How to find the best online blackjack games
April 18, 2008 - Sven Sorenson
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Blackjack is the lone casino table game in which skill plays an important role.
Casino officials have done everything to tweak the game in an attempt to neutralize any edge players can acquire.
If you play the game with any regularity and are serious about keeping the house advantage to a minimum, it is important to be aware of the proprietary rules at individual properties.
Here are the primary categories:
- Table minimum.
You have to play at a table you can afford. For a majority of recreational players, that would be $5 minimum tables.
Check out when $5 games are available. Often, this will be the morning and afternoon. The games are more difficult to find on weekends and busy weekday nights.
Even though it's a $5 minimum, you can always wager more, up to the table max. A $5 minimum will give your bankroll more mileage and help you weather cold streaks.
- Number of decks.
Ever since Edward O. Thorp's breakthrough 1960s book "Beat the Dealer," casinos have abandoned single-deck hand-dealt games in favor of multiple-deck games dealt out of shoes.
The more decks in play, the harder the house advantage works against players.
The most popular variations are six-deck games and eight-deck games.
The former is the lesser of two evils, so seek that out. Better yet, if you're lucky enough to find a four-deck shoe or the rare two-deck game, by all means go for it.
- Cut depth.
This is critical, especially for players who keep track of the cards that are dealt.
The more cards in play after the shuffle, the better it is for skilled players. Watch to see where the dealer places the cut card and how many decks are chopped off.
The norm is up to two decks. But, if you find a casino where only 11/2 decks is cut out, or the generous one deck, it's a good place to play.
- Soft 17.
Blackjack games in which the dealer must stand on a soft 17 (ace-6) are preferred over games in which the dealer hits that hand.
When the dealer is given the opportunity to make a better hand out of a marginally weak one, it increases the house advantage.
- Opportunity.
It's tough grinding out profit-winning even money on minimum bets. So, when the situation warrants (a weak dealer up-card), bet more when the dealer is in a position of weakness and in jeopardy to bust.
Opportunities to accomplish this goal include being able to double down on any two cards, being permitted to split any pair, and being allowed to double down after splitting.
Avoid casinos that place restrictions on these perks.
Pay special attention to house rules on splitting aces. Most will allow you to do it only once.
If you draw a third ace, you're stuck with a 12. If you find a casino that allows you to split aces twice, or even up to three times, you've struck a strategic pot of gold.
- The shuffle.
Automatic and the more insidious continuous shufflers are designed to speed up the game and subject your bankroll to the ravages of the unrelenting house advantage.
The best games are where the dealers shuffle up manually. It not only gives the players a break to regroup, but it also provides some downtime.
Automatic shufflers are the lesser of the two evils.
Continuous shufflers should be avoided at all costs. Not only do they ensure the action will be nonstop, they eliminate any skill you may employ to keep track of the cards.
Source: John G. Brokopp, www.southtownstar.com
Check out the best online blackjack rooms here.
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