Dear Mark: Per your advice, I’m learning blackjack on a video machine at 25 cents a hand versus live play at $5 a hand. I was wondering if I am allowed to use a blackjack strategy card in the casino while I play? Does it matter how many coins I put in? Any other advice would be appreciated. Paul G.

One of the primary reasons for blackjack’s immense popularity is that when played with skill, it offers the best odds of all casino games. Blackjack also offers two sweet little bonuses. You are paid an extra half of your bet on natural blackjacks—no skill or monetary risk involved—and you get to put more money down on favorable doubles and splits. As long as you select the correct video blackjack machine, these rules still apply even against a cybernetic one-armed bandit.

As for using a blackjack strategy card, yep, it’s absolutely allowed, and a must for newbies learning the game. As in the table game, the idea behind using basic strategy is to reduce the casino's advantage, and by using a blackjack strategy card you can whittle the house edge down to less than 1%.

So long as you play an even money amount (see below why that’s important), it doesn’t matter how many coins you insert. Like the video poker machines, video blackjack machines use a random number generator (RNG) software algorithm to determine the game’s outcome. The number of coins played cannot influence the end result.

Never play a machine that offers even money for a blackjack. Also remember: machines that do pay 3 to 2 typically do so only when an even amount of money has been wagered. Don’t short-change yourself on the correct payoff by betting an odd amount.

Just as you would in a live blackjack game, make sure that you get rated for your play. Always use your Player’s Card when playing video blackjack.

It is the splits, double downs, and blackjacks that jiggle your blackjack play from the red into the black. Do not shortchange yourself in these situations. When your strategy card says to double or split, do it.

Make sure to read the posted rules, so that you can quickly determine the house edge on your selected machine. For example, I used to play on a machine that allowed early surrender with liberal doubling down rules. Surprisingly, with the use of perfect basic strategy, the house had no advantage on my play on this particular machine. Toss in the cash-back when I used my Player’s Card, and the owners were actually paying me to sit in front of their machines.

Have you ever heard of a blackjack game where you are allowed to switch cards between two of your own hands? My friend says he’s played it, but I can’t believe a casino would allow you to do it. Tim A.

Yes, Tim, there is such a game where casino allows the players to do what would normally put them in the slammer, swap cards between two hands.

Called Blackjack Switch, it is a mutant form of blackjack where a player is dealt two hands and is allowed to trade cards between hands.

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by Mark Pilarski

Dear Mark: Do you have any blackjack money management tips on how to discipline myself on holding on to winnings? It seems all the money I win ends up back in the dealer’s tray. Hardy K.

Teaching people to walk away with some vestige of their winnings can be an exercise in futility. Excuse me while I sigh and roll my eyes. A writer for the Journal of Experimental Psychology I am not. But I can offer you a money management tip that, if you make – no, if you KEEP -- the pledge to stick with it, will work wonders in your ability to leave with a profit.

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Dear Mark: Recently, I was playing Blackjack on a cruise boat. The table had a constant shuffle machine with either 6 or 8 decks, although I can’t be certain. What effect, if any, does this have on the house advantage on a basic strategy player? Charlie L.

With a typical shoe game, any time the number of decks in play is increased, the casino’s edge goes up slightly. For example, compared to a single deck, a two-deck game handicaps your play by 0.35%, four decks, 0.48%, six decks, 0.54% and eight decks 0.58%.  It is always to your advantage to play on a game that offers the fewest decks.

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Typically, Howard, compared to a single deck game, the two-decker handicaps your play by 0.35%, with four decks it’s 0.48%, six decks 0.54%, and eight decks 0.58%. So, given the choice, I would normally recommend playing on a game with the smallest number of decks.

Furthermore, Howard, blackjacks, which pay 3 for 2 (a payoff of $3 for every $2 wagered), occur more frequently on single deck games than on multi-deck games. To illustrate this, let’s say your first card is an Ace. On a single deck game, 16 of the remaining 51 cards, or 31.37 percent, are the face or 10-value cards that would complete your blackjack. On a six-deck game, 96 of the remaining 311 cards, or 30.87 percent, would give you your blackjack.

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Dear Mark: Do you know if there is any blackjack game that allows the player to have an edge against the house, using just basic strategy and not counting cards? Jerry C.

Basic strategy is nothing more than how you play your hand against the dealer’s “up card.” Playing correctly, Jerry, you can lower the casino advantage down to less than one percent, which incidentally, can be done at any casino that offers blackjack.

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Dear Mark: I sometimes forget to bring my basic strategy card for blackjack to the casino. Do you have any simplified rules to follow that will cut the edge on the game? Gary Z.

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Dear Mark,
I'm about to make my first trip to Las Vegas. Can you give me your favorite King Midas tip that will turn my trip into gold? Jerome S.

Why King Midas, Jerome? When I think of King Midas my thoughts turn toward greed. In Ovid's Greek tale, Midas was so greedy he wanted everything he touched to turn to gold. To his delight, his wish came true, and he proceeded to gild everything in sight. But like a rapacious player who wants to win every hand, his fate was tragic in the end. He killed his own beloved daughter with his magical touch.

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Dear Mark: What is the easiest card-counting system there is for blackjack? Daniel P.

Card counting, Daniel, is not restricted to any one method. There are plenty of systems available, but there is a tradeoff between ease of use and theoretical power. The more complex the system, the harder it is to use. The central idea is simply that a deck rich in high cards favors the player and a deck rich in low cards favors the dealer. Therefore, the goal of any worthwhile counting system is to track the changing imbalance of big to little cards in the diminishing deck. When that ratio favors the counting player, he or she bets more money; when it favors the dealer, the counter bets less.

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Compared to a single deck, a two-deck game handicaps your play -0.35%, four decks, -0.48%, six decks, -0.54% and eight decks -0.58%. As you can see, it is always to your advantage to play on a game that offers the fewest decks. Also note, the house edge goes up substantially when you go from one deck to two, but the change is less dramatic as you add more decks. How much is this costing you in dollars and cents? If you were to play 100 hands per hour at $5 per hand, each -0.1% would cost you approximately 50¢ per hour. Playing on a game with two decks versus one deck will cost you $1.75 per hour, with each additional deck costing you increasingly more.

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