Extremely basic description.

Your goal is to be closer to 21 than the dealer.

1. Always imagine the dealers bottom card is a 10.

2. You should also expect the next card to come out to be a 10.

Now the the dealer will always stay if they have 17 or better (other rules can change this but we wont get into that right now)

So lets say if you have a 13, and the dealer is showing an 8. We are going to ASSUME they have 18 because the bottom card is most likely a 10. We know we are most likely going to bust with our 13 because the next card is probably a ten. (again very basic description). BUUUUUT 13 doesnt beat 18 so we might as well try to be closer to 21 than them.

Now if the dealer is showing a 2-6 we know they absolutely will take a card. Because we are assuming at most they have a 16 and they have to hit until they have 17 or better, or bust.

So if you have a 12, and the dealer is showing a 6. We are assuming the dealer has a 10 under. And the next card will be a ten. There is no reason for you to try and get closer to 21, when are pretty sure the dealer will go over 21! (Bust)

Now if you have 10 or 11. You want to take advantage of these moments because they are strong hands and can help you get more money on the table. Because we are assuming the next card is a 10 if you have an 11, always double. If you have a 10, double against any card except for an ace or face.

You can look up basic strategy charts, but id honestly recommend just watching a couple youtube videos and watching people record there play.

Gain a basic knowledge of blackjack using apps. On iOS or Android you can practice strategy with.

https://blackjack-strategy.co?r=a

It deals you starting hands with the possible options. You choose, it tells you if you’re right or wrong (and shows the correct play). It tracks your streak up to 55 before resetting. The best part is it doesn’t give you the hit. This trains you to recognize the statistically correct play and ignore results. At the table you can always deviate if you want, you’ll know the right move. And don’t worry about the other players. A 12 against a dealer's up card 3 is a hit. Most don't know it

Ya, I've been wanting to play also, but... if you dont follow the "written rules" it seems like everyone else at the table gets pissed at you. I'd be like Screw you, I'm not trying to make you money, but I dont feel like getting into a fight over it

It's easy once you learn the basic strategy, and it's really fun! You can Google the basic strategy charts and when to hit/stand/double, but as far as playing at a table you might get weird looks if you split 10s.

You want to beat the dealer. So if you have 12 and the dealer ends up with 22 then you win. It’s import to base your decision on what the dealer showing card is. Lookup “blackjack basic strategy” and follow that. You can even get a credit card sized version of the strategy table to take with you. The casino won’t care. You can’t have it on your phone as they won’t allow any electronic to be used at the table.

I have just been to the casino once, there they had written the rules on a mini standee kind off besides the table.

If you can’t find out by a sign, just ask casually, you won’t generate heat because players that don’t know the rules aren’t on a casinos radar.

Are there really casinos that don't allow doubles and splits???

I’d typically ask the dealer when each situation popped up, but I always assumed I could at least split and double.

Blackjack payout, Soft 17, and Insurance are generally on the table. The other rules would be on a sign sitting on the table or on digital screen.

Dealer only paid 1:1on blackjack. Dealer can't stand on 12-16. High count means more likely to bust.

A high true count doesn’t give the player an advantage over the dealer. It gives a skilled player the ability to deviate from basic strategy using index plays based on the the current game state.

If for example a player is sitting at a table, and assuming he plays perfect basic strategy, making no mistakes, with table rules that give the house a +EV edge of 1% over the player (the player is at a 1% disadvantage), he doesn’t gain any long term advantage because the deck state fluctuates between high counts nor is he at a disadvantage in low counts - provided he simply continues to play only perfect basic strategy. If he doesn’t play Index plays, his EV should be treated for what it is.

In High TCs, specifically towards the end of a shoe with deep penetration, the deck is viewed as being 10/A rich. But remember... the dealer has the same chance as the player of pulling a natural 20 or 21 in this state.

The skilled player can gain an advantage because he can choose to play his hand how he wants, based on his knowledge of the game state (Count) and by using computational mathematics and on a much more basic level “rational decision making”, of how that state affects his next decision.

Even if the player doesn’t have an index play memorized for a specific hand or count doesn’t mean he can’t (if he’s smart) base his next decision using a game decision tree with more options.

Example. The TC is 11. You are dealt a 14. D has a 10. Would you hit? Basic Strategy says yes.

But your gut knows the deck is filled with 10s.

Fact, Surrender is a better move here.

The player plays within an infinitely larger game state complexity when counting. It’s not just bet size. It’s that PLUS the fact he can choose how to play the hand using more options.

The dealer however, cannot. The dealer plays the game with a fixed decision tree and the game complexity is non-existent. He always plays his hands the same way.

So for example in a TC of 12 (Rare) a player holding two 10s vs a dealer 5 would gain a strong edge on that hand by splitting the 10s.

