| | |  | | | | Games Strategy
If you are someone who is interested in finding out more about the gambling strategy of games then All About Gambling is a sight that can help you a lot.
The Video Poker strategy for each of the two most popular video poker games, Jacks or Better and Deuces Wild, is shown here. The best dealt (pre-draw) video poker hands are at the top of the lists and are shown in expected return value, descending order.
In Jacks or Better video poker, dealt hands, such as Three of a Kind with two off-cards, offer very clear hold/draw decisions. In this example, you simply hold the trips and draw two cards. There is no other reasonable play. However, most dealt hands present two or more reasonable draw options. In that case, choose the hand that is highest on the list. Always discard all the off-cards. In video poker it is best to never hold a "kicker".
Blackjack
The basic blackjack strategy is the optimum way to play your hand if you are not counting cards. This strategy is derived by computer simulation where the computer deals out millions of hands, plays them in all possible ways, and then records and analyzes the results. The basic strategy is not based on guesswork or hunches. It is the mathematically correct way to play your hand against every dealer's upcard.
What does the basic strategy get you? The casino's initial edge in the game of blackjack is about 5.75%, which includes the 3 to 2 payoff on player blackjacks. By employing the correct basic strategy plays it is possible to whittle down the casino's edge to about 0.5%.
Initial casino's edge 5.75%
Correct hitting and standing -3.25%
Correct doubling -1.5%
Correct pair splitting -0.5%
Casino's edge with basic strategy 0.5%
Of course it's possible to lower the casino's edge to less than 0.5% by playing in games that have very favorable rules. One of the best blackjack games is offered at the Slots-A- Fun Casino in Las Vegas. Here they deal a single deck game with the dealer standing on soft 17 and double after pair splitting is allowed. A basic strategy player has in fact a slight edge against the casino (ca. 0.1%) in this game.
The basic playing strategy is slightly dependent on the number of decks of cards. Thus the basic strategy for a single deck game is slightly different than a six deck game. For simplicity the table below summarizes the basic strategy rules that you can use for any number of decks. |
| | |
|
