The Eight Blackjack Myths that Lose You Money
The Eight Blackjack Myths that Lose You Money
If you believe any of the following blackjack myths, you will
lose money. Don't make that error!
Myth 1: The aim of blackjack is to get as close to 21 as possible
This is NOT the object of the game. The object is to beat the
dealer's hand.
Often, the best strategy is to stand depending on your hand and
the dealer's up card. Many people lose a hand because they hit
their hands, when according to basic strategy they should stand.
Myth 2: bad players cause you to lose
Other players have no effect on your winning or losing long term.
It is true that stupid plays made by stupid players can affect
the outcome of a hand for everyone else, but it can be proved
mathematically that it is just as likely that this could result
in the entire table winning.
Myth 3: Always take insurance if you have a blackjack
Insurance is the stupidest bet in blackjack. If a person were to
take insurance every time that they had a blackjack, then they
would be giving up 13 percent of the profit that a blackjack
pays.
In order for a player simply to break even with insurance, you
would have to guess correctly 1 in 3 times, and there not good
odds!
Only if you are card counting should you ever even consider
taking insurance.
Myth 4: The dealer is HOT
Mathematically speaking, when you are winning, the deck
composition is in your favor, and when you are losing, it is not
in your favor.
The dealer has no choices to make; they simply follow the house
rules. You as a player do have choices, and it is your choices
that determine how successful you will be.
Myth 5: People entering the game in the middle of a shoe can
cause you to lose
This is actually the same as a player taking an extra card, or a
player leaving in the middle of the game. Neither of which
causes you to lose.
Myth 6: You are due a win soon
The dealer has won ten hands consecutively - you will win soon.
The chance of the player winning the next hand is independent of
what happened before.
Eventually of course, the number of hands you will win will be
around 48%, but this can be over a very long period! In the
short term, i.e a single playing session, the previous hands are
irrelevant.
Myth 7: The deuce (2) is the most favorable card for the dealer
Not true. We notice the deuce because it makes the dealers hand
frequently, because there is only one card that can "bust" the
hand, (10), if the total is 12.
Mathematically, players lose more when the "up card" the dealer
has is an Ace or a 10.
Myth 8: Don't split 9, 9 against the dealer's 9, you're making
two bad hands
When the player has 9 & 9 against the dealer's 9, the player has
18. This doesn't beat 19 as of course we assume that the dealer
has a 10 in the hole.
It is proven mathematically a player will lose less money by
splitting the 9's than by standing.