While blackjack may not be as sophisticated as other known card games as poker, it would be best to keep a player’s wit and attention close to what is going on unless he would care less about losing. Blackjack is still a game where concentration and focus play an important role in being able to know on when to hit and when to stand. Easier said than done but most probably, a player who drinks too much may not be able to notice that he is losing at some point.
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If you are a substandard blackjack player who loses more than you win in a consistent basis then quite frankly you don’t really need to read this post. If, however, you plan on being a really good blackjack player so much so that you’ll likely get kicked out casinos with the total amount of your winnings then you do need to learn more about camouflaging.
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Wonging is a method first introduced by Stephen Wong wherein a blackjack player watches a table and uses card counting techniques to determine the time when the more favorable cards will be dealt before joining in on the game. wongers are card counters but have an additional advantage of sitting out during the parts of the game where players have a less chance of getting blackjacks thus avoiding having to lose money unnecessarily.
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Almost everyone in the blackjack scene even the newest of newbies have heard of card counting. There is another technique though being used that get a lot less publicity and is relatively unknown. The technique is called Shuffle Tracking.<
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So what is shuffle tracking?
The web definition for shuffle tracking is “a system to predict which sections of the deck/shoe will be favorable to the player, based on the locations of favorable sections of the previous deck/shoe, and on studying the method used to shuffle the cards.”
The definition simply means that shuffle trackers watch dealers as they shuffle the cards and by that are able to determine or at least predict what kinds of cards there are on different portions of the deck. By being able to predict where the cards are shuffle trackers can then also predict what kind of card (whether it is a high or low card) that the dealer will deal out. Shuffle trackers then are able to make their calls depending on what they expect the dealer will give them next.
Shuffle trackers of course depend not only on their skill but also on the dealer’s actual shuffle to be able to make good calls. Shuffle trackers consider a shuffle to be a “good” one if it leads to the cards being very well mixed. This means that shuffle trackers don’t like clumps. Hence it is better if the deck is cut equally and shuffled several times instead of just one or two times.
Shuffles that leading to clumping are of course considered to be “bad” shuffles. The Unbalanced Shuffle where the dealer cuts the deck of cards into two unequal stacks results in a bad shuffle. This is because either the bottom or the top of the stack with the greater number of cards will surely be left untouched and unmixed. Casino’s knowing this benefits them often require the dealer to do the Unbalanced Shuffle, which for this very reason is also known as the House Shuffle. Surprised? Of course casinos know all about shuffle trackers too and as usual have ways built in to hopefully beat shuffle trackers in their game.
To be able to compensate for the dealers various methods and make more accurate predictions a shuffle tracker needs to learn more about the different shuffling methods used by dealers. When it comes to beating shuffle trackers casinos rely on their dealers to be able to use various shuffling methods depending on which method seems to work in the casino’s favor at that time. Some of the shuffling methods are Zone Shuffle, Strip Shuffle, and Stutter Shuffle. Of the three the Zone Shuffle is the most commonly used by dealers.
Shuffle tracking might not be very popular but its theory is pretty to understand as you can see. However, as in any system it requires further studies and plenty of practice. If you don’t work in a team though shuffle tracking might be a good option for you.
You’ve heard of player tells in poker I’m sure, but have you heard of dealer tells in blackjack? The fact is that tells exist in all gambling activities, and blackjack is no exception. Of course, it is what the dealer has to reveal that is most important in blackjack. That is why today’s post talks about dealer tells.
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It is widely acknowledged that there are only a few strategies that players can use in order to increase their odds of winning at the slot machines. But with casino table games like blackjack it is an entirely different story. Blackjack is, in many ways, a game of skill and the player who really take the time to learn how the game works and have the patience to really get to know its set intricacies will have a much better chance of leaving a blackjack table a winner.The importance of learning the game of blackjack before really getting head on into a game that involves bets cannot be over emphasized. There are far too many players who have adopted a learn as you play approach. In truth, this is a great strategy – for the casinos, and not so good great a strategy for the player who is most likely going to bleed money while he “learns” the game. The perfect time to learn blackjack is before you actually starting gambling.
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