As each card is dealt, the player keeps a running count of the cards that have been shown, and he or she makes the betting decision based on the current total.

The higher the plus count is, the greater the advantage to the player. A high plus count means that there is a higher percentage of high value cards remaining in the deck, and this is an indication for the player to increase his or her wager.

If the running count remains around zero, it means that the deck is neutral, with neither the player nor the house holding a distinct advantage. If the minus count is high, the advantage belongs to the dealer, and this is an indication to bet only the minimum wager.

If the dealer does not check for blackjack, or does not take a hole card at all, then the option is called “early surrender.” Early surrender is much better for the player, because of the protection against a dealer blackjack.

After all players have played their hands, from the dealer’s left to right, the dealer will play his hand. The dealer has no free will but must always play by certain house rules. Usually the rule is that the dealer must hit until he reaches a score of 17 or more. Some casinos stipulate that if the dealer has a soft 17, an ace and any number of cards totaling 6, he must also hit. If the dealer busts, all players that did not bust automatically win.

Question: For the average player, is there any mathematical advantage to playing two hands of blackjack versus one?

Answer: A skilled player using perfect basic strategy gives up the same approximately one-half percent edge to the casino on both hands. A card counter might actually gain a small advantage over the house by playing an additional hand. But if you are the Average Joe, you will reap exactly the same results on both hands, minus approximately 5% to the house — no edge whatsoever.

An added drawback when playing more than one spot is that you will be dealt more hands per hour. The casino’s commanding edge over the Average Joe’s play is reason enough not to be playing two spots. You are just as likely to keep on losing — but at a faster clip playing two hands.

The key advantage for playing two hands occurs only for card counters. If the deck is positive, counters, knowing they have an edge on the next hand, typically play more than one spot. Because they are playing two spots instead of one, they have twice as much chance of getting the high value cards as the dealer has.

The tribe, which installed about 1,000 Las Vegas-style slot machines at the Hollywood casino in January as part of the agreement, will unveil 71 new card tables, including about 55 for blackjack. The rest of the tables will be divided among mini-baccarat, pai gow, Let It Ride and Three Card Poker.

”Clearly blackjack is the game — not just here at Hard Rock but on a national basis. It’s the game people want to play,” said James Allen, CEO of gaming operations for the tribe. “We’re thrilled to have it.”

The tribe went on a national search to hire about 700 dealers and another 100 people in support positions for the new card games. Most of the dealers have gained experience in places like Biloxi, Atlantic City and Las Vegas.

The agreement requires that the tribe pay the state a minimum of $100 million annually in exchange for permission to offer the new games.

The gambler had a hand of 14 when he got into the argument with the blackjack dealer. The gambler says, “When I get dealt bad cards, it’s not the dealer’s fault. By the same token, when I get dealt good cards, the dealer has nothing to do with that either, so why should I tip him?”

The dealer asks, “When you eat out in a restaurant, do you tip the waiter?”

The gambler replies, “Yes, I do.”

“Well then,” says the dealer, “the waiter only serves the food. He has no control over whether it’s good or bad. A dealer serves you cards, so you should tip him too.”

The gambler says, “OK, but the waiter always serves me what I ask for. I’ll take a 7 please.”

The hearing featured testimony by casino executives and racing industry officials, who said that legalizing table games would boost the revenue from slots gambling, benefiting taxpayers, the equine industry and more.

Robert Soper, the chief executive of Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs, told the panel that adding table games would help create jobs that pay $6 to $7 an hour with benefits, or $22 an hour with tips.

However, Soper said that Pennsylvania’s sky-high tax rate of 50-plus percent on slots revenues is impractical for table games, since dealers, supervisors and more create a higher overhead.

Gambling industry officials say table games are rebounding in popularity, and have the potential to draw bigger spenders from farther away who may stay in town longer and spend more money at hotels, shops and restaurants.

Meanwhile, Vegas’ McCarran airport, in fiscal 2007, reported $40.9 million in slot machine revenue, which was way up from 2006.

“My mistake,” Barkley said. “I’m not broke, and I’m going to take care of it.”

Barkley was responding to comments by Clark County District Attorney David Roger, who said prosecutors would file a criminal complaint if he did not pay the debt cited by the Wynn Las Vegas resort.

“He’ll have an opportunity like anybody else to make restitution to the hotel,” Roger said.

The casino alleged in a civil complaint filed Wednesday in a Nevada state court and first reported by the Las Vegas Sun that Barkley failed to repay four $100,000 casino markers, or loans, received last Oct. 18 and 19.

He told interviewers that the debt stemmed from a wager on the 2008 Super Bowl. He did not explain why Wynn alleged the loans were made in October.

“I’ve been gambling 20 years. I’ve never had this happen before,” the 45-year-old Barkley said.
“It’s my fault I let the time lapse. I screwed up.”

But the Seattle-area attorney and poker aficionado who filed a lawsuit challenging the state’s right to regulate international online gambling said he will press forward to the state Supreme Court if necessary.

“There is virtually no public support for this law,” said local attorney Lee Rousso as he stood among poker fans in front of the Regional Justice Center in Kent after the hearing Thursday morning.

The lawsuit was filed last year in response to a 2006 revision to a state statute that added online gambling to the list of electronically transferred gambling activities banned in Washington state.

The law also makes online gambling a Class C felony punishable by up to five years in prison and a fine of $10,000. No cases have been prosecuted.

The Poker Players Alliance, which claims more than 1 million members and estimates 800,000 online poker players in Washington, said the punishment is outrageous.

If you have a pair of twos or threes: Split if the dealer has 2 - 7, otherwise hit.

If you have a pair of fours: Split if the dealer has 5 or 6 - otherwise hit.

If you have a pair of fives: Double if the dealer has 2 thru 9 - otherwise hit.

If you have a pair of sixes: Split if the dealer has 2 thru 6 - otherwise hit.

If you have a pair of sevens: Split 2 thru 7 - otherwise hit.

If you have a pair of nines: Split 2 thru 6, and 8 or 9. Stand if the dealer has 7, 10 or Ace.

If you have a pair of 10s or face cards: Always Stand.