Learning to play black jack is less complicated then most would think. The object of the game is to have a hand greater then the dealer’s without going over 21. No matter how many players are at the table, you as a player are still only playing against the dealer.

Each card 10 or under has a value equal to the number on the card. Face cards (Jacks, Queens, and Kings) have a value of 10. The Ace in blackjack has a special value of 1 or 11, it is your choice in relation to the other card(s) you have which value you wish to assign to an Ace and which best suits your goal. The goal in blackjack, as stated above, is to get closest to or reach 21 points without going over and having a better hand then the dealer. If the dealer busts, every player still in the hand is a winner, regardless of what they have in hand. Perhaps the fact that you could potentially win with a 2 and a 6 could be the reason this is one of the most popular card games played today. However, do not bank on the dealer busting as it is not typical. There are many variations of 21 that can be achieved in the game by being dealt cards. In a friendly game, at the start of play, the dealer deals each player a card face down including him or herself, and than follows with a face up card for each. The first player to the dealers left than checks his or her face down card and decides to either hit or stay. For example, if the player has a face up 7 and a face down 2 there total is only 9, so naturally they would want to call out “hit me” at which time the dealer accordingly deals them another face down card. If that card is an Ace the player would typically stay and choose to refer to the Ace as 11 totaling 20 for their hand. Play resumes this way until each player is content with their hand and then the dealer goes last to reach the highest possible points hoping to beat each of the players.

At the casino the game of black jack is played much like explained above. Each table typically has seating for 6 players and the rules for the table are posted by it. Table information is usually betting limits such as a $2-$100, this limits the bets to a minimum of $2 per hand and a maximum of $100 per hand. The biggest difference in playing blackjack at the casino is players cards are all dealt face up with the exception of the dealers second card which is face down. Bets are placed before cards are dealt and any blackjacks, including the dealers are taken care of before play resumes, if the dealer is showing an Ace face up, the dealer must then check the hole card, if its blackjack all players except those with a blackjack themselves lose. Once blackjacks are taken care of and the dealer is still in play the player closest to the dealers left has the first options. These options are:

* Hit- Take another card
* Stand- Take no more cards and finalize your handwritten
* Double Down- Double your wager, taking one hit and then standing
* Split- If dealt two cards of the same value you can split them into two new hands which doubles your wager
* Surrender- Forfeit half your wager and give up the hand

You can hit as much as you like as long as you do not go over 21, once satisfied, play moves to the next player ending with the dealer. The dealer must conform to house rules, such as standing at 17 and hitting until at least 17 is reached. All bets are collected or paid after the dealer plays and than the next hand begins with bets. The player to the dealers right gets paid or turns in losses first and so on around the table. Overall, blackjack has its many advantages and can be a very rewarding and enjoyable game to play.

Basically the idea behind basic strategy is to break down the possibilities and make probable decisions based on the odds. This is accomplished by recognizing certain hands such as:

* Hard Hands- Hard Hands include any hand where an ace must be used as a 1 to avoid busting and any hands without an ace.

◦ If you have 17-21: Always stand

◦ If you have 13-16: Stand if the dealer has 2-6, otherwise hit

◦ If you have 12: dealer has 2 or 3, hit. If dealer has 4-6, stand. Otherwise hit.

◦ If you have 11: Double if dealer has 2-10, if dealer has ace, hit.

◦ If you have 10: Double if dealer has 2-9, otherwise hit.

◦ If you have nine: Double if the dealer has 3-6, otherwise hit.

◦ If you have 8 or less: always hit

* Soft hands- Soft hands are any starting hand that contains an ace.

◦ If you have Ace 10 or higher, dance.

◦ If you have Ace 8 or 9: Stand.

◦ If you have Ace 7: Stand if the dealer has 2, 7 or 8. Double 3-6, otherwise hit.

◦ If you have Ace 6: Double if the dealer has 3-6, otherwise hit.

◦ If you have Ace 4 or 5: Double if the dealer has 4-6, otherwise hit.

