How to Earn Your Blackjack Black Belt
If you want to be really good at something you really have to work hard to get it. It would be like earning a black belt in a certain martial art you might be interested in. The same also works in blackjack. Don't ever expect that the game will grow on you with only a few sessions and by just perusing a few pages.
Earning your black belt in blackjack will require time, effort, and a firm desire to master the game. The casual player will surely not be able to master blackjack. That player may know a trick or two but real mastery will require more than just casual play.
So if we want to really earn that blackjack black belt where do we begin? The answer to that question will really be obvious, which means everyone begins with the basics. Never shun the basics of blackjack since they become your building blocks for further learning and eventual mastery of the game.
Players can begin by understanding the premise of this game. You should also become familiar with the terminology used in blackjack. You should know what it means to take insurance, what is a split, hit, stand, and double. Another important part of the basics is the valuation of the hands. You should also learn hand signals used at the table. Add to that the table manners in blackjack.
After you've got a handle on all of that you should move on to basic strategy if you want to earn your black belt. You should know what to do for every particular situation. This sometimes is the tough part since you get to memorize a lot of stuff. Take note that basic strategy will always take into consideration the number of decks used and what rules are in place.
At this point you'll be more serious about how the house edge goes up or down depending on which rules are applied. That having been said, you will then be familiar with certain set of rules peculiar to different gambling destinations like the Vegas strip or Atlantic City.
The next step for the aspiring blackjack black belt is to learn card counting. You can start with a simple card counting system then move on to more complex systems. You'll be dealing with balanced and unbalanced systems etc. You'll now be more particular with the number of decks used, deck penetration, minimums and maximums for each table, and the specific rules at each table.
By this time you would have played hundreds of blackjack games. A good piece of advice is to earn your comps right away when you're getting the hang of the game. You should ask to have your game rated so you'll have an idea what comps you can expect to receive for your play. All that work is required of one who aspires to earn a blackjack black belt.