Blackjack is a popular table game in Las Vegas. Other than Craps, it is one of the best odds that a player can get against the house. But only if you play a certain way. And it’s really not as intimidating as it looks. The first time I sat down, it seemed like everyone knew what to do except me. Here’s a tip; get a friendly dealer. The cranky ones can make you feel stupid and you won’t enjoy yourself. Most dealers will actually help you out a little. I know, they work for the enemy, but hey, they want tips from you.

There are some things to watch out for, however. One is the automatic shuffler at the table. I’m not talking about the shuffler that shuffles the entire shoe when the dealer is finished with it. That is OK. This is the always-shuffling mega-shuffler. That’s not the technical terminology… This is the shuffler that after each hand the dealer immediately puts that cards back in to be reshuffled. If you know how to count cards, you will understand why. Since it is being constantly shuffled and all the cards except the current hand are in the shuffler, the shoe remains at the initial count value ALL THE TIME. If you don’t count cards here is a basic primer for this problem; Cards are assigned positive, neutral and negative values in the deck. The initial state of the deck has a bias towards the house. Only as you progress through the deck, or shoe of decks can the overall count or value of the cards swing into the players favor by getting rid of low cards. When the shoe or deck swings to players favor, you are much more likely to win. The giant mega shuffler forbids this from ever happening and keeps the bias of the cards in the house favor all the time.

Another important aspect of playing Blackjack is knowing the terminology.
Here’s a primer:
Hit (point down or scratch your cards on the table if you are playing where the cards are private)- give me one more card
Stay (wave your hand parallel across your cards, or tuck them under your bet if you are playing with private cards) - no more cards for me
Bust - Damn! I went over 21.
Push - I tied the dealer. No money lost, but none gained either.
Split - Ooh, my cards are the same number and I would like to turn them each into their own hand of one card, then be able to take more cards for each. For example, if I get 2 Aces, I could stay with the 12 that I have. But no, I will Split them. I will turn them into two hands that each get an Ace. Then I hope that I get 10’s on each of them. I can hit as many times as I want after I have split. ALWAYS split aces and eights!
Double Down - I will double my original bet and I will get only one more card. This is often done when I get like a 7 and a 4. That gives me 11. Of course, there are more 10’s (value-wise) in a deck than any other value. So I match my original bet hoping that my one card will be a 10. Of course, I usually get a 3.

Here is a very basic card counting strategy that you can use and probably not get caught. If you completely change your betting style when the cards are in your favor, that may become obvious and you will get caught, so you are forewarned. You assign the 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 a value of -1 in your head, and 10, J, Q, K, A a +1 in your head. 7, 8, 9 have values of zero in this counting method, so you ignore them. Each time you see any card played, whether it is yours, the dealers, or another person’s at your table, you silently, in your head keep a tally of the “score”. So, if you get 10 (+1) , 9 (0), your neighbor gets 2 (-1), 4 (-1), 8 (0), and the dealer gets Q (+1), K (+1); the tally would be +1. OK, what does that mean? Well, as the positive value increases, so should your bets. So a +3 is favorable to you. Most strategies say, that on a + 3, you should bet 3 times your normal wager. I say, that is a sure way to get caught and kicked out. This is a helpful website explaining some counting strategies. Card Counting Site. The bottom line is: the more 10, J Q, K, A that exist in the deck, the better your odds. If they all come out at the beginning, lay it low with your betting until after the shuffle.

If you want to know what the minimum bet is, well that depends on the casino. Any major casino on the strip will pretty much have a $10 minimum. It will likely go up to $15 on a Friday and Saturday night. Casinos like the Wynn, Bellagio, Venetian and Cesear’s will likely only have $25 minimums at that time and $15 otherwise. Gone are the days of the $5 tables. You can find $5 and $3 and even $1 at some places off the strip and downtown on Fremont, however.

You may even want to buy a blackjack strategy card. I have one listed on the side bar to the left on this page. The basic strategy is a system that has been mathematically proven to be the best way to play in all situations. Dealers know it by heart, beause they offer the best advice to players, so they can increase their tips. This is a universal system and is ackowledged by everyone as the way to play. They are about the size of a credit card and can help you decide what to do in every situation. For example if you have 13 and the dealer has a 6, you are actually supposed to stay. A 6 for the dealer holds one of the highest probabilities of them busting, since most casinos have to hit on 16 and under and the card under the 6 is likely to be a ten/face. Casinos allow players to keep strategy cards with them and use them as they play. My advice is to buy the strategy card, and use the counting strategy together.