Who here likes BlackJack?

[RegBarc]

I lost almost $1,000 in Atlantic City this past July playing blackjack. I want to play more, but I know I'll lose. It's mostly a game of probability, so I need someone to teach me. Anyone up for it?

[LlamaLarry]

$1000 over the weekend? Or while waiting for your first drink to come back? Done both. Overall I am way ahead, but I am a (relatively) conservative player so it takes me a while.

Which $ table?

[Ludwig van Jaethoven]

According to my luck when I play it on a computer, you do not want my help.

[RegBarc]

$1000 over the weekend? Or while waiting for your first drink to come back? Done both. Overall I am way ahead, but I am a (relatively) conservative player so it takes me a while.

Which $ table?
I think it was the $50.00 table at the Borgata.

[bigpuma]

I love to play blackjack at the casinos. Without money though it is just boring. As for tips there are plenty of books and websites that discuss blackjack strategy. They even make cards that you can take to the table.

[Kablemodem]

Short of card counting there is basic strategy that will maximize your odds, but the odds will never be in your favor. The key to winning at Blackjack is having enough luck to win several hands in a row, thus enabling you to increase your bets, and the brains to walk away while you are ahead.

[Huntwood]

If you memorize charts that tell you when to stand, hit, double-down, or split, the odds are very nearly 50-50 (just a fraction of a percentage less). I have these charts memorized, and the one time I went to Atlantic City, I had a net loss of only $2 playing blackjack. However, I had a net gain of $40 on the crap table, so my lifetime position at Atlantic City is +$38 :)

I've tried to count cards (whcih will cause you to actually have an edge on the house), but at the speed the game is played, it's too easy for me to lose count, so I don't even try anymore.

[JYoung]

If you can learn basic strategy and have mastered soft doubling, you can tip the odds slightly in your favor.
Of course, card counting will better your odds.

[scoblitz]

I have never been much of a gambler so never really got into it.

Also, I am always concerned that I'll screw up everyone else at the table if I don't play the "right" way...

[Man In Black]

I dunno, but I'm not fond of JackBlack.

[Marco]

If you want to win money in AC, switch to poker, in which you need to beat the other players and their human frailties (well, and the house's rake too), not the immutable laws of probability.

If you want to win some, lose more in the long term, memorize this strategy chart and hit those blackjack tables again: http://wizardofodds.com/blackjack

There's plenty of free software out there to practice with.

For God's sake find a lower than $50 table if you possibly can.

Back before the odious "Unlawful Internet Gaming Enforcement Act," there were plentiful online casino bonuses that made blackjack a +EV (positive expected value) game. The legislation spooked most of 'em away.

[Otto]

I played Blackjack in Vegas when I was last there. I played for a couple hours and won about $200 overall, but I found it dull and uninteresting.

I did memorize the basic strategy chart at wizardofodds.com before I went, and pretty much followed it to the letter except when it was obvious that the count was in my favor. No method to my counting, I just watched tens.

[AJRitz]

I don't play often, but I do enjoy blackjack. I won $500 playing blackjack at a riverboat casino here in town last week. I don't usually do THAT well, but I rarely lose.

[Gus]

You can't count cards at most places these days - they reshuffle the shoe long before you can take advantage of the count. Counters are obvious anyway by watching their bets, unless they're playing in teams.

In the long run very few people break even, let alone win, at the blackjack tables. Those that do win in the long run generally do so because they have a big enough bankroll to survive the losses. Most of them will give it all back in the longer run. It's interesting that with such a small pool of blackjack winners in the world, so many of them are posting in this thread.

[Michael]

The odds are not in your favor... That is why there are fewer professional Blackjack players versus other games, such as Texas Hold'em.

[Ryan]

I prefer my treo. ;)

[Timbeau]

We used to play lots and lots and lots of blackjack at hunting camp and the one tried and true way to win was to become the dealer as much as possible.