How To Play Blackjack Plus 3 Card Poker
Some casinos offer the popular blackjack version of Blackjack Plus 3, also known as Blackjack Plus 3-Card Poker, which is version quite similar to Traditional blackjack with an additional side bet.
The mechanics of the game consists on two separate bets, one for playing a single-hand Classic blackjack game and the second one for a 3-Card Poker hand.
In some online casinos the poker side bet is optional but without it you’re basically playing a typical hand of blackjack and missing out on the thrill and rewards that the side bet can provide.
There are other blackjack games where the side bet offered is based on the two cards dealt to the player but in Blackjack Plus 3, the result of the side bet is determined using the two cards dealt to the player plus the dealer’s up-card.
Another difference about this 3-Card Poker side bet is that it’s not tied up to the outcome of your blackjack game. This means that the decisions you make on your blackjack game, e.g. Stand, Hit, Double, etc, will have no effect whatsoever on the outcome of the side bet.
Applicable Rules
The first rule of this game that surely favors the player is that Blackjack Plus 3 Card Poker is played with just 1 deck of cards, which effectively reduces the edge that the house has over the players to just 0.17%.
Another positive consequence of playing with only one deck of cards is that natural blackjacks are sightly more frequent than playing with 6 or 8 decks of cards, with a frequency of 4.827%.
The way in which casinos compensate for this player’s advantage is by implementing some rules variations, for example, allowing players to Split hands only once without being able to draw a natural 21 after splitting.
Doubling Down is possible on hands that total 9,10 or 11 but there’s no Surrender available in this game although Insurance is available.
The Side Bet Winning Combinations
The payouts of the side bet game change depending on the hand combination but you can expect to get payouts that go from 5:1 to 100:1 of your original bet.
If your first two cards and the dealer’s up card result in a Flush hand, that is three cards of the same suit, your bet will payout at 5:1.
If you get a Straight, for example 4,5 and 6 or 8,9 and 10, then you will get a 10:1 payout on your stake. Higher payouts can be obtained by getting Three of a Kind, for example 4 of Diamonds, 4 of Spades and 4 of Hearts, which will return your bet at 33:1.
And finally, the best poker hand combination of this side bet is the Straight Flush, which is a combination of three consecutive card numbers of the same suit, that will return the stake at 100:1.
In conclusion, Blackjack +3 is an attractive alternative to traditional blackjack. Not only do you get an added element of thrill and reward with the 3 Card Poker side bet but the rules of the blackjack game itself are quite favorable to players.
10 Legendary Blackjack Players
Each year in San Diego, the Barona Casino inducts another member into the Blackjack Hall of Fame. The lucky man or woman receives free lifetime room and board from the establishment, with the understanding that they will never use their blackjack skills at any of the Barona Casino’s tables. If you’re looking for professionals to emulate, this list of 10 legendary blackjack players is a good place to start.
1. Stanford Wong – Well-known advantage player who released Professional Blackjack in 1975. He later created software to analyze the odds of blackjack, which became one of the first such items available commercially.
2. James Grosjean – Author of Beyond Counting, Grosjean filed a successful lawsuit against Vegas casinos and helped put the notorious Griffin Agency out of business.
3. Ken Uston – The late blackjack expert revolutionized the concept of team play and successfully sued Atlantic City casinos. A fan of early video games, he also wrote best-selling books on how to beat Pac-Man and several others.
4. Arnold Snyder – In his 1980 book, The Blackjack Formula, Snyder became the first author to stress the importance of deck penetration. He has since authored numerous books, served as the editor of the Blackjack Forum, and championed the rights of professional gamblers.
5. Edward O. Thorp – A math professor whose 1962 book, Beat the Dealer, was the first to mathematically prove the house advantage in blackjack.
6. Zeljiko Ranogajec – A secretive advantage player who is said to have started with a bankroll of a few hundred dollars and turned it into millions. As a result, he has been banned from casinos throughout Australia and the United States.
7. Peter Griffin – The late math teacher did the first serious analysis of the numbers behind blackjack, leading him to write the seminal book The Theory of Blackjack.
8. Tommy Hyland – An advantage player since 1979, he is known for managing one of the longest-running blackjack teams in history.
9. Max Rubin – Gambling author and expert who has served as the host for the World Series of Blackjack and the Ultimate Blackjack Tour. Also well-known as an expert on the art of getting comps from casinos.
10. Lawrence Revere – The late blackjack player and pit boss was the author of Playing Blackjack as a Business. He developed a number of card counting strategies, such as the Revere Point Count.
While the average participant throws caution to the wind and allows the house to maintain its edge, the 10 legendary blackjack players listed above have specialized in turning the odds to their favor. This has made them a lot of money, but it’s also resulted in numerous legal battles and run-ins with casinos who prefer to prey on the uninformed. But as long as blackjack tables are available to the public, you can bet that they’ll keep coming back for more.
Blackjack Rules
Introducing the game of online Blackjack-
The game of online Blackjack is also commonly known as ’21′. The name of Blackjack is included in the famous online card games. The objective of the game is to have a hand value that is closer to 21 and not over that. You are playing directly against the dealer. The initial round of Blackjack starts off when you make a bet in a circle. The dealer deals two cards each to every player and to himself.
Your cards will be dealt up with face up and one of the dealer’s cards is dealt face up and the second card is face down. The chances are major that the dealer has a Blackjack if his cards have ten or an ace. If the dealer has a Blackjack then all other players will lose out but only another player with a Blackjack will survive.
Types of Blackjack-
- Double Exposure Blackjack
- European Blackjack
- Atlantic City Blackjack
Double Exposure Blackjack- In this variant of Blackjack the cards of the dealer are dealt face up. For the game of Blackjack even money is paid is paid and only for Blackjack the dealer gets to win all the ties. A shoe and a deck of eight cards are played in the game and the dealer hits on soft 17. The main aim of this variant is that you have to beat the hand of the dealer either having a hand of higher value without surpassing 21, and other one is busting the hand of the dealer. You are allowed to play one hand at one time.
Atlantic City Blackjack- This variant of Blackjack is played with the help of a shoe and with eight decks of cards. The dealer has to stand on soft 17 and you can double on first two cards. The main objective in the game is to beat the hand of the dealer by coming closer to 21 and the dealer should not get busted.
European Blackjack- This variant is played with the help of two decks and the dealer must stand on soft 17. In European Blackjack you can also double down on nine and eleven. You cannot split and if you have split once then you cannot double on a split and there is no option for surrender.
Rules of online Blackjack-
Following are the rules for online Blackjack-
- An ace either signifies one or eleven which means that the chances of having an Ace are more. When value one is put into used with an ace then it is termed as Soft Hand.
- As for Hard Hand it is a hand that is with an Ace. In this condition you cannot make use of Ace as one r eleven.
- The cards ranging from two to nine have the face value.
- All the court cards that include King, Queen, and Jack bear the value of ten. The evaluation of the scores is done by summing all the playing cards.
Hit- When you make a selection of Hit, you can have additional card by the dealer.
Stand- If you want to stand you cannot have additional card and your current total will be final and with that value you will be competing with the hand of the dealer.
Split- If you get to same cards then you can make a choice for Split. For the shoe game you can place a bet on the identical size. Subsequently the dealer will be splitting your hand.
Double- You can always use the option for double when you know that your hand is stronger as compared to the dealer. You only get one additional card by the dealer if you choose to double. Make sure that you are aware of the fact that you can only make use of the double option with your two starting cards.