I will never forget my first hand of blackjack in a “real” casino. I had just turned 18 a few months before, and a good friend of mine took me to a gaming establishment on an Indian reservation in Minnesota. I sat down at a $5 table, and then my friend walked me through the process of how to cash my money in for chips.
I placed one in the betting circle, watched how other players used hand signals to indicate whether they wanted to hit or stand, and made my play when it was my turn. I won, and couldn’t believe that I now had two $5 chips in front of me instead of just one. The whole thing took less than a minute — and I was hooked!
Ever since that time, I’ve been playing blackjack both at home and at the casino. I take gambling seriously and like to stay in practice even if I don’t have plans for a live gaming session anytime soon. I’m one of those people who enjoys playing hundreds of hands at home just for the sake of testing out a new card-counting system or keeping sharp with basic strategy.
Because I practice so much, I’ve been thinking about investing in one of those home game packages that will give my rec room a more casino-like feel. Right now I just have a felt blackjack table layout and a dealing shoe, but I have ALWAYS wanted a real blackjack table to practice at. I saw a beautiful one on the ExecutiveGamingMonthly.com site and would love to own it someday. Maybe I’ll start setting aside some of my winnings towards the purchase!
Until then, I’ll just have to keep muddling along with my felt layout and a notebook to record unusual hands and outcomes!