The same goes for a player holding a soft 19 vs D4 with a TC of 8. The correct play would be to double.

If the TC was -8 and the player was holding a 14 vs D3 it would be wise to hit.

These are incorrect plays but are actually better plays than basic strategy alone because the player can choose, the dealer cannot.

SECONDLY, the player can alter his bet size based on the TC after the last round is cleared.

Knowing that a games state is at a high TC, he can bet more on the next hand. Knowing the count is high allows him to hopefully play that hand at an advantage.

The reason a low TC favors the dealer is because the dealer is last to act, and in low counts will have a higher chance of pulling a pat hand, OR, you the player being first to act may bust as you only have knowledge of one of his two cards.

This is why strategies based on “Play like the dealer” do not work. As the dealer is last to act, if you bust you lose your money.

Then, after you bust, the dealer also busts. This is a losing hand even though the dealer busted. You busted first.

High TCs favor the player because you the player are hoping for either a 20, 21, or a good Index play, or a decent one at least.

A final example would be at a TC of +10 surrendering a 14 vs D8 is a better play than hitting it.

Dealer MUST hit up to 17 when count is high this is disadvantageous to the dealer.

Most of our edge as players comes from Blackjacks, Double Downs, and Splits. When the true count rises like this, I'm more likely to receive either a blackjack, or to be able to successfully insure against a dealer blackjack. The only hand you really "fear" is the ace in the hole. Everything else is situational and we play according to the indices. That said, you're going to make a big chunk of your edge from soft doubles, splits, and regular doubles in these counts against the rare "dealer bust card" showing up. Getting into TC3+ range I'm pretty much licking my chops at any player decision on the table that allows me to put even more money out there.

higher counts mean you can land your double downs at a higher frequency (dealer can't double down) and you get a 3:2 payout for blackjack, whereas the dealer only gets 1:1

Most casinos will let you use a "basic strategy" card at the BJ table. If you're new, use it. They cost about $1 at the gift shop, and if you go to one of the instructional classes, they may give you one.

Most casinos have really cheap minimum bets during early day hours/weekdays. They also often offer beginner classes in several different games during the day. If you are staying there, or are close enough to get there at breakfast time, inquire about those. The beginner classes and low-minimum times are a relaxed way to learn about the games without losing much.

Always tip your waitress. Whether you order a pepsi or something fancy and alcoholic, they expect the tips.
They'll take cash or they'll take the $1 chips. Don't use roulette chips, since they aren't easily converted back to cash.

Most people can’t count cards well, it’s much more complicated than the +1 minus 1 to actually consistently profit

This is pretty much a truth.

Sounds about right

Casinos love dreamers more than counters-house always wins eventually

The dealer stands to gain nothing by calling you out unless they're also a pit boss trainee, and that's rare. They might make a few extra bucks if you win, so why would they bother?

As a dealer, I’m convinced 90% of the people that think they’re counting… have no idea how this game works.

If the dealer knows how to count, they can tell if you're counting. I don't think many of them know though. The dealers typically don't care, it's up to security or the pit boss to take action. If anyone higher up is asking the dealer about you, it's probably too late anyway

I'm sure it is. But as mentioned, local casino so I don't abuse the spread. It's wife and I's date night. I break even most of the time, they feed us with $70ish for food comps, the occasional hotel room comp, and give me about $75 free play each night I go.

They are $15 to $3,000 tables though. In 8 years, I've only seen one person kicked for counting.

If I'm trying to actually make money, you'll find me playing in Gulf Coast casinos or Atlantic City. Southern France has the best beatable casinos I've ever seen — but $100 max bet there.

As a blackjack dealer, no. 99.9% of us don’t care. Only ones who might care a bit are what we call dual supervisors, which are dealers who also have the ability to also to supervise a certain pit.

And to be honest, 90% of blackjack dealers and even floor staff give out terrible basic strategy advice and don’t know how to play properly. Let alone know how hi-Lo and true doings work. I heard my floor advise to a player to stand on his pair of 9s vs a 9 like literally 15 mins ago as I just started my break at work now lol.

It’s the pits/surveillance’s job to catch an affective card counters not the dealers. Us dealers are just there to run the game smooth and efficiently.

I dont even care if a card counter decides not to tip because I know what I signed up for, I’ll only rat out on a suspected AP if they’re being rude to me or anyone at the table.

As a former counter, I was at best 97% on a good day. Never perfect. Good, but never perfect. Then I discovered weed and now I don't even waste my time. I just fuck around and play for fun.

