CLICK HERE TO FIND OUT MORE
How to Avoid Blackjack Misconceptions
Blackjack is a very difficult game. Actually, NOT! This is one of quite a few misconceptions we at Everygame Casino have heard from gamers about the fine game of blackjack. In a recent article, we looked at blackjack strategy from the point of view of both the player’s cards but also, even more importantly, from the point of view of the dealer’s up card.
We would like to continue our discussion of blackjack with a short exercise in setting the record straight. We will “debunk” a few blackjack misconceptions.
Misconception #1 - Blackjack is Better at Land-based Casinos
Actually, blackjack is much better at an online casino! We hope the other areas we will talk about here will clearly demonstrate that this is so!
Misconception #2 - Blackjack is a Very Difficult Game
Top blackjack strategy does require gamers to give up a few other strategy misconceptions. For example, some gamers are so intimidated by the idea of busting that they will always stand with twelve points.
It is one of the most blatant misconceptions that players “just have to stand” whenever they get the counter-magical 12 points! At land-based casinos, many players encounter the 12 point obsessives who “blame” them for losses when the strategic player hits—golly, gee—with 12 points at the appropriate moments!
Misconception #3 - Blackjack is an Easy Game
This is the reverse of the misconception that blackjack is a difficult game. In this rendition, blackjack is easy to learn and even easier to play and win. Well, not so fast!
Blackjack requires a thorough grounding in the strategy for the variation you are playing, it requires the ability to double down and split when those actions either make you some extra money or prevent you from losing more than you might have lost, and blackjack requires players to know the slightest minutiae of game strategy.
Misconception #4 - The House has All of the Advantages
You see, the house has a very slight edge against players who are playing correctly. This edge can be reversed and often is by correct play. That is one of the biggest attractions of blackjack: the ability to play correctly and win.
When a blackjack player plays correctly, he or she will win a little or lose a little. But when a player plays incorrectly, it is truly next to impossible to win!
The house edge can zoom ahead against players who split at the wrong time or double down at the wrong time or forget to surrender when that is the right move to make.
Misconception #5 - Blackjack Players Don’t Have to Study the Game
So, blackjack requires players to study the game. It isn’t chess! It isn’t even checkers! It is a very direct game that gives some advantages to the house and other advantages to the player. The software always helps the house take advantage of its advantages but players have to make the right decisions in order to take advantage of their advantages!
Misconception #6 - Insurance is Good News
There is a very big misconception that insurance is good for players. It isn’t! The chances that the dealer will have blackjack when she is showing an ace are less than half. Insurance has been shown to be a very poor bet. So, never take insurance!
Misconception #7 - A 10-Point Card is Dealt Most Often
This is a hard feeling to shake. The reasons are twofold. First, there are a lot of 10-point cards so they do come out very often. There are 16 ten point cards out of 52. So, the chances of a 10-point cards coming out on the best card are about one in three which is very often but not “all the time”.
The second main reason why so many blackjack players think that 10-point cards come out most often is because we expect to see 10-point cards. No one ever expects to see a deuce, a three, a four, and so on! But we always expect to see a 10-point card. When we don’t get one or the dealer doesn’t get one we are either frustrated—when we don’t get one—or happy, when the dealer doesn’t get one.
Then we forget about it!
But when those 10-point cards come out we remember them forever!
Misconception #8 - Card Counters Make a Lot of Money Playing Blackjack
One reason blackjack players are so looking forward to the reopening of land-based casinos is because they are anticipating winning huge sums of money counting cards.
First of all, counting cards is best done in single deck blackjack games and these are increasingly hard to find. It is just as easy to count cards in six-deck games but the way players use the information is different as the number of decks increases.
Misconception #9 - Knowing when the Iron is Hot
Even more important than the general lack of single deck games is that, in order to cash in big time on your card counting skill, you have to be able to raise your bet substantially when the count is in your favor by a wide margin. And, even then card counters lose a lot of those bets!
It doesn’t take a genius to learn to count cards. It just takes practice, but it does take something of a genius to use the count to the player’s advantage every time!
Misconception #10 - It is a Very Serious Misconception that Betting Systems Work
They do not work!
Betting systems are designed as a way to “protect” your losing bets by increasing the size of your bets when you lose and then going back to your default bet when you finally have a winning hand.
The reasons these systems don’t work are, once again, twofold. First, you can have a long losing streak and then the bet you need to make to “cover” all of the losses is too high for moot players to bet. The second reason betting systems don’t work is even if you can cover the high bet required after a string of losses, the amount you will win when you finally get a winning hand is just equivalent to one bet which you then place as your next bet.
A betting system can best be seen as a counter-strategic way of breaking even. Strategy, well applied correctly, will either help you break even, it will help you win a little, or it will keep your losses to a minimum.
All told, strategy allows blackjack players to enjoy the game for itself while following a betting strategy inevitable leads to tension and a loss of enjoyment.
Misconception #11 - Doubling Down and Splitting Rules are Always the Same
It is very important to learn the rules of any blackjack variation you want to play. Some allow re-splitting while others don’t. Some allow doubling down with any point count and some don’t.
A blackjack game that doesn’t allow universal doubling down costs players some money in cases where the player would double down against a dealer’s six. There are strategies that call for doubling down with a low point count against at dealer 5 or 6.
Re-splitting will help the player who gets another card of the same value and wants to split it again.
Some variations allow doubling down after splitting. This is a very big benefit to players who might split a pair and get 10 or 11 points on the next card. By doubling down, these players might, if they are lucky of course, quadruple their original bet!
A Happy Conclusion
Blackjack is a challenging but not hard game!
Blackjack has a very high return to player rate so gamers can play for long stretches of time and come very close to a winning session. Players win almost as often as they lose and, if you play correctly, you will never lose a large sum of money.
Everygame Casino Red offers several excellent variations of blackjack. We recommend that all of our gamers use their Welcome Package of bonuses, totaling potentially $5555, to sample all of our games! We offer many games in many categories plus a very eclectic selection of slots.
Everygame Casino has a great deal of gaming fun for everyone!
