Card Counting Secrets

Does card counting work? Yes. In the nine years I worked as a blackjack dealer, I saw a lot of hopeful schemes and ideas, and while many failed, some of them really worked. Card counting, in particular, has a proven track-record of making money for those who are willing to do it right.

Card counting is a little too involved to teach in a short article, but that’s okay. Before you learn the specific skills, you need to know what it will involve to really do it right, so you can decide if it is worth the effort. That’s what this article is about.

Card Counting 101

In the game of blackjack, card counting is a technique for ″beating the house.″ This means you make more money than you lose in the long run, but not necessarily on any given day. You beat the house by playing in such a way that the odds are in your favor. How do you get the odds in your favor?

You watch and wait. When the deck is ″rich″ enough in high-value cards (10,J,Q,K,A), the odds tilt slightly in favor of the player. This has been proven statistically, although how much the odds favor you depends on the ″house rules,″ meaning the exact rules of the game in that particular casino. The odds also depend on the number of decks that the dealer deals from, and how far into the ″card shoe″ (the holder that the cards are dealt from) the dealer deals before re-shuffling.

The basic idea is to monitor the cards as they come out, and when the deck has more high-value cards than normal in it, bet more. Bet less when the house has the edge, more when you have the edge, and the odds are in your favor. In other words, you should make money in the long run.

The above is a simple explanation, and you need to study a good counting book to make this work. You need to know ″basic strategy,″ meaning you need to know when to take a ″hit″ and when to ″stand.″ Your play has to be precise to really have the edge. You also need to practice at home for hours. It can be tough at first to keep track of all those cards flying out of that shoe, while the other players talk and waitresses interrupt you.

The ″counting″ part is essentially assigning a value to the cards and tracking them. This is done more easily at tables where the cards are dealt face up (except the dealer’s ″hole card″). In one system. Aces and face cards are given a value of -1, two through six are valued at +1, and seven, eight and nine are considered neutral.

Watching the cards, you add and subtract their values, betting the table minimum all the while. When you arrive at a predetermined count, let’s say +7, you raise your bet. The high count means that there are a higher percentage of high-value cards left in the deck than normal. The odds are in your favor.

One card counter I dealt to for years would sit at the table for most of an evening, almost always betting the $2 minimum. He shifted chips from one hand to another, his own way of tracking the ″plus or minus count.″ When the shoe (five decks of cards in this case) was rich enough in high-value cards, he would suddenly be betting two hands at $20 each.

He made money, but not much. Do this well, and you may still only get a 1.5% edge on the casino. If, between your minimum bets and the others you average $8 per hand, and 75 hands per hour are dealt, you’ll make about $9 per hour. This assumes you can tolerate alternating losing and winning days and hours of concentration. Betting more brings that hourly rate up, of course, along with the risk of bigger losing days. Card counting is definitely not for everyone.

5 Things To Consider Before Playing At On Online Casino

Online Casinos try very hard to create the "real-world" gaming experience on your home pc. The best casino software offers astonishingly realistic graphics along with fast paced action and a user friendly interface. While most of today's online casinos do their very best to ensure that the games are fun and fair, as an online casino newbie, here's a few thing you should consider before you plunk down your money.

1) Read the fine print! Before you even consider playing for real money you need to know the rules. Some casinos charge a fee to send your funds, others restrict how frequently you can withdraw funds. ″Look before you leap″, find a set of rules that you can live with before you make a deposit

2) How does the casino handle customer support? Is there a toll free number for you to call? Do they offer real time chat mode support? Is support simply handled via email? Better casinos will have several convenient ways for you to contact them. Here's a tip; don’t be afraid to call their toll free support line and ask a few general questions, just to get a better feel for the casino.

3) What do other players have to say about the Casino? Visit the various online gambling forums and see what others are saying. Reputable online casinos do their best to keep their customers happy. Disgruntled players can cause quite a few problems for a casino with only a few mouse clicks. With that said, if you see a rant against a particular casino, try to determine if it was simply posted by an unhappy player who lost his money. In other words, go deeper then just looking at a single post; see if others share this player's view.

