The secret(s) to winning at Blackjack?

Question

What is the key to winning at Blackjack? It seems like when I play, I have very few chances to win. If I take a card because the dealer is showing a 10 or ace, I seem to go bust 70% of the time, no matter what I'm showing.

In retrospect, I don't see what I could have done differently. If I take a card, I go bust, If I don't take a card, the dealer wins by default.

Also, what is the strategy for roulette, regarding betting on individual numbers?

Answer 1

No secret, just luck!  OKay maybe in the old time when they only used one deck, there is a strategy called counting cards.  Not any more.  Now the casino are using 4-6 decks and have the machine continues shuffling the cards,  there is no way you can beat the casino.

If you have to play BJ, then it's better to follow your instinct.  If you are feeling lucky, bet big.   But be aware of the warning sign such as the deal always have you beat: you got 20, deal got 21; you got 18 and deal shows a 6 and caught a 5 or 4 on the next card.   If this happens a lot, then basically it tells you that tonight is not your night.  You should go home and try again later.

Answer 2

The only winning strategy in any game of chance is simply not to play.

(sry)

Answer 3

It sounds like you are playing the dealers hand more than your own. It is true that if the dealer is showing a card likely to add up to 18 or above you should consider that when planning your play. All that being true, it's your cards that need your attention first. It is not likely that drawing to a 12,13,14,15, and up is going to due better than a bust in a large percentage of all the hands you play.

In short play your hand first,and not get caught up into the thought the dealer showing 10,11 has 20, or 21.

Answer 4

My friend's great-grandfather bought land in a dinky little spot in the road called Las Vegas before there was anything there. When the Mob moved in, he became their friends, without joining in their illegal activities. He left all his land to my friend's grandmother, and her grandmother taught her that the best games to make money on in Las Vegas were the backgammon and gin rummy games that go on up in the management offices over tea and coffee. Her grandmother told her that any other game was a losing proposition, and that old lady lived out her life in a luxurious penthouse at the top of a casino--she didn't own the building, but she owned the land the building sat on. I think her advice is probably still the best advice, so try to find the casino owner and engage him or her in a friendly game of gin, and you just might win (I would imagine they've moved up from playing for a penny a point, but probably not by much).

In the good old days, you used to be able to win at Blackjack if you could count cards. Those days are long over. It took the kids from MIT entire teams with a scientific approach to make money at the tables. I know you can do okay if you know the game inside, outside, upside down, and feel comfortable going outside the good advice of books, but it really is a specialized skill that requires a lot of time to learn. If you are that guy or girl, the one with the special skill and a lot of practice, then that's the best odds in the house, and you'll only lose half your shirt, and not the whole thing.

Roulette will take your shirt and your slacks and your belt and your shoes from you. (Quit when you're down to your underwear and socks--you gotta have some dignity when you walk up to the bar.) It's a game which draws a lot of attention because of how flashy and fun it is, but it's a loser's game. It's almost pure luck, unless you are super good at timing things without the aid of something like a stopwatch, and you have a photographic memory. There are people who can predict with a good degree of accuracy where the ball will land, but they use their good timing skills and actually learn the ball's behavior at a certain table, and then base their bets on that. Since the balls are changed fairly regularly, if you're like the rest of us, you'll never have any idea of what that ball is going to do next. Sure, you can win if you play only black/red, or odd/even, but I'll give you better odds at jacks or marbles if you want to throw money away ;)

I wish I had better advice. If you want to make money playing something, get really good at pool, and become a pool shark. You have an innocent face, and I would imagine you can pull it off. Just be careful who you play with--your face is fine the way it is, and you probably don't want it rearranged.

Happy playing ;)

Answer 5

The secret to winning on BJ is to be the house, the game gets it's edge by making you as the customer play first.

There are no winning strategies for roulette.

Answer 6

It's called money management and discipline.

Answer 7

Blackjack must be played using the basic strategy. there are many sources to get it, just seach for blackjack basic strategy.

But this will not allow you to win, only to have a better chance.

In order to win at blackjack, you must place a high bet when the odds favor you and a low bet when the odds favor the dealer.

There are some ways to do this, card counting is one, and it can be done in multi-shoe decks, although it is less reliable these days with thick cuts, and cannot be done against continuous shufflers.

There is another method of knowing when to increase your bet in favorable conditions, it is called the Blackjack Betting Trigger. It works pretty well against multideck blackjack, and can mean the difference between a losing session and a winning session. Here is a link:

http://www.thedoverpro.com/blackjack.htm

The only strategy I am aware of for roulette is to find a single Zero table instead of a double Zero table, that at least puts the odds a bit more in your favor. Other than that there simply is no way to beat roulette, and don't fall for any systems that claim they can. They don't!

One other way to get more out of your gambling session at a real casino is to be sure to get a Players Card. These cards reward you for your play with Comps ( freebies ) from the casino. And here are some tips to get more and better comps when you play:

http://www.thedoverpro.com/how-to-get-co...

Answer 8

The best way to win is to play by the book and do not deviate from it.  Be consistent and hit/hold when you are supposed to.  That is your best chance.  Don't change it up.

Answer 9

In blackjack the house advantage lies in the fact that the player acts before the dealer.  (if you bust, but the dealer proceeds to bust afterward, you still lose)

This represents something on the order of a 7% disadvantage (almost twice that of a roullette wheel)

This disadvantgae is negated heavily by the players ability to double down, split surrender, and get payed 3:2 for blackjacks.

Pair splitting strategy, and double down strategy are crucial in making sure the house edge is at a minimum and failing to abide verbatim to the complex playing strategy for the game of blackjack will result in you falling victim to the 7% disadvantage i mentioned before.

Incorrect splitting and doubling strategy, (doubling or splitting when it is not ideal) will further increase the house advantage.

To learn and practice blackjack playing strategy visit:

http://www.hitorstand.net

With proper playing strategy, the house edge can be reduced dramaticaly, for 8 deck, dealer stands soft 17 double after split allowed, the house advantage is only -0.43% making it the best game in the casino.

Do not question the plays on blackjack strategy charts, they are right and you are wrong, you do split 9s vs 9 and you do hit soft 18s vs 9,10, or A

To take it even further you could learn to count cards and flip the tables on the casino, at best you will see a 2% advantage from card counting by employing the best strategies available to gain an edge.  Though for most card counters it is far less.

There are methods of predicting what card(S) are coming next out of the shoe that involve following them through the shuffle, this is something you can only learn from personal experience.  Also oportunities to take advantage of this ability are less common.  It is a very valuable technique.

Continuous shuffle machines have been beaten in the past, they are mechanical mechanisms with sometimes predictable inner workings, however these tactics are the REAL secrets of blackjack and you will not find information on them.

As for roullette, there is only one strategy that may have the potential to beat the game, It involves timing the speed of the ball and timing the speed of the wheel to predict whewre it is goign to land, typically i the past this has been done by tiny computers, however, i stumbled accross a book by sombody who claims to outline a system to accomplish the same effect except all in your head without a computer.  In theory, this could have the potential to turn the tables on the casino, howvere i find it very unlikley that it could be done with enough accuracy to work.  I do not recall the name of the book or the author.