The Best Blackjack Apps

On 10.31.11, In Blackjack Games, Online Casino, By Vivi

I love playing blackjack on my computer, but to be honest I never tried playing on my phone. So I did some research to find the best blackjack applications for your phone.

Everyone has apps on their phones. Well anyone who has a Smartphone, which is pretty much everyone these days it seems like. They have become a part of our everyday life. We “check in” where we go. We “like” someone’s picture, or we use an app to change that exact picture into a picture we will actually like. The point is if I’m using all of these apps in every other aspect of my life, why am I not using one to do my favorite pastime: Play casino games.

More specifically play blackjack, although I do fancy some free slot games, I mostly stick to my main love: blackjack.

So I started out on my hunt and found a couple of interesting things. Blackjack Multi-Hand is by far the best. It allows you to play 3 hands at once. It also has a built in tutor and offers many tips. It also is an app you have to pay for, which many people don’t like doing. They can spend $.99 on a cheeseburger, but they can’t spend it on a game they can enjoy every day. Oh well.

Ok so if you don’t want to pay the best options are Blackjack88 and Blackjack Classic.

For more tips, or overall blackjack strategy I always trust wiki, just in case you need to sharpen up on your skills before you’re dealt your hand.

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Four Things Not to Do in the Game of Blackjack

On 10.17.11, In Blackjack Games, Blackjack Strategy, Blackjack Tips, Online Blackjack, By Vivi

Everyone wants to tell you what to do while playing blackjack, I’m going to tell you what not to do, four things specifically.

First, never underestimate the power of playing simply. Sometimes advanced techniques can get too complicated to remember and abide by. Simply going with gut instinct, and getting back to the basics can prove very lucrative.

Second, you, along with the rest of the players, are playing against the dealer. The dealer is not an expert player; do not model your playing after him or her. They are only making moves based on what the casino or the random number generator tells them to.

Third, don’t abuse the insurance option. Insurance is mostly only beneficial when you are counting cards, and know when the dealer is going to achieve blackjack. When the dealer has an ace in hand, the chances of them having a paint card as their whole car and getting blackjack rise substantially. The odds in blackjack (4:13) are good for everyone playing, so insurance can be very beneficial, but don’t use it too often, your odds are just as good as the dealer’s.

Fourth, don’t forget about the surrender option. It is easy to forget it exists sometimes, but it can help you and your wallet out. Some times when to surrender are: if you have a nine or ten and your cards total fifteen or sixteen, and the dealer has a nine or ten. Players are quick to surrender when they are sitting on a hard twelve or thirteen; this move is basically giving the casino your money.

And possibly the best thing not to do is play a non-reputable establishment. There are many websites that will give you US and UK casino reviews, so utilize what’s out there.

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Playing Blackjack Online Versus in a Casino

On 10.03.11, In Blackjack Games, Blackjack Strategy, Blackjack Tips, Online Blackjack, Online Casino, By Vivi

Some casino games translate to playing online very well, such as slots, or video poker. Many argue that blackjack isn’t one of these games, but I beg to differ.

It all depends on your level of play. Many expert players claim they can pick up on dealer’s ‘tells’, and actually sitting at a blackjack table in an actual casino is the only way to play. Then you have the expert player who just wants to play blackjack, and doesn’t really believe in dealer ‘tells’ and can play blackjack anywhere. After that we have the novice player, who doesn’t know the difference between playing at Caesar’s Palace or http://www.onlineblackjack.co.uk/.

I personally don’t mind as long as I’m paying attention, it all seems to be the same to me. Especially these days with so many new games coming out that have options to play with multiple players, and virtual dealers, it’s almost the same.

There are a few things to keep in mind no matter where you are playing. Always pay attention to everyone’s hand. This will give you a clue as to what the dealer’s hole card might be; after all you are only ever playing against the dealer, not any of the other players.

There are also different versions of blackjack you can play online that only use one or two decks, which really ups the players advantage.

