Blackjack is one of many casino games with a relatively low house edge. But even with that advantage on your side, you can still increase your chances of winning by avoiding mistakes commonly done by most players.
There are tons of ways to lose your hand in blackjack and the greatest mistakes aren’t limited to bad strategy. This can include factors like a carefree attitude, faulty rules, the need to compensate and not knowing when to stop. There are limitless basic errors that might greatly affect your gameplay. So to avoid these mistakes and raise your stakes in winning, Casino Days India has made a list of Blackjack mistakes to steer clear from down below!
Focusing only on getting close to 21
One of the main goals in blackjack is getting a hand of 21. However, most players fixate on this though there are other ways to win and fail to consider other winning factors. Although reaching near 21 and hitting until you do so indeed improves your chances of winning, it’s not always the best decision and there are many situations when you should stand instead. And here are some examples:
- You have a hand value of 12making you 9 points away from a 21
- The dealer’s upcard is 5
In the first situation, most beginners are more likely to hit since they’re still far from a 21 but they also have to consider their 9:4 chances of getting a 2, 9 or an ace without busting. To avoid this, blackjack veterans suggest standing in this case since it will only take a dealer a hard 17 or higher to stand, which means you don’t always have to get a 21 to win a round of blackjack.
To reach a hard 17 in the second scenario above, the dealer needs to draw at least two cards. While attempting this with a 5 upcard, several card combos can force players to bust. So to avoid this, you have to focus more on beating the dealer and less on getting a 21.
Not following a blackjack strategy chart
One of the players’ most frequent mistakes is skipping strategy charts and leaning solely on luck. But there is a reason these charts were made and that’s to guide you when to hit, stand, double, split, down, and even surrender. Learning basic strategy is essential if you want to increase your chance of winning and getting the promised payout, even if it takes a little time and practice. Not using a strategy chart that tells you what to do depending on your hand leads you to commit these common mistakes:
- Splitting a pair of 10s
- Standing on 12 when the dealer’s upcards are 2 or 3
- Doubling down on 11 when one of the dealer’s upcards are an ace
- Not splitting a pair of 8s
- Standing on soft 18 when a dealer has an upcard of 9
- Hitting on 11 when the dealer’s upcard is 10.
If you don’t get it right the first couple of rounds, it’s completely understandable since nobody instantly knows how to handle strategy situations by heart.
Settling for poor table rules
There will always be a house edge no matter where you go, whether it’s online or on-site. The only thing that affects the house edge and sets them apart are the table rules. Settling for poor table rules that limit your actions, increase the house edge and so on is probably one of the most underrated factors to avoid since it greatly affects your payout. To avoid this, consider scouting for a table that offers 3:2 rather than 6:5 because this increases the house edge by 1.40% and anything lower than 6:5 will do.
Taking insurance
Insurance is a separate side-wager where players bet on the dealer’s hand getting a blackjack. Various casinos offer this option that pays out 2:1 in the event a dealer gets a natural blackjack. Despite its name and apparent function, insurance has far worse value than the game of blackjack itself, with a house edge of over 7%.
This option is often tempting since the side-bets result in a larger payout than normal wagers; however, the house edge on insurance bets is much higher and is basically a ploy for a poor side bet. Even games with the lowest house edges such as Roulette with 5.26% and Poker with 5.26% pay more than Blackjack insurance.
Depending on betting systems
Depending on a betting system is without a doubt something to definitely avoid since its systems are frankly flawed. Some players, on the other hand, feel that betting systems can help them beat the house but veterans and specialists will tell you otherwise. There are two main categories of betting systems namely the negative progression and the positive progression.
The negative progression suggests that you increase your bet everything you lose and decrease when you win. Positive progression is the exact opposite where you increase your wager when you win and decrease it when you lose. If you want to experiment with a betting system, go ahead but bear in mind that no betting system will be able to overcome a Blackjack house edge.
Counting cards badly
Last but not least is counting cards badly. Card counting is a strategy that helps you weigh out the chances of whether the advantage falls under you or the dealer on the next hand. This strategy can give you the upper hand when it comes to overcoming house edge by allowing you to keep a running count of the high and low valued cards.
When you use this strategy but don’t know how to apply it, you’ll be off your game, missing counts and generally messing up your game plan and aim. So to better increase your chances of winning in a classic game of Blackjack, make sure to master card counting first before using it.