4) Understand how the bonus structure works. Because competition is so fierce, virtually every online casino will give you a bonus for signing up with them, this is very nice, but there are always strings attached. First, there are almost always play through requirements. In other words, if the casino is giving you $50, you'll have to bet that money some number of times before you can cash it out. Also, there are often restrictions on the games you can play using your "free money". Games with a smaller house edge (like blackjack for example) are sometimes excluded from the games you can play using the bonus money. Also, there may be maximum cash out amount when you're playing with the bonus money. So once again, it's up to you to read the fine print and make sure you understand what the restrictions are when playing with the bonus money.

5) The Edge is always with the casino! While we all dream of hitting that huge jackpot and being set for life, the odds against that ever happening are simply astronomical. Gambling, whether it's online or in Vegas, is designed to be a fun way to spend some time – if you win a few bucks' great, but more then likely you'll wind up with less money then you started with. That's the simple truth. Gamble for the thrill and the excitement, not for the rent.

10 Best Online Casinos

Millions of people play at online casinos every year. It is fast and fun entertainment, where getting out of your pajamas and traveling are not required. It is also a great option for those who like to gamble but do not have a casino within driving distance. Below is a list of the ten best online casinos that you may want to check out.

Casino On Net has been entertaining online guests since 1996. They have ten languages available, pay in US dollars, and have an overall payout rate of 97.90%. They also have 30 games for you to choose from.

English Harbour Casino has been established online since 1998. The games are in English, they pay in US dollars, UK pounds, or Euros, and they have an overall payout rate of 96.64%. They have 60 games available.

The Gaming Club Casino came online in 1995, making it one of the first of it's kind on the Internet. The games are in English, they pay in US dollars or UK pounds, and they have an overall payout rate of 96.51%. They have over 100 games for your entertainment.

USA Casino has been established online since 1998. The games are in English, they pay in US dollars, UK pounds, or Euros, and they have an overall payout rate of 98.09%. They have 70 games available.

River Belle Casino has been established online since 1997. The games are in English, they pay in US dollars, UK pounds, or Euros, and they have an overall payout rate of 96.77%. They have 110 games available.

Grand Banks Casino has been established online since 2001. The games are in English, they pay in US dollars, UK pounds, or Euros, and they have an overall payout rate of 98.31%. They have 60 games available.

Intertops Casino & Sportsbook has been established online since 1995, making it one of the first of it's kind on the Internet. The games are in English & German, they pay in US dollars, and they have an overall payout rate of 98.26%. They have 43 games available.

Lasseters Casino has been established online since 1998 and was the first of it's kind to be licensed and regulated. The games are in English, they pay in US dollars, and they have 47 games for you to choose from (which does not include Craps). Their overall payout rate is not available.

Captain Cooks Casino has been established online since 1999. The games are in English, they pay in US dollars, and they have an overall payout rate of 97.58%. They have 83 games available.

Club Dice Online Casino has been established online since 2000. They have seven languages available, pay in US dollars, UK pounds, or Euros, and have an overall payout rate of 97.25%. They have 70 games available.

All ten casinos offer the most popular games of Blackjack, Roulette, Poker, Craps (aside from Lasseters Casino), Baccarat, Keno, and slot machines. Most also offer an alternative form of payment, such as Neteller, so that you do not have to give your credit card or bank account information directly on their site. By choosing to gamble at a casino from this list, you will ensure yourself a safe and pleasurable experience.

The Popularity Of Black Jack

Blackjack is one of the world’s most popular games among professional gamblers and amateur players. The game has a lot of attributes that help make it a hit among both novice and experienced gamers. If you are looking for a unique and fun way to spend an evening, try a few rounds of Blackjack and discover for yourself why this simple pastime has captivated so many people from all walks of life.

Although the strategy behind the best way to play blackjack can be quite challenging to master, the basic rules of the game are extremely simple. In just an hour or two, even a child can learn to play black jack. You don’t have to be a card shark in order to enjoy a few rounds of blackjack, which is another reason for the popularity of this unique

card game. Unlike other casino card games like poker, blackjack is easy to pick up quickly, so you can spend your time having fun and mastering advanced strategy as you play round after round, instead of struggling to master the fundamentals.

