I was in a casino in Michigan and found some very interesting blackjack rules. For example, doubling down on any two cards, split and re-split pairs, and a dealer who stands on an A/6. Generally, my basic strategy is in excellent shape by using a blackjack strategy card, but with these many rules changes, what is a player to do? I shall be grateful if you can advise me about this, as I will go back there in a couple of weeks. Rod G.
You are describing a common problem that many players encounter when blackjack-playing conditions differ from casino to casino. My favorite resource for precise blackjack basic strategy, when rule changes contrast your strategy card, is on the Internet. At one web site you can get customized charts to fit the exact game offered at your favorite casino. Simply fill in the supplied online fields, then press the “Get the Charts” button, print, and you have a basic strategy chart that you can use in the casino that offer those slight variations of the rules. You can find this terrific web site at: http://www.blackjackinfo.com
Dear Mark,
Could you please explain doubling down? Jerry C.
In blackjack, after you receive your first two cards, you may double down by placing a second bet, up to the amount your original wager. In exchange for being able to double your bet, you are limited to drawing just one more card. Doubling down, Jerry, is a terrific opportunity to maximize your potential profit in favorable blackjack conditions. The trick is to recognize those favorable situations.
Dear Mark,
I love video poker, but I have one troubling question on how to play these particular hands: Do I hold a low pair or four cards to a flush? Also, what about a high pair and four cards to a flush? Mary S.
Every hand you are dealt has a pre-set specific value and winning potential. The correct strategy for the two hands you described would be as follows: For the first scenario, keep the four-card flush and discard the low pair. As for your second hand, the high pair has a greater value than a four-card flush, making the high pair your keepers.
Dear Mark,
The casinos where I play, Laughlin, have many 25¢ Double Login Sbobet Diamond machines. Are these decent machines to play? Clare J.
Yes and no, Clare. You can have two Double Diamond machines parked side-by-side and one could be programmed to return 98 percent to the player, and the other will return only 85¢ of each dollar played. Unfortunately, you cannot tell which is the good machine and which one will have your purse for lunch. The only true way you can find out which is paying better is to insert your coins, pull the handle, and take you chances. (Or watch someone else do it and save a bundle.)
What I can tell you, Clare, is that based on figures supplied by Nevada’s gaming regulatory agency, Laughlin, on average, returns 94.4% on their quarter machines.
Dear Mark,
How many trips to a casino does it take the average person to hit a royal flush? I ask because I seldom see them. Shannon R.
The frequency of a royal flush is once every 40,000 hands. For that, you will need to play video poker at a pace of four hands a minute, nonstop for seven days before you hit a royal flush. But there’s no guarantee; we’re talking probabilities here, not certainties.
Gambling thought of the week: “If there was no action around, he would play solitaire -and bet against himself.” – Groucho Marx, on his brother Chico
