Blackjack

In Blackjack, you and the dealer (the computer) are dealt two cards to start. The objective of Blackjack is to accumulate cards that add up closer to 21 than that of the dealer's cards, without going over 21. Cards are worth their face value with the exception of Kings, Queens, and Jacks which are each worth 10 and Aces which are worth either 1 or 11. If the value of your hand is closer to 21 than that of the dealer you win. If the value of the dealer's hand is higher than yours you lose. If the hands are of equal value the deal is a push and your money is returned. If you have a total of 22 or higher (a busted hand), you lose regardless of whether the dealer also busts.

 

Summary of Rules

1. When a 8 52-card decks are used and  according to Atlantic City Blackjack rules
2. The deck is re-shuffled after each hand
3. Dealer stands on all 17's
4. Doubling after splitting allowed
5. No re-splitting of cards allowed
6. No surrender
7. Only one additional card allowed on each ace when splitting a pair of aces

 

How to Play

All face cards are valued at ten and the cards from 2-10 are valued as indicated. Aces can be valued at either one or eleven; if counting the ace as eleven would put the hand over twenty-one, the ace is automatically counted as one instead. You do not need to specify which value the Ace has as it's always assumed to have the value that makes the best hand. The value of a hand is the sum of the values of the individual cards. For example, a hand containing a Jack, 3, and 4 has a value of 17.

Hit: Requests another card. You can request a hit as many times as you like, but if your total goes over twenty-one, you will Bust and lose the hand.

Stand:

Requests that you receive no more cards. The hand as it currently stands will be judged against the dealers.

Split:

If you have two cards of the same denomination,  You can split your cards into two hands and play each hand separately. Your original bet will be duplicated for the new hand. . 

Double Down:

If you select this option, two things will happen: you will get exactly one more card, your turn will end, and your bet will be doubled.

Insurance:

Whenever the dealer's up-card is an ace, the player has an option of taking insurance. The player may opt to take insurance by clicking on the "Insurance" button. If you do not wish to take insurance, you simply click on the "Pass" button to proceed with the rest of the hand. If the player believes that the dealer's down-card is a 10 ranking card, then the player is permitted to place a side bet of half the original wager as insurance. If the dealer does have a 10 ranking card, the player is immediately paid 2-to-1 on the insurance bet, but the original wager is lost unless the player too has a blackjack and pushes with the dealer. Here the player is simply betting that the dealer's unseen card is a 10 valued card.

Note:

The Double Down and Split options will normally only be available immediately after you receive your first two cards. If the dealer has an ace showing, you will be offered a chance to buy Insurance for half of the amount you bet. When you buy insurance you are, in effect, making a second bet. You are betting that the dealer has a natural blackjack. If the dealer does have a natural blackjack (in other words, his down card is a ten or a face card), you will collect a payoff of 2 to 1 on your insurance. You will also lose your original wager, unless you have a natural blackjack too. If the dealer does not have a natural twenty-one, the rest of the hand is played out as usual and you will lose your insurance money.

If you win the hand, you will get back your original bet plus the same amount in profit. A hand that consists of an Ace and any ten value card is called a natural twenty-one, or a natural blackjack. If you win with a natural blackjack, you will be paid off at three-to-two, which means you get your original bet back plus 150% profit. (So if you bet $50 and win with a natural twenty-one, you get $50 (your bet) plus $75 (your bet plus half of your bet), which totals to $125.

 

Payoffs

 

Result	Payoff
Winning Hand	1 to 1
Blackjack	3 to 2
Insurance	2 to 1

 

Basic Blackjack Strategy Table

Basic blackjack strategy is defined as the proper play of cards knowing only your hand and the dealer's exposed card.  The basic blackjack strategy is created through intensive computer simulations which perform a complete combinatorial analysis. In this method, the computer "plays" tens of thousands of hands for each BlackJack situation possible and statistically decides which decision best favours the player.

