Blackjack at Casino Captain

I once met a pirate named Black Jack. When I was a greenhorn, he'd always best me at finding treasures. Since then I've learned how to beat Black Jack at his own game. See below on how ye can beat him too.

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Casino	Review
Intercasino	The Captain loves Intercasino. It is not just the Captain either, matey - Intercasino has been voted "Top Casino of the Year" fer 3 years runnin' by the readers of the illustrious Gambling Online Magazine. Intercasino is an extremely well operated organization. The monthly promotions that every player gets at this casino are both very valuable and very fun fer all players. The special touches put on by Casino manager Ryan Hartley are great. Ryan visits the casino every weekend and when players spot him and say "hi" to him and he says "hi" back then that player wins $50! There are many such fun and exciting things happening at Intercasino and it can be very interactive if you want to play at public tables or private if you wish to play alone. Intercasino gives super fast payouts and is one of the most secure and honest online casinos in the world. Everyone should play at Intercasino.
Golden Reef	Since 2001, Golden Reef Casino has been sailing the online seas and has always been good to the Captain and all their customers. Golden Reef Casino has the neatest games that you can play - fer as little as one penny! Golden Reef Casino is powered by the Microgaming Viper software which is the absolute best in the industry and they are constantly adding new games. The speed of play and graphics will keep ye comin' back. The experience here is really awesome, so turn up yer speakers and sit back because the captain guarantees that ye will enjoy this! This truly is "Golden". Use the great 100% sign up bonus to try all the games at Golden Reef!
Golden Palace	Golden Palace casino is a very secure and cutting edge casino. They are constantly coming up with new and updated products and are ready to try anything new. The Captain is amazed at The Golden Palace signup bonus too. New players get a 300% bonus on their first deposit just fer signing up to play. The site has some great articles to read too. The Captain loves reading about the crazy advertising that this company does: From streakers to buying Wild Articles on Ebay! With so many games to play, so many nice promotions to enjoy and a constantly fun atmosphere, there is no reason to not be a regular player at Golden Palace.

The History of Blackjack

Upon my maiden voyage to Marseille in 1699, I found myself, as usual, at the local gaming parlor. There I met a scallywag pirate of a dealer named Noir Jacque. He was playing a game he called "vingt-et-un" (twenty-one) and invited me to play. I was a young impressionable lad and didn't know the rules of the game and he took me fer all me money. At that moment I vowed to figure out the best strategies to win and brought the game to the Americas. At first, the game wasn't very popular. To remedy this, I convinced gambling houses to start offering bonus payouts to get players interested. One bonus was a 10-to-1 payout if the player's hand consisted of the Ace of spades and a Black Jack (either the Jack of clubs or the Jack of spades). This hand was called a "blackjack" and the name stuck even though the bonus payout was soon abolished at land-based casinos. Now the online casinos are doing the bonuses to attract players and blackjack refers to any two cards that combine to equal 21...

How to Play

In blackjack, ye only play against the dealer, not any other players. Ye are dealt two cards face up while the dealer gets one card up and one card down. All cards are assigned a number value. A 'five card' counts as five points and so on. Aces may be counted as either 1 point or 11 points (whichever is best fer ye) and face cards (King, Queen, Jack) count as 10 points. The dealer must draw cards until they reach a total of 17 points or higher. The objective is to reach a higher point total than the dealer, but without exceeding 21 points, called 'busting,' which results in an automatic loss.

When ye beat the dealer's hand, ye are paid the value of yer bet on a 1 to 1 basis. This means that if ye bet $10 on a hand and win, then ye are paid $10 by the dealer. If ye lose, ye have $10 deducted from yer account.

When yer dealt a "blackjack" (an Ace coupled with either a ten or face card), yer an automatic winner! (unless the dealer also has a blackjack, which then determines a push, or tie.) "Blackjacks" are also provided with an extra bonus which most often pays "3 to 2," or $3 won fer every $2 wagered. This means that if ye bet $10 and get a blackjack hand, yer gettin' paid $15! When the dealer gets blackjack and ye lose, yer only deducted the original bet. This helps reduce any advantage the dealer would have over ye!

Variations

Blackjack Switch. In this game, ye get to play two hands at the same time and ye have the option of switching the second card received by each hand. Fer example, when a player is dealt a hand of Ace/5 and 6/Queen, he may then take the 5 and Queen and switch them so he now has Ace/Queen (blackjack) and 6/5 fer an obvious advantage.

