What is it about walking into a casino that brings new life into us?  The moment you walk through the front door, the sounds start tingling the senses and the hair on the back of your head starts to stand on edge.  The smart gambler walks past all of the slot machines that swallow your money and make their way to the only real game worth playing in the casino, live blackjack.

Blackjack is one of the few games in the casino that you are pretty much on an even keel with the casino.  You don’t have to lay losing odds as you do in every other game on the floor.  The only advantage that the dealer has is that they get to act last.  Other than that, it is you versus the dealer, one on one, for the money that is posted on the table.

As with most games, live blackjack is played against the house.  The dealer will start dealing the cards to the table via shoe that holds anywhere from 1-6 decks.  The player’s cards are dealt face up and one of the dealer cards is also up; however, the second card is down and this is where the fun starts.  In order to be successful, you are going to have to play your hand assuming that the dealer is holding a 10.

If you are not familiar with the rules of blackjack, the purpose is to get to 21 or closer than the dealer without going over.  The player may take a hit when it is their turn until they go over 21 or ‘bust’.  Once all of the players have taken their card, the dealer will then play their hand to decide who wins and who loses their bets.

One of the rules in place that actually helps the player somewhat is the fact that the house must hit when they have less than 17.  This decreases the odds and is one of the reasons that blackjack presents a gambler with some of the best odds in the house.  However, even with the roughly one percent advantage the house has, it is more than enough to ensure that they make a healthy profit.

Everyone always wants to know if there are ways to beat the house.  The popularity of the movie “21” pushed counting cards to the forefront.  While it is possible, it takes quite a bit of practice for a player to become proficient at it.  In order to make it work, you must pay attention to every card that is dealt and make a move when the count shows a lot of high cards remaining in the shoe.  One small mistake and you could be putting your money down in a very bad position.

Blackjack continues to rival ever other game as the most popular game in the casino.  While baccarat and roulette will always try and claim the top spot, blackjack is truly king when it comes to the games of chance on the casino floor.