Posts Tagged ‘Online Blackjack’

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75 Year Old Armenian Woman Cuts Country Off from Online Blackjack

Monday, May 2nd, 2011

No joke, this is a true story. A little less than a month ago online blackjack players in Armenia were suddenly without online blackjack. The connection, the internet, the games—and even an online blackjack tournament—were all interrupted when 75 year old Aishtan Shakarian cut through an international fiber optic backbone cable, known as the West-East cable, that connected Armenia to the rest of the world’s internet.

The elderly woman had been out gathering scrap metal to sell when she found a steel wrapped cable. Thinking to bring what she could carry with her to sell, the grandmother of eight began to chop away at the cable. After about ten hours of hacking at the cable Shakarian was able to pull free a twenty meter section of the steel casing. In doing so she damaged the fiber optic internet cable to the point that the majority of the country lost its internet connection for around twelve hours.

Online blackjack is the second most popular online casino game in all of Armenia, hence all of the upset when the cable was damaged and internet service lost. At the time the cable was damaged an online blackjack tournament was taking place. Players in this particular tournament were highly upset due to the fact that entry fees into the tournament were unrefundable, and after twelve hours of no internet, there was no one winning that tournament.

At the time Shakarian was arrested and admitted to damaging the cable while digging. When commenting on the situation, Zurab Gvenetadze, a police spokesman, said, ‘Her age is a mitigating factor. I am not expecting the prosecution to push for a strict punishment.” It is likely she will face a fine, some time doing community service and potentially a year in prison. It is unclear if she knew what the cable was for and if she knew she was cutting her country off from the Internet. There has also been no word on whether the online blackjack tournament players received a refund owing to the exceptional circumstances.

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Live Dealer Online Blackjack Now in More Languages

Wednesday, April 27th, 2011

While so much of what is made on the software end of online casino games is in English. Not everyone in the world who gambles speaks it or understands it. Sure, blackjack players in the UK, Australia and the US (who are not supposed to be playing) speak English; and sure, a good portion of European citizens speak and understand some English. But English is not the language of the world—that goes to math I believe.

In light of that fact, one online casino is now offering its live dealer online blackjack in more languages than just English.

Fairway Casino is licensed and regulated out of Costa Rica. While not a big player in the online casino industry, it is beginning to make its presence known. Adding seven new languages to its live dealer online blackjack platform is just one of those ways.

The new language additions are Spanish, Italian, Greek, Chinese, Russian, Dutch and Korean.

While this may not seem like a big deal to many online blackjack players, I have two things to say about it:

1. The US online gambling market is huge. The conservatives who loathe online gambling with every fiber of their misinformed beliefs are huge too. Online regulation is going to be a battle of who is bigger. By making online blackjack and other online casinos and games more easily accessible to others in the world, it will allow the rest of the gambling market to grow to a size that could eventually overpower the conservatives. As in ‘We are bigger and we want into the US market.’ Or ‘We took the time to grow and get more money to lobby with.’

2. Online blackjack should be available to anyone who wants to play whether they speak English or not. Opening up live dealer online blackjack to the wider language world is a good move to bring in more players who have an interest in the game. Online blackjack for everyone!

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After Site Seizure is Online Blackjack Legal or Illegal?

Monday, April 18th, 2011

That is a question that many online blackjack players are asking themselves. With three major US-facing online poker sites being seized by the FBI and Department of Justice this past Friday, many who play their favorite casino games online are concerned if they will be next.

Unfortunately, my little blackjack players, there is no way of knowing if an online casino is going to be targeted by the FBI and DoJ next. The online poker sites were taken down, I think, as a scare tactic. Conservatives are very against online gambling of any kind, and with DC becoming the first jurisdiction to pass a bill to regulate online poker, those conservatives are bound to be up in arms. Think it is a coincidence that it was online poker that DC passed their bill on and online poker only sites that were seized? I think not. This is the vulture-esque conservatives trying to scare Americans away from playing their favorite online casino games in their own homes.

