MIT Blackjack Head to Be Keynote Speaker at Covario Conference

December 27th, 2012 by OBO-admin

Covario, one of the reputed search marketing agencies in the industry, recently announced that it would be hosting Jeff Ma as its keynote speakers for the upcoming annual INFLECTION Point conference.

According to Russ Mann, the Chief Executive Officer at Covario, “With keynote speakers of the likes of Jeff Ma and Shar VanBoskirk, combined with an impressive line-up of panels, case studies and breakout sessions featuring marketing leaders from some of the largest brands in the world, INFLECTIONPoint 2013 is shaping up to be quite ‘the scene,’ which just happens to be the theme for this year’s event.”

The conference will take place in February from the 5th to the 7th and will have Jeff Ma, the man responsible for the MIT blackjack team giving the main address. Ma’s team of blackjack card counting players is the real inspiration behind the book Bringing Down the House and the movie “21.”

Johnson, Covario’s managing director and senior VP commented on the upcoming conference at which the MIT blackjack main head will be speaking. “Our team is ready to go. Clients and prospects are signing up quickly. The information, insights, and networking opportunities will provide value that will last for years to come.”

Posted in Blackjack News |

MIT Blackjack Team’s Books Popular with Players

December 23rd, 2012 by OBO-admin

Blackjack players and those new to the game of blackjack looking to learn some tips and strategies on how to beat the house and win at the game are looking at books written by the MIT team of blackjack players that once trumped the blackjack tables of Las Vegas for millions of dollars.

Almost everyone who is in the blackjack community is aware of the MIT Blackjack Team and the real success. As a result, players find these books of real life experiences and tips very helpful. Furthermore, the books are not just plain instructive but also have interesting anecdotes that make for entertaining and easy reads.

Two books written by members of the MIT Blackjack Team are Bringing down the House and Professional Blackjack.

Bringing down the House which was authored by Ben Mezrich and first broke the story about the team of six MIT students who worked together at blackjack tables counting cards and winning money. This book is more of a story than strategy but considering that it is a real life one – it is very inspiring.

The second book is instructive and is called Professional Blackjack; it is authored by another member of the famous blackjack team, namely Stanford Wong.

Posted in Blackjack News |

Carbon Sports Betting Site Also Hosts Blackjack Games

December 20th, 2012 by OBO-admin

Blackjack players who like playing their favorite games online will usually expect to find such online blackjack games at blackjack parlors, online casinos and perhaps even poker rooms. However, few blackjack layers would ever expect or even think of finding blackjack online games at a sportsbetting site, yet this is exactly what Carbon Sports is promising.

Carbon Sports recently announced that they were not just offerings sports betting wagers and odds on different races and events, but also online blackjack and a few other online casino games for their bettors to have the best of both worlds.

Carbon Sports is reputed to be a popular online sportsbook with a growing membership. What’s more, the sportsbook also caters to players from different countries all over the world, providing them the opportunity to place bets with good odds and get reliable payouts when wins occur. According to the Carbon Sports website, “Carbon Sports customers also enjoy access to rare props, futures, odds, and specials that make winning easy.”

This provision of online casino games makes Carbon sports stand out from other casinos and sportsbooks as it hits two markets at the same time. As a result, this site has drawn even more player traffic.

Posted in Blackjack News |

Bodog Casino Hires New Marketing Officer for Asia Division

December 18th, 2012 by OBO-admin

Blackjack players in Asia who are members of Bodog Casino will be pleased to note that the company is putting a lot of effort to see that their Asian casino plans come to fruition. The company is focusing on marketing the brand to Asian blackjack and casino players and has hired a new Chief Digital Marketing Officer to head this set up.

Torbjorn Wallin, a former marketing chief at Bwin.Party Digital Entertainment, was recently signed on as the new marketing chief for the Bodog Asia division. To take on his new position, Wallin will be relocating to Manila in the Philippines.

According to Robert Gustafsson, the Managing Director of Bodog 88, the new marketing position headed by Wallin will be a crucial driving force behind company growth in the Asian sector. “Digital Marketing is especially important in Asia as there are very few opportunities for direct marketing in the region so the digital strategy is at the forefront of our plans for further growing the brand in Asia. Torbjorn’s experience speaks for itself and he has hit the ground running already which is exactly what we’d hoped for,” he said.

Torbjorn also commented, “Bodog is one of those brands that is always looking to try something new and differentiate from its competitors which mirrors how successful digital marketing works best…- Bodog are always looking to do that which made them very attractive to me.”

Posted in Blackjack News |

When Insurance in Blackjack Is a Good Idea

December 18th, 2012 by OBO-admin

Insurance is a tricky subject when it comes to playing online casino games or even table games at a brick and mortar casino. Players in the industry are of varying stances on the subject and some players opt to take insurance whenever possible, while others do not take insurance at all while playing. Still others are very selective when they take insurance and ideally, this is how one should play.

