Common Blackjack Mistakes

Pretty much every gambler I know plays blackjack. Some play it all the time, others only occasionally, but everyone I know, almost without fail, plays blackjack. The only person I know who gambles, but doesn’t play blackjack, is my old neighbour Karen who’s addicted to online slots and literally nothing else, so I think we can all agree that she’s a bit of a weirdo. Anyway, I’m getting off-track! My point was that so many people play blackjack… And yet the amount of people who play it right is actually pretty low. Now, I’m not saying we should all start counting cards like the kids from “21” – in fact, card counting wouldn’t even work if you play in online casino, such as the ones listed at realmoney-blackjack.com. But that doesn’t mean that there aren’t a few things we could be doing better when playing our favourite casino game. That way, we could stop ourselves from making mistakes like…

1. Standing with 16 vs a face card

You have no idea how often I see this mistake, and it’s one of the worst ones! If you have a 2-card 16 and the dealer has a face card, then you should absolutely hit, always! So many people stand, thinking that they’ll inevitably fail if they hit, and ultimately they all end up losing when the dealer gets practically any of the 32 (!) cards which will result in their victory. Now, it’s important to note that if you hit, getting any of those aforementioned 32 cards or a six (bringing it up to a total of 36 cards) means that you’re pretty screwed yourself, but at least you have a fighting chance. Don’t get me wrong, 16 vs face is a pretty dire situation, but the correct outcome is always to hit in order to at least have a small percentage of winning as opposed to almost none. Now, if you have three or more cards as opposed to just two, then you could consider standing, but that’s another story entirely.

2. Following the Dealer’s Strategy

Now, this advice actually sounds very good on paper – dealers always win, so do as the dealer does and you should always win! Hit on 2-16 and stand on anything above it, that ought to do it, right? Well… Not exactly. Don’t forget that you’re playing first, so if you go over 21, the game is over regardless of the dealer’s cards! The dealer can afford to place himself or herself in a situation where he or she may go bust. You can not.

3. Taking the Insurance

As you know, if the dealer gets a blackjack and you don’t have one (even if you’ve got 21), you lose. To prevent this and minimize your losses you can take an insurance when the dealer has a face card or an ace… But honestly, my advice is to simply not do it, especially not when you’ve got a good hand. Don’t forget that the chances of getting a blackjack are low for both you and the dealer, so there’s no point in wasting money on something that has a very low probability of actually happening.