One of the reasons for the enduring appeal of blackjack is that it offers players an attractive combination of using strategy and luck to win. Unlike games like roulette or craps, which are almost entirely matters of chance, blackjack requires a lot of smart choices and decision making that put a lot of the power to win in the hands of the player. This makes it an engaging game that is worth studying and

learning about, because as you discover new strategies you will increase you chances of success. Blackjack fans are constantly on the lookout for new ideas about how to play, because how you play determines whether or not you win. Techniques like counting cards and knowing when to double down can help you achieve success at the blackjack table

time and time again.

However, part of the reason why blackjack is so much fun is that strategy is not enough to ensure that you will hit the jackpot. Blackjack is also to some extent a matter of chance and the cards that fate deals you. This means that blackjack never gets boring, because even the most advanced and skilled

blackjack players are still excited by the luck of the draw that will determine whether they can sweep the game or not. Because of the element of chance, there is always the thrill of waiting to see whether you have a lucky hand or not. A great blackjack player is one who knows how to work with any hand they get, but there is no way for even the best

blackjack player to become so good at the game that it becomes dull or tiresome. Blackjack is the perfect mixture of chance and skill, because the better you are at blackjack the more exciting it becomes.

Compulsive Gambling And Gambling Addiction

Not many people argue that gambling and playing at casinos is great fun, especially when you have hit a winning streak and feel yourself confident. Some casino games require skill besides luck, so you may think that more you learn these games the more you’re going to win, depending on what’s your game. Compulsive gambling and gamblind addiction makes you realize that only thing you will ever master is skill of losing your money, besides that bigger skill often means more money lost… in the long run.

Blinking slots, blackjack and baccarat tables mixed with humble atmosphere and attractive female dealers creates a mixture of seductive environment, I admit. And if you are not prepared or don’t have the knowledge of the games and the odds, you can get addicted quickly and your addiction may become a compulsive need. It does not mean you are retarded, it’s actually quite ″human″ and coded into us.

Gamblers Anonymous homepage describes compulsive gambling as an illness that is progressive in its nature, which can never be cured, but can be arrested. Before coming to Gamblers Anonymous, many compulsive gamblers thought of themselves as morally weak, or at times just plain ‘no good’. The Gamblers Anonymous concept is that compulsive gamblers are really very sick people who can recover if they will follow to the best of their ability a simple program that has proved successful for thousands of other men and women with a gambling or compulsive gambling problem.

Gambling can be compared with addiction to drugs, alcohol, cigarettes or junk-food. It’s very often as destructive and dangerous as other addictions, often ruining relationships, careers and even ones life. It’s very important to start seeking help ASAP when you think you can’t control your gambling habit anymore!

Gamblers Anonymous say that compulsive gambler needs to be willing to accept the fact that he or she is in the grip of a progressive illness and has a desire to get well. Their experience has shown that the Gamblers Anonymous program will always work for any person who has a desire to stop gambling. However, it will never work for the person who will not face squarely the facts about this illness.

Gamblers Anonymous offers the following questions to anyone who may have a gambling problem. These questions are provided to help the individual decide if he or she is a compulsive gambler and wants to stop gambling.

TWENTY QUESTIONS

1. Did you ever lose time from work or school due to gambling?

2. Has gambling ever made your home life unhappy?

3. Did gambling affect your reputation?

4. Have you ever felt remorse after gambling?

5. Did you ever gamble to get money to pay debts or otherwise solve financial difficulties?

6. Did gambling cause a decrease in your ambition or efficiency?

7. After losing did you feel you must return as soon as possible and win back your losses?

8. After a win did you have a strong urge to return and win more?

9. Did you often gamble until your last dollar was gone?

10. Did you ever borrow to finance your gambling?

11. Have you ever sold anything to finance gambling?

12. Were you reluctant to use ″gambling money″ for normal expenditures?

13. Did gambling make you careless of the welfare of yourself or your family?

14. Did you ever gamble longer than you had planned?

15. Have you ever gambled to escape worry or trouble?

16. Have you ever committed, or considered committing, an illegal act to finance gambling?

17. Did gambling cause you to have difficulty in sleeping?

18. Do arguments, disappointments or frustrations create within you an urge to gamble?

19. Did you ever have an urge to celebrate any good fortune by a few hours of gambling?

20. Have you ever considered self destruction or suicide as a result of your gambling?

Most compulsive gamblers will answer yes to at least seven of these questions.