I find myself in between the spectrum of experts and novice, it seems like I learn something new every day, and I will continue to learn about this strategic game. So are there a lot of difference between playing blackjack online versus playing in an actual casino? That’s for you, the player, to decide.

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One Deck Blackjack at Bodog

On 09.26.11, In Blackjack Games, Blackjack Rules, Blackjack Strategy, Online Blackjack, By Vivi

What would you say if I said I can show you where there is one and two deck blackjack on the internet? Would you be interested? Because I surely was.  I’ve always played at Bodog, but when I was there the other day I saw that they had two new options: 1 deck blackjack and 2 deck blackjack. I was so excited I started playing immediately.

I take that back, I didn’t start playing immediately; I looked up what the differences were between one deck blackjack and multiple deck blackjack. I searched a bunch of tutorial videos on YouTube.com until I finally thought I was ready to conquer the game. I also learned that it has the best theoretical player advantage out of all blackjack games in the casino.

Since there were far less cards involved, I knew that the rules were going to vary a little bit. The only difference I could see was only being able to double on your first two cards dealt, as well as only being able to split once. I noticed that the pace of play is so much longer with one or two decks, that these rules were most likely purely for speed of play.

I bet the minimum bet of $25 and lost the first couple hands. Then I doubled down and won. There is no surrender or insurance in this version so I had to play with extra care. And like I said the pace was a bit slower, I was hitting sometimes up to 6 times, when I’m used to only once or twice.

I switched over to two decks after a while and didn’t see any huge difference between the two. The rules were the same, the minimum bet just got smaller and there was an insurance option.

After I played at Bodog I went on http://www.gambling101.org/ to try to find more online casinos offering this special version of blackjack.

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Different Forms of Blackjack

On 09.19.11, In Blackjack Games, Blackjack Rules, By Vivi

When it comes to blackjack there are several forms that you can choose to play, usually playing online gives you the most choices. The average player doesn’t realize there are so many different varieties, and the advantages and disadvantages that go along with each rendition. Luckily Google.com was around to help me out with the differences.

American Blackjack: Played with four decks of cards, dealer stands on soft 17, player may double down on any two cards; you can also double down after splitting. You can only split an ace once, and cannot get blackjack from a split ace.

European Blackjack: Played with two decks, player can only split once, whether it be an ace or not. If both the dealer and player have blackjack the game is a push.

Blackjack switch: You play two hands at one time, and can interchange the cards dealt to each hand.

Double Exposure: First two cards dealt to the deal are face up, players lose on ties.

Caribbean 21: Same rules as regular blackjack except you try to reach 31 instead of 21.

Spanish 21:  Unlimited amount of double downs, no 10s in the deck, the option to rescue, or surrender and wager, and in some casinos an unlicensed version is called “Pontoon” and is played without a hole card.

Multiple Action:  allows a player to place up to 3 bets on a single hand. The dealer gets a hand for each bet the player places. This doubles the amount of hands a dealer can play. You can split and double, but it is limited.

French/German: No splitting. One ace is one or eleven, but two aces are 21.

Ok, now that you know the different rules and advantages for each rendition, you need to find the perfect Blackjack for you.

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New Blackjack Variation: Double Attack Blackjack

On 08.03.11, In Blackjack Games, By Vivi

All right, blackjack players, it is time to keep your eyes peeled. There is a new blackjack variation out on the casino floors. It has yet to make its way into the online casino lineups of online blackjack, but if this new variation catches on—and I have a feeling it will out of novelty—it will not be long before it turns up online.

The new variation is called Double Attack Blackjack. Like all blackjack variations, this one does offer a side bet, but it is not your usual side bet in that players are wagering are not wagering on something as arbitrary as being dealt a pair for their starting hand.

Instead players make their original wager and then, before any player cards are dealt, the dealer’s face up card is dealt. This gives players an advanced opportunity to judge how the round will go. Is it a card that is known to likely bust the dealer? Or is it a card with good odds on the dealer winning? Once the dealer’s up card is dealt, players can then make a second wager which can be in any amount so long as it is not greater than their original wager. After the second round of wagers is placed, the players’ cards are dealt and the game progresses like any other blackjack game.

