Blackjack is a game that runs quickly, with experienced players giving subtle hand signals to indicate, hit, stay, or fold. Thousands of dollars can be won or lost in a single hand. It's a simple number really but knowing when to hit and when to hold is a challenge in itself. Something that would be lost on me, should I ever make it to a real live, Vegas-style casino.
Most backwoods, uncouth, toothless Blackjack players such as myself, learned the fine art of Blackjack from cheating cousins. While our aunts, uncles, parents, and grandparents gambled away a year's worth of silver change at the kitchen table during forced, family gatherings, the offspring would gather at the broken down picnic table, pennies and matchsticks in hand, to play our own brand of poker with a leftover card deck. The eldest of cousins would typically start as the dealer, because only he would know that the Joker is the stand in for the Jack of Diamonds, and the sole blue Bicycle card in a red deck is the Ace of Clubs. Here we learn that you can hit on 20, and you are encouraged to do so frequently. We learn that only one card can be considered "1" and nobody is holding the blue Ace of Clubs. We learn that holding at 17 is for wimps. We also learn adequate punishment for dealing from the bottom of the deck is a stripping to the skivvies and dunking in a clear, mountain stream.
Those cousins are now grown, and we've yet to make it to Vegas because let's face it-we're still backwoods, uncouth, toothless Blackjack players. So where do we go during forced, family gatherings while the aunts, uncles and grandparents sip their Ensure? The Indian Casino of course, because nothing says sophistication like the all you can eat seafood buffet on Friday nights.
My first experience with a reservation casino came when Indian gaming first hit the radar. Our particular casino was not so much a casino but a converted bingo hall on the reservation. But we came with our rolls of nickels and quarters and we left….a whole lot lighter and a bit disenchanted with grown up gambling thanks to video Blackjack.
So don't dread your next family reunion, embrace and start saving your change now. While you're at it, make sure the kids have a complete deck, the matchsticks are slightly damp, and there's a clean, dry towel readily available.
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