Many blackjack players know what "the book" says to do in adverse situations. But they sometimes honor their intuition over the laws of the universe anyway. For instance, they'll stand rather than hit 12 versus two- or three-up. Certain solid citizens flout the rules of Basic Strategy under favorable conditions as well. An illustration is hitting in lieu of doubling 11 versus 10-up, thinking the dealer too strong to put extra money on the line.Hands on which blackjack buffs tend to go their own ways are typically close calls. The chances of one such option "working" better than another in a specific instance don't differ much. The "cost" of breaching Basic Strategy in these cases is also usually low. And it's not even a real loss, but a theoretical forfeiture.Pretend you bet $10 and get 12 versus a two-up. You're the underdog no matter what you do. Hitting, the statistically projected damage is around $2.50. Standing, it's about $2.90. Basic Strategy says hit, to save 40 hypothetical cents. No big deal. If the butterflies in your stomach are less agitated by doing so, you may be better off standing and letting the dealer's hand decide your fate, instead of drawing and sweating an instant bust or reaching 17 through 20 and still being clobbered. Minimizing expected loss, as opposed to personal anxiety level, on a particular round is one take on the question. Another is selecting a strategy, and adhering to it, by considering its bearing on the edge the casino gets over a period of time.With a $10 initial bet the statistical penalty for violating Basic Strategy by standing on 12 versus two-up, standing on 13 versus three-up, and hitting 11 versus 10 up is roughly $0.40, $0.20, and $0.60, respectively. When you make these decisions consistently, their effect on the overall edge in the game goes further and involves how often the hands are expected to occur. Players see 12 versus two- or three-up on the average of 7.5 per 1,000 playable hands each; it's 13.6 out of 1,000 for 11 versus 10-up. The corresponding increases in edge are the sizes of the penalties multiplied by their probabilities of occurrence. The products are 0.030 percent for 12 versus two-up, 0.015 percent for 12 versus three-up, and 0.082 percent for 11 versus 10-up. The drop dead edge a casino gets in a six deck blackjack game with doubling allowed on any two cards, resplitting pairs, and doubling after splitting is about 0.46 percent. The three indicated departures from Basic Strategy add 0.127 percent to this value, bringing it to 0.587 percent. Assume that in a representative session, you make 200 bets averaging $10 each. Were you to follow Basic Strategy to the letter, the casino would expect to earn $9.20 from your action. The theoretical "take" with the three departures would be $11.74, an additional $2.54.On an absolute scale, the 0.127 percent gift you're giving the house, the $2.54 for the 200-round session with $10 average bets, is hardly a bankroll buster, dollar-wise. It also barely alters your ultimate session prospects. For instance, on a $100 buy-in, the likelihood you'll still be in action after 200 rounds with perfect Basic Strategy is 44.9 percent. These three frequently encountered deviations only cut that chance to 44.4 percent.For all practical purposes, in the limited number of rounds a person plays in a casino visit of reasonable duration, common violations of Basic Strategy have minor impact. Still, the edge for optimal play is small and the illustrated changes represent an increase of over 27.5 percent of the advantage the bosses are willing to accept. Add a few more "errors," such as standing on soft 18 when Basic Strategy is either to double or hit, and edge increases by 50 percent. Mix in insurance whenever the dealer shows an ace and you more than double the minimum edge.How far are you willing to go before you decide to teach those butterflies in your belly some arithmetic? Or, at least, to calm them with this couplet by the punter's poet, Sumner A Ingmark? Though benefits lost are incremental, The peril is not coincidental.