I've one dealer out of maybe 15ish at the local casino I play at. He knows I count by how I play. It's my local place, I don't abuse the spread. One evening after a stupidly good shoe where my bet had gone from $15 to $75 and $105 towards the end, he looks over at me and says something like, "dealers can't help players, but we do have a little control over the penetration." Then cuts less than a deck.

He gets some extra tips when we play together every few weeks.

Don't play 8D unless they only cut one deck (7/8). If you really have no place to play, then 6.5/8 is OK.

5.5/8 is murder.

This might not even be beatable for any reasonable spread. Game seems crap, pen is almost everything.

Game is very bad. You need 1 to 1.5 decks cut off for it to be any good.

Some advantage on unlimited split but your pen sucks ass

The rules seem good, but, as others said, penetration is critical. See if you can find a certain time or certain dealer who cuts deeper. Or see if you can ask for better penetration. “Damn, the shoe was just starting to get hot! Why do we have to shuffle so often?”

Playing a statistically perfect game of blackjack requires an immense amount of math. You have to know what cards are in the deck, what cards are not in the deck, and be able to use that information in extended mathematical computations. Most people just use a very basic table, often provided by the house, and that table tells them whether to hit or stand.

The thing about this table, often provided by the house, is that if you play according to this table, you will lose more money than you gain. If you want to gain more money than you lose, you have to do a lot of mental math. That being said, if you do manage to do the mental math right and consistently come out with more money than you come in with, the house will ban you.

So yeah, the house has an advantage, and if the house ever doesn't have an advantage, the house will just ban you.

So the casino has a .05% edge over the player if you play perfect basic strategy. So it is basically a coin flip. In the short run you can go on a big winning or losing streak, but ultimately whatever happens you are losing $5 for every $100 you play. By the time you get to the long-term, thousands and thousands of hands, the results will begin to more closely align with the .05% house edge. The thing is that the casino never closes…the game never stops for the house.

Thr casino doesn’t throw out winning players, they throw out advantage players, ie. card counters. They generally detect them through betting patterns: these players bet small until they have a favourable situation when they begin to bet table max. Casinos have the right to refuse anyone…

Because the player must act before the dealer, and if the player busts, they lose, even if the dealer also busts. This means, in effect, that the house wins in case of a tie.

There are several other small house advantages, but this is the biggie that accounts for most of it.

Because the one way you could gain an advantage is banned and will get you kicked if they suspect you.

The way the rules are set up is that as long as full decks are in play, statistically the House will win, regardless of what strategy the players employ. This boils down to simple math (and casinos do math very well). In blackjack, the dealer does not make decisions: they take another card or hold their hand according to pre-set rules.

2 things could in theory turn odds in player's favor:

1. Card counting. Basically, the player needs to remember what cards have already been played and adjust their play based on that. Mathematically, it is possible for odds to become in player's favor. However, player needs to calculate things very fast in their head (casinos won't allow them to use computers). Casinos also make things much harder for players by using multiple decks. Finally, casinos can just ban a particularly good card counter.

2. If dealer makes a mistake and player points it out, the player automatically wins. So, trying to distract a dealer may tilt things in player's favor. However, dealers are trained to resist being distracted and if a dealer gets tired, they just switch with another dealer. And if a player tries too hard to distract a dealer, they will get banned (unless they distract dealer in a way that entertains other customers enough to make them good for business).

Dealer at tribal casinos for almost a decade tuning in:

As far as the house is concerned:

• ashtrays and drinks you got or purchased there are the only things allowed on the table. They will ask you politely (over and over they might get less polite) to take off your lighter, cigarette box, purse, vape, keys, etc.

• no phones allowed. Checking the time and putting it up before we have to tell you is about it. Otherwise step up from the game. It slows the game down in addition to being a game protection issue.

• once you place a bet, (esp on blackjack) don't touch the bet or the cards once the dealer starts dealing. Will get you a warning but this is all game protection.

• ASK - there are no stupid questions. We all want you to win. The odds are always in the houses favor to win, but dealers, servers, everyone wants you to win so hopefully you'll have a good time, tip us well, and come back. If you're not sure about how to proceed on a game, how to play a certain spot, etc. Ask us :)

Rules/etiquette for other players:

These are all what I've seen other players attempt to do for etiquette, or usually what I hear people bitch about what other players do:

#Blackjack

• Asking the players at the table if they mind you sitting down mid-shoe (in the middle of the decks of cards being played currently) or waiting til the next shoe (the next time the dealer shuffles). If you're going to ask this, be prepared to stick to it if they say please wait. I usually ask 'want me to wait a few hands' personally or 'hey mind if I get in?'

