All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy – an ancient saying, but true nonetheless. If you only concentrate on learning and work, without taking any time off to rebuild your consumed resources, you will become both bored and boring. Sometimes you have to leave your desk, shelve your books and get your mind off track for a bit.
Playing a game is a great way to distract you from your tasks – and why not play a game that requires attention and strategy, but is also a fun passtime, and even a possible way to make some money in the process? Well, blackjack is such a game – one of the few online casino games that requires skill, not just luck, and offers the player an almost 50% chance of winning.
To play a quick game of blackjack all you need is some time, an internet connection and a smartphone or tablet you can take with you for a walk. There are several mobile casinos to choose from – one of them, the AU Royal Vegas Mobile Casino, is my personal favorite.
The Royal Vegas is a casino owned and operated by the Fortune Lounge group, and is around since the year 2000. It has over 500 games, most of them slot machines, but other titles are present in their offer – classic casino games, video games, skill games and lotteries, even scratch cards. Most of them are games of pure chance, but some of them – like blackjack, for example – are a little more challenging – perfect for taking a few minutes off.
Blackjack is a fast-paced game – you can play several rounds during a 10-minute walk. Its rules are simple and easy to learn even for the absolute beginner – there are at least two players, one of them is the ‘house’, two cards are dealt, and their value must be 21 or below. The player whos cards’ value exceeds 21 loses automatically, and the player who’s cards’ value is closer to 21 (or exactly 21) wins. The house always has one of the two cards revealed. Blackjack – a 10 or face card accompanied by an Ace – is the highest card combination, meaning an instant win for the player or the house alike.
Card values are easy to keep in mind as well. All numbered cards have their respective value, all face cards are worth 10 points, and aces can have a value of 1 or 11, depending on the player’s choice.
Until now it all sounds like a game of pure chance… well, it’s not. Let me describe how the game is played:
– the dealer (in our case the computer) deals two cards for each player, and the house
– one of the cards of the house is revealed
– the player can decide to hit (ask for a new card), stand (stop at the current value), double (ask for exactly one more card and double the bet) or surrender (forfeit the game and half of the bet)
– when each player has bet and has received all cards, the house reveals the second card, hits or stands, the cards are compared, and the hand closer to 21 (or 21) wins
– Each player’s cards are evaluated individually against the hand of the house
The player has to make several decisions, based on the cards dealt and the card revealed by the dealer. Hit or double, surrender or go on with the game – all these decisions will influence the outcome of the round. The fact that one of the house cards is revealed is highly helpful when anticipating the outcome of the round.
Playing blackjack for real money adds an extra twist to the game, and increases the excitement – but also makes it a little more addictive. Be careful not to play it all day instead of going back to learn and work…
