Blackjack is a game of skill and luck, which needs very little introduction to most people. It is also commonly called 21. The game of blackjack offers good odds against the house, and it is a fun game to play a few quick hands against the dealer. When you look at blackjack strategies, you’ll quickly see numerous options listed around the web. Online sites will claim they have the best and top winning combinations that players can use to cash in on. Others will proudly state they’ll teach you to count cards, or how to better your house odds.
Are all these strategies really useful though? Or are they just a waste of time and don’t work? Knowing which Blackjack strategies don’t work will save you time, and effort. This allows you to focus instead on the strategies which can help you to improve your overall winning chances. In this post, you’ll take a deep dive into the various Blackjack systems that players use. Covering ones which ultimately fail, and as such should not be considered.
Superstitions
From lucky rabbit’s feet to the first card they won big on at a leading site like Jupiter Club casino, many players have strange superstitions that involve their favourite casino games. These superstitions often get in the way of proven betting systems. Some common superstitions that affect player judgments include beliefs that certain dealers or specific card tables are ‘hot’ choices.
Another is betting high, or going all in, when their favourite card comes up, like the queen of spades, or king of hearts. These decisions are not provable in any way and as such have no basis in logic or reality. In the long run, all systems based on superstition alone are bound to fail and as such, aren’t effective.
Insure It
A top blackjack mistake often made is when players choose to take the side bet of insurance, rather than play with the hand that they hold. This is almost always done when the dealer reveals that they have an Ace. Once the Ace is revealed, most players assume that their card hand has little to no chance of winning. This leads players to automatically opt into choosing to take half the bet amount as insurance instead.
The main reason behind this is that they believe their hand is lost, and with it, their bet. This then justifies the player, in their mind, into choosing the insurance so they can get some kind of payout. A way to cover their losses. However, as it stands, this is not a good choice for most players, despite its initial appeal.
If you truly take time to calculate the odds, it shows that time and time again, at the end of the day, those players who continually take insurance each time, actually have far greater losses to their bankroll over time. Instead of playing insurance, players should rather keep their hand and play bravely in the face of the unknown instead. Over time, it will show that this approach will most likely lead to higher winning ratios.
Card Counting
Card counting is a strategy that is popular on television shows. In it, a hotshot card counter helps their friends win big. It involves players believing they have an advantage compared to the Dealer by keeping track of cards played. This allows players to use statistical theory to make their betting decisions.
Despite it being frowned upon by casinos, card counting isn’t outright illegal, though casinos will ban players they catch doing it. While some players have gamed the system doing this, it doesn’t work for the majority. The main reason is that it requires a huge time investment from the player. The second reason is that it is hard to take into account the number of card decks being used, since this affects the overall card-counting ability of players.
Also, even if it’s done successfully, the element of chance in Blackjack can still result in a loss for the player.
Chasing Losses
While every casino player is bound to have this happen at some point, it often happens to Blackjack players. Chasing losses is, in essence, a choice players make where they keep increasing their bets to win back money they have lost.
While once in a while this can result in a win, overall, though, it swiftly leads to large losses. This is one of the reasons that setting a bankroll budget early on eliminates emotional betting and allows players to make more level-headed choices.
The Martingale System
Following on from the above of chasing losses, a similar and equally disastrous system is also popular among some gamblers. In the Martingale system, players double each of their losing bets instead of merely chasing a loss.
By betting double the amount after each loss, the thought is that players can recover the loss and make a profit too. Though it sounds good on paper, and players are tempted to try this, it more often than not leads to larger and larger losses. Since most players don’t have an unlimited bankroll, this system quickly shows its flaws. It’s far better to avoid this strategy in its entirety.
Splitting 10s
Some players believe that splitting their 10s is a good strategy. They think this since it allows them to potentially win more money should their hand rank higher than the dealers. While this may be effective, it is also a risky move, since on its own, 20 is a strong hand in Blackjack. By splitting the 10s, players are ultimately decreasing their overall odds of winning which can lead to unnecessary losses.
Blackjack is a game of skill and strategy. Therefore, it’s always a good idea to work on understanding of all the rules and strategies involved before playing. Another thing to keep in mind is that it’s crucial to set a budget for your bankroll and stick to it.
Now that you know which Blackjack betting strategies to avoid, you can focus on other betting systems. These may lead to more winning hands.