• defer to the bigger bet; if you're betting 5 or 10 bucks on a hand of Blackjack and the guest next to you is betting 50, a hundred, two hundred, etc: ask them what they'd rather you do in a spot you're unsure about (or if they ask you to play the hand right). I've often seen this where a player with the small bet (Player A) plays the hand how the larger better (Player B) requests, and player B ends up giving player A their money back if they lose. These guests just don't want someone 'messing up their hand' and causing them to lose for no reason.

• Yelling at /heckling the dealer or other players is never okay.

• don't tell people how to play or bully them. You can ask them nicely, or try to help by explaining the rules. But at the end of the day it's their money, their bet and their decision. The house can't make that player not split their tens. They're not a shill, they are just there to play and that's their call to make. You can get mad but it's life and people are gonna do stupid shit. Accept It or move to another table if it bothers you.

• don't hang around the bigger tables just watching. It's kinda rude, if a guest is betting at a bigger table. They don't need an audience. They don't need cheerleaders talking about how they played a hand or how much they bet. If you want to stand around and watch a hand or two to see if you're going to play, go ahead. If you have no intention of playing, whatch for a sec then move on.

#Craps

Theres honestly a million superstitions and etiquette here, I'm gonna cover the basics.

The house is concerned with game protection first and foremost. Don't be shady, follow the rules of the table.

• Don't grab the dice with both hands, shake em too hard, play with them too long before shooting, blow on them, or take the off the table. Just pick em up and throw em (keep them on the table too) hard enough to hit those alligator teeth on the wall farthest from you.

• Dont say seven on the table. It will get you dirty looks from some players at the very least and at the most you'll get griped at/ostracized/ called names by a bunch of old guys when the next roll is a 7 and they all lose "because of you"

• Dont buy in mid roll, if you want to avoid the same fate as above.

• Don't be the asshole of the table. There's always one. If you don't know who it is, it's probably you. Being loud, obnoxious, a nuisance, etc.

• keep your bets easy to understand and speak clearly. More shots (attempts and cheating the system by being vague, and hoping to catch a dealer off guard) happen on dice than any other game in my experience. Speak clearly to the dealer on the bets you want to make. Make them on time or loud enough verbally if you're betting late (once the dice are out/being sent out) so the dealers can book it. If you're unclear, vague, stammering, etc expect the dealers to say NO BET. They're not being rude, just letting you, the other deers, and their boss know that your last bet wasn't officially booked, so it can't be upheld win or lose.

• don't reach into the layout. The Big numbers (4-10) is the DEALERS area. It would be like reaching behind the counter to put the money in the register at the store. It doesn't work like that. That big area that says COME is always the proper place to set money, and tell the dealer what you want. Or if it's a bet in the middle (Hard ways, horn, etc) throw it gently to the stick person. They handle those orders.

#Tl:dr

Follow the house rules. Don't antagonize the other guests. When in doubt, just ask. We all want you to win.

Cheers ✌️🎰🎲🃏

Just to add to what others have already posted: if you're looking to join a blackjack table and the dealer is shuffling (new shoe), just plunk yourself down in a vacant chair, no need to say anything to anyone if you aren't feeling social.

Learn blackjack basic strategy and stick with it, unless you want to piss off everybody else at the table. It may be irrational, but if (for example) you hit anything above a 12 against the dealer showing 2-3-4-5-6 and take the dealer's bust card, the rest of the table is going to hate you.

Splits and doubles are always optional, and depend on things like your gut feel, how your night is going and the size of your stack.

When playing Blackjack, don’t sit at first base unless you’ve got an idea of what you’re doing, and are prepared to be blamed by the other players for your dumb decisions of when to split or hit

Poker, you sign up for a game/stakes at the board, and get brought to a table when a seat opens. At popular cardrooms, there may be a wait. When you're seated, put your buy-in in front of you, and a chip runner or the dealer will give you chips. Keep them in front of you, but not too far. There's usually a line in the middle of the table, the 'commit line,' any chip inside it is bet.

Any other table game, just take an open seat and put your cash in front of you. If you're the only player at the table and don't know how to play, the dealer will probably be able to teach you. Craps is a little different; there's usually two dealers, one on each side of the table, and the stickman in the middle. The dealers will give you your chips, the stickman just handles the dice and a few center-table bets.

Honestly, playing blackjack sucks. I tried it a few times and I made a few unpopular decisions and the entire table was ready to kill me. I even split once and forced the dealer to take an extra card and bust. The table won because of me and they were still pissed because I didn't play it right.

If its a game that lets you touch/pickup the cards placed in front of you... do not remove them from the table. Yes it's exciting if you hit a jackpot hand, but once the cards leave the sight of the camera directly above the table, surveillance will call down to pause play/payouts for that table while they check every other camera angle that floats their boat.

Guy to my left literally just took one step backwards while standing, surveillance spent 45min reviewing footage before paying anyone at the table.