Blackjack has the best odds of winning, with a house edge of just 1 percent in most casinos, Bean said. Plus, you are playing against only the dealer, not hooded poker champions.

A two-card hand counting 21, necessarily consisting of an Ace and a 10-card, is a "natural", or, in the British private game, a "pontoon". Some also call it a blackjack, thogh, strictly speaking, this originally denoted the Ace of spades plus either of the black Jacks.