Winning at Blackjack - Don't Allow Yourself to fall into this
Trap
Winning at Blackjack - Don't Allow Yourself to fall into this
Trap
If you want to become a winning blackjack player, you need to
understand the psychology of blackjack and its importance, which
is very often under estimated.
Rational Disciplined Play Will Yield Profits Longer Term
A winning blackjack player using basic strategy and card
counting can gain an edge over the casino and emerge a winner
over time.
While this is an accepted fact and many players know this, they
deviate from what is rational and make irrational plays.
Why would they do this? The answer lies in human nature and the
psychology that comes into play when money is on the line.
Lets look at some examples of blackjack psychology in action and
two common mistakes players make:
The Fear of Going Bust
The fear of busting (going over 21) is a common error among
blackjack players.
Going bust means you are out of the game.
Many players find it hard to draw an additional card even though
it is the right play to make.
Standing on 16 when you should take a hit stops a player going
bust. However, thinking logically the dealer has to stand on 17
and above, so the perceived advantage of not going bust is
offset by the fact that you cannot win unless the dealer goes
bust.
Losing by busting is psychologically worse for many players than
losing to the dealer.
If you hit and bust it's your fault. If you stand and lose, you
can say the dealer was lucky and you have no responsibility for
the loss.
Players get so preoccupied in trying to avoid going bust, that
they fail to focus on the probabilities of winning and losing,
when neither player nor the dealer goes bust.
The Gamblers Fallacy and Luck
Many players increase their bet after a loss and decrease it
after a win. Called "the gambler's fallacy," the idea is that if
you lose a hand, the odds go up that you will win the next hand,
and vice versa.
This of course is irrational, but players fear losing and go to
protect the winnings they have.
Other players do the reverse, increasing the bet size after a
win and decreasing it after a loss. The logic here is that luck
comes in streaks; so if you're hot, increase your bets!
Why Do Players Act Irrationally When They Should Act Rationally?
There are players who don't know basic strategy and fall into
the above psychological traps. Experienced players do so as
well. The reasons for this are normally associated with the
following:
1. Players cannot detach themselves from the fact that winning
blackjack requires losing periods, they get frustrated and try
to get their losses back.
2. They fall into the trap that we all do, in that once "wont
make a difference" and try another way of playing.
3. A player may have other things on his mind and is not
focusing on the game and these blur his judgement and make him
mentally lazy.
If You Have a Plan, You need to follow it!
This can be psychologically difficult for many players because
it requires mental discipline to focus over the long term, take
losses on the chin and remain mentally focused.
Winning at blackjack requires the discipline to execute a plan;
if you don't have discipline, you don't have a plan!
The psychology of blackjack is an important but underestimated
trait in winning at blackjack over the long term.