From “win-win” advice from experienced players to the sort of urban legends that have become true for many players for various reasons, there is a wealth of information available online that promises to help you become a better blackjack player.
The first thing to do is to figure out what is true and what is false if you really want to become a good player. We debunk eight of the most common blackjack myths:
Typical rookie mistake Yes, blackjack and the number 21 are very similar. There was even a movie called “21” made at the time. But remember, your goal is to beat the casino dealer, not to get up to 21.
To accomplish this, you must either get him to overcall or score more points than the dealer. For what reason is this so important? Because it is a fundamental rule of blackjack strategy. In most cases, striving to reach 21 at all costs will result in “overcalling” and consequently losing your pot. Remember that in most cases, 16 or 17 points will be enough to win.
When it comes to blackjack, one of the most famous myths is that you should always remember the probability that the dealer’s next card will be a ten. Due to the fact that there are too many cards in the deck that bring 10 points each (tens, jacks, queens and kings), many people consider this as a kind of overreaction. Thus, a flipped card will surely show a ten if the dealer has a nine, for example. Thus, his total score would be 19.
It is a big mistake to believe this. In a deck of 52 cards, 16 cards have a value of 10. Thus, the dealer’s probability of hitting a ten is only thirty-one percent versus sixty-nine percent. A simple math problem! So it’s best to use basic blackjack strategy, which, based on your cards and the dealer’s open card, will tell you how to play.
Have you considered when you should purchase insurance on your bet? There is never a right answer. Remember, this is one of the worst things you can encounter when playing blackjack. If the dealer’s first open card is an ace, the player can make an insurance bet. The player loses his gambling bet if the dealer scores 21 points, but he is paid insurance at a rate of 2 to 1.
We have already mentioned that the probability that the dealer will get the next ten card is thirty-one percent. So, betting insurance, while it may seem like a pretty attractive proposition at first glance, will prove to be a waste of money in most cases.
Sounds silly, doesn’t it? Nevertheless, there are not many players who believe that one card showing a king, queen or jack will necessarily lead to another. In this case, no proof is required as this assumption is clearly wrong.
