Gambling Results With Jeff

With the poker boom seemingly crossing all age and ethnic boundaries, I am surprised at the number of people who still do not know how to play Texas hold’em. Some are simply uninterested, but the ‘Cadillac of Poker’ intimidates many willing would-be participants, as this nickname implies that the game is for experts only. Having taught numerous novices myself, I guarantee that the simple rules of the hold’em can quickly be picked up by anyone with even the slightest experience at card games.

All poker variants have the same underlying rule: the best five-card hand wins. Texas hold’em is no different, except that there are seven cards total from which to choose your final hand. At the beginning of the hand, each player is dealt two cards, known as the ‘hole cards.’ Usually, the two players to the left of the dealer must make a forced bet known as a blind; the player next to the dealer posts a ‘small blind’ of approximately half a bet while the player to his left posts a full bet known as the ‘big blind.’ Other players who wish to enter the hand after the deal must match (or call) the big blind, but they may also increase the amount of the bet by at least double (raise).

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I’ve seen so many people trying to do the “I’ll just doubly my bet when I lose, and keep doubling until I win, and then start over again!”-tactic, winning 50x bets until losing it all trying to win 1x bet. It doesn’t work. It’s flawed. THE SYSTEM IS NOT A WINNER.

It’s all about betting systems, and dcwelshart.com has covered them for blackjack — pretty useful for the roulette too! Once you get the hang of how to play, you’ll realise how stupid it is risking $300 to win $2 on an original betting startpoint.

Got it? DONT JUST DOUBLE — IT NO WORK! hehehehe

Splitting pairs in blackjack gives you the chance to split a pair and play two separate hands with one new card for each.

The dealer will then deal you an additional card to each hand, and you will play each hand individually. It is important to know the different splitting pair types when you play blackjack. Not every pair should be spilt.

You should ALWAYS split a pair of Aces. Just over 30% of the cards in a single deck have a value of 10, so you have a good chance of hitting two more 10 cards and to improve both your hands into a blackjack. (Although the house may not pay out 3:2 on Blackjacks that come from split Aces).

Don’t split 10s you numpty. 20 is a winning hand. If you split 10s the dealer is morally obliged to slap you with a wet fish.

You should always split 8s. A total of 16 is not good enough to stand but you are likely to bust almost two thirds of the time if you hit. With a large proportion of the pack being 10s you have a good chance of ending up with two hands with a total of 18.

For other hands the decision should be made based on the dealer’s upcard.

Action: H = Hit S = Stand D = Double P = Split

I would stress that like doubling up; splitting pairs can also affect the effectiveness of your betting strategy. This is especially true if you are using the Paroli or Martingale system. You should make the decisions about when you are going to split pairs and the effect it might have on your betting system and stick to them.

Luck Doesn’t Last
Don’t start betting your mortgage because you have won 16 hands in a row (although you might want to go out and buy a lottery ticket), you cannot predict a lucky streak so don’t change your betting system because you are feeling lucky. The minute you overbet you can guarantee you’ll loose. Conversely, don’t get the hump because you have lost 16 in a row. You are not unlucky; you are just fortune challenged at present.

Avoid Distractions
Don’t drink while playing. We all know alcohol makes you do silly things. Some casinos will offer winning players drinks. This is not to be nice. The naughty casino people know if you drink you start to make mistakes. If you are playing online don’t sit and watch TV or the children whilst playing. You should be concentrating on what you are doing. If you are tired stop playing. You will only start making mistakes. Get some sleep, some exercise or some food or all three.

Use the Basic Strategy
Always use the basic strategy. Always. It is maths and you can’t argue with it. (Well you can but the maths will win) Even those times that you are dealt a bad hand, for example you have a 16 and want to stand when the dealer is showing a ten. By not using the strategy you increase the houses edge and we don’t want that!

In the end playing Blackjack is like anything else. Be disciplined and it will pay off.