Most mistakes inexperienced blackjack players make are connected with the basic strategy. Theoretically, playing by it is simple. You find a game with a relatively low house edge and follow the recommendations given in the strategy's table. At online casinos, you do not even have to memorize it, as you can use its printed version.
This is the simplest way to reduce the house edge to a minimum. But people are starting to dream of the blue, use their intuition, rely on the advice of friends, and so on. And the result is that they do not achieve any positive results.
Common Blackjack Novices' Blunders
But newbies can make mistakes not only in the optimal strategy. The Casinoz article describes other silly missteps many novices take. We hope you can avoid them with our help.
Blindly Copying Dealers' Actions
Experienced gamblers cannot help but smile when newcomers recklessly copy the dealers' actions, believing it will help them win at blackjack. Of course, this practice does no good.
Dealers cannot make decisions while playing blackjack against customers. Rules strictly restrict their actions.
For example, they stand at seventeen even if the player has twenty. Moreover, they never split cards or double down. They cannot surrender even if the rules allow it.
In short, copying a blackjack dealer is the height of stupidity. Never do this if you do not want to look ridiculous.
Counting Cards without Knowledge or Experience
Theoretically, card counting is not a complicated thing. Almost anyone can master it, even if they never were good at math. Only learning how to apply it in practice is not that easy.
Most beginners try to count cards without enough skills. Of course, they constantly make mistakes or behave abnormally, being expelled from the casino.
So, before counting, think twice if you are ready for it.
Counting Cards in Online Blackjack
We have already discussed why counting cards is useless in RNG blackjack offered at online casinos. For those who missed our articles, we'll briefly remind the essence.
- Card counting only works if a dealer places used cards into the discard rack.
- It allows counters to calculate the ratio of high and low cards remaining in the shoe.
- At online casinos, the "dealer" returns used cards into the "shoe" at the end of every round.
- Thus, there is no sense in counting cards in RNG blackjack (though there are some exceptions).
Why it is almost impossible to count cards at online casinos with live dealers, read in the particular article on Casinoz.
Searching More Beneficial Places at Blackjack Tables
If you play blackjack in a land-based casino and count cards, you'd better take the last hand. So you will see more cards before you need to make a decision.
But at online casinos, you can sit in any place. The chances of winning will not be lower if you take the first position.
Accordingly, the same applies to the game in a brick-and-mortar casino if you do not practice card counting.
Listening to Neighbours' Advice
If you are unsure of your actions while playing blackjack, never listen to the recommendations of people sitting next to you at the table.
- They may whine that you are sitting on the first hand and taking cards that would make the dealer bust.
- They may advise you to hit another card to help you all win.
- They may tell you to split tens or take insurance.
Please do not listen to them. If you play blackjack for real money, you'd better know what you are doing.
You must follow the basic strategy. You can deviate from it sometimes, but this is for more experienced players who do not read articles for blackjack novices.
Taking Insurance in Blackjack
Many players panic and buy insurance against blackjack when the dealer has an ace.
However, insurance in blackjack is very disadvantageous for the player, so you should always refuse it.
There are exceptions to this rule, but they deal with card counting. In certain situations, the probability of the dealer's blackjack is significantly increased to justify insurance. Beginners should better not use the insurance if they do not count cards.
Avoiding Surrender in Blackjack
Many newbies do not want to lose half of the bet and never use the surrender rule. You should not follow their example.
If the basic strategy recommends surrender, do it!
We strongly encourage you to follow this tip. There's no need to invent anything and rely on intuition. Professional gamblers have already made all calculations for you. The best thing you can do is trust advantage blackjack players.
Playing Blackjack by Betting Systems
Betting systems, like Martingale, Parlay, and others, do not lower the house edge. Experienced players, mathematicians, and even software developers have already proved it. Nevertheless, such methods are still popular among gamblers. We want to warn you:
Betting systems will not help you beat the casino at blackjack.
Choose the bet according to your bankroll and the current card count. All other criteria are not so critical.
Conclusion
We discussed common blunders of inexperienced blackjack players we could remember. Of course, these are not all players' mistakes, so you can add something in the comments. I