For instance, when playing blackjack at casinos, some occasion will see the dealer pulling an Ace when you are holding a hand of blackjack. In this case, most players would opt for insurance or also for even money as it is quite likely that the either will win, unless the dealer himself or herself gets a hand of blackjack. Resorting to insurance is one of the most common reactions of players when they are faced with a dealer holding an Ace. However, players must realize that the likelihood of the dealer getting a hand of blackjack when you are holding a blackjack hand is quite low as the probability of securing a ten point card is lessened to 31%. In fact, it is quite likely that the dealer does not have a hand of blackjack.

Posted in Blackjack News |

Players Caught Cheating At Blackjack in Ohio

December 13th, 2012 by OBO-admin

Blackjack is a highly competitive game and on account of the large prizes that most casinos and gaming places offer, many blackjack players are tempted to cheat or count cards and change the odds in their favor. One of the more recent incidents involved ten people cheating at the newly opened Hollywood Casino in Columbus.
So far, the casino has been open only over a month and already ten people stand accused of cheating and are facing felony charges. Some of the other games that players tried to cheat at in addition to blackjack were craps, roulette, and baccarat. The players tried to cap and pinch their bets which mean that they tried to take away or add some chips to their betting pile after the game began.

According to Franklin County Prosecutor Ron O’Brien, one player ignored the warnings, “It was kind of like, well, ‘So what? I’m entitled to cheat to try to beat the game…Whether it’s marbles when you’re 7 years old or whether it’s on the sports field in high school, everybody knows that cheating’s wrong…People shouldn’t have any kind of attitude that cheating’s OK merely because it’s at a casino.”

Posted in Blackjack News |

Surrender – A Valuable Blackjack Tool

December 10th, 2012 by OBO-admin

All casinos in Pennsylvania allow players to surrender their bets if they feel that playing their hands out is a futile exercise. Surrender is an excellent tool for blackjack players who know exactly how and when to use the option. Unfortunately, a large number of players either ignore it or use it when not required.

Surrender is a valuable blackjack tool because very few non Pennsylvanian casinos offer it, and even if they do offer it, they hardly advertise it. Blackjack players, who are aware of the value of surrender, have to inquire if the casino offers the option to surrender.

Players who choose to surrender forfeit half their bet instead of standing or hitting. Whenever players announce that they have surrendered, the dealer takes their chips, counts them, and returns half of them.

Blackjack players can surrender only on their first two cards. There are two types of surrender options—later surrender, in which players can surrender after the dealer checks for blackjack and early surrender, in which players can surrender before the dealer checks for blackjack.

Basic blackjack strategy tells players exactly when and how they have to surrender in order to get the most of their blackjack gaming experience.

Posted in Blackjack News |

Tips on Blackjack and House Edge

December 6th, 2012 by OBO-admin

Blackjack players have to use strategy and mathematical calculations to make good calls when placing bets and making calls in the game. However, some players face difficulties when dealing with house edge. Players must keep in mind that the game of blackjack is very different from all other casino games and as a result, the house edge is very different as you keep playing.

According to John Grochowski, a blackjack writer the difference is that with other games every time you play a game it is an individual trial while blackjack is different. “I think I’m quoting you correctly that you say the house edge is the same on every play in every game. What’s already happened doesn’t affect what’s going to happen, right? So then why should raising and lowering your bets like blackjack card counters do make any difference?” he said.

He explained that the reason behind this was the many hands between each shuffle. “The cards already played do have an effect on future outcomes, and it can be said that the cards DO have a memory. If an Ace has been dealt, that’s one fewer Ace that’s available as a component of the two-card 21s that pay players 3-2 — or, in bad games, 6-5,” he said.

Posted in Blackjack News |

Maryland Live Casino To Hire Blackjack Dealers

December 5th, 2012 by OBO-admin

The Maryland Live Casino that caters to blackjack and casino players may be planning to add to its facilities and thus improve its player traffic. Recent plans include adding a hotel in a high rise style to the premises.

According to David Cordish from Cordish Cos, there is a “very good chance” of improving the current stetting of the Maryland Casino by adding a hotel complex to the site. Cordish also added while remarking to a reporter that these were only preliminary plans and that nothing was definite. “You’re a little bit ahead of me. You asked are we thinking about it. The answer is absolutely, but I don’t have it definite yet,” he said.

He also announced that the casino planned to hire blackjack dealers and 1,200 more employees. This report followed the approval of the committee to add table games like blackjack and roulette. Once the new employees join the casino, the casino’s employment strength will almost be doubled and will go up to nearly 3,000.

“Today really marks the culmination of our commitment to build a world-class, full-destination casino that will equal and exceed anything in Las Vegas or Atlantic City, and to do that you needed to add this one final component,” Cordish said, referring to live table games.

Posted in Blackjack News |