Basic strategy is usually printed as tables with the dealer's up card the first row and your two card combination the first column. The other entries in the table tell you what to do (Stand, Hit, Double-Down, Split) with the different combinations of dealer and player's hands. Basic blackjack strategy tables for exsample InterCasino rules (8 decks, dealer stands on 17, double-down on any two cards, double after split allowed, no re-splitting of cards allowed, no surrender) are shown below for hard totals, soft totals, and pairs along with a legend.

Legend:

• S - Stand
• H - Hit
• D - Double
• Y - Yes, split
• N - No, don't split

Hard Totals:

 

	Dealer's Upcard
Your Cards	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	A
17	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S
16	S	S	S	S	S	H	H	H	H	H
15	S	S	S	S	S	H	H	H	H	H
14	S	S	S	S	S	H	H	H	H	H
13	S	S	S	S	S	H	H	H	H	H
12	H	H	S	S	S	H	H	H	H	H
11	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	H
10	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	H	H
9	H	D	D	D	D	H	H	H	H	H
8	H	H	H	H	H	H	H	H	H	H

Soft Totals:

 

	Dealer's Upcard
Your Cards	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	A
(A,9)	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S
(A,8)	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S
(A,7)	S	D	D	D	D	S	S	H	H	H
(A,6)	H	D	D	D	D	H	H	H	H	H
(A,5)	H	H	D	D	D	H	H	H	H	H
(A,4)	H	H	D	D	D	H	H	H	H	H
(A,3)	H	H	H	D	D	H	H	H	H	H
(A,2)	H	H	H	D	D	H	H	H	H	H

Pairs:

 

	Dealer's Upcard
Your Cards	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	A
(A,A)	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y
(10,10)	N	N	N	N	N	N	N	N	N	N
(9,9)	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	N	Y	Y	Y	Y
(8,8)	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y
(7,7)	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	N	N	N	N
(6,6)	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	N	N	N	N	N
(5,5)	N	N	N	N	N	N	N	N	N	N
(4,4)	N	N	N	Y	Y	N	N	N	N	N
(3,3)	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	N	N	N	N
(2,2)	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	N	N	N	N

 

References

For further information on blackjack, please consult the following references:

Carlson, Bryce. Blackjack for Blood, Compustar Press, 1992.

Humble, Lance and Cooper, Carl. The World's Greatest Blackjack Book, Doubleday, 1987.

Scoblete, Frank. Best Blackjack, Bonus Books, 1996.

.Uston, Ken. Million Dollar Blackjack, Carol Publishing Group, 1994

 

How to Play Slots

To begin playing Slots, you must deposit money into the machine. . You may then normally select which coin denomination you wish to play - $0.25, $1, $2, or $5. To increase or decrease denominations.

Once you have deposited money into the Slot machine and chosen a coin denomination, you may then normally click on the "BET ONE" button up to a maximum of three times which corresponds to the maximum bet of 3 coins. Some machines like Flower Power and Forbidden Fruit allow up to 5 coins. You may then start the reels spinning by clicking on the "SPIN REELS" button. If you would like to play with the maximum amount of coins per spin, you may alternatively choose to simply click the "BET MAX" button which will start to spin the reels for you automatically. When the reels stop, your payoff will be determined from a table of winning combinations normally shown on the top of each machine. Any credits you win will be added to your Credits (minus the amount of the bet which will be displayed in the Bet field).

Progressive Jackpot Slot Machines:
Unlike regular slot machines, progressive jackpot slot machines operate on a fixed denomination. . The top payout on a progressive jackpot machine is not fixed as in regular slot machines. Jackpot values start at a specific level and grow each time somebody makes a bet to someone hits the jackpot - progressive slots can sometimes raise to over $250000 - progressive slots are very popular - but can also become quite expensive.

References

Scoblete, Frank. Break the One-Armed Bandits!, Bonus Books, 1994.

Halcombe, Claude. Slot Smarts; Winning Strategies at the Slot machine, i_2, 1996.

Roulette

American Roulette wheel with 36 numbers plus 0 and 00.

References

Jensen, Marten. Secrets of Winning Roulette, Cardoza Pub., 1998.

Patrick, John. John Patrick's Roulette : A Pro's Guide to Managing Your Money and Beating the Wheel, Lyle Stuart, 1996.