* Doubling and splitting are also allowed, which gives the player a nice advantage over the dealer.
* The dealer gets a push with the player if he busts to a total of 22. (although blackjacks still win fer the player regardless.)
* Blackjacks pay more money to the player than they usually do.
* The dealer hits on soft 17 (when there's an Ace in the dealer's cards).

The SUPER MATCH bet: The Super Match is on an optional bet that ye can make while playing blackjack switch. It can usually be of any desired amount. By making the Super Match bet, the player is hoping to get a pair or three-of-a-kind from the four cards in their 2 parallel hands. If so, the player wins the Super Match bet and then the hand is played out as normal.

Blackjack Surrender. In this variation of blackjack the player has the option to "surrender" his hand. This action accepts a loss but the player is given half of his bet back.

Double Exposure Blackjack. This unique variation of blackjack allows the players to see both of the dealers cards. In this game a blackjack is only paid 1:1 and all ties go to the dealer.

Singledeck vs. Multideck. Single deck is blackjack played using only 1 standard deck of 52 cards. Multideck is using more than 1 deck of cards. Casinos generally use 6 or 8 decks.

There are several other variations that have slightly different rules, but the games are basically all the same. It is fun to mix and match the different variations until ye find which one is most enjoyable!

Terminology

Blackjack: An Ace coupled with either a ten or face card, giving ye 21 points (the best hand) and a special payout of (typically) 3:2. Should the dealer also have a blackjack, the game is a tie (push).

Bust, Busting: Going over 21. Busting is an automatic losing hand fer the player. If the dealer busts and ye have 21 or less, ye win.

Bust hand: A hand in which the draw of one card can cause ye to bust. If ye have a hard 12 to 16 or the dealers hand shows a 2,3,4,5 or 6, these are considered "bust hands." Also referred to as a "stiff" hand.

Bust card: Receiving a card that makes ye "bust".

Double down: Doubling yer bet. Once ye receive yer first two cards, ye many times have the option of doubling down. When ye double down, ye only receive one more card. This move is very acceptable and lessens the house advantage when used properly as per our strategy cards.

Even money: This term is used when ye have a blackjack dealt to ye and the dealer is showing an Ace. If at this point ye opt to take insurance then ye are opting to get paid "even money." This simply means that ye will be paid 1:1 on yer bet and not 3:2 as would normally be the case. The advantage is that if the dealer also has blackjack ye still win. If ye do not take insurance in this instance and the dealer has blackjack then ye will only tie and not be paid any winnings.

Hard hand: This is a hand with no Aces being used as 11 points.

Hit: Taking another card to add to yer total.

Hole card: A card dealt face-down. The dealer's face down card fer example.

House: The dealer or casino.

House advantage: The natural rules of the game dictate that the "house" will have a slight mathematical advantage over ye. Ye can minimize the house advantage if ye play "perfect strategy" as shown via our strategy cards.

Insurance: Whenever the dealer is showing an Ace, insurance is offered. If ye purchase insurance, ye are placing an extra bet of up to half of yer original bet to insure yerself against the chance that the dealer has blackjack. If the dealer does have blackjack, then ye are paid twice the amount of the insurance bet. While ye gain the 2 to 1 insurance bet, ye lose yer original bet, making this a push overall. The player is at a huge disadvantage when doing this. In short, taking insurance is a sucker bet!

Perfect strategy: This involves using the Captain's strategy cards and always making the play that gives ye the highest chance of winning the hand.

Push: A tie. Neither ye nor the dealer wins. Yer bet is returned.

Soft hand: A hand containing an Ace that can be counted as 11 or as 1. No one card can cause ye to bust. Fer example, an Ace and a 6 can be considered a "hard 7" or a "soft 17."

Splitting: If yer first two cards are the same (a pair), then ye have the option of splitting them to form two hands. The wager on yer new hand is equal to the first. Ye are then provided an additional card fer each hand and ye now play them separately against the dealer.

Stay/Stand: Yer decision to stop adding cards to yer hand.

Strategy card: This is a chart that shows ye which strategy to take on every hand depending on what ye have and what the dealer has. This is based on mathematical odds and always gives the players the best chance to win.

Surrender: Forfeiting half of yer bet. (See Blackjack Surrender above, under "Variations.")