Month: June 2017

When it comes to playing blackjack online, a criticism most often heard from card counters is that the combination of computerised dealer and regular shuffling makes card counting impossible. For card counting blackjack games must have a deep enough deck penetration to reach an accurate count, but computers shuffle after each round. Many players also suspect cheating from the computer, and some large sites have run into issues with this in the past.

In these games, there is no benefit to card counting. However, the live dealer blackjack games offered by many online casinos are different, and it is possible to get an edge card counting here. These games take place with a real dealer drawing from real decks on a casino floor. The cards are scanned to allow each player to see their cards and to interact with them.

The Benefits of Live Dealer Blackjack

One of the main benefits of blackjack games online which have a live dealer is that the deeper deck penetration makes card counting possible. While the deck penetration is often not as much as it may be when playing offline, it is adequate for card counting. Unlike computerised dealers, live blackjack dealers are dealing from a shoe and they shuffle only once around between 1/2 and 3/4 of the deck has been dealt to players. This amount is enough for an accurate count.

Another benefit is that the live dealer allows for spotting dealer tells. These are physical things the dealer does when they view their hole cards that may give away information about their hand. Reading tells is obviously not possible against a computer, but with the live dealer, it allows for a distinct advantage, especially used in combination with card counting.

The Drawbacks of Live Dealer Blackjack

It is worth noting that all drawbacks to live dealer blackjack are in comparison to playing live in a real casino. It is impossible to have a real advantage or count cards in computerised dealer online blackjack. If you plan to play online, games with a live dealer are by far the best option.

Many card counters say their biggest problem with online live dealer games is the slow speeds. The tables are often all full, too, which slows the game down further.

Another common complaint is that players are only able to place bets on their own hand or spot. To make significant money card counting blackjack online, card counters would need to be able to bet the minimum on their own hand when the odds aren’t in the favour and place bigger bets on other players’ hands when the odds are against the casino. It becomes difficult to substantially increase betting when the “true count” is higher than two when you are unable to place bets on other hands dealt at the table.

Another potential issue is where online casinos place their “cut” cards during live blackjack. Many will place the cut cards around halfway through the deck, which greatly reduces the number of informed guesses you can make about the value of remaining cards.

How To Get An Edge When Card Counting in Blackjack Online

Despite the potential drawbacks of live dealer blackjack, card counting is still the most valuable tool available to get an edge in it. The cards are shuffled infrequently enough that you should be able to maintain an accurate count of the deck.

Begin by placing small bets at low limit tables. There are many tables at online casinos with minimums as low as £1, and many casinos offer bonuses for blackjack that can help you grow your bankroll over time. Stay at these low-limit tables until you are making a consistent profit, and then you can gradually progress to higher limit games.

With consistent practice, card counting can give you a definite edge at online blackjack tables. Take it slow at first, and you will soon be able to make a regular profit in high limit games.

Online Slots and the Gambler’s Fallacy

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if you could devise a perfect betting strategy to increase your chances of winning at online slot machines? After all, players of other forms of gambling employ betting strategies don’t they? So why shouldn’t online slot machine players?

There is something known as the gamblers fallacy, which is a psychological tendency to believe that if the same outcome has occurred an unusual number of times consecutively, then the chances of a different outcome occurring are increased. So, for example, if a person tosses a coin nine times and it lands on tails every time, the gambler’s fallacy would be to assume that on the tenth toss, the odds of the coin landing on tails again are less than are the odds of it landing on heads. In reality, however, there is still a one in two probability, because though the odds were against it landing on tails nine times in a row, past events do not affect mathematical probabilities.

There is no doubt that those playing online casino games often have a belief that some betting strategy can be employed to win big. Thoughts like “the slot hasn’t paid out for some time, surely it is due to pay out big at any moment”, or “I’m on a winning streak here, surely the next spin will mean I lose all my winnings” are common, but is this not just another example of the gambler’s fallacy? Well, to answer that question, we need to know just how ‘random’ online slots are.

Random Number Generators

If you don’t know, nowadays Random Number Generators (RNGs) are built into all physical slot machines. They come in the form of computer chips. They are algorithmic, and as the name suggests, they generate a random set of numbers, each with a value that corresponds to the symbols on each reel. These computer programs churn out numbers at an incredible rate—many times per millisecond—even while the machine is not in play. And so, at the very instant when the player pushes the button or pulls down the lever, guess what? they have no clue what those numbers are! And it is those very numbers that have already determined the outcome of the spin. So it doesn’t make one jot of difference how quickly or how slowly you press the button, or how hard you mentally will the reels to land favourably. The only input you have is when to press it, or indeed, if at all.

Okay, now that you know what RNGs are, the next thing you should know is that these exact same algorithmic programs are built into the software of their virtual counterparts in online casinos. There simply is no way of decoding it, and while no mathematical algorithm can be truly random, the sheer complexity of the code means that for all intents and purposes, it is. In other words: forget about it!

Online Slots Betting Strategy

So can you have an online slots strategy? Absolutely! But not a betting strategy for slots that would increase your chances of beating the House. Whether you simply wish to mitigate any losses, or you want to fuel more excitement into your betting, then adopting a betting strategy for slots makes sense.

Elk Studios ‘Betting Strategies’ is a great example. In their online casino, they offer the option of selecting one of four different strategies which automatically determines the bet size based on previous gameplay outcomes. This can certainly add more fun to your playing.

So, we’ve learned that online slots, with their Randon Number Generators are, although not strictly speaking entirely random, certainly impartial, and random enough to conclude that any wistful thinking about winning streaks or losing streaks, and probabilities increasing based on previous gameplay are clear-cut examples of the gambler’s fallacy. Don’t deceive yourself!

This should in no way take the fun out of playing, just don’t believe anyone who tells you they have a winning strategy for slots. The only winning strategy is to bet sensibly, and most importantly, to have FUN!