BlackJack?

Just spent the weekend with my friends playing poker and blackjack.  One of my friends, Steve Martin (not THE Steve Martin) is notorious for chasing his poker winnings on the blackjack table.  I’m usually very skeptical as I like to focus solely on poker and using my edge over other players as a profit source.  However, sitting down watching him crush the shoe for two hours has me revising my train of thought.  It looked almost… too easy.

I understand that his results were not typical, in fact, the table was hot as the dealer was going bust and feeding everybody black-jacks.  However, I was entranced by the speed of the play.  You don’t have to sit and wait for a spot, a hand, or an opponents mistake like in poker.  There are none of the long Hollywooding drawn out hands you get during a no limit game.  No, it’s hand after hand.  You win, you lose, or you push and you move on.

Certainly, I can see why an action junkie would love it.  So, I think I’m going to play blackjack online.  Of course, I’ll try my hand on bwin to see if it’s the same thrill and fun as it was live.  Granted my gameplan is to stick to the tips they supply and start out conservatively at first.  Below are some of the hand strategies…

Tips

	Player’s hand	Dealer’s up card
		2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	A
	5-6-7-8	H	H	H	H	H	H	H	H	H	H
	9	H	D	D	D	D	H	H	H	H	H
	10	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	H	H
	11	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	H
	12	H	H	S	S	S	H	H	H	H	H
	13-14	S	S	S	S	S	H	H	H	H	H
	15-16	S	S	S	S	S	H	H	H	H	H
	17-18-19-20-21	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S
	A-2(13), A-3(14)	H	H	H	D	D	H	H	H	H	H
	A-4(15), A-5(16)	H	H	D	D	D	H	H	H	H	H
	A-6(17)	H	D	D	D	D	H	H	H	H	H
	A-7(18)	S	D	D	D	D	S	S	H	H	H
	A-8(19), A-9(20)	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S
	A & A	SP	SP	SP	SP	SP	SP	SP	SP	SP	SP
	2 & 2 – 3 & 3	SP	SP	SP	SP	SP	SP	H	H	H	H
	4 & 4	H	H	H	SP	SP	H	H	H	H	H
	5 & 5 NS	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	H	H
	6 & 6	SP	SP	SP	SP	SP	H	H	H	H	H
	7 & 7	SP	SP	SP	SP	SP	SP	H	H	H	H
	8 & 8	SP	SP	SP	SP	SP	SP	SP	SP	SP	SP
	9 & 9	SP	SP	SP	SP	SP	SP	SP	SP	S	S
	10 & 10 NS	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S	S

H=Hit, S=Stand, D=Double Down, SP=Split, NS=Never Split

Anybody out there play blackjack online and a whiz at the game?  I know that if you play optimally you got a great chance to win but are there any particular holdings you might deviate from the above suggestions?   How much of your bankroll would you recommend playing at a time.  Is there a stop-loss? 

One strategy Steve was employing was increasing his bet after every win.  At every loss he’d go back to his initial bet.  He believes the game is all about streaks so he’ll wants to get more money in on a winning streak, and obviously less money in on a losing streak.  Any recommendations for bet strategies when I play online blackjack?

Beckham

Becks

 Being a bit of a soccer fan, I was surprised to read online that David Beckham departed the LA Galaxy and went on loan to Italian powerhouse AC Milan.  This was the guy who was supposed to save the MLS.  He was the marketing equivalent of Pele (but certainly not his match in talent–except for crossing, energy and free kicks) and was going to bring the spotlight to the young league only now coming online.  He did half his part.  In a game of high stakes poker the LA Galaxy bought the massive pot with a slight overbet and signed Becks, for a massive amount of publicity.  After the luster of spending huge dollars wore off and the media turned their eye to more American sports what do they have to show for it?  A failed reality show, some papparazzi photos of him out on the town with Tom Cruise, and Posh Spice Single-White-Femaling Katie Holmes Cruise is about it, although Scientology may thank the Galaxy for their next totem if the recruitment goes as planned.

I wonder if Beckham is a bit of a gambler.  Now with online casino bwin emblazoned across his jersey he’ll be a representative of fans who like to play blackjack online or play online roulette.  It’s ironic because the LA Galaxy thought they had blackjack when they paired David Beckham with the greatest American player ever, Landon Donovan, yet they didn’t even make the playoffs.  Their defense played as hesitantly as I would Russian Roulette and even the tireless energy of Beckham couldn’t stop the league’s assault on their goal.

Sure they provided some exciting games as the Galaxy scored early and often but their opponents usually scored more.  Bettors, or “punters” as Beckham’s Brits like to call them, will now face better odds when betting on Beckham’s team as AC Milan is internationally competitive.  They have a recent Champions League trophy as proof of that.  If gamblers need inspiration where to place their bets, they need look no further than the online casino bwin on Beckham’s jersey to make a second half bet.