Blackjack Hell: Game Selection and Games You Should Not Play

Advantage playing is based in the premise that a player can improve his or her odds of winning in some casino games. Note that we said "some" games. If you are not selective about the games you play, you play in vain. The first rule of advantage playing is: play only the good games and void the bad ones!

This is especially true in blackjack. Blackjack is generally one of the best bets in the casino, but if you play the wrong versions, you are making an awful choice. Game selection is the key.

Single Deck 6/5 Blackjack

This is hell of all blackjack hells. In the world of 21, it is widely known that single deck games offer better odds for winning than multiple deck or "shoe" games. Casinos now try to manipulate this fact for their own benefit by selling single deck games to players. It may sound great - "Wow, single deck blackjack!" - but what the players may not realize is that these single deck games pay only 6 to 5 for a natural! That is a huge fall from the standard 3 to 2 payoff.

To show you how much money is lost, here is an example: If you bet $10 and make a blackjack, the 3/2 payoff will earn you $15, while the 6/5 will pay you only $12 for a difference of $3. If you make 10 blackjacks in 2 hours, you lose $30!

Continuous Shuffling Machines

This dreaded CSM is the nightmare of blackjack experts. Used cards are returned to the machine after each hand, and the decks are shuffled anew. This spells doom for card counting players and should be avoided like a plague. Even ordinary blackjack players should avoid the CSM. Since there are no shuffling breaks, more hands are played every hour and the player loses money at a faster rate.

Hand-Held Multiple Deck Blackjack

Third in our blackjack hell list is a clever trick played by the casino. Again it plays on the single deck issue. Since single and double decks are hand-held (not in a shoe), you may think you're playing a true single deck or double deck when you are not. This is really an ordinary six or eight deck game! The difference is the dealer holds one or two decks in their hand at a time. When the decks are returned to the shuffling machine and riffled, you get the same odds as for multiple deck games.

Superfun 21

This novel game is designed, once again, to mislead inexperienced players. While the house edge can be lowered to less than 1% if perfect strategy is used, Superfun 21 is best avoided by novice players. It does not work like regular blackjack and played normally, the odds are much worse.

These are the blackjack games you should not play. Additionally, check for the table rules as they directly affect the house edge. The more limited your playing options are, the worse the odds must be. Success in blackjack - as in all advantage playing - begins with one thing: game selection. So be selective!