Blackjack Fundamentals That Will Let You Beat The Odds

Blackjack, or twenty-one, as it is often called, at first seems deceptively simple. After all, all you have to do is draw cards until you are as close as possible to twenty-one without going over. However, if you try to play without any strategy, you will quickly find yourself consistently losing to the dealer. Just like in any other casino game, the odds initially favor the house. In the case of Blackjack, this is because in a few cases where the dealer and player do equally well, the dealer still wins.

The difference between those other games and Blackjack, though, is that by taking the time to develop a solid strategy, you can reduce the house’s advantage and even tilt the odds in your favor. Casinos are just betting that you won’t bother to do this. Prove them wrong and you can win - and consistently and reliably make money through gambling!

This is possible because the dealer has only two options at any point: he or she can hit (take a card), or he or she can stand (stop taking cards and finish the turn). In contrast, the player has the option of doubling down (doubling the bet and agreeing to take one more card, after which he or she must stand), splitting (playing two hands at once while doubling the bet), and, at some casinos, surrendering (where the player forfeits half the bet and ends the turn). Knowing when and how to use each of these methods in a Blackjack game significantly increases the chance that you will win.

Once those techniques are mastered, the one additional factor that tilts the odds decisively in the player’s favor is learning how to do some basic card counting. This means that the player must pay attention to what cards have been dealt up until this point, and by inductive reasoning determines what cards he and the dealer are likely to be dealt. Obviously, this means that the smart Blackjack player’s odds improve as the dealer gets nearer and nearer to the end of the deck. Since more cards have already been dealt out, there are fewer possible cards left to be given, and therefore, the player has a better chance of correctly guessing the value of the next card he or she will be dealt, so long as he or she has been paying proper attention.

Learning proper Blackjack strategy is fun, it is not difficult, and it can make an enormous difference in your life. Imagine being able to reliably win money playing a game; this is what strategic Blackjack players are able to do. By taking the time developing and refining your game and learning strategy in order to maximize your odds of winning, you can easily learn to play Blackjack like the pros and become a winner. When you learn to make the rules of the game work to your advantage, the sky is the limit.

The Truth About Betting Systems

Every gambler knows someone who plays to a system. But serious blackjack and poker players don’t use systems because they’re overrated. Skill counts a great deal in both of these games and it tends to balance out the chance factor over any significant period. People who bet on the horses are always using systems, yet the house edge in horse racing is far greater than in the game of roulette - and the edge is too great in roulette, too. The bookies rake in between 15 percent and 25 percent on the horses, which takes any advantage away from you. Even so, some knowledge of horses can help you at the track … but there is no information you can apply in roulette or craps. These are totally games of luck. None the less, gamblers do try to formulate betting systems to overcome the house edge in these games.

There are countless systems in use - doubling-up (also called the Martingale system), in which bets are increased progressively; doubling-up plus 1; raising, lowering and cancellation; and a myriad of subtle variations on these systems. A common factor they all share is this: they don’t work. Eventually you’ll lose because only one factor makes the difference in the long run, and that’s the house advantage. Using a system just delays the inevitable.

The only winning strategy for craps or roulette is to get a lucky win and then make a hasty departure. If you hang around, that house edge is going to sneak up on you eventually. In the majority of systems you have to raise your first bet until you’ve recovered what you lost. Maybe this would work if we were betting on the toss of a coin. Suppose you wager $10 on heads but the toss comes out tails. You would merely need to bet ″double or nothing″ over and over again until heads did eventually win. We’ll assume there’s no top limit on the betting in this game of heads or tails and you could bet a million dollars if necessary as you sought to break even. Casinos do impose betting limits, however. A drawn-out succession of reds would break you if you were playing double-up or double-up 1 on black.

