Don't make an error by believing any of the following eight blackjack myths. If you do, you will lose money!
Myth 1: The objective of blackjack is to get as close to 21 as possible
Wrong! This is not the objective of the game. The real objective is to beat the dealer's hand.
It is often the best strategy to stand, depending on your hand and the dealer's 'up' card. But many people lose a hand because they hit their hands trying to get closer to 21, when according to basic strategy they should stand.
Myth 2: Bad players can make you lose
Wrong! Other players have no effect on your winning or losing long term.
Stupid plays made by other players can affect the outcome of a hand for the other players, but mathematically it can be proved 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
Wrong! Insurance is the worst possible bet in blackjack. If players 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, not very good odds!
You should you only think about taking insurance if you are card counting.
Myth 4: The dealer is Hot
Wrong! The mathematical facts are that when you are winning, the deck composition is in your favor, and when you are losing, it is not in your favor.
The dealer cannot make any choices - he has to follow the house rules. However, you, as the player, do have choices, and it is these 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
Wrong! A player taking an extra card or a player entering or leaving in the middle of a game have no effect on your game. None of these events will cause you to lose.
Myth 6: You are due to have a win soon.
Wrong! The dealer has won ten hands consecutively – it will happen to you soon.
Every hand is a 'stand alone' event. 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 may take place over a very long period! In the short term, say a single playing session, the previous hands are irrelevant.
Myth 7: The deuce (2) is the most favorable card for the dealer
Wrong! We only notice the deuce because it makes the dealer's hand frequently and because there is only one card that can "bust" the hand, - 10, if the total is 12.
Mathematically speaking, players lose more when the dealer's "up card" is an Ace or a 10.
Myth 8: Don't split 9, 9 against the dealer's 9, you will be making two bad hands
Wrong! When the player has 9 and 9 against the dealer's 9, the player has 18. This doesn't beat 19 so of course, we assume that the dealer has a 10 in the hole.
It can be mathematically proven that a player will lose less money by splitting the 9's than by standing. |