Blackjack is certainly one of the most popular card games in the casino, whether played on the internet or in a land-based destination. Back in the early days when the Basic Blackjack Strategy first stormed the gambling scene (thanks to the brilliant work of the M.I.T. Blackjack Team), skilled and knowledgeable players could really make a killing at the blackjack tables. Especially if card-counting was successfully implemented, all that talk about turning the Casinos Edge into the Players Edge certainly was a possibility that would indeed happen.

Nowadays, with the use of more decks and Continuous Shuffling Machines (CSM's), card counting has lost its edge. Although the Basic Blackjack Strategy was hit with a blow when CSM's became mainstream, its effectiveness at bringing down the House Edge is still like no other strategy.

It seems that casinos have been doing all they can to fight back at the game of blackjack. In addition to CSM's some places tweak the rules, which invariably bring the edge back up. For instance, instead of offering a 3 to 2 payout when hitting blackjack, some places payout 6 to 5, and even go so far as to make it seem better than 3 to 2 (for those players who are unfamiliar with how odds work).

Many different hybrids of blackjack have been developed as well. While land-based casinos usually offer a few varieties of blackjack, depending on the location (downtown Vegas, the Strip, Atlantic City), most places will primarily offer one particular variety at their card tables. This is when playing blackjack at the online casino has its obvious advantages.

The best online casinos these days offer all kinds of blackjack hybrids, ranging from multi-hand games to regional varieties. Nowhere else can a gambler play Atlantic City Blackjack, Double Exposure, Pontoon and Vegas Downtown Blackjack without getting up from one's seat. Players can view all the rules variables ranging from game to game, such as the number of decks played and if doubling down and surrendering is permitted.

And while it is still true that every spent hand is shuffled immediately back into the shoe (thus negating the efficacy of card counting), single deck games of blackjack can still be found with favorable rules, and the Basic Strategy is still one of the best weapons a gambler can have.

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