Blackjack Facts

Of course there are all sorts of blackjack myths and so-called winning strategies out there. We've collected some of the most common of which you've probably already heard. Hopefully we can shed a little light on what you may have already been led to believe:

Fact is...
There are almost as many betting strategies out there as there are gamblers. Many folks increase their wagers when on a winning streak, assuming that the winning streak will continue. Others increase their bets when on a losing streak, thinking they're due for a win. Some players have complex betting patterns based on the results of their previous hands. And others base the size of their bets on mere hunches that they're going to win or lose the next hand. Unfortunately, not a single one of these strategies work. For a betting strategy to actually work, you have got to know when the cards will become favorable. There are a number of counting strategies that can do this.

Fact is...
Games which use the least number of card decks are more favorable than those using more decks, if the house rules are the same. This is because players will get blackjack more often and win more of their double downs. online casinos are naturally aware of this and thus they usually have slightly less favorable house rules on their single and double deck games to offset this advantage.

Fact is...
You gain more of a benefit from altering your playing strategy based on the true count for single & double deck games than you would for 4 or more deck games.

Fact is...
Lots of top players are of the opinion that if another player sitting at their table makes wrong playing moves, it reduces their advantage. This, however, is false. There may be times when a player sitting at third base (left-most seat) hits his 16 when the dealer is showing a 5, and this player winds up busting and the dealer ends up with a good hand, whereas if this player did not take the hit, the dealer would have busted & everyone at the table would have won. (The third base position receives a lot of heat from the other gamblers if basic strategies are not followed). People tend to remember these bad incidences but in reality these types of actions have just as much chance of helping the other players as hurting them.

Fact is...
When playing a basic strategy, it does not matter which seat you sit at; they'll all yield the same advantage in the long run. This is also the case for players who alter the size of their wager based on the true count. For players who alter their playing strategy based on the true count, however, third base will yield the greatest advantage.

Fact is...
When new cards are introduced into a game the players face more of a disadvantage than if the cards have been in play for a short time. The reason is: new card decks are in a predefined order which contain ten-valued card clumps that are bad for the gamblers & they're not entirely broken up by the house wash and initial shuffle. So when new cards are brought into the game, it's advisable to hold off entering until the cards have been in play for a bit & shuffled for the second time. After this second shuffle the cards will be about as random as they'll ever get.

Fact is...
Do not over tip. The best playing strategies only offer the player between a one and two 2 percent advantage over the house. If you're tipping the dealer one betting unit every 20 hands, you're giving away 5%. It's virtually impossible to make money when you give this much away.

Fact is...
For players employing a count strategy, the fewer players at the table, the better. This way you'll get to play more hands during high counts when their large wagers are out. In order to gain even more of an edge during high counts, some competitors play multiple hands when the count is high & only one hand when the count is low, thereby enjoying a greater number of hands during favorable conditions.

Fact is...
For players utilizing a count strategy, the deeper the dealer places the cut card inside the decks to indicate a shuffle, the better it is for them. This is due to the fact that the true count tends to fluctuate more wildly as the number of undealt cards drops, in turn offering the players better playing opportunities. For players using a strictly basic strategy, the cut card's depth has no effect on their advantage.

Fact is...
For anyone who's not counting cards, it's never a wise idea to place an insurance bet. Many folks automatically make an insurance bet if they have blackjack or possibly other very good hands. In reality it makes more sense to place an insurance bet if your hand doesn't include a 10-valued card because this would be one additional 10-valued card that could be the dealer's hole card. In essence, you should only make an insurance bet when you know that more than one-third of the remaining cards are 10-valued cards. Lots of counting systems have a specific true count value which would indicate when it's beneficial to make an insurance bet.

Fact is...
You are better off not lending advice to other players whom you do not know. Should they wind up losing their hand after taking your advice, they will probably resent you. AND they will let you know it.