◦ If you have Ace 2 or 3: Double if the dealer has 5 or 6. otherwise hit.

* Pairs- Two of the same card

◦ If you have a pair of 10’s: Always stand.

◦ If you have a pair of 9’s: Split if the dealer has 2-6, 8 or 9. Stand if dealer has 7, 10 or Ace

◦ If u have a pair of 8’s: Always split

◦ If you have a pair of 7’s: Split if dealer has 2-7, otherwise split.

◦ If you have a pair of 6’s: Split if the dealer has 2-6, otherwise hit.

◦ If you have a pair of 5’s: Double if the dealer has 2-9, otherwise hit.

◦ If you have a pair of 4’s: Split if the dealer has 5 or 6, otherwise hit.

◦ If you have a pair of 2’s or 3’s: Split if dealer has 2-7, otherwise hit.

◦ If you have a pair of Aces: Always split.

Having basic strategy laid out in this way may make it easier to remember or using a basic strategy chart could benefit you more, it all depends on the person. Memorize these situations as best you can to drastically improve your play and increase your advantage over the house. Once you have mastered the basic strategy, you can move on to your count cards in Blackjack strategy.

When the game made it to the United States it was not very popular at all, nor was it known as Blackjack.  The “21”  table was often pushed into a corner and not many played it.  Casinos, or gambling houses at the time, tried to get more people interested in playing by offering various payout bonuses.  One such bonus was a 10 to 1 payout if the player’s hand consisted of a black jack and the ace of spades, the hand was called “blackjack” and the name stuck in spite of the payout eventually being abolished.  Since its early days of not being understood, the game of blackjack has become very popular and is actually now one of the most popular games in modern casinos.  Its widespread popularity is said to have begun with the prospect having a mathematical advantage over the house.

Roger Baldwin wrote the first paper introducing a mathematical theory to winning blackjack.  Titled “Tho Optimum Strategy in Blackjack”, which was published in 1956 by the Journal of the American Statistical Association.  Baldwin’s paper consisted of mostly mathematics and discussed probability, calculators, and statistics showing methods of gaining an edge over the house.  In 1963, Prof. Edward O. Thorp had his book “Beat The Dealer” published, which is said to be the first known introduction to the tactics of card counting.  Being a national best seller, the books popularity eventually dubbed Thorp as the “Einstein of Blackjack” and caused casinos to take steps in rearranging the odds to once again favor the house.  Around this time is when automatic card shuffling machines and multiple deck blackjack games were introduced.  Truthfully though, Thorps version of counting cards was quite difficult to learn and did not pose as much of a threat to the casinos as they thought, it is possible the house ended up losing more in modifying the rules so drastically and causing an uproar in the players of the game then if players would have been left to attempt implementing the theory.

Overall, blackjack is by far one of the most popular card games played today.  Perhaps its the simplistic nature of it that makes it so attractive.  In reality, even if you were to learn Thorp’s card counting theory in depth, even mastered it, you could only gain a 44% probability of winning at best.  Card counting and blackjack will be around for years to come but it is wise to recognize the fact that you can only become a better player through hard work and steadfast effort in playing.  See you at the tables.

One of the most effective methods for winning a game is by using the knockout card counting system. This is a system that has been repeatedly shown to bring success to blackjack players at the casinos. The majority of the world’s professional gamblers are well aware of this special stratagem. That is exactly why you, the newcomer, ought to learn more about it.

The following are some invaluable details that could greatly improve your chance at winning. In the knockout card counting system, 7 is deemed as the low card and receives its own plus value, which is considerably different from the regular card counting system (in which 7 is a neutral number).

There is no stability with this particular stratagem. When starting off the count at zero with this stratagem, you will not come back down to zero so long as you count the whole deck. As a rule, you will come down to a positive four since the number seven is not a neutral one; it has the value of a plus one. Therefore, an additional four points will be included with your deck of cards.