That being said, is online blackjack legal or illegal?

Yes, back in 2006 the UIGEA was signed into law; and, yes, it went into effect last June. But the UIGEA is a way for the federal government to bar financial institutions from knowingly making transactions to and from online casinos. Naturally online gambling operators and players found a way around it. But the UIGEA is not a player-based ban. Nowhere in it does it say that US citizens cannot play blackjack online. So, on an individual to individual basis, no, online blackjack is not technically illegal.

But does that mean that where you play online blackjack could be targeted next? There is no way of knowing. And with the legal loop-de-loops that the New York branch of the FBI will doing to round up and prosecute the eleven people indicted with the three online poker sites, I think their attention will be occupied for the next little while. But to be on the safe side, be very mindful of how much money you are keeping in your player accounts; if a site is seized there is little chance that you will get your money back. Play smart.

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Online Blackjack Variations and Payouts

Friday, April 8th, 2011

Okay, so I went a little nuts yesterday over Panamanian Blackjack. But really it is the best variation of blackjack that I have seen to date. A software developer needs to pick up that game and make it into an online format so that we can all have Panamanian Online Blackjack. But there is one thing that I did not talk about in yesterday’s post was about payouts.

Payouts are a big reason why I do not like the majority of online blackjack variations. That and side bets, but that is a whole other discussion.

The traditional payout of a natural or two card blackjack is 3-2. Meaning you are being paid $3 for every $2 that you wager. And standard online blackjack games do offer a 3-2 payout. But those online blackjack variations! Most of them are offering an even money or 1-1 payout.

The problem with even money payout on a blackjack is that you are not getting nearly the amount of money that you should be getting for you blackjack. Not to mention what it does to your edge. Even money payouts knock 2.27% off of your edge and gives it back to the house.

House edge is about how much you can expect to lose on a wager. So if you are playing in an even money paying online blackjack variation, you can expect to lose an extra 2.27%. So if you were wagering $10, that’s another $2.27 you can expect to lose just from playing in an even money paying online blackjack variation. That is on top of the standard 4-5% house edge per strategy.

And that is a big reason why I do not like online blackjack variations. So seeing a variation, even if it is not online yet, that does not stiff players with an even money payout made me excited.

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Getting Your Blackjack Tournament Fix On!

Thursday, March 31st, 2011

Unfortunately for all of us online blackjack players, a good strong online blackjack tournament just does not happen as often as it should. And by ‘should’ I mean there should be a biggie at least once a month. Look at what online casinos do for slots tournaments—most have a fairly large tournament every weekend and when a holiday rolls in, forget it! Huge, massive prize pools…all for online slots.

And we all know that online blackjack gives way better odds than online slots, and that hosting so many big tournaments is the online casinos’ way of cashing in. But would it really hurt them to do a big online blackjack tournament once a month?

Anyway there is a way to get your online blackjack tournament fix on while waiting for the occasional big tournament. The prize pools are only the pot and these are only twenty four hour tournaments, but Online Vegas hosts three online blackjack tournaments each week on every Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

These are pretty simple tournaments. They begin at 8 pm on those three days and run for twenty four hours. There is no set prize amount, only the pool; so the more people who play the bigger the pool is. And we get all of that for only a 99 cents entry fee.

Yes, 99 cents is all it takes to get your online blackjack tournament fix—or even work on some tournament strategy. The entry fee gives you fifty tournament credits to play with, although rebuys are available for $2.49.

Players who want to get their online blackjack tournament fix on for 99 cents can head over to Online Vegas and register. With them being offered three days a week for only 99 cents each, it really is not too bad of a way to get your blackjack tournament fix.

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Virgin’s New Blackjack Bonus

Wednesday, March 30th, 2011

While they do not accept players from the United States, Virgin Casino is one of the foremost online casinos operating in Europe. As such they have decided to begin offering a new blackjack bonus in hopes of throwing some favor to the card players.

