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How To Play Multi-Hand Blackjack

This post is syndicated by the Las Vegas Advisor for the 888 casino group. Anthony Curtis comments on the 888 article introduced and linked to on this page.

A.C. says: This article is about playing multiple hands in online blackjack, but the information about expected losses and risk also apply to playing live blackjack in casinos. Author Henry Tamburin hits all the important points, including the fact that you can’t beat the online games that shuffle after every hand. However, it’s also clear that those playing for entertainment will find it much easier to play multiple hands online and often for significantly lower stakes, which counteracts the negative effect of faster play.

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Video Poker versus Live Poker

This post is syndicated by the Las Vegas Advisor for the 888 casino group. Anthony Curtis comments on the 888 article introduced and linked to on this page.

A.C. says: Poker has been the basis for many new games, with video poker being, by far, the most successful of them. This article provides a good comparison of live and video poker, which boils down to the differences between playing against a human or a machine. I’d add as an illustrative example that in live-game draw poker, it can be strategic to hold a kicker to set up a bluff. You don’t hold kickers in video poker … you can’t bluff a machine. As pointed out in the article, becoming a winning player at live poker requires developing multiple skills and infusing judgment, while video poker is black and white — there’s always one best play. Players can calculate video poker returns and proper playing strategies, but they don’t have to. That’s already been done for them in the work of Bob Dancer, Jean Scott, and others. Study with the good video poker learning tools out there and you can achieve a near-computer-perfect return.

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Casino Hosts — Concierges for Gamblers

This post is syndicated by the Las Vegas Advisor for the 888 casino group. Anthony Curtis comments on the 888 article introduced and linked to on this page.

A.C. says: The author references Steve Cyr’s interview in Cigar Aficionado. For those who don’t know, Cyr is the subject of our book Whale Hunt in the Desert, written by LVA’s Deke Castleman. This article discusses a host’s duties in broad terms and hints at how wild life as a host can get. Hints. For the holy-shit particulars, read the book.

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History of Blackjack

This post is syndicated by the Las Vegas Advisor for the 888 casino group. Anthony Curtis comments on the 888 article introduced and linked to on this page.

A.C. says: This is a solid treatment of the debated history of blackjack. I say debated, because I’ve looked into this history, predominantly for my contribution to our book The Art of Gambling Through the Ages, and there are several versions and disagreements. One of the opinions I most trust is that of David Schwartz, who’s referenced in this article, so this is as good a version as you’re likely to find. Sean Chaffin covers the early work done on playing blackjack optimally, including the first basic strategy developed by the “Four Horsemen” (four Army engineers stationed at the Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland) and, soon after, the concept of card counting published in Edward O. Thorp’s Beat the Dealer. The article concludes with a mention of playing blackjack online. It should be noted that the casino edge in most online games can’t be overcome; the decks are reshuffled after every hand, thus removing the “dependent-trials” aspect that makes it possible to beat them. Then again, minimums tend to be much lower and those who play casually for entertainment might appreciate not having to push out the $15-per-hand that has become the norm in the Las Vegas casinos.

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Trying to Find a Way to Beat the Casinos at Roulette

This post is part of a syndication deal with the 888 casino group. Part of the agreement allows Anthony Curtis to comment on the information presented in each submission.

A.C. says: The title of this article is reasonable. It doesn’t purport to provide a way to beat roulette; it talks about ways that players “try” to win. No, the methods described here won’t provide you with an advantage—and that point is made clear within—but they’re reasonable ways to play when the emphasis is on entertainment. Mixed in is good advice on playing games with better rules, e.g., a single-zero game (-2.70%) is better than a double-zero (-5.26%). Not mentioned here is the trend toward triple-zero wheels (-7.69%). No bueno!

This post was written by Frank Scoblete in association with 888Casino.

This article is for you even if you have played roulette for a long time or are just picking it up now or in a few hours.

I have gathered some roulette players, each with his or her own ideas of how to play and how to manage their finances. 

But just a few words from me as we begin. 

These are players who know themselves and understand the game. I have avoided the wild players who just throw their money around with no sense or concept of what the game they are playing is all about. The big drinkers I have not bothered with because with a little booze comes too much of a lack of inhibition. Some inhibition is good for players.