The history of Blackjack

Blackjack is a great game. If played correctly, the house advantage for the game is a mere 0.5 percent. That means that over time you will get back $99.50 for every $100 you play. Sounds great!

The origins of blackjack is shroudded in mystery. It suppose to have begun as a French game called vingt-et-un, or "21". Early version of the game sprouted up the in the United States around 1800. For most of its history, peopl assumed blackjack was a lot like baccarat. Players couldn't do a whole lot to gain a winning advantage - that was what most people thought.

But then came the Bible of blackjack : "Beat the Dealer", by MIT scientist Edward Thorp. Thorp's 1962 book introduced the concept of card counting, a process that actually gives the concept of card counting, a process that actually gives players an advantage of the house. Two facts of blackjack facts were, that firstly, the composition of the deck changes with every hand dealt. The cards in blackjack have a "memory". Every hand dealt is dependent on what has already been dealt. Second, Throp determined that some combinations of remaining cards favour the house, while others favour the players. Tens and aces remaining in the deck are good for players, while fives and sixes are good for the house. So the way to win, Thorp argued, is to keep track of the cards. Make small bets when the remaining cards favour the dealer and large bets when they don't. In order to beat this, Casinos kept their edge by using five-deck shoes at their blackjack tables. It is much harder to keep track for what's left in the deck if you're dealing with 260 cards rather than fify-two.

And why the name "blackjack"? Early rules of the game awarded a player a ten to one return on his bet if his first two cards were the ace of spaces ("black") and the jack of spades ("jack"), and the name stuck.

Resorts World at Sentosa completes S$4b credit syndication

Resorts World at Sentosa completes S$4b credit syndication
By Wong Siew Ying, Channel NewsAsia Posted: 24 April 2008 1934 hrs

SINGAPORE : Resorts World at Sentosa has completed the syndication of S$4 billion in credit facilities for its resort development.

The tenure of the loan extends to 2015. The loan is one of the largest to be successfully undertaken in Singapore.

In a statement on Thursday, Resorts World said the borrowings were made at an interest rate of 175 basis points above the Singapore Swap Offer Rate.

A total of 10 banks were involved in the syndication, which is jointly underwritten by five original mandated lead arrangers - DBS Bank, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation, HSBC, the Royal Bank of Scotland and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation.

The credit facilities will fund two-thirds of the resort's S$6 billion project cost.

Resorts World has since awarded more than S$2 billion in building contracts for works on four of its six hotels, as well as its main thoroughfare Festive Walk.

It said progress on the resort is on track for an early 2010 soft opening. - CNA /ls

Resorts World at Sentosa awards largest contract of S$1.05b to date

Resorts World at Sentosa awards largest contract of S$1.05b to date
By Channel NewsAsia Posted: 23 April 2008 1820 hrs

SINGAPORE: Resorts World at Sentosa has awarded its largest building contract to date, worth S$1.05 billion, to a joint venture between major Japanese contractor Kajima Overseas Asia Pte. Ltd. and local player Tiong Seng Contractors (Pte) Ltd.

This brings the total building contracts awarded so far to over S$2 billion. The S$6 billion integrated resort is slated for completion in early 2010.

Kajima-Tiong Seng will construct three of the six hotels in Resorts World and the resort's thoroughfare, FestiveWalk.

The three hotels - Maxims Residences, Hotel Michael and Festive Hotel - will offer some 1,000 suites and rooms out of the 1,800 to be found throughout the resort.

The contract also includes the construction of a 15,000-square-metre casino located at the basement of Maxims Residences which will feature gaming rooms, suites and lounges.

The joint venture will also build a dual purpose 1,600-seat Le Vie showroom, which doubles as a Plenary Hall, in Festive Hotel. - CNA/vm

Stick with 50:50 percent gains or losses

Let's face it...a lot of money management tips are hard to remember, especially in the heat of battle. So, the best is the simplest strategy. Quit gambling when you are double or halved your bankroll for each game. Gather at least an outline of what you want to play and how much you want to proportionate to each games. If you are scared of poker tables, but you want to play, then plan to devote just a slice of your bankroll to the game. But if you decide to wager more on the poker tables, then plan to wager less on another game.

Whatever you do, keep your overall bankroll the same, no matter how you decide to divide it. And then play the games as much as you like until you have won or lost 50 percent of that original bankroll. Just count the bankroll not what you win from the house. For example if you come in with $200 to spend on the blackjack tables, then play till you have won approx $300 or you are reduced to $100. Then walk away, come back later or the next day. If you go back to blackjack, then play the new $300 like it was $200. Put that extra +$100 into your pocket! If you were not so lucky, play the $100 like its $100 because that was what left of your original bankroll.

Keep going that way. If you double your money during at least one session of play, then at most you lose is $100. If you come out ahead a few times, then you are a winner. If you lose everyday, then the most you lost is $200, the amount you decided in advance you could lose, if lady luck decides not to grace her presence. It's a simple strategy, easier said than done, but using this then gambling will be fun, win or lose. Always remember : if gambling stops being fun, then stop gambling!