Virgin has always been generous when it comes to their online slots players. Now it is time that they showed some favor to the blackjack players, well the new ones at any rate.

New players to Virgin will be able to claim a 50% deposit match using the code BLACKJACK50. But there is one slight downside to this blackjack bonus: it is only worth a maximum of £50. For all the Americans that is the same as just over $80.

So according to the bonus, players would have to deposit £100 in order to receive £50. Again, for the Americans, it would be like depositing $160 and only receiving $80.

While that sort of bonus is all well and fine as one of a few weekly bonuses in a player rewards program, it is actually not the greatest blackjack bonus. I offer up in comparison Rushmore’s blackjack bonus which is a 200% deposit match bonus worth up to $1,000. And $1,000 is a heck of a lot more than $80.

While I am glad to see Virgin Casino giving something to their blackjack players, I do feel that they are worth more than £50. On the other hand my mother always said that some is better than none, so I guess new blackjack players to Virgin have that as their option.

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What Makes Online Blackjack Better

Monday, March 28th, 2011

I am willing to bet you thought that this would be about why online blackjack is better than blackjack in a brick and mortar casino. You would be wrong. Forget that explanation. We are going to look at why online blackjack is better than other online casino games, namely online slots.

Online slots have a very dominate presence in online casinos and in the online gambling industry as a whole. Think about it. More than half of the games offered are online slots games. And, for the most part, online blackjack players do not have an interest in them. Online casinos are more than happy to let online slots take the center stage because they are the big money makers. Imagine millions of people around the world happily spinning away their money on slots; and as slots games are designed to take money over time rather than pay it out, casinos are happy to let online slots sit in the lime light and offer more slots games than other casino games.

But here is where online blackjack is better.

Online blackjack offers players a better house edge. And a better house edge means a better likelihood of making a profit. And who does not want more money?

Compare if you will: online slots offer around a 14% house edge and online blackjack offers around 4% house edge before any strategy is applied to it.

Can blackjack strategy help you to low that 4% house edge even more? Yes, it can.

The easiest blackjack strategy available for free use (and which is legal to use in online casinos) is basic strategy. This delightful little gem of a blackjack strategy tells players the most opportune play to make based on their first two cards and the dealer’s up card. While this does not guarantee a win every time, it does increase the likelihood of a win. Over time basic strategy can decrease the house edge to 0.5%, giving it the best house edge available to players.

And having a 0.5% house edge means a much better chance of money in your pocket. Hence, online blackjack is better than other online casino games. Simply because players stand to have better odds in online blackjack.

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Who Wins More Hands in Online Blackjack

Friday, March 25th, 2011

There is some speculation on who wins what percentage of hands in online blackjack. Some think that there is a difference in online blackjack to the point that it impacts the percentage of who wins hands in the game.

While there are some differences in online blackjack and blackjack played in a brick and mortar casino—such as card counting, which cannot be used in online blackjack—there are some things that do not change. The house edge is one such thing that does not change.

While players can still use basic strategy in online blackjack, there are not enough differences to impact winning. The house is still going to win roughly 48% of the hands that are dealt while the player is still only going to win 44% of the time.

The reason for this is still found in the basic structure of blackjack. For one thing the player still plays first. For another the dealer does not put up any wager to play a round.

On the other hand the dealer is not allowed to double down or split pairs. Those plays do give players an advantage but they need to take advantage of them when the opportunities come along. To help guide players there is basic strategy.

Basic strategy tells players when the most opportune moments are to double down and split pairs. This allows players to make the most of these hands which contributes to increasing their odds on winning those 44% of hands. If you are only going to win 44% of the time you want to make the most money off of them and that is where knowing when to double down and split pairs since players can win more money off of those hands than on a standard hand.