In a simple toss of a coin, moreover, you don’t have to play against a built-in house advantage. The problem at the heart of any gambling system is that the odds are always stacked against you. The house edge insidiously works against you, and the more time you spend trying to beat it, the more likely it is to get you. If you ran a shop, would you sell all of your goods at a 5 percent loss? Over enough time any betting system will break you. So, is there nothing to be done?

In craps or roulette you must do everything possible to maximize your chances of winning. Bet on a number, not on corners. Go for a win in the fewest possible number of dice-rolls or spins of the wheel. Gamblers who like to prolong the pleasure of being at the table are the ones who lose. If your roulette bankroll is $100, bet it on two spins of the wheel. If you get lucky, leave the table at the first sensible opportunity. Don’t ever walk away immediately after a winning spin. Let the winning streak run its course first. But as soon as that happens, cash out and leave. Craps and roulette call for mighty self-discipline. Be absolutely determined to bet fast and walk away with what you win. If you let the game draw you in, it’ll eat you.

If it’s fun you’re looking for, become familiar with blackjack. You can play blackjack as long as you like and there’s not much of a house edge to worry about if you keep your head screwed on straight. But your interludes at roulette or craps should be more like lightning raids. And leave your betting system behind when you go there, or it’ll cost you dearly.

Blackjack - How To Win Blackjack

Blackjack is one of the most popular casino games of all time. Its exciting, fun, and can potentially bring in very big profits! Playing professional Blackjack is something anyone can do. Winning is easy to do if you have the right strategies, and the right plan.

In a lot of ways, winning Blackjack is easier to do than winning Poker. Unlike Poker, you only have one opponent in Blackjack (the dealer). There are also various scientific methods proven to help you win more consistently over a long term period.

Winning Blackjack requires discipline and patience. The fear of going bust causes a lot of players to stand. This is especially devastating when hitting would have been the right decision to make.

To win at Blackjack, you need to have a big enough bankroll. A big bankroll is your safety net in times of sustained losing streaks. If you don’t have enough money to survive a big losing streak, you have no chance of getting back into the game.

So many times, players get frustrated when they lose a few hands. Chasing losses by betting too much, which causes big losses, is how most players end up getting wiped out.

Winning Blackjack should be a long term goal, not a short term one. Gambling is a losing game, however, a winning strategy is not gambling. A winning strategy turns a gamble into a long term profit gain (because you are no longer gambling!). Eliminate the element of luck, put the odds in your favor, and you almost cannot lose!

An intelligent strategy + discipline = long term success at Blackjack!

The Blackjack Kings

It began as an academic interest in the early days of computing. Dr. Edward O. Thorp, a California professor, wanted to test a theory that blackjack could be beaten. He devised a simple counting method to track the ratio of high to low cards played. When there are more high cards left in the deck the odds favor the player. When there are more low cards left in the deck the odds favor the dealer or "the house." He presented his findings in academic papers and in a popular book, "Beat the Dealer."

As the casinos became aware of the danger of hosting a game whose odds did not favor the house, they took countermeasures: by shuffling the deck they kept players from the advantage of "deep counts." They could also bar anyone, any time, and they did, throwing "counters" off the property.

But the Genie was out of the bottle.

Coming along in the wake of Thorp were such blackjack greats as Stanford Wong, Arnold Snyder, Ken Uston, and Jerry Patterson. Thorp, Wong, Snyder, and Uston are members (there are only 12) of the Blackjack Hall of Fame. Their work was capped by the famous MIT team that hit Vegas and other gambling spots in the 90's and took millions from their tills.

Stanford Wong (John Ferguson) has a Ph. D. in Finance from Stanford University. In 1975 he published a book, "Professional Blackjack," which is still a standard in the field. Years ago he traveled to Macau to test their tolerance with counters and did well. He self-published a book, "Blackjack in Asia," which he priced at $2,000. Another book, "Winning Without Counting," sold for a paltry $200.

