Our Recommended choices for blackjack

The Yavapai casino is a tiny spot along highway 69 (1505 East), but big brother Bucky's at the top of the hill includes a 162-room resort with a nice mixture of slots and table games.

When you get there you can have a nice sandwich at Bucky's Cafe for $3.99 (with a player's club card) and then wash it down with $1 drafts.

Once slated, you can head to the pit and play a little blackjack for as little as two-bucks a hand. Yeah, that's the Old West!

Bucky's also features a spacious poker room on the third floor. If you're in town, take a drive over to the casino and check it out. The games are lively and friendly. Expect the Texas Hold'em games to be $3/6.

A Day in Prescott, Arizona originally appeared on About.com Casino Gambling on Friday, April 20th, 2012 at 16:28:54.

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Is anything really simple when it comes to card counting? Sure. It's simple to think you know what you are doing when you don't, and it's simple to lose your money. And that's just the beginning, because beating blackjack at your favorite casino is never a simple task. It is, however, likely to be more fun than you've ever had in a casino!

When I was 17 years old I got a copy of Gambling Times, and decided I should start playing blackjack in casinos. There were all kinds of books offered about how to beat blackjack and I already knew how to play (I thought), so why not. It was a tough road, but by the time I was in college I knew more about blackjack than most casino personnel. The cloak and dagger, hiding from the pit boss, and pulling the wool over the dealers' eyes part was so much fun!

And now, with the internet, you don't need a bunch of books. You can learn how to beat blackjack with a simple plus minus count for free! The count is simple, but your success will hinge on how well you know how to play blackjack.

If you know the game, you know you need to play perfect basic strategy to start with. It's a long learning process, but well worth it. The average player loses about 1.5 percent of their average bet over their lifetime at blackjack. So, depending on the speed of the game, they probably lose $15 an hour. Would you take five hours out of your life to learn basic strategy to get that number down to just $5? It's a skill you'll always have!

Then, the fun part starts. Would you be willing to step up your practice sessions to include a little simple math (can you add, subtract, and divide by six?) and memory skills to turn the tables and actually win $15 an hour playing blackjack? Would you work harder if you knew you could make a even more? I did, I have, and I've never had a losing year at the casinos.

I will admit that the first month I employed my new skills (after many, many hours of practice) I only made $1.98 an hour, but I did win. And, I've never looked back, never had a losing month! And, the casinos give me free rooms, free meals, and even free slot play to reward me for playing at their places. Sweet!

So, learn to play, learn to count, and practice, practice, practice, until you are perfect. Then, you'll have more fun than you ever thought possible in your favorite casinos!

Is Anything Simple about Card Counting? originally appeared on About.com Casino Gambling on Saturday, May 5th, 2012 at 15:56:19.

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I spent some time today with Bill Zender, gaming consultant and previous co-owner of the Aladdin casino in Las Vegas. After several decades working in the casino industry and writing books, Bill spends most of his time doing private consulting and seminars for gaming managers. His firm, Bill Zender and Associates and Last Resort Consulting have developed a strong reputation as more than a last resort; they teach all types of gaming protection, but specialize in the finer points of card counting and advantage play. That's something he knows very well after working as a dealer, learning to count cards, and spending hundreds of hours practicing and playing.

Bill learned early how much you can make counting cards, and realized that for his bankroll size there was more money on the casino side of the table teaching casino owners how to protect their most precious assets, their bankrolls. I was surprised when he said he felt there are less than 100 truely professional card counters who spend all of their time playing blackjack now in the US.

He bases this on several issues, but I have to agree with him that many card counters moved over to the poker rooms when the boom started in about 2003. For ex-counters there is something quite refreshing and relaxing about playing in a game where you don't have to worry about being thrown out for exhibiting skill.

Zender also feels that most of the remaining counters have moved on to forms of advantage play (to earn even more money than they ever could following the count) such as ace tracking, a system of following clumps of cards that include one or more aces and taking advantage of poor shuffling techniques by sloppy dealers. This type of advantage play may be overlooked by casino floor supervisors because the trackers' large bets often take place on the first hand of a deck or shoe. Otherwise, the large bets may involve spreading to two hands in what appears to be a random fashion in the middle of a shoe. Clearly not moves made by a card counter.

Of course if you can manage to play as a competent card counter at the same time you are tracking aces and playing perfect basic strategy, well, that's the old triple threat. You'll have to master each phase of your blackjack play individually, but if you learn any part of it you'll likely retain it your whole life and will only need a few minutes retraining before you hit the tables in the future. It can certainly be rewarding, if you have the desire, drive, and the ability!

As a Last Resort - Hire An Expert originally appeared on About.com Casino Gambling on Wednesday, April 25th, 2012 at 22:53:11.

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