Online roulette is an interesting proposition, one worth considering separately from good old casino roulette. Most pages discussing online roulette, or online gambling of any kind, focus on the effect of being taken out of the casino. This is worth noting because at home you have complete control over your surroundings. Online roulette lets you play without all of the noise and commotion of the casino. This enables you to take as much time as you need to think about your bets, consult outside resources, phone a friend, anything! Roulette isn't like blackjack though, where checking a basic strategy chart is a faux pas in the casino but easy from home. So what are the advantages for online roulette? Well, you're not going to find any biased wheels out there (well, actually you might, there are lots of bad programmers in the world, maybe one of them made a roulette game for an online casino at some point) You can, however, easily find yourself a single zero roulette wheel. A number of online casinos offer European roulette wheels so those of us who reside across the big pond can also enjoy the drop in house edge. Anyone interested in playing roulette online is usually curious about the odds. Are the odds at an online casino fair? Are they the same as Vegas? Who determines the odds? Classically, roulette is completely random. There are little pegs and obstructions strewn around the wheel in an effort to have the ball bounce around a good bit before coming to rest. This randomness can be comforting to the gambler as it provides some security that you are not likely going to be ripped off. You can lose this feeling pretty easily with digital games like video slots and video poker machines, and yes, with online roulette. If this makes you uneasy about venturing online, check out some forums on online gambling and talk to some roulette players. I myself have won more than once playing online, so I can assure you it is entirely possible. Although it may not be possible to determine the exact odds that an online casino offers, you can always call and ask. Check to ensure the online casino is licensed by a licensing board (most are, but its nice to be sure), and then check to see how strict that licensing board is. The quality of the online roulette games you find at an Internet casino is comparable to our

Pair
A single pair is the second lowest hand. This is when two cards have matched numerical value ace-ace being the highest hand two-two the lowest. If there are equal pairs when comparing hands then you compare the high cards of the matched hands.


Two Pair
Two Pair is two cards of the same rank with two cards of a different rank. A pair of aces with a pair of kings is the highest two pair if the highest pair are equal when comparing hands then the low pair is matched if that is the same then the single card decides.


Three of a Kind
Three of a kind is three cards of the same rank plus two other cards. When comparing hands the highest three set wins so A-A-A (the highest) beats all other Three of a kinds. This hand is also known as a set of trips.


Straight
A straight is five cards in a numerical sequence 2-3-4-5-6, these cards can be of any suit. When comparing hands the highest card wins so A-K-Q-J-10 is the highest possible straight. An ace can be low or high but not in the middle, so A-2-3-4-5 is ok but Q-K-A-2-3 is not.


Flush
A flush is made of any five cards which are the same suit (i.e. spades) when comparing hands the highest card is used to decide.


Full House
A full house consists of a three of a kind and a pair. When comparing hands it is the highest three of a kind that decides. The highest full house is three aces and any other pair.


Four of a kind
Four cards of the same rank (and a fifth card) Four aces is the highest example of this and four two's the lowest.


Straight Flush
A straight flush is five cards in a sequence all of the same suit, such as A-2-3-4-5 all of the same suit is the lowest straight flush

Royal Flush
The Highest possible straight flush and highest hand in poker. It consists of ace, king, queen, jack, ten, all in the same suit.

Before any cards are dealt, the player must wager. He does this by placing his bet in the designated space in front of his table position. The dealer then deals two cards to each of the players, and two to himself (one of the dealer's cards is dealt face up and one is dealt facing down) Face cards (kings, queens and jacks) count as 10, ace counts as one or 11 (as the player chooses) and all other cards are counted at their face value. BLACKJACK - If the player's first two cards are an ace and a 10 or face card, he wins. However, if the dealer also has a blackjack, it is a standoff, as are all ties or pushes. A winning blackjack pays the player 3 to 2.HIT or STAND - Hit means to draw another card (which the player signifies by scraping the table with his cards or a similar hand motion) Stand means no more cards (which the player signals by placing his cards under his wager or moving his hand in a horizontal direction. If the player hits and busts (goes over 21), he immediately turns his cards over and his wager is lost. DOUBLE DOWN - The player is allowed to double the bet on his first two cards and draw one additional card only to improve his hand. SPLITTING PAIRS - If the first two cards a player is dealt are a pair, he may split them into two separate hands, bet the same amount on each and then play them separately. Aces receive only one additional card. After splitting, A-10 counts as 21 and not as blackjack. INSURANCE - If the dealer's up card is an ace, the player may take insurance, a bet not exceeding one-half his original bet. If the dealer's down card is a 10 or any face card, the player wins 2 to 1. Any other card means a win for the dealer.SURRENDER - Where permitted, a player may give up his first two cards and lose only one-half his original bet. The dealer must draw on 16 and stand on 17.