Page 12 - Jackpot Magazine Tunica ~ May, 2023

PLAY TO WIN
Understanding blackjack facts from fiction
“Fact: The best way to double your money is to fold it in half and put it back in your pocket.”
— Dad Joke
Horses and cows can sleep standing up, but they can only dream when lying down. That is a fact, strange, but factual. And, bullfrogs do not sleep at all. Another fact.
But what about the fossils of what researchers called a “mega penguin” that stood over seven feet tall and weighed in at more than 450 pounds? That one is fiction. The penguin was only six feet tall, 250 pounds.
Sometimes it is hard to know what is fact and what is fiction, what is true and what is false. Henry Tamburin knew that. A gaming expert, Tamburin was the author of many best-selling books on gambling, including Blackjack: Take the Money and Run. In a past column for Jackpot!, he wrote a little quiz about blackjack statements that are facts — or are they fiction? Let’s see
how you do. Are the following
facts or fiction?
• The house always has the edge in blackjack.
Fiction. It’s possible with card counting to have the edge over the casino in most games.
• Referring to a strategy card
when you play blackjack is perfectly legal.
Fact. You should always have a strategy card handy in case you forget how to play a hand.
• A blackjack player who misplays his hand will always cause other players to lose. Fiction. How well or poorly your fellow players play the game does not affect your chances of winning or losing in the long run. You could have five brilliant minds or five chimpanzees on the same table with you, and your odds of winning remain
the same.
• Picture cards always follow picture
cards.
Fiction. Since when? If
anything you are less likely to
see more pictures after you’ve
seen a few of them, simply
because there are less of them in the unplayed cards.
• You should always take even money when you have a blackjack and the dealer shows an ace.
Fiction. Over the long haul you will end up with more money in your pocket if you decline even money rather than taking it.
• Splitting a pair of 8s against a dealer 10 or ace is for suckers.
Fiction. You should always split 8s against a dealer 10 or ace.
• A progressive betting system will overcome the house edge.
Fiction. No betting system alone will overcome the house edge in blackjack.
• You should always hit 16 against a dealer 10.
Fiction. If the casino offers surrender you should surrender. If your 16 is composed of three or more cards or the result of a pair split, you
should stand.
• The increase in the house edge when the casino only pays 6-5 for a blackjack is offset when only a single
deck of cards in used.
Fiction. Even the use of a single deck doesn’t come close to offsetting the 1.4% increase in house edge when the house pays 6-5 for a
blackjack, instead of 3-2.
• A player who enters a game in the middle of a shoe will alter the flow of the cards and cause the other players to lose.
Fiction. Yes, the cards coming out of the shoe will be different, but you can’t predict if it will be better or worse. Long term it makes no difference.
• If you see the dealer’s hole card by accident and don’t say anything, you are cheating.
Fiction. There is nothing illegal about taking advantage of a sloppy dealer. It is the casino’s responsibility toensurethattheirdealersare
following the correct dealing protocols.
• If the casino suspects a player is card counting, they can escort him to the back room for questioning.
Fiction. Unless a casino has probable cause to believe that a player was cheating (and card counting is not cheating), or that another felony or misdemeanor has occurred, casinos have no legal authority to detain the player.
• You need to be a genius in order to be a card counter.
Fiction. Casinos would like you to believe that you need to be a genius to be a card counter but that’s not true. Anyone with average intelligence can learn card counting.
• It doesn’t matter how the casino shuffles the cards.
Fiction. If a casino is using a Continuous Shuffling Machine, the game is faster (more hands dealt per hour) and players stand to lose more per hour.
• You are cheating if you accept a winning bet that actually lost.
Fiction. It might be unethical to accept the winning chips, but it not illegal. Again, the burden of responsibility rests with the casino to ensure that their dealers are paying off winning bets correctly.
• If you lose five hands in a row you are due to win the next hand.
Fiction. There has never been any mathematical study that proves your chances of winning the next hand in blackjack increases depending upon what happened in previous hands.
• It doesn’t make any difference which seat you take when you play blackjack.
Fact. Your chances of winning are independent of seat position. Any seat is just as good as any other.
Do you have a question on the best way to play to win? Email jackpotmagazine@gmail.com.
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12 JACKPOT! MAGAZINE May 2023
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