Customs of Jack the Black

From casino to casino, they are various customs and practices connected with the game known as blackjack that all potential players must be aware of. It might be the very knowledge that determines a players winning or losing.

Upon entry into a casino before sitting down on a particular table game be aware of the betting limits. At all table games there is a rectangular sign that gives details to the minimum and maximum bets accepted at that table. It is usually color-coded to the chips used in the casino. A white sign usually means the minimum bet is $1, a red sign denotes a minimum bet of $5, a green sign means $25 minimum, and a black sign means $100 minimum bet. But, other casinos may have different codes so read the sign before playing.

In matters of shuffling of the cards the dealer will do this between hands. The dealer can also shuffle it in midst of play if the deck is exhausted. If a dealer shuffles in the middle of the play of a hand with cards not used it is most likely a cheat. The unnecessary frequent shuffling by the dealer is called shuffle up.

Sometimes a house employee of the casino pretends to be a player in order to attract players thus they are trying to stimulate play. This is called shill. These shills also follow some rules like they never double down, split pairs and stand on hard totals of 12 or more. But if shills do not follow a fixed strategy, they may be helping the house or dealer to cheat players.

By custom, a player can request for a new deck if he so wishes. The new deck is first spread face down for the dealer to check back of cards for imperfections that may be used by the player as a marker when the card is face down. Then the cards are spread face up. When the face values are seen, the players make sure that no cards have been added or removed.

In Puerto Rico doubling down is permitted on a card total of 11 only. For some Nevada casinos like those in Reno and Lake Tahoe, doubling down is only permitted when the totals are of 10 and 11. Restricting double down tends to increase the house advantage.

To request for additional cards, the player says hit or hit me or scratches the felt tabletop with the cards. The number of decks used may also vary. In Puerto Rico two decks are used while four decks are used in London.

And in cases of win after win, the reliable way for casinos to prevent that expert player from winning is to bar him from playing in the blackjack tables.