Las Vegas Vacation Blog Blog

Tournament blackjack goes back to the year 1979. It was then that the Fishman brothers created the concept and held the first tournament ever played. It was called the World Championship of Blackjack and was held at the Sahara Hotel. I played in that tournament (and lost). The entry fee was $250 and players played with their own money; the buy-in was $500. The rounds were two hours in length and the game was a single deck dealt face up with great rules. Blackjack will never be any better. As time went on the Fishmans went off in other business directions but their idea caught on big time. Today there are small blackjack tournaments somewhere in Las Vegas just about every day of the week. The format has changed drastically though. Now your buy-in gets you tournament chips, the game is usually a shoe game, and the number of hands per round is limited to around 30.

If you play Blackjack and have never played in a tournament, I tell you it can be a lot of fun! Most definitely a good thing do when you go on your Las Vegas Vacation.

An speaking of a Black jack have you ever seen Jack Johnson of the early 1900’s box? He was unbeatable! The documentary on him was a lot of fun to watch.
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The object of Roulette is to pick the winning number that will appear on the Roulette wheel. You can also bet combinations of numbers or choose the color or whether it is odd or even. It is not as easy as it seems.

The Wheel
There are two different roulette wheels. The European wheel has 37 slots numbered 0-36. The house edge is 2.63. The American wheel has 38 numbers because the added a double zero (00). The addition of the extra number increases the house edge to 5.26 percent.

The Layout
The game of Roulette originated in France. The modern day layout we find in the casino dates back to 1842. Roulette layouts have two betting areas. The inside betting area contains the individual numbers on the layout. The outside betting area has boxes for the columns, red/black and odd/even and different groups of numbers.

The numbers on the inside are arranged in 12 rows of three numbers making forming three vertical columns. The 0 and 00 are at the top of the columns.

Buying In
You must purchase special roulette chips when you sit down to play. To avoid disputes each player receives a different color chip. These chips are good for that table only and you must cash them in when you get done playing. You will them be given regular casino chips to take to the cage. You cannot cash in the roulette table chips at the cage.

Each roulette table has a minimum and maximum bet. You can’t combine your inside and outside bets to meet the table minimum. If the minimum bet is five dollars you have to bet $5 on the inside and $5 on the outside. You can’t bet $3 inside and $2 outside.

Inside Bets
There are several inside bets that you can make. You can bet a number straight up or straddle the line between numbers to select a combination of numbers. The payouts are as follows.

Straight Up bet is a wager on a single number. It pays 35 to 1.

Split Bet is a wager on two numbers and it pays 17 to 1. You make this bet by placing your chip so it straddles the line between any two numbers.

Street bets or line bet and it pays 11 to 1. You make this bet by placing your chip on the vertical line separating the outside and inside betting areas. The chip straddles the first number in the row.

Corner bet or Quad bet pays 8 to 1. You make this bet by placing a chip so it is touching the four corners of the numbers you are betting.

Basket bet is a five number bet on zero – double zero and numbers-1-2-3 which pays 6 to 1. On the double zero wheel it has a house edge of 7.89 percent making it the worst bet in Roulette.

Double Street bet is a wager on six numbers and pays 5 to 1. You place your chip on the line separating the outside and inside area as you do for the street bet but let it also straddles the row above or below.

Outside Bets
The outside bets are any of the bets made in the boxes surrounding the numbers.
Red Black Odd and Even are all even money bets. You place your chips in the boxes on the layout.
Dozens bet are made on the 12 consecutive numbers. You place your wager in the boxes marked 1-12, 13-24 or 25-36. These bets pay 2 to 1. If the zero or double zero comes up you lose.

Column bets are also 12 number bets. Instead of 12 consecutive numbers they consist of the numbers in one of the three vertical columns and are made in the boxes at the bottom of the layout. These bets pay 2 to 1 as well.

The Dealer
Dealers are required to keep the wheel moving at all times, even between spins. They spin the ball in the opposite in the opposite direction of the wheel. This causes the ball to jump and spin before landing on a number.

The dealer marks the winning number with a marker. You are not allowed to place your bet for the next spin until the dealer removes the marker from the previous winning number. Make sure you wait for them to pick it up before putting down your chips.

Playing Tips
Roulette has a high house edge but if you play at a full table you will only get about 30 spins an hour which slows down the time your money is exposed to the house edge. It will also increase your comp time.

If the number you want to bet is covered is already covered with chips, don’t worry. It is permissible to stack you chips on top of the other chips. This is another reason why each player has their own color chips.

You are allowed to place bets after the dealer spins the ball. The dealer will tell you when to stop. As the ball slows down the dealer will wave their hand over the table and call out “No More Bets.”

Some people claim that they have a sure fire system for winning at Roulette. The truth is there is no system that will change the house edge. Don’t waste your money buying a Roulette system.
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Step One- Reading.
Every player who sits down at a gaming table to play any casino game should have read at least one book on that particular game. A player who buys chips and starts to play a game without the knowledge of how the game is played is like a hunter who purchases a gun and heads out on Safari without any knowledge of the animal he is hunting. The results can be disastrous. There are many good books by reputable authors that can teach you the basics of the games. Many of the writers who contribute to this magazine have books that will give you accurate information and show you how to play the game correctly.

Spend some time reading the book. Gambling books are not novels that you zip through to get to the ending. When you are finished you will want practice the game on the computer and then go back and read the book again. There will be situations that come up while playing that you will have questions about. Looking up the answers in the book will help you remember the answer the next time the situation arises.

Step Two- Watching
Watching videotapes can help teach you the mechanics of the game. You will actually see how the game is dealt and the bets are made so you will be familiar with the procedures and protocols when you sit down at table. Videotapes can help reinforce what you have read and perhaps clear up any questions by visually showing you how the game is played. Although not as common as books, I have found videos for most of the casino games. Some of my favorite books are listed in the sidebar. A large selection of casino game videos can also be found in the free catalog from The Gamblers Book Shop in Las Vegas. (800-5522-17777)

Step Three – Practicing
With the availability of tutorial software you can now practice and play at home to sharpen your skills before you go to the casino. Learning to play casino games at home on the computer is fun as well as educational. You are getting the enjoyment of playing the game so it doesn’t feel like you are actually “studying” to learn the game. Most human beings are a little sensitive to criticism. Let’s face it we don’t like to be corrected and have our mistakes pointed out to us all the time. If you had someone watching over your shoulder while you played and pointed out every mistake you made you would either give up trying to learn or worse yet resort to some kind of physical violence directed at that person. A computer takes any human emotions out of the learning processes. There is no embarrassment when the computer beeps and alerts you to a mistake you just made. It’s impersonal and you take it all in stride and carry on. Playing and practicing at home will teach you the proper strategy and help build your confidence. Once you have your mistakes down to a minimum you will be ready to play in the casino.

Learning to play casino games at home is fun and profitable. While I can’t guarantee that you will be a winner, following this advice will improve your chances.

You can learn to play casino games properly at home before you risk our money in a live game. Learning to play casino games at home is fun and it will help you cut the house edge when you visit the casino.

Until next time, remember:
“Luck comes and goes…Knowledge Stays Forever!”
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