Progressive Money Management Strategies

Gambling experts are full of advice about how to protect your capital or bankroll i.e. the amount of money you brought with you to gamble. Some argue you should play as though your winnings didn't belong to you. The thinking goes : It's the casino's money right? You came in with $500. That $200 you won is a bonus. Other say that's dumb. Once you win money, it is your money. Pretending it isn't could cause you to play recklessly. Some say that when you win big, you should let that bet ride one last time. Others say that's crazy. Knowing when and being able to walk away from the table when you are ahead is one of gambling's golden rules. There's no way to guarantee you will walk away a winner from any casino.

Bankroll management is all about minimizing losses, the following ensures you have fun gambling and then leave if not a winner, at least not a BIG loser.

• Build your bank roll into your travel plans.
  If you have saved up a few thousand dollars to spend on hotels, restaurants, and non-gambling activities, then treat that money like it does not exist when you get to the gambling tables.


• Treat your gambling capital as money expressly to be used for gambling only.
  Don't think to yourself :"I'm going to lose this cash", but don't start expecting to double it and pay for a brand new apartment in Orchard Road. Be able to answer with a firm "NO" the question : will I lose several nights of sleep of I lose this capital.


• Protect your money by taking breaks.
  If you win a particularly big pot, then quit while you are ahead. Walk away a winner. There isn't that nicer? You can hold your head up high. The odds favour the house in every single games, so you will lose if you keep playing. But if you win and take a break, then you can decide - calmly and not in the heat of the moment - whether to continue gambling.


• Wear a watch and keep an eye on the time.
  Casinos do their best to creat sensory-manipulation chambers (IF you can find a clock in the new Singapore IR casinos' tables, I will buy you a drink!) Quit every hour or so and walk around till your head is clear.


• Quit after a certain number of hands or slot pulls.
  This is a good strategy if you don't want to be a slave to time.

A good rule of thumb is to gamble only as long as it makes you happy. If you get on a losing streak and start raising your bets to get your money back, odds are you will just lose more. And then you will feel miserable. It's time to get up and get some fresh air!

Stick to a limit

The inner dialogue of many gamblers probably sounds a lot like this :"Oh Man, it's the casino, I come here twice a year...I know I said I was only gonna play with $500, but that was before I got here and started having all this fun. It's like there are free drinks - but only if I am playing. Forget about that limit. Where's the ATM? Sure, I have been losing, but lady lck will start smiling on me any minute now."

Casino love guys like this. That's why they offer them freebies. That way, even if luck does not turn out to be a lady, you will be back the next day to flirt with her again. And eventually, the house will win because the odds are in its favour.

Casinos are designed to make players chase their losses. They reward winners, and you, of course, are a sophisticated card shark and a sultan of slots. It's tempting to try to impress folks in a casino. Take the dealer for instance, like the guards outside the Istana, they are often an impassive lot. Those inscrutable faces can entice novice players into making a bold, daring move that will raise an eyebrow or earn a smile.

The best way to avoid the chorus of sounds that lure you away from your money is to set a gamling limit before you walk through the casino's door. Don't bet more than you can afford to lose. (This holds true for the stock market as well!) And that's true if the loss is monetary or emotional. Some folks can afford to lose five thousand dollars, but if lose it makes them feel like rubbish, than the emotional toll is not worth the risk for them. Your best bet, if you are going to be at a casino for several days is to decide on a daily limit. Take only the chosen amount with you to the tables or slots.

And finally play to win. Don't think by being a cynical, too-cool-to-fool sort that you will come out feeling like a winner. If you go into a casino thinking, I am briing $500 to lose, then you are playing not to lose, instead of playing to win. You will make bets because you got a I-don't-care attitude. You will make big bets just to be able to say you did it, thinking you are going to lose $500 anyway, right? If you are playing smart, playing to win, then you are more likely to walk out a winner than a pre-determined loser.

A fool and his money....

"A fool and his money are soon parted."

"Anything that sounds too good to be true IS too good to be true."

The difference with gambling is that you CAN get something for almost nothing, and though your odds of winning ten hands of blackjack in a row or striking the huge jackpot are not the strong, it COULD happen. It provides the hope/fantasy of winning BIG and celebrating in the face of all the other gamblers. But remember one very important rule : Casinos offer games of skill and games of chance. And some with both. There are no sure-fire strategies for games of chance, the results of which are purely random. The only thing that wil cause you to win them is blind luck.

The best gambling strategies will not assure you win or lose, but they will keep you from having to mortgage your house. First of all, know how to play a game before you wager any money on it. Also, pick a gambling limit and stick to it. If you are a low stakes player, then you may decide that $200 is the magic number. Once you lose that, even if it's only the second day of your vacation, stay away from the tables. And finally, the time to raise your bet is when you are winning. Never raise a bet when you are losing. Odds are in the casino's favour, so don't throw good money after the bad. Casinos make a lot of money from novice gamblers trying to turn around a losing streak.