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Slot Machines Handling
Pay close attention to the pay particulars of "7s" machines; they can be tricky. We were in a casino one day and a woman started yelling, "1 got three blue sevens! I got three blue sevens!" We looked over and sure enough, there they were, three blue 7s lined up on the pay line. However, there were no lights flashing, no bells ringing, no credits racking up, no money coming out of the machine. The woman cried, “Where’s my jackpot?" Upon closer inspection, we saw that with less than-max coins played, payoffs were limited to bars and cherries only; to get paid for 7s you had to have three coins in. The woman had played two coins, so when her three blue 7s came up, instead of winning a $1,000 jackpot, she got nothing.
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Read Casino Basic Strategy
Basic Strategy
Once you understand how to play blackjack, you can get into a game without losing your bankroll. If you make your decisions by playing your hunches, you will lose in the long run - there is only one correct decision for any given play, and that decision is based strictly on mathematics. Whether or not you should hit or stand, double down or split a pair, depends on what the laws of probability dictate.
Mathematicians, using computers, have matched every possible hand you might hold against every possible dealer up card and it's their way or the highway.
Mathematical Decisions
Basic strategy is the best way. Mathematically to play your hands if you are not counting cards. Depending on the rules and the number of decks in use, basic strategy will usually cut the house edge to no more than about 1/2% over the player. This makes blackjack the most advantageous game in the , even if you are not a card counter.
To explain why various basic strategy decisions work would require extensive mathematical proof. Unless you understand the math, and have a computer to work it out, you'll have to accept basic strategy on faith.
There is an underlying logic to basic strategy, however, which can be understood by anyone who understands the rules of blackjack.
Why Basic Strategy Works
In a 52-card deck there are 16 ten-valued cards: four tens, four jacks, four queens, and four kings. (For purposes of simplification, when I refer to a card as a "ten" or "X," it is understood to mean any 10, jack, queen, or king.) Every other denomination has only four cards, one of each suit. You are four times more likely to pull a ten out of the deck than, say, a deuce. Because of this, when the dealer's up card is "high" -7, 8, 9, X, or A - he has a greater likelihood of finishing with a strong total than when his up card is "low" - 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6.
So, if the dealer's up card is a 7, 8, 9, X, or A, and you hold a "stiff” any hand totaling 12 through 16-you would hit. When the dealer's hand indicates strength, you do not want to stand with a weak hand. Even though when you hit a stiff you're more likely to bust than to make a pat hand, you will lose more money in the long run if you stand on these weak hands when the dealer shows strength.
On the other hand, if the dealer's up card is 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6, and you hold a stiff hand, you should stand. Since he must hit his stiff hands, and since stiffs bust a large percentage of the time, hitting your weak hand isn't the right play.
Similarly, if the dealer's up card indicates he may be stiff, it's in your favor to double down or to split pairs, thereby getting more money onto the table when the dealer has a good chance of busting. You double down and split pairs less often when the dealer shows a strong up card. That's the basic logic of blackjack.
There are exceptions to these oversimplified lines, as the actual basic strategy decision for any given hand is determined by working out all of the mathematical probabilities, but this gives you a working idea of the strategy.
Why Basic Strategy Works
In a 52-card deck there are 16 ten-valued cards: four tens, four jacks, four queens, and four kings. (For purposes of simplification, when I refer to a card as a "ten" or "X," it is understood to mean any 10, jack, queen, or king.) Every other denomination has only four cards, one of each suit. You are four times more likely to pull a ten out of the deck than, say, a deuce. Because of this, when the dealer's up card is "high" -7, 8, 9, X, or A - he has a greater likelihood of finishing with a strong total than when his up card is "low" -2, 3, 4, 5, or 6.
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