For newcomers, this strategy may be a bit perplexing at first. That is why it is so important for you to first acquaint yourself with the regular card counting method prior to learning this new approach. You will need to constantly follow the count on all cards without any lip movement or even so much as the bat of an eye. The most effective approach for winning at blackjack is by learning. It would be even smarter for you to run through this method at home with your own cards to acquaint yourself with the game more quickly. Additionally, you must teach yourself how to recognize which cards negate the others; an easy way to remember this concept in the future is to understand that the negative always voids anything of a positive nature. One example of this is a Jack and a 4; these cards would both end up canceling each other out.

One approach you could use to figure out whether or not the odds of a current game are favorable or not is through reaching a basic understanding on how to count cards in blackjack. I say this because, if you already have the odds of a game outlined in your mind, you will have a better idea as to what kinds of cards will show up after that. As a rule, professional card players who use this approach are able to make the most well-informed decision if they double down or decide to give up the game. When it comes to making choices in your betting, card counting strategies will always be reliable.

There are some additional methods and practices you could use to win at the blackjack games. In addition, you could even employ the blackjack matrix or strategy cards while using various betting practices. On the other hand, it would also be wise to implement one card counting strategy in accordance with other techniques. Doing this would definitely raise your chance at successfully defeating your dealer and winning big. The utilization of the knockout card counting system is a professional gambler’s best bet when it comes to winning at a game of blackjack.

How to Beat the House -Click Below!

• Learn the Basic Strategy
• Betting Systems
• Shuffle Tracking
• How Not To Get Caught!
• And much more – From The Experts

Using the KO System to Count Cards in Blackjack

Card counting in blackjack is using a mathematical system to keep track of each card dealt allowing you to better understand which cards remain in the deck and make an educated decision towards what and how to bet.  Counting cards is not illegal, a casino that suspects you are counting though will have you thrown out and banned, this is the only way a casino can battle the card counter.  Many people misunderstand card counting, thinking it is specific cards that a counter is watching for as if they have a direct correlation to the eventual outcome of the hand being played, this is simply not true.

Counting cards in blackjack has many different strategies that vary in difficulty.  Generally, the more difficult a system is to learn, the more accurate it is.  Today we will be discussing the KO Count system.

With the KO Count system, also known as the Knock-Out card count, there is an additional card deliberately included in the count, the 7 card.  In systems such as the Hi-Lo count the 7 is represented by a 0, making it a neutral card, but in the KO Count its a +1.  With the addition of the 7 card being used as a +1 this system is referred to as an unbalanced system, since when you run out an entire deck keeping count you should end up up with a +4.  Now, to explain what these numbers mean,  in a single deck of cards certain cards are given a value as follows:

* 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7- Count +1
* 8, 9                – Count 0
* 10, J, Q, K, A- Count -1

As the cards are dealt the player needs to keep track of the cards laying by keeping a count using the table above.  So, if a 10, 3, J, 7, K, and a 9 were laying what would the count be?  The count would be -1, and therefore less then the key count.  The key count, when using the KO system, is +2 which means, anything less then the key count is in favor of the house so bet low.  Remember, the whole reason to keep count is to track the amount of high cards left in the deck and decipher the probability of either the dealer going bust or you being dealt a natural (21).  Easy right?

This system is intended to make it easier for the average player to deduce when to bet and when not to.  Many variables though will come into play at a blackjack table.  Distractions are abundant while at the casino, the noise, the conversations, the waitress, even the dealers are trained to talk to you if they think you are counting.   The biggest key to success in counting cards is in training yourself to register the count without having to think hard about it.  Generally, this is done at home with just yourself and a deck of cards.  Dealing in yourself and an imaginary dealer, begin to keep count.  Once you feel you have mastered keeping track of the count as the cards fall, add in a player or two.  Once you are accustomed to more cards coming by, add in noise like a TV or radio.  The idea here is to continually progress towards a near sub-conscious level of recognizing the count inconspicuously.  As stated above the KO System is best for beginners.  The KO System resembles the more difficult card counting systems and naturally it will be much easier to graduate to a more accurate system once the KO is mastered further advancing your probability of winning big at the blackjack table.