What we are going to talk about here is playing online blackjack in the UK. Often when you search online for information about playing blackjack you will find a website that is aimed towards USA residents. This is all well and good if you’re from the USA but if you’re in the UK it isn’t.

There are a few reasons why this is the case but the main one is that the UK has much better online casinos than the USA does. This is because online gambling is fully legal and regulated in the UK, therefore the biggest online gaming brands in the world such as Bet365 and Ladbrokes focus their efforts towards the UK.

The USA has been having its problems since 2006 when former president George Bush signed a bill that made it illegal for banks to transfer money to online gambling sites. When this happened, the major players pulled out of the market and the only casinos left now for USA players are based offshore and not all of them are legitimate companies.

One blackjack portal that is primarily focussed towards the UK is OnlineBlackjackGuru which is one of the largest sites on the web about blackjack. They only recommend casinos with a European license that are fully regulated. The sad news for USA players is that practically no online casino with an above board European license will accept them due to the terms of the license.

A classic example of what I’m talking about here is Full Tilt Poker who had their license revoked in mid 2011 because they were accepting USA players and this got them into trouble with the FBI. When the supplier of their license (Alderney Gambling Control Commission) got wind of this, they took their license away from them which practically shut them down.

It is always best for UK players to play at casinos that are geared towards their country because they are far less likely to ever run into these kinds of problems. Also because the UK casinos are fully regulated, they follow strict guidelines so you can be sure that they are fair and that you will be paid if you win money.

Blackjack appeared in the 1700s in France. From then till now, millions of people played blackjack for money and there are thousands of theories on how you can beat the house. Many of them made people very rich until the rules changed further. In this article you will learn the most important historical facts about the game of blackjack.

Blackjack was originally called 21 which came from the French vingt et un. The rules of the game remained almost unchanged till today but other things have changed about the game. Since its appearance in the 1700s, the French higher class people played this game a lot. This made it very popular and it was brought in the United States in the 1800s.

While gambling and alcohol were banned in the 1920s, the blackjack game like other games moved to the underground. However, it became a lot more popular after the WWII. In the early 1950s more and more people wanted to become millionaires from playing blackjack and a lot of theories about this game appeared. Playing blackjack using the Martingale method appeared and this made a few people rich. However, the casinos put limits on the game and the method was soon inapplicable anymore.

The 1970s and the 1980s brought a new light on winning in American casinos. Playing blackjack with the counting cards strategy was a new trend in American casinos. The movie “21”revealed how a team from MIT succeeded at making a lot of money using this method. However, counting cards is not very easy as you might think because you have to hide the fact that you are calculating in your mind. [Read more…]

While playing blackjack, there are a few things that you should remember. As black jack is mostly a game of casual enjoyment for some people, it is pretty easy to ruin their time at the casino by you being rude or obnoxious. Here are a few things to remember while playing blackjack with other people. Everyone will have more fun if you follow these rules, trust me!

First of all, if you lose, do not yell out profane words of anger. This might be funny once or twice, but it will get VERY old, VERY fast! You will end up being disliked by more people than you can count if you keep this up for very long.

Second of all, do not throw the cards back at the dealer, curse him for your bad hands, or in any other way verbally or psychologically abuse him. He is there to deal you cards – if you do not know how to play them, that is your problem. Don’t hold out on tips either if you lose. It isn’t his fault that the cards were not right – he is just working a 9 to 5, trying to make a living.

If your dealer is a female, do not make crude or even mildly inappropriate sexual jokes with her while playing. This is weird, uncomfortable, and actually, downright creepy. She does not think you are hot – she does not think you are rich because you are gambling at a low-stakes blackjack table, and she is DEFINITELY not going home with you tonight! Compose what decency you have, smile at her, joke with her like you would with a male dealer, and tip her when you are done. She will appreciate your respectfulness, and you will probably make her night a lot more pleasant that way.

As soon as beginning players start to feel comfortable with the game of blackjack, they soon realize that first, they do not know what the reason is for splitting cards and second, they do not know when to do it.

What Not To Split

Face Cards. If you split the face cards, you are chancing tossing a 20, which usually wins the hand.

Fours and Fives. If you split fours and fives, you decrease your chances of winning and increase your chances of getting 14s and 15s – not good hands.

What You Should Split

Four through seven dealer up cards. When these bust cards present themselves in a blackjack game, you should try and double up your money instead.

Aces. Split these as two and twelve are of almost no use to the blackjack player; however, if you have two aces, the house rules can be different from casino to casino. Many casinos go by the rule “one draw.”  Most of the time casinos do not honor face card/split ace blackjacks.

Eights. The first player who splits eights is more likely to win as opposed to standing on a 16, which is why professionals of blackjack prefer to split only aces and eights. This was discovered when the four horsemen – Herbert Maisel, James McDermott, Wilbert Cantey, Roger Baldwin – decided to run the cards in a mathematical algorithm. These are the men credited with making basic mathematical strategy.

From the above, you have a greater understanding as to the reason behind splitting blackjack cards and when the appropriate times are to do so, which means you also understand the importance of splitting in a blackjack game. Using this information effectively will give you the competitive edge you will need to rake in a lot more money.

Blackjack is very popular all over the world in its offline and online variant. This is because it is a very simple game and the rules can be easily learnt. In this article you will learn how to play blackjack and you can begin your adventure playing this game for profits.

Blackjack is a very thrilling and fun game to play but you have to get its main concepts before you start playing for real money. It is true that you can learn them while playing on fun money online, but it will take you a while if you have no idea on how this game is played. First of all, the main purpose of the game is to make 21 points. If you do not make 21, you have to be as close to 21 as you can without going over 21.

The poker cards are the ones you will be going to play with and the cards from 2 to 9 have their face value, the ace can be either an 11 card or, if you pass 21 it will change into a 1. All the face cards, the jacks, the queen and the kings are considered 10 points as well as the tens.

The blackjack game always begins with betting. You will have to establish a stake level and you will play the hand on the money. You can’t change it after you have received your cards. You will get 2 cards and the dealer will get only one. You can see the dealer’s card and make your decision for hitting or standing afterwards. If you want, you can stand even if you have only 4 points.

There are other decisions you will have to make during the game of blackjack. If you receive two identical cards you can split the pot for increasing your odds or if you have 11 points you can double the play. There are games where you can double even if you do not receive 11 points. [Read more…]

There are a lot of people who want a steady income from gambling. They are called professional gamblers and they want to make money from this so called job. If you are one of them, you should know that blackjack offers a lot of chances for making money with it as blackjack has one of the lowest house edge games in the casino industry. In this article you will find out how you can make money simply by playing blackjack.

The main rules of blackjack are that you have to make 21 points or be as close as you can without busting or going over 21. If you will go over 21, the dealer or the house will automatically win the game without taking any cards. This is the house advantage that you need to be aware of. Therefore, you need to improve your odds of winning by using a proper system or strategy that can help you bust rarely and minimize the house edge.

If you want to make money from this game, you have to play a lot. Even if you have a winning strategy, you need to test it before you can play for real money. If you want to do that in a real casino, you will surely find out that it is not possible. On the other hand, you can easily test your strategies online. This is the best thing you can do for practicing your blackjack play.

Playing blackjack online can be done on play money and this way you will not risk a dime. Besides this, you get to test the casino’s system and your blackjack strategy. As you can see, you have only to gain from signing up for an online casino as soon as possible. When you are tired of playing on play money, you can deposit and play for real money too. [Read more…]