Blackjack in a Nutshell
By Andrew Marx
Copyright 2011 Andrew Marx
Smashwords Edition
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The content of this publication is intended for entertainment purposes only. There are no links to gambling sites or to pay for play websites.
Earnings Disclaimer
Even though this book is about gambling and income potential, there is no guarantee that you will earn any money using the techniques and ideas in these materials. Examples in these materials are not to be interpreted as a promise or guarantee of earnings. Earning potential is entirely dependent on the person using our product, ideas and techniques. We do not purport this as a “get rich scheme.” Your level of success in attaining the results claimed in our materials depends on the time you devote to the program, ideas and techniques mentioned, your finances, knowledge and various skills. Since these factors differ according to individuals, we cannot guarantee your success or income level. Nor are we responsible for any of your actions.
Chapter 1 How to Win at Blackjack
How many times have you sat down at a table and the player next to you is consulting a plastic card with the rules of basic strategy printed on it? (Or was it you?) Basic strategy is based on the probability of winning your hand against the dealer’s. Though you don’t do the math yourself, the card is essentially a cheat sheet for the best chance of winning the hand.
What the basic strategy card does for you is tell how to play your hand in order to maximize the possibility of winning. Basic strategy, played correctly every time, can reduce the house advantage to less than 1%. It is a method based on mathematics, but you would be surprised how often players don’t use it. Sometimes they don’t understand the math involved. Sometimes they don’t want to understand the math involved. And sometimes they just never learned the correct way to play.
The house figures you know a lot less about your odds of winning than they do, and for most players, that’s about right. There is, however, a huge difference between not getting caught up in the mathematical nuances, and not understanding the fundamentals of the game. You can survive without the one; you will be taken by the casino without the other. It is a curious fact of gambling that virtually every game has a house advantage. In blackjack, that advantage can be reduced to statistically less than 1%, whereas at a game like roulette, the house advantage is over 5% (on American roulette wheels with a zero and double zero space) and on slot machines, the statistical disadvantage to the player can be up to 10% or higher. What does that mean in practical terms for blackjack? That means even if you play basic strategy perfectly every time, you are still going to lose if you play enough hands. In order to win at blackjack, you need something more than basic strategy.
Lesson No. 1: Even if you play basic strategy perfectly every time, you are still going to lose if you play enough hands.
The House Advantage
What is the house advantage exactly?
The house advantage, sometimes referred to as the house edge, is a built-in profit margin on every game. In the poker room for instance, the dealer takes a cut of the pot and that is how the casino makes its take at each table. But at all other games, the house advantage is built into the probability of you winning or losing. The casino doesn’t pay you true odds on most bets, but rather establishes the odds so that the payout will be mathematically in its own favor. Casinos are a business, so they want to get paid first and foremost.
Blackjack is a rare game where the odds are not fixed and that is why many people learn techniques to reduce the house advantage, or even give the player a small advantage. The house advantage, and how to beat it, is a subject that we will explore in detail throughout this book.
In order to be successful at blackjack, there are three elements you need to master. They are, simply stated, know-how, timing and mindset.
Most players at any level of experience have some sense of how one or more of these elements integrate together to make you a successful player, but fewer players are able to execute all three at a casino blackjack table.
This book is designed to sharpen your mastery of all three. The reality is winning at blackjack, and gambling more generally, is never as simple as just figuring out how to play. Not only do you need to know what to do and when to do it, but you have to develop the self-discipline to execute it perfectly every time.
House Rules for this Book
Every casino blackjack table comes with house rules. The house rules are the rules that every player must play by. The house rules for this book are: