing of betting $100 and even $500 per hand (which is why the casino provides chips in those denominations.) If you seem to be in a table with the high-rollers, you have two choices: to excuse yourself politely and go where you are more comfortable with the size of the bets, or to pursue this game and see how well you fare. Though the hands of the other players will not dictate the outcome of your own hand, some people get challenged when they see the other players betting high and will follow suit. So look at the betting limits carefully to avoid uncomfortable situations.
Another well know advanced strategy is counting cards in live online blackjack. Find out what the casinos are doing to prevent players from cheating.
| Strategy based on number of decks and exposed cards. |
The dealer’s card that is visible as well as the point totals for the player impacts the basic strategy. Also, the player’s actual hand will affect the decision he makes on how to play the cards. An example of this would be holding 12 and the dealer 4. Now, typically, a player should stand in this situation. But, in a game being played with only one decks of cards the player ought to take a hit if his 12 is made up of a 2 and a 10. The reason why is because if the player takes a hit he wants any card other than a 10 and since the player is already holding a 10 in his hand that is one less 10 available in the deck that could cause the player to bust.
In hands where the strategy from basic to composition lead to different ways to play the hand the expected value separating the two decisions will be low. Not to mention, as the decks in traditional blackjack increases the number of times when the right strategy is composition based as well as the house edge from using this strategy will not be viable. In a six deck game the composition dependent strategy reduces the house edge by 0.0031%. This is only an improvement of 1/10th over a game with a single deck.
| Tracking how the dealer shuffles |
The player can see the odds of blackjack swing into his favor through other techniques beyond card counting. These techniques are based on the value of the cards to the casino as well as to the player. One technique involves tracking multiple sets of cards, especially if lots of decks are used. The way the cards are tracked is by packs, slugs, and clumps while the shoe is being played. The cards are followed through the shuffle and when they come into play from the new shoe then the player will play and bet accordingly.
This method is really hard because not only does it require eagle eyes it also requires the ability to estimate with one’s vision, something not everyone can easily do. Shuffle trackers are more difficult to catch and they can more readily fool casino pit bosses because their actions, bets, and playing is generally at odds with the way a card counter might play.
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