The advantage of playing blackjack on line starts with the speed of the game. Even using speed shufflers there is no way traditional blackjack tables can offer the speed of the games played on line. It takes time to go around and gather in cards, pay the winners and take from the losers. The average blackjack table in Vegas has at least three players sitting and needing the attention of the dealer so you can multiply that down time by three or more. Online casino games have no time spent on other people unless you've chosen to play at a multi-player table in which case there is a slight down time allowed per player to make their wagering decision but it is in no way as slow as playing at a game in Vegas.
You always get a fair-odds hand when playing on line because the shoe is shuffled after every hand meaning you'll never sit down in the middle of a shoe which is heavy with cards that are not benefical to the player. For each deck in a virtual shoe there will be four aces, four kings and so on for every hand played.
While on the subject of fair-odds and shuffling the shoe it should be noted for card counters that they are the only ones which do not stand to benefit from playing blackjack on line other than for sharpening their skills for the next trip to the riverboat or Vegas. The reason that playing on line is not going to work for card counters is because it is impossible to get an edge if the shoe is shuffled after every hand. They cannot get deep enough into the shoe to get an idea whether the game is heavy with cards that are going to hurt the player or cards that help greatly, those being any card worth ten. The rest of the world actually gets the advantage of always starting with a fair-odds shoe and ending it the same way. While it is true that the shoe will never be heavy with beneficial cards it will never be the opposite either and if you are not counting cards then by playing on line you are assuring yourself the first hand is as fair as if you'd just sat down at a table in Vegas with a fresh shoe coming out, and you are assured your last hand will be the same, and not that you might have left a game in mid-shoe that had already endured most of the bad cards and was now rich with good cards ... only you'd already left before the good part happened.
The variety of games compared to Vegas or Atlantic City isn't really a comparison. That's saying quite a bit considering that those two cities blow away most any place when it comes to gambling. However it is true. Some online casinos powered by Microgaming software offer as many as fifty versions of blackjack including the game called "faces up" where you are shown both dealer's cards but of course you give up a little to get a little and part of this deal is you don't get paid time and a half for a blackjack. Most Vegas casinos don't even have fifty tables open at one time, let alone fifty different versions all with no waiting to get a seat.
One last advantage to playing blackjack on line is the online casinos allow you to play for free which means even those who don't trust playing on line can still use it as an excellent tool to sharpen their game and not have all that down time of a real table. You might be surprised to find you've crossed a line where the thought of driving to the local casino and having to search for a table with your stakes and an open chair ... is too much trouble for someone who can sit down at their PC and be playing in seconds. Where you can if having a bad day simply shut down the casino and do something else ... which means you also have the option to go back and play when you feel your luck is better ... and not have to waste all that time driving and finding a table and waiting for everybody else to change their cash to chips etc, in order to find out if your luck is good or bad.
You always get a fair-odds hand when playing on line because the shoe is shuffled after every hand meaning you'll never sit down in the middle of a shoe which is heavy with cards that are not benefical to the player. For each deck in a virtual shoe there will be four aces, four kings and so on for every hand played.
While on the subject of fair-odds and shuffling the shoe it should be noted for card counters that they are the only ones which do not stand to benefit from playing blackjack on line other than for sharpening their skills for the next trip to the riverboat or Vegas. The reason that playing on line is not going to work for card counters is because it is impossible to get an edge if the shoe is shuffled after every hand. They cannot get deep enough into the shoe to get an idea whether the game is heavy with cards that are going to hurt the player or cards that help greatly, those being any card worth ten. The rest of the world actually gets the advantage of always starting with a fair-odds shoe and ending it the same way. While it is true that the shoe will never be heavy with beneficial cards it will never be the opposite either and if you are not counting cards then by playing on line you are assuring yourself the first hand is as fair as if you'd just sat down at a table in Vegas with a fresh shoe coming out, and you are assured your last hand will be the same, and not that you might have left a game in mid-shoe that had already endured most of the bad cards and was now rich with good cards ... only you'd already left before the good part happened.
The variety of games compared to Vegas or Atlantic City isn't really a comparison. That's saying quite a bit considering that those two cities blow away most any place when it comes to gambling. However it is true. Some online casinos powered by Microgaming software offer as many as fifty versions of blackjack including the game called "faces up" where you are shown both dealer's cards but of course you give up a little to get a little and part of this deal is you don't get paid time and a half for a blackjack. Most Vegas casinos don't even have fifty tables open at one time, let alone fifty different versions all with no waiting to get a seat.
One last advantage to playing blackjack on line is the online casinos allow you to play for free which means even those who don't trust playing on line can still use it as an excellent tool to sharpen their game and not have all that down time of a real table. You might be surprised to find you've crossed a line where the thought of driving to the local casino and having to search for a table with your stakes and an open chair ... is too much trouble for someone who can sit down at their PC and be playing in seconds. Where you can if having a bad day simply shut down the casino and do something else ... which means you also have the option to go back and play when you feel your luck is better ... and not have to waste all that time driving and finding a table and waiting for everybody else to change their cash to chips etc, in order to find out if your luck is good or bad.
About the Author:
Steve Briggs is the author of this article on black jack. Find more information about the subject at www.bondedcasinos.com
