Blackjack or "21" is without a doubt the most popular table game in American casinos today. Part of the reason for its popularity is the fact that it is a game that can be beaten theoretically by skilled players. In addition, it is a game of choices. The player is actively involved with the results of his play. This combination of skill, choice and luck has caused a blackjack explosion in this country ever since Edward O. Thorp published his seminal work, Beat the Dealer, in the 1960's.
On the flip side, blackjack is the biggest money maker of all the table games for the casinos. Despite the fact that skillful players can beat it, more unskilled or semi-skilled players play the game than do skillful ones. For every card counter who can scratch out a 0.5 to 1.5 percent edge, there are hundreds, if not thousands, of uninformed, unskilled players giving the casinos edges of 2.5 to eight percent or more. Why these players persist on playing versions of "I have my own strategy" is beyond me; especially when great blackjack books re available for novice players, such as Julian's No-Nonsense Guide to Winning Blackjack by John F. Julian. These books can teach anyone of average intelligence how to cut the casino's edge to a minimum and, in some cases, get the edge for themselves. With a little effort, very little effort, anyone can become a good blackjack player. Yet, strangely, poor players and poor play abound. It's almost as if people don't want to win.
The video versions of blackjack share with their table-game cousin certain family traits. Thus, if you've played the table-game of blackjack, you will be familiar with the basic procedures of the machine variety. Most good video-blackjack games will allow doubling down on any first two cards, splitting pairs, doubling after splits, insurance, and some machines will even allow surrender. Like the table game of blackjack, there are video-blackjack games where the player can get an edge— in fact, some machines are so liberal that a skillful card counter (yes, you can count cards at video blackjack) can attain edges of over two percent!
As in the table game of blackjack, not all video-blackjack games are alike. There are better and worse games. How does one determine which is which? Just as you would in regular blackjack—the rules and options and paybacks must be analyzed.
If you are a blackjack player, you might be asking yourself why bother playing the machine variety? There are quite a few incentives for playing the machine version as opposed to the table version. The first, and most obvious, is that the machine version is cheaper. Most games will allow anywhere from one to 10 quarters or from one to 10 dollars to be wagered on a given round. Contrast this with the table game limits. Many casinos in America and around the world have very high minimum bet requirements for playing the table games. For example, in Atlantic City on weekends most table blackjack games will have minimums of $10, $15 and $25. Just one table-game bet could be your whole stake on a video-blackjack game!
A second, and quite compelling, reason to consider video blackjack concerns the casinos' response to expert play. They do nothing. That's right, you can play unmolested. Unlike a card counter at regular blackjack, the card counter at video blackjack doesn't have to worry about being banned, shuffled up on, or in any way harassed because of his skill. It's stress free. Or, at least, the only stress is whether you win or lose. In the table game variety, how you play the game can cause expert players more stress than winning or losing. Just experience being asked to leave a casino "because you're too good" and you'll know what I mean. Not so with video blackjack. The same casino-executive yabboes who flock to the table pits at the first indication of skillful play and who make life miserable for the card counter will smile pleasantly at the video-blackjack patron and then ignore him. Utterly.
The third reason for considering play at video blackjack is the same rational for playing at video poker. You can play your game without having to deal with other players and dealers. It's just you, the dealer-in-the-machine, and the gods of chance. It's a solitary contest played out in private.
However, before getting to the nitty-gritty of percentages and playing strategies for video blackjack, a little refresher course is in order. If you have never played the game, it is important to understand the sequences of decision making and the various options available to you.
In most of the newer versions of video-blackjack, you are given a set time limit in which to make your decision (usually six to 10 seconds) at which point the machine will lock in your initial two-card hand. This is where video blackjack will depart from video poker—the machine sets the playing pace in many video-blackjack games. However, you will also find machines that do not set a time limit for decision making. These will allow you to play at your own pace.
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I never play any credits. I put my money through the machine once and once only. Thus, facing a three-day, 12 hour, 2,880 hand assault on Lady Luck, I would need 14,400 coins (2,880 hands x 5 coins = 14,400 coins). So does that mean that if I wanted to play a dollar machine, I would need $14,400 behind me? Not really.
Just take one day, which would be 4800 coins ($4,800 dollars for dollar machines, $1,200 for quarter machines, and $240 for nickel machines) and make that your trip-stake. This is the money you are going to risk. You will put the money through the machine that first day—once. However, do not put all your coins into the machine during one session. Instead, divide the day into two or more sessions and allot the requisite amount for each. Only play the money originally slated for each session and never play credits. If you wind up with more than 4,800 coins at the end of the first day, the excess is put away, not to be touched on this trip. That excess will go back into your gambling account when you get home.
The second day, you would again put 4,800 coins through the machine—just once—and again spread out the play amongst various sessions. On the third day, same procedure. Should your trip bankroll fall below 4,800 coins at any time, you would risk whatever you had by putting it through the machine once. So, on that first day, let us say that you took a beating and lost half your stake—a not impossible occurrence. On day two, you would put through 2,400 coins because that's all you had left. And you would put them through during individual sessions, not all at once. You would have to cut down the length and/or number of sessions because of your shortened bankroll.
Using this method of play, it is impossible for you to lose every penny unless the unthinkable happens—every day is a losing day and you lose every single hand on the last day of your trip. If this horrible fate happens, you could still make money by selling your story (MEET THE UNLUCKIEST PERSON ON EARTH!) to the Guinness Book of World Records or Ripley's Believe It or Not!
While four hours a day of playing video poker might seem like a lot, it really isn't. Many video-poker aficionados will'play six, eight, ten or more hours a day—as the last chapter of this book will show. If you are the type who wishes to put in mega-time at video poker, then you must adjust your bankroll accordingly.
Here's the best formula for figuring out what you need (if you use my preferred playing method above): total hours allotted for play per day x the number of days x number of hands per minute x 60 minutes x 5 coins = total coins necessary. Now, take that figure and divide by three. This is the amount of money you will need to bring to the casino. If you are playing at a machine that requires more or fewer than five coins, just adjust that last section to reflect this.
For extended trips, you might want to increase by a factor of two the total amount you bring with you—just to feel safe. Thus, if you are going to be staying in a casino town for six days, you might want to bring twice as much as you would for a three-day stake. In this way, you can assure yourself of the best shot at Lady Luck without your bankroll being plugged full of holes. There's no worse feeling than going away to a casino town for a week or more and being down most of your bankroll in the first few days.
In truth, the bottom line in the money-management, mental-edge, how-much-do-I-play-with sweepstakes is you. Some individuals can stand a high danger quotient. They can play with money that is not specifically set aside for gambling and break nary a sweat. (I am not referring to problem or compulsive gamblers whose whole lives revolve around sweat—and often blood and more often tears.) Other gamblers are much more timid. I'm in that category. I have friends who are the devil-may-care type but I'm one of the angels who do care. Thus, my advice is always conservative and, yes, perhaps at times a little timid. So be it. Yet, I do know this: playing as I've outlined above gives you a good chance of winning in the long run and an almost perfect chance of never losing it all in one orgy of bad luck. So play the best machines with the best strategies and give yourself plenty of money to play with and you will have the best chance for victory at video poker.
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