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Player Rewards for Blackjack

Friday, March 18th, 2011

When playing blackjack online, it is often beneficial to take advantage of the online casino’s player rewards program. These programs are designed to reward players for playing their favorite casino game, in this case, online blackjack.

Over at Silver Dollar they offer the Lone Star Club in addition to their Six Shooter Welcome Bonus. Players start out at the Amber level and can play their way up through six levels to the Diamond level. Each level offers special bonuses for players at that level. Players progress to higher levels by earning points. Different types of points are earned for the different types of casino games. Below I have all six levels and how many points players receive at that level for each $100 wagered on online blackjack:

Amber is the beginning of a player’s climb through the Lone Star Club. For every $100 wagered on online blackjack 30 points are awarded. Players are eligible for a 10% bonus on all deposits and three weekly bonuses are given on the first deposits on those days: 75% up $100 on Mondays, 50% up to $100 on Wednesdays and 100% up to $100 on Fridays.

Bronze is the next level, reached when a player has earned 10,000 points; at this level players earn 33 points for every $100 wagered in online blackjack. The deposit bonus is increased to 15% and the weekly bonuses stay the same…for now.

Silver is reached once a player earns 50,000 points. From this level players earn 36 points for every $100 wagered in online blackjack. Again the deposit bonus is increased, this time to 20% and the maximum value on all three weekly bonuses is increased to $250.

Gold is the fourth level, reached at 100,000 points. Now every $100 wagered in blackjack is worth 39 points. Here players see the deposit bonus increased to 25% while the weekly bonuses stay the same as the Silver level ones.

Platinum is attained at 500,000 points. And the points awarded for every $100 wagered on online blackjack is increased to 42 points and the deposit bonus is upped to 30%. Also increased is the maximum a player can receive from the weekly deposit bonuses: $500.

Diamond is the highest level and is finally reached at 1,000,000. That is a lot of online blackjack! But players can still earn points to be used in giveaways or other special promotions. Points are earned at a rate of 45 points per $100 wagered in online blackjack. The deposit bonus maxes out at 35% on all deposits, but the weekly deposits do not change from the Platinum level.

And that is the structure of the Lone Star Club at Silver Dollar. With all of the bonuses, they make it worth your while to play online blackjack with them.

But understand while all new players are enrolled in the Lone Star Club, it is not mandatory. Players who only want to play some online blackjack and not worry about levels and points can contact the customer support team and opt out of the rewards program.

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Billionth Hand of Online Blackjack Dealt

Tuesday, March 8th, 2011

This past Friday saw a truly historic moment in online blackjack. The one billionth hand of online blackjack was dealt at Bodog. While there are many online casinos out there, each of who have dealt thousands and millions of hand of blackjack, not one had reached the one billionth mark at any of their online blackjack tables. Bodog was the first online casino to deal that many hands.

Naturally there was a special prize for that lucky online blackjack player. He or she had the choice of either a billionaire vacation trip to Fiji’s exclusive Turtle Island, or an expenses paid trip to Monaco to watch the Grand Prix from their own private boat. Both are truly incredible options.

But awesome prize to the lucky player who dealt the one billionth hand of online blackjack aside, there is a more industry related high point to this milestone.

Considering that federal level lawmakers, well at least the conservative base is, against legalizing and regulating online gambling and are trying to stop Americans from gambling online, this should show them that online gambling is here to stay and that it would be wiser to regulate this form of entertainment and generate revenue rather than sticking their heads in the sand like a bunch of ostriches.

“If I can’t see it, it will go away!”

Think about it for a moment. Sure, online blackjack is popular. But online poker surpasses even online blackjack. It would be silly to think otherwise. And if an online casino has finally hit its one billionth hand of online blackjack, imagine how many more hands of online poker and how many other online casinos have hit that milestone for online poker. Simply silly for the conservative base to think that online blackjack, online poker or online gambling will fade away or disappear from the American horizon.

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