Apart from card counting there are certain techniques that applies to multi-deck games also known as shoes. What are shoes? It is tracking groups of cards (aka slugs, clumps, packs) during the play of the shoe, by keeping tabs on them via the shuffle and then playing and betting in accordance, when those exact cards come into play from the new shoe.

This technique is more complex than your proverbial card counting , it has the additional advantage of deceiving the staff at casinos which normally keeps a close eye on the player’s performance.

In a Blackjack Forum magazine a few years ago, Arnold Snyder’s articles were the first to initiate shuffle tracking to the common player. His book aptly titled: “The Shuffle Tracker’s Cookbook”, was the first to mathematically scrutinise the player’s advantage offered from shuffle tracking, structured on the actual size of the tracked slug.

Variants

Many liberal blackjack rules are provided to players in Spanish 21. It is the amount of cards dealt and doubling down ( including an option to ‘rescue’ or surrender only one wager to the house), payout bonuses for five or more cards 21’s, 6-7-8 21’s, 7-7-7 21’s, surrendering late and player blackjacks always winning as well as a player 21’s. The crux of the matter is that the number 10 card is absent from the deck-although jacks, queens and kings are present.

Spanish 21 always has a higher house edge as opposed to traditional Blackjack. Pontoon is yet another card game that is comparable to blackjack.

Certain rule changes are used to produce new blackjack variants. The changes to these games entices novice players to wager more which increases the house edge. Double Exposure Blackjack is a variation where the dealer’s cards are both face-up. The house edge is increased causing players to lose cash on blackjack ties. There are few liberal rules in Double Attack Blackjack and the option of increasing one’s bet after seeing the dealer’s up card. This game is dealt from a Spanish shoe and blackjacks are likely to pay out more cash.

Splitting is excluded in The French and German variant “Vingt-et-un” (Twenty-and-one) and “Siebzehn und Vier” (Seventeen and Four). An Ace counts as eleven, however, in the event of two Aces it’s known as Blackjack. This type of variant is seldom found at internet casinos.

Blackjack Switch is yet another variant of traditional blackjack. The player is dealt two hands and switching cards is allowed. For example: If the player is dealt a 10-6 and 10-5, he/she can switch two cards to make hands of 10-10 and 6-5 respectively. Natural blackjacks are paid 1:1 as opposed to the standard 3:2 and a dealer 22 is a push.

Thanks to poker’s ever growing popularity, Elimination Blackjack has gained a huge following and is regarded as the tournament format of Blackjack.

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