Blackjack/Casino Question

[kmc500]

Simple fact... poor play or great play has absolutely no statististical impact on the results of others.

 

Absolutely.

 

Not quite sure why people don't understand this though. I guess it is because of human nature.

Definitely some people's nature. I think there are many who don't remember that they had to learn themselves at one time and now enjoy brow beating others.

 

Kevin C

[peepaw]

now my head hurts.

[Herfnerd]

now my head hurts.

 

Talk about headaches - don't sit at Third Base if you're a newb or you'll get the stink eye if you make a poor/bad decision, lol!

[CharlesKru]

Some of the worst screw ups I've seen have been by card counters. THEY are irritating with their antics.

 

What is funny to me is, that the ship casinos use auto card shufflers that they put the cards back into normally after every hand. You can not count cards on 6 decks when they are shuffling the cards each hand.

 

Yet people swear they can.

[Herfnerd]

What is funny to me is, that the ship casinos use auto card shufflers that they put the cards back into normally after every hand. You can not count cards on 6 decks when they are shuffling the cards each hand.

 

Yet people swear they can.

 

Fun 21 still uses a shoe.....

[4hunters]

Fun 21 still uses a shoe.....

 

And the overall house advantage over the player on that particular game is scary! :eek:

[Herfnerd]

And the overall house advantage over the player on that particular game is scary! :eek:

 

 

I usually leave that table with more money that I started with......

[4hunters]

^^^ Ah come on now... no fibbing allowed on these boards. ;)

[Gizmo88]

for the "cheat sheet", if it is the basic strategy one then you can't really consider it cheating. although in the casinos on Carnival ships usually use continuous shufflers, which basically makes it hard to cheat since the dealer reloads the deck almost after every hand. just be careful if table's shuffler get replaced with a shoe for the decks (seen it happen for a Fun 21 table)

 

if you want to start easy go to the low minimum tables.

[hassellcastle]

I left the table with more money than I started with last week. I played several times on our 7 day cruise.

 

Minimal table bet on the tables with dealers and automatic shufflers is $6 per hand. You can either bet that all on the blackjack bet, or you can bet, $5 on the blackjack bet and $1 on the "fun pairs" bet.

 

The "fun pairs" bet is a sucker bet. That awards you various odds payouts if you are dealt a pair. I did not bet one "fun pairs" bet the entire week. Although I was dealt the "Captains Pair" a couple of times. Captains pair is two kings, same suit, pays 50 to 1.

If you place a bet on "fun pairs" and you do not have a pair dealt to you at the start of the game, the dealer takes your "fun pairs" bet and you loose that portion of your bet before he proceeds to go around the table to see if each player takes a hit, stands, etc.

 

I have learned a strategy for playing at Blackjack taught to me and it works out pretty well for me.

 

My strategy is to go for three consecutive wins in a row.

It goes like this.

 

Bet $6 and win,

Next hand I will bet $12.

Win again and my next hand I will bet $18.

If at any time within those three hands I lose, I return to a $6 bet. If I win the $18 bet, I also then return to my $6 bet.

 

Unless the dealer is betting you hand after hand, after winning the first hand you are playing with the casino's money.

 

This betting strategy for me works well and It certainly pays well when when you are dealt a BlackJack "21" with an $18 bet on the table. Or when you double down with an 11 and the dealer has a 6 showing.

 

Doing this strategy last week I was up about $250 within 45 minutes.

 

I proceeded to lose a little of it after that, but ended up leaving the table in the positive ...not negative.

 

I know there are many strategies people use, but this one has worked best for me.

 

FYI weeks leading up to our cruise, I practiced everynight on my Ipad. I have a blackjack app game I play that lets me bet in $5 increments and it also has an "advice" button to help giving me suggestions as to what to do between what I have and what the dealer has. The more I've played it, the less and less I've been pushing the "advice" button and I think that helped my game play at the tables last week.

 

My best suggestion at all....practice, practice, practice. Know when to hit, no when to stay, no when to double down and know when to split.

[popsec]

Simple fact... poor play or great play has absolutely no statististical impact on the results of others.

 

I say "statistical" because in the long run it makes no difference. Sure, on one single hand what the person sitting before you does may impact your results. But the impact can be equally positive or negative and over the course of hundreds of hands it all evens out.

 

Not quite sure why people don't understand this though. I guess it is because of human nature.

 

Yes, exactly! I've noticed that when a player makes a poor play that results in everyone winning no one says a word but if they lose because of it, the eye rolling etc gets tiring.

[crusinpsychRN]

Great thread! Thanks OP!

 

They need a table for blackjack dummies so we won't be so intimidated and have some of you guys there required to help.

 

OK, my sob story...I went to Catholic elementary and believe me, the nuns beat math out of me. I can't add fast enough without using my fingers. (And I have a Doctorate in Business!!! I had a calulator!)

I think everyone would get so ticked at me I won't even sit near the table!

 

HELP!

[nlktx49]

Makes my head ache, too! I can't think or add fast enough to play any card game with strangers, I get too intimidated. I'm with the poster who said they need a table for BJ Dummies! Until then I'll stick to my slot machines where no one gets mad at the way I play!

[twentyknots]

Razor Poke offered some good advice, especially practicing on blackjackinfo.com. A few weeks before our cruise I practice several hours each week. I continue to pay until I can pay at least 100 hands perfectly. The website will tell you when you are not playing according to accepted practices. By the time I cruise, I've played so much that I don't have to think anymore when I'm at the blackjack table. My response is automatic. On our last cruise it was fascinating to observe how many people did not know what to do.

 

I would add to Razor's advice by suggesting that you sit at a full or almost full table. Also, do not sit in the 1st seat to be dealt cards. Novice players need that little bit of extra time to look at their cards and the dealer's and think about how they're going to play, so sitting a few seats from 1st base is helpful. I like the last seat (3rd base) but some players get upset if they preceive that the player there made a lousy decision and maybe cost them the hand. Sitting next to the 3rd base seat would be ideal.

 

Above all, have fun. Don't worry too much about what others players do. On our last crusie I only observed one player who really knew how to play. On our last day we were having breakfast together and we compared how we had done. We both lost several hundred dollars, but we had fun. I should point out, that I watched night after night inexperienced players winning, and some winning big. Luck has a lot to do with it.

[iheartpoco]

If you are just looking for some fun table games, consider trying Jacks or Better or 3-card Poker.

 

Both of these games are, IMHO, way easier, with a lot less strategy to learn for a newbie.

 

There was always a 3-card $5 table going on Paradise last December. If you go during the morning or day when it's not busy, the dealer will help you play, show you how to bet, et cetera.

 

Good Luck and have fun!! :)

[peepaw]

Makes my head ache, too! I can't think or add fast enough to play any card game with strangers, I get too intimidated. I'm with the poster who said they need a table for BJ Dummies! Until then I'll stick to my slot machines where no one gets mad at the way I play!

On the conquest last Jan. they had some electronic blackjack table that were, I believe, $1 bet tables. My wife tried them and really enjoyed it. Being a novice she was not risking a lot and I could sit and give advice when allowed:rolleyes:. It also gave the value of the cards so you didn't have to take off a shoe to get to 21:D!