Arnold Snyder is a northern California player and writer who created "The First Church of Blackjack." He is, of course, the Bishop. His books include "Blackbelt in Blackjack." He publishes a newsletter, "Blackjack Forum." He has testified as an expert witness in trials on the rights of blackjack counters.

Ken Uston formed player teams. He trained them and turned them loose on the casinos. Uston, at one time Senior Vice President of the Pacific Stock Exchange, challenged the legality of casinos barring skilled players. Though he won the casinos introduced draconian measures that actually hurt card-counting teams. He also introduced training videos to the field.

Jerry Patterson is a New Jersey-based professional gambler. He is best known as an author ("Blackjack"), was one of the first to track "non-random deck shuffles," and started franchised Blackjack schools. Today he writes about many games, and like Wong and others, believes that craps can be beaten through "dice control," the way the dice are thrown.

The MIT team, immortalized in Ben Mezrich's book, "Bringing Down the House," purportedly separated casinos from three million dollars during their brief run. These math and computer geeks developed counting systems to go along with a new innovation – a division of labor - in team play where one player would act as a "Spotter," counting cards but calling no attention to him/herself while another player, the "Gorilla," watched. When the Spotter signaled the Gorilla, the Gorilla would come in, make big bets only when the odds were in favor of the players, then split.

So, where are we?

Blackjack is still one of the most popular games for players. It is still a substantial profit center for the house. Andy Bloch, one of the MIT players, has a new DVD series out that trains in the manner of the MIT team. He says, "Blackjack can still be beaten."

So, who's winning? Grab a seat and start counting. It ain't over till its over.

A Crash Course on Casino Bonuses

Online casinos have been flooding the online world lately. It seems that they have been trying very hard in attracting more and more players to try their luck at online casinos. They have been have been trying to think up of different offers to catch a potential player's attention. One such promotion is offering different types of casino bonuses to get people into playing on their online casinos.

Casino bonuses are offers being given by online casinos that would enable a player to avail of bonus betting money to wager on the several casino games being offered. The amount may differ for different online casinos. Some may give out 25 to 50 dollar bonuses for a minimum bet. There are even some online casinos that can offer a 100 percent match bonus for every deposit that the player makes. This means that if the player deposits $100 o his account, the online casino will match that amount in full, making the player acquire $200 initial betting money on his account. There are also other casinos offering bonuses next to nothing, just to have people have a taste of playing online and possibly have them hooked to play some more later on.

Although you might think that this is easy money on your part, there are certain requirements that you have to follow in order to cash in on your proceeds. Online casinos have established these requirements as a safeguard to possible abusers of their offer. One of the usual requirements is that a player should wager at least 25 times the amount of deposit and bonus before being able to cash in. There are some games like baccarat, craps, roulette and even blackjack that do not count in meeting the required wagering provisions.

Casino bonuses can really attract players into getting started on online betting. They seem to want to avail of the extra amount being offered that would provide them with more betting money. It has made many people turn into regular online players and has done well for the online casinos. But there are also some people who have taken advantage of this offer in order to cash in on casino bonuses. These players, otherwise known as "bonus hunters", take full advantage of the offered casino bonuses by opting to cash in on their winnings after all the betting provisions are met. Whether players may like it or not, these actions are strictly prohibited by the online casinos because it has been part of their conditions that players may only play for recreational purposes only. Online casinos are always on the lookout for bonus hunters. When caught, their promotional privileges are usually revoked.

If you do not want to be labeled as a bonus hunter and have your online privileges revoked, there are certain things that you should avoid. First of all, you should refrain from maintaining multiple accounts when playing in an online casino. Also try not to cash out on your winning before fulfilling the casino's wagering requirement. You should also try to gamble normally. A sudden increase in the amount that you bet may make the casino throw a red flag at you. And last but not the least, make sure that you have the proper credit information given and avoid having irregularities on your credit card. Wrongful information may compel casinos to bar you from playing on their site and deny you the privilege of availing casino bonuses.