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RULES AND STRATEGIES
| Blackjack rules | Blackjack basic strategy | Roulette rules | Roulette strategies |
| Craps rules | Baccarat rules | Video poker rules | Video poker strategies |
Blackjack RulesBlackjack is far and away the most popular casino game played world-wide. Part of the reason for this popularity is the fact that, when played correctly, blackjack offers better odds than any other game. Another reason is that, quite simply, blackjack is a simple game with rules that are easy to understand. Simply get a higher hand than the dealer’s without going over a count of 21. Of course there are a few other rules that you will need to know, and some basic strategies that help increase your odds of winning. The basics… In blackjack, all number cards are counted at their face value, picture cards counted as 10, and the Ace counted at 1 or 11 at the option of you the player - whichever is more advantageous to your hand. Therefore, if you hold a 9 and a 5, you have 14, but a nine and an Ace can be either 10 or 20. A blackjack hand is a 10 (10 or picture card) and an Ace, and its beats all other hands (except another blackjack). If you have a blackjack, and the dealer has 3 cards that add up to 21, you still win, but if you have blackjack and the dealer also has blackjack there is a stand off (ie you neither win or loose). Bets must be placed before any cards are dealt, and most casinos give the player plenty of flexibility as to the bet amount. A bet is placed by simply putting your chip in the bet box before the round of cards are dealt. Once your bet is placed, the dealer will give you 2 cards, face up. The dealer also deals himself two cards, one face up and the other face down. You are then given the option of standing (not taking another card) or hitting (taking another card). You can also at this stage choose to double down or split at this stage, but more about these later. You may hit as often as you wish but if you go over 21, you bust, and the dealer wins automatically. All instructions, standing, hitting etc are clearly indicated at our top 10 casinos.The dealer will not take any cards until all players at the table have made their choices, and this is where the dealer's biggest advantage lies. Any players that bust lose their bet even if the dealer also goes bust. Once all players at the table have either gone bust or stood, the dealer shows his face down card. If the dealer's hand totals 17 or higher he/she must stand, they are not allowed to take additional cards. If the dealer’s hand is 16 or under he must hit until the hand has a value of 17 or higher. These two rules are a critical part of basic blackjack strategy, so be sure to remember them. The dealer also busts and loses if they deal themselves over 21. If you beat the dealer with a normal hand (ie not blackjack) you double your money. If you beat the dealer with blackjack, you win 1½ times your bet. If you get the same hand as the dealer, there is a stand off and you don’t win or loose (including blackjack hands). These are the basics – but there are a number of other rules that it is very useful to have a good understanding of. also useful to know… In most casinos, you can double down (double your bet) after receiving your first two cards. However, there is one condition. When you double down, you can take only one more card. You can also split pairs. If your first two cards of the deal are the same value, you can split the cards and play two hands by placing a bet of the same value as your original bet on the second hand. So if you split a pair of 9’s you create two separate hands, each with a value of 9. Then you proceed to play out each hand as you would do normally. Back to TopBlackjack basic strategyBlackjack rules will vary slightly from casino to casino, but in the vast majority of cases Blackjack will be played with a shoe of 4 or more decks and the dealer will have to stand on 17 or above, hit on 16 or below. The basic strategy below applies to this situation. To use the basic strategy look up your hand along the left vertical edge and the dealer's up card along the top (A stands for Ace). The intersecting square is the basic strategy play for that circumstance. H =
Hit
If you do play basic strategy, the house edge will be reduced to well below 1%. Back to Top |
Roulette rulesRoulette is another simple game, in which there are 11 different kinds of bets that can be placed, in any number of combinations. The only real skill required is deciding how much to bet, and which combinations of bets to place. Not surprisingly a large part of your success at roulette is determined by luck, but as with all casino games there is definitely an element of skill that can help you increase your winnings. The basics Roulette is played on a wheel having 38 compartments numbered 1 to 36, 0 and (in most, but not all cases) 00. The same numbers are printed on the table lay-out where bets can be placed. The premise of the game is simple. The wheel spins counter-clockwise while a little white ball rolls in the opposite direction and when the ball drops into one of the slots, that is the winning number. You win or lose depending where on the table your bet was placed. The amount you win depends on the type of bet you have placed, and this is explained in more detail below. Typical American (00) roulette table layout
Look at the table layout carefully and you'll see that there are inside and outside sections. The significance of the inside and outside sections will be clearer after you’ve become familiar with the 11 different types of roulette bets you can make, along with their pay offs. The 11 bet types… Betting inside:
Betting outside:
