It's blackjack plain and simple. It may take a mathematical genius to figure out how to count down a six deck shoe, but the basic game is simple enough that anyone who can add two and two together should be able to play the game. That's why they made it so simple. So why the hell does so many people have such a hard time beating the game?

When I first started dealing I had just as much experience as any beginner. I wasn't a player so I didn't care to learn the game any more than casino procedures made me learn. I didn't keep count by any means during the game, I didn't track slugs, I didn't even give advice except for the most simplest concepts like splitting aces or doubling down on any 11 like I was taught.

There weren't any computer programs set up to play and analyze your play to help to teach you. You had to learn from tough lessons on your own, buy a book and practice, or learn from a real player. Today you have several versions of computer gaming programs that will teach you step-by-step how to play any game, and Blackjack is definitely the easiest table game to learn.

The basic concept of the game is simple: When do I hit, when I stay, when do I split, and when do I double down, four simple moves to memorize. It's not like Craps where you have to learn odds or such exotic plays as horn bets or world bets, C&E bets or betting "on-the-hop" the big 6 & 8 vs. taking the 6 or 8, or what the odds on hitting a field bet are. It's not Roulette where you have to bother yourself about what a basket bet is or what you $8 straight up bet pays added to the $5 double street bet along with the $4 corner bet ($337 total). And let some European throw a "neighbors" bet at you and watch the dealer turn a whiter shade of pale.

The game of Blackjack was specifically designed to let the middle-of-the-road gamblers walk up to the game with a minimal amount of experience and be able to play the game immediately with little or no instruction. The fact that there are always people at the table that is more than willing to impart their special skills as a crappy player to help you lose your dough. Thus the reason they don't like dealers overdoing it with the players when it comes to helping them play the game.

The casino certainly doesn't want a dealer that can track a double deck to tell a player betting $1,000 a hand when it's time to pump up the bets and double down on a soft 15 because he knows there's lots of small cards to help that kind of hand. So what does a dealer do when asked for help? Most will offer as little as possible. With a pair of 9's when the dealer's showing a 9, the player with a $10 bet will get the dealer to offer the player the chance to split the 9's before they play the hand where an inexperienced player would probably stay on the 18.

But put $500 on that same spot, and if the floor man hears you tell the guy to put another $500 on the spot and play the split, and the guy picks up a grand for the advice, you're going to find yourself in hot water. Now put a $25 check in front of the $500 for the dealer, and another $25 check up there when he splits, and then drop the $100 in the toke box as payment for the advice, and you're going to find the smarter dealers finding all kinds of ways to tip off the player on how to play the hand. Everything from making peace signs to just plain pushing the second 9 next to the top 9 without even asking and telling the guy he forgot to put up the other $500.

But today we have a new problem, one we can't easily fight. I'm not sure what to call them except they resemble sheep to the slaughter. These are the kids 21 to 26 who in high school learned the game when they went over to their friend's house whose older brother would buy a case of beer and they would get drunk and play Blackjack for quarters. Now that they're legal, they think it's just new friends they get to meet at the tables in Vegas.

Granted, Las Vegas is one big party, but money is money and few real players give much leeway when it comes to idiots affecting their money. We're seeing more and more arguments at the tables over bad play. Not friendly advice like they used to give, but nose-to-nose bitching that includes name calling and various seepages of air from the player's mouths. I get a lot of players even talking to themselves out loud so the other players will hear the remarks which usually leads to confrontations that only a good dealer knows how to deal with.

Normally the dealer will call a halt to the arguments immediately by advising the poor player that what the other players are telling him are correct and that they're just trying to help. That's in a normal situation. But what if that bad player just happens to be tipping the dealer more than anyone else at the table? Then you'll see a smart dealer begin to defend the player to the point where he might begin to suggest the better players might want to look for another table since this guy's obviously quite comfortable with you as the dealer since you're the only one defending him at the table…and after all, you are the dealer.

We're constantly put in the position where two or more people are ready to come to blows over some one hitting a 15 against the dealer's 6. The better dealers, after they get a hit signal from the 15 will inquire a second time "You want to hit that?" "Yah…well, don't I?" "Well, I do have a 6 and the rest of the table's staying on their hands hoping I'll bust." This usually gives the other players a place to cut in with their personal advice to do the same, this way they sound like they're all in agreement with the dealer and now we all sound concerned rather than critical.

By this point, if I can manage to bust, the table forms a bond between the players, understanding that at stake is their personal money. This is also where I usually manage a tip from even the cheapest players when I'm seen as a benevolent soul rather than a money-grabbing house representative. I've even seen good friendships formed in hours over a $2 Blackjack game with a little hard work, determination, and a few Bloody Marys'.

Don't let the casinos fool you, they don't just use free booze as a way to help you part with your money, although that is the main purpose, it wasn't their only goal. After all, you can only lose what you have. It's what happens afterwards. People go home, often broke, but never angry; they go home, wake up the next morning with the usual hangover and decide that means they must have had another memorable night losing their paychecks. And they do come back for more. It's also a great equalizer. People sitting at the table with a little buzz can sit with people they wouldn't give the time of day to in a normal situation.

They can tolerate the worse players with different social and economical as well as racial and religious backgrounds without a second thought. But put people at a no-smoking, no-drinking table and watch the sparks fly between $5 players. And yes the non-smokers are much more uptight than the smokers, and I don't smoke but I'd still rather have a table full of smokers and drinkers. At least they tip.

And women that win tip more than men that win. Most women play as a form of socialization. They come to hang out with people, have a few drinks and enjoy themselves and often have a good time despite winning or losing. Men just come to compete and nothing else matters. They whine more than women do, win or lose. And men can't handle losing. It stems back to their childhoods when they were pushed to compete and not to accept losing in any good terms.

Women, on the other hand, are taught to play together and not get mad at people that don't quite play up to their own standards. Men however, do practice at home, often on computer simulators and so when they come to the tables prepared to play, they can usually play through the defeat and end up winning some money, weather they take the money or not is another story, but unfortunately, women take the defeat and enjoy it for what it's supposed to be, a game.

But they often get beat and take it in stride and never fire back to win. The only difference is that women, or anyone for that matter, need to practice more often, weather live or on computers. Computer programs offer solutions for the harder to play hands. They'll tell you what the best play on any particular hand is, and they're always right. They'll even offer a way to optimize your betting procedures. But the obvious problem is they don't give you practical experience at playing a live game. It's very different when you get to a live game and there are real people with real money and a live dealer with a mouth on them that can work for or against you depending on how they perceive the type of players they're up against.

There's nothing worse than a beginner that wins and doesn't tip, or a regular player that wins and doesn't tip, or a part-time regular that wins and doesn't tip. I guess what I'm saying is we have no time for people that win and don't tip, very simple and very true. However we always have time for anyone willing to listen to our advice and give up a few bucks to the dealer for the free lesson. Remember one thing, we're only required to deal the game legitimately and keep our opinions to ourselves until it's time to help, and like any job, if we're not going to get paid for it, we're just not going to give 100%.

So what I'm offering you is plain and simple. Either practice your Blackjack, or practice your humility. Don't be afraid to ask, and don't be afraid to take advice. And if you're willing to tip a cocktail waitress for 50 cents worth of booze, you'd better be willing to tip the dealer who gives you advice on how to win a $20 hand. A long standing truth is still true. Whenever you want to get the best advice at a gambling table, always ask the best player, which is always the one with the most chips in front of them…which is always the dealer.

-Ken Pearlman