Author: Chris
What is the Blackjack Hall of Fame?
How famous is the Blackjack Hall of Fame?
While every professional player probably knows about it, many recreational blackjack players could miss out on its very existence. If this is the first time you have ever heard about this prestigious honour for blackjack professionals, read on to learn more about it. Who knows, maybe it will motivate you to improve your own blackjack skills!
The Beginning
Although blackjack is an old casino game, the Blackjack Hall of Fame was established only about a decade ago – in winter of 2002/2003. In the initial year, 7 blackjack experts and professionals were inducted in the Hall of Fame after they were chosen by a public vote. The initial inductees were: Al Francesco, Peter Griffin, Edward O. Thorp, Ken Uston, Arnold Snyder, Stanford Wong and Tommy Wyland. All of them have one thing in common – they left a lasting mark in the blackjack field.
The Concept
The following years saw the inclusion of more blackjack experts, usually inducting 2, and then 1 player per year. It was also established that the existing members of the Blackjack Hall of Fame are obliged to make yearly nominations, with the final selection itself taking place at the annual Blackjack Ball.
The Location
The Blackjack Hall of Fame is more than just a prestigious list. Its physical location can be found exclusively at Barona Resort & Casino in San Diego, California. Apart from honouring the inducted blackjack players, the Hall of Fame also contains an interesting display of ancient cheating devices.
Finally, here is an interesting detail: Barona Casino awards all members of the Hall of Fame a special privilege: they get a lifetime room, food, and beverage service free of charge – but here’s a catch – in exchange the Hall of Famers agree never to play on Barona’s tables!
To conclude, the Blackjack Hall of Fame is fairly new, but it will be interesting to see its membership grow in years to come.
Three of the Best Blackjack Bonuses Available Online Today
If you are a fan of the game of blackjack then there’s little doubt that you’d have been searching for blackjack bonuses to feed your passion. Unfortunately, there are very few, if any targeted blackjack bonus deals around at present.
But the next best thing is a bonus deal at a top quality casino that offers you the chance to play blackjack. This may be a different type of blackjack bonus, but it can operate in exactly the same way.
Outlined below are three top quality Microgaming casinos, each offering a fabulous number of high quality blackjack games and their own outstanding new player bonus, which can be combined into your own fabulous blackjack bonus!
With a massive welcome bonus available of $5560 over the course of the first year of play, there’s no bigger potential blackjack bonus on offer than that from Grand Hotel Casino. With almost 500 top quality games to choose from, including many variations of blackjack, the only difficulty you will have is deciding which game to play!
Download Casino Classic now and register to receive a $500 bonus, plus one hour of test play to spend it, with the winnings yours to keep! Make this $500 bonus deal your own blackjack bonus as you elect to play some of the top quality blackjack games available on this popular site.
Earn a fantastic triple welcome bonus of $1,000 when you download and register for Challenge Casino. Turn it into a blackjack bonus by playing any of the incredible blackjack games on offer amongst the 490+ games on the site.
All three casinos listed above are part of the Casino Rewards network, assuring you of eCogra certified safe and fair gaming, top quality Microgaming software and fully registered, ensuring you get a blackjack or other casino game experience of the highest quality.
Blackjack Tournament Strategy
In the previous article we have introduced you to blackjack tournaments – an exciting, advanced type of blackjack entertainment. Now, we will reveal more about the strategy that will help you stay ahead of your opponents in these events – because blackjack tournaments are all about winning more than anyone else at the table!
Keep your attention divided.
While in the regular games all your attention is on the cards and the dealer, in tournaments it is important to keep an eye on your opponents’ progress as well. Always be aware of your current standing in the game, and adjust your bets accordingly.
How to bet:
In the beginning, it is wise to bet cautiously and avoid unnecessary risks. Then, once you establish your “rank” among the players, adjust your wagers. If you are in the lead, place smaller bets that will still allow you to maintain the advantage. If you are falling behind, risk with larger bets – you can also try betting opposite of your rivals in an attempt to catch up.
There can be only one winner.
In a tournament, being eliminated in Round 3 is equally bad as being eliminated in Round 1. Sure, the longer you stay in the game, the better you will feel about your gambling skills, but in the end the material result will be the same. This means that you have to play more ambitiously than you would in a standard blackjack game – feel free to make some bolder decisions when you have nothing to lose, and especially if you are approaching the end of the round.
Finally, remember the basic blackjack strategy.
Don’t let the tournament sway you from the basics – always follow the rules of the basic blackjack strategy.
We hope that this will help you win a few tournaments and find even more fun at your favourite blackjack table!
An Introduction to Blackjack Tournaments
Blackjack tournaments are organised casino multi-table events in which blackjack players compete until only one winner remains. These tournaments can be hosted in land-based casinos and online casinos, and while some of them are invitation-only events, most are open to all interested players. So, should you be interested in blackjack tournaments?
It all depends on what your goal in blackjack is, or rather, what you hope to get out of the game. If your primary objective is to win money and beat the odds with minimum risks, then you will have better chances if you stick to the standard blackjack game where you are only up against the house. However, if you are a thrill-seeker and are looking for a new way to spice up the game, a tournament could be just what you need.
The tournament play raises the unpredictability of the game’s outcome and adds more excitement, especially if you are motivated by rivalry. So, how does this actually work?
The game setup is very similar to the standard blackjack game. The players sit at the table according to the tournament schedule and do their best to win as much as they can against the house/dealer. Each player starts the round with an equal amount of chips, and each gets the opportunity to play a predetermined number of hands. At the round’s end, the players’ winnings are compared – the player who wins the most is the round winner and proceeds to the next round, while other players are eliminated from the competition.
For your first blackjack tournament, we advise you to choose an event that does not require a registration fee. This way, you can measure your worth against other players with minimum expenses. Afterwards, if you decide that you are ready for greater challenges, you can look for elite tournaments with higher stakes and registration fees.
What is “The Rule of Charlie” in Blackjack?
The “rule of Charlie” is a blackjack rule which adds a special flavor to the classic game of blackjack. Playing a blackjack game with this innovative twist is a great way to increase your odds of winning while at the same time breaking free of your standard blackjack routine.
So, what is “the rule of Charlie” about? Basically, it comes down to the player winning if he is dealt a specific number of cards without busting – in other words, without going over 21. Depending on the number of cards required to achieve that, these Charlie Rules are often called a “5-card Charlie”, a “6-card Charlie”, a “7-card Charlie”, and so on. Since getting 4 cards without busting is a common occurrence, there are no 4-hand Charlie rules.
5-card Charlie means you got dealt 5 cards without going over 21. On average, this happens once in every fifty hands dealt, which is why a 5-card Charlie won’t be found at many blackjack tables. For a player, this is probably the best Charlie rule as it lowers the house edge by 1.46%. At the same time, the chance of getting 5 cards without busting is a lot bigger than getting 6 or more cards without busting! A note of warning, though: when you see a blackjack game with a 5-card Charlie rule, take a close look at the rest of the rules, because casinos often compensate for the loss of house edge by adding other disadvantages for the player.
6-card Charlie lowers the house edge by 0.16%, while a 7-card Charlie lowers it by 0.01%.
You can find “the rule of Charlie” everywhere: in some land-based casinos, and especially in different variants of online blackjack. Keep one thing in mind, though: don’t focus all of your attention to the Charlie rule – the main goal in blackjack is still to beat the dealer!