minimum bets… All casinos will have minimum bets at their roulette tables. For ‘inside bets’ each individual bet can be less than the table minimum, as long as the sum total inside bets is greater than or equal to the minimum. For outside bets, each bet placed must be greater than or equal to the minimum. One final tip, bet conservatively initially until you are comfortable with game rules and then get more adventurous. You may want to try a couple of well known roulette systems that some gamblers swear by. In the long-run, the odds of all casino games favour the casino and no betting system can change that fact. But that is not to say that systems can’t work well in the short term. Back to TopRoulette strategiesRed/black system… The red/black system is one of the better known roulette systems around. Your bets for this system are on either red or black, with your pay out 1 to 1 (ie double your money for a win). It is worth bearing in mind that your chances of winning each bet are just under 50/50 (remember the 0 and 00 that gives the casino its advantage). You begin by choosing a colour and placing your bet on either red or black. Be sure to make your first bet a small one. If you win, keep your winnings and place your starting bet again. If you lose, double your stake and place a bet on the same colour again. If this bet wins, your net result after two bets is the same as if you had one you initial bet. Keep your winnings and begin with your starting stake again. If your second bet loses, double your stake again, and continue doing this until your colour does come up, at which point your net win from the string of bets will be the same as if you won your starting bet. Now you know why it is important to start with a small bet. It doesn’t take too many losing bets in a row for your bet amount to climb to quite a big number. But keep your nerve, the key is being prepared to continue to double up until you have a win. Five numbers system… This strategy calls for straight-up inside bets where you get paid 35 to 1 if you win. You will place your bets on five individual numbers. Don’t forget 0 and 00 are part of the inside numbers you can wager on. Pick any five numbers, they all have the exact same chance of winning. Find a game where the minimum bet is no more than $5 and buy forty $1 chips ($40). If you limit yourself to relatively small stakes you can’t get badly hurt. With this system you hope to get lucky two consecutive times. Start by placing one chip on each of your five chosen numbers. Repeat this same wager until you win - you have enough chips for eight tries. When the ball comes to rest on one of your numbers, you win 35 chips. Divide the 35 chips over your five number fields, seven on each. If you hit again the pay off will be 7 x 35 = $245. No matter what the outcome, this was your last spin. Smart gamblers know when to quit. Back to Top |
Craps rulesCraps is considered by many to be the most exciting game in any casino. Not surprisingly, Craps is the game that always seems to be featured whenever gambling is shown on the movies. There are a number of betting options in craps, and as a result, it could be considered a complicated game. But there are some simple bets that you can make to start with, and the odds on these are quite favourable. The rest, you will learn as you play. Craps is centred around the roll of a pair of dice. The player who rolls the dice is known as the 'shooter'. When two dice are rolled, any number between 2 and 12 can come up, with 7 being the most likely outcome. The number 7 has a better than 16% chance of coming up on each roll, whereas there is less than 3% chance of rolling a 2 or 12. Probabilities for other numbers are as follows: 6s and 8s under 14%, 5s and 9s nearly 11%, 4s and 10s almost 8%, 3s and 11s slightly less than 6%. The most basic bet in craps, and the bet placed most be craps players, is placed on the 'Pass Line' before the shooter rolls the dice. If the shooter rolls 7 or 11, you and the shooter win, and the shooter keeps the dice to roll again. If the shooter hits 2, 3, or 12, the bet is lost but he remains the shooter and continues to roll the dice until he either makes his point and you both win, or he rolls a 7 and the bet is lost. In the above case, you have bet with the shooter. If you want to bet against him you place your bet on the 'Don't Pass' line and the rules are entirely reversed except that if, on his first roll, the shooter rolls 12, it is a stand off and you neither win nor lose. After the roll has begun and the shooter has a point, you can make a bet by placing it on the 'come' line. The same rules apply to you as if the shooter were making a first roll. If the next roll is 7 you win. If it is a 2, 3, or 12, you lose. If it is any other number, that becomes your 'come point' and, for you to win, it must be rolled again before a 7. If a 7 comes first, the bet is lost. If you are new to craps, start with a 'pass' line bet and then perhaps try a 'come' bet. The casino edge on a pass line is around 1% so it represents a very safe bet. The bets:
other bets...
Good luck Back to Top |
Baccarat rulesBaccarat is a simple game that requires very little skill or judgement to play. Once your bet is placed at the start of the game you just wait for the outcome - no more decisions to be made. Baccarat is historically a casinos high stakes game - and you might find that some of the online casinos have a high limit baccarat for those of you daring enough to tackle some high stakes gaming. The rules of the game are simple...
House edges for Baccarat make it an attractive option, with the house taking just over 1% for banker and player bets. The tie bet is not a good option, with the casino taking around 14% on this bet. Other than avoiding tie bets, you probably guessed that there are no baccarat strategies. Good luck Back to Top | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Video poker rulesThe basic rules of Video Poker are pretty simple and it is a game that offers a very slim (around 0.5%) house edge if played optimally. The machine deals a five card hand. You may keep or throw away as many cards as you like by activating the appropriate button underneath every card. After selecting the card(s) you want to hold or discard, press on "deal/draw." The cards you didn’t want to hold are replaced with new cards. If the new hand contains a winning combination, you win whatever amount that hand is paying. Since the game is played on a machine, your only objective is to get the best-paying hand. There are many versions of video poker game offered by both terrestrial and online casinos. One of the better known versions is Jacks or Better Video Poker, which offers the following payouts:
Notice that the five coin payout for a royal flush will vary from machine to machine - so pick a machine that pays well. Notice also that the 5 coin payout for a royal flush is considerably more that 250 per coin - making the 5 coin bet your best bet. Back to TopVideo pokerstrategiesAs noted, played optimally on a good paying game, Video Poker is one of the best returning games you can play. Given the enormous number of possible first deal combinations, it is not practical to suggest every optimal hold determination for each first dealt hand. However, the rules below serve as a good general guide to playing Jacks or Better Video Poker. - Hold any four cards to a straight flush. And remember - you are playing against a machine, so take your time considering which cards you wish to hold before you call the second deal. Back to Top |
