Black Jack

Why You Poker Newbies Also Love Black Jack...

Texas hold’em and Omaha are certainly the games of choice on dailystarpoker.com but I’m getting a lot of questions from newcomers to the site who are pressing the casino button and introducing themselves to the fast and furious fun of blackjack. If you’re new to online blackjack its appeal is its simplicity. You only have to make a hand totalling 21 without going bust. All picture cards are valued at 10 and the remainder carry their obvious face value. The ace counts as either 1 or 11 with you deciding which value assists you best to achieve 21. At the outset of an online game, the table sets a bet limit before cards are dealt. The dealer will then deal two cards to each player face up and two to himself or herself, one face up, one face down. The skill revolves around deciding how much to bet and whether to hit or stick as each card is dealt, so as to reach 21 without going bust. If you hit, you receive another face up card. If that card takes you over 21, you bust and lose your money. On reaching 21 or as close as you feel you can risk, you stick. Now it’s the dealer’s turn to flip over his face down card. He or she will then begin taking cards until 17 or over is reached. Dealers always stop at that point. If you have already gone bust, you lose whether the dealer busts or
not. If you have a higher scoring hand than the dealer when he sticks, you win. If the dealer busts and your hand is under 21, you win. When your hand value matches that of the dealer’s, it’s called a “push” and your money is returned to you. Simple. Fast. Fun.

"Play blackjack at: www.DailyStarCasino.com "

Poker purists prefer the grit and the wit of Omaha and Texas hold’em, as they demand a tactical awareness and stamina that blackjack does not. Blackjack is the foreplay. Poker’s the real thing.

"Play poker at: www.DailyStarPoker.com "

WHY POKER?
A blackjack player, beyond a certain amount of common sense, is basically relying on luck. A poker player expects an advantage. He works at his strategies over time to create that advantage. His relationship to luck is different. He constantly improves his craft and then plays expecting to win and merely hopes the other guy doesn’t get lucky. Poker offers you the chance to improve your odds.
 
ALL THE ACES daily poker column Friday, August 19th 2005: Black Jack