It is also worth noting that the Double Attack Blackjack variation also has some player friendly rules. There is no double down limits; players can double down on any number of cards they have—this also includes doubling on splits. Another really nice rule is the ability to make a late surrender. Late surrender allows blackjack players to “fold” and only lose half their wager. To top it all off, the dealer has to stand on all 17’s; no hitting the soft ones here!

But there are some rules that do not favor players. It would not be a complete blackjack variation if it did not. So heads up; here we go:

Natural blackjack will only receive an even money payouts. The other non-player favorable rule is that this game is played with Spanish Blackjack decks. In other words all of the 10 spot cards have been removed so that the only cards with a value of 10 are the face cards.

Thankfully blackjack pros have already come up with some modified basic strategy that players can use when playing the Double Attack Black: hit a hard 12 and 13 against all up cards; hard 14’s should be hit instead of stood on against a dealer 2 or 3; no doubling on soft hands whose total is less than 16. When playing with basic strategy that includes these modifications, the house edge for the Double Attack Blackjack variation is 0.62. Not too bad.

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Perfect Pairs Blackjack

On 07.07.11, In Blackjack Games, By Vivi

When playing blackjack online you are bound to come across a variation of the game that should be approached with some caution: Perfect Pairs. Yes, this variation is fun to play, but it is a quick way to eat into your bankroll, not to mention the odds are not as good as a standard game of blackjack online owing to the payout on a natural blackjack.

Let me back up and explain a little bit more about what Perfect Pair is. It is a variation of blackjack that can commonly be found in online casinos. The game itself is played just like regular blackjack except players can only double down on hard 10’s and hard 11’s. Probably the biggest difference is the change in the blackjack payout; being dealt a natural blackjack will net a player an even money payout instead of the traditional 3-2 payout. An even money payout hits a player’s odds for a 2.27% loss.

But what makes Perfect Pairs its own game is the side bet. At the beginning of a round, players place their regular wager for the outcome of the regular game; at the same time, they also make a side wager on whether or not their first two cards will be a pair or not. While this is the fun part of this online blackjack variation, it is also the part that eats into a player’s bank roll. This is because this side wager is entirely chance; there is nothing a player can do to influence which cards they will be dealt. And if they are not dealt a pair right now they lose the side wager. Unfortunately the odds on being dealt a pair are not close to the odds of not being dealt a pair.

You are highly likely to come across this variation when playing blackjack online. My advice is to play Perfect Pairs either for low stakes or for fun because of the hit the player’s odds take in the online blackjack variation and for how easy it is to eat into a bankroll with side wagers.

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Blackjack Variations: the Venus Fly Traps of the Casino World

On 01.13.11, In Blackjack Games, By Vivi

Blackjack is one of the most popular casino games out there, both in the land of brick and mortar casinos and in online casinos. It is an easy casino game to play and money can be made off of it if you use some strategy.

And just when a company has a product that becomes popular and hit, they create variations to try to make even more of a profit from the product concept, the casino world has done the same with the game of blackjack, creating variations of it that, on the surface are packaged to look like something new and refreshing, are in all reality are designed as money-takers.

Usually blackjack variations are played in the same way that a normal game of blackjack is played. Usually there are some changes to the double down rules or to the splitting of pairs. But the biggest changes are in the addition of side bets.

Side bets are wagers that players make whose results are independent of the outcome of the game, and their odds are not with the player. And then there is the fact that there is no strategy available to help improve a player’s odds when it comes to those side bets.

For example, one such side bet is in the blackjack variation called Perfect Pairs. The side bet is on whether or not the player’s first two cards dealt to them will be a pair or not. In this situation there is no strategy that could help the player to anticipate when they are more likely to be dealt a pair—not even card counting.

There is one strategy that does work in the player’s favor in regard to all side bet based blackjack variations—just avoid them! No matter how tempting they are and how hard those cutesy blackjack variations might appear, remember that side bet based blackjack variations are the Venus Fly Traps of the casino world.

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