In this blackjack tips article, you will find valuable insider tips on playing blackjack that are indispensable for being successful in the casinos.
Your Attitude Will Determine Your Altitude
You must assume and believe that you will win at playing blackjack. It must be embedded in your subconscious mind. Thousands and thousands of visitors go to casinos every day and most of them actually assume that they will lose money, and most of them are right. In other words, they decide in advance how much they will lose. The reason for this can be a myriad of things (mistakes), like perception of gambling in general, game selection, timing, lack of skill, lack of training, etc.
Let me try to illustrate this problem with an actual example: Isn’t it a fact that when most people plan their vacation to a casino destination they will decide on the amount of money they will put aside for gambling? Actually, what they are doing is planning to lose, giving up before they even get there.
You see, no matter how much you know, if you think you can’t – you won’t. I am not a psychologist but you must realize the awesome power of the subconscious mind that controls our daily activities. Until you acquire the basics of psychology of gambling and apply it, you will not be completely successful at anything, especially at beating the house.
For this topic, helpful reading material would be from Dale Carnegie: Think and Grow Rich, or any other reading materials that are about positive thinking.
A word of caution! Please don’t disregard this aspect of gambling as unimportant because it can prevent you from being successful at the blackjack tables. Many good people have made that mistake already.
Bankroll at the Blackjack Tables
An adequate bankroll is definitely a moral booster. Don’t let that “I cannot afford to lose that money” be a factor in your play.
If you sit down at the black jack table with less than an adequate amount of money it can have a crippling effect on your confidence, it’s psychological, it creates a fear factor.
If you have a losing streak of four to five blackjack hands or more you can lose your small bankroll quickly and cannot continue to play, let alone, to try and recover your losses.
So, play with extra money that if part of it is lost it will not have any affect on your daily life. Not that you want to lose any of it but, sometimes it will happen, it’s just part of the blackjack game, and you must have enough money to recover your losses.
Every black jack strategy requires a certain size of bankroll to get you through the negative cycles and it will correspond to the maximum bet limit of the blackjack table you are playing at.
Casino Etiquette at the Blackjack Table
Yes, there is such a thing. In many casinos when a person sits down at the blackjack table to play, chances are that they will be assessed by the pit personnel; “how much are they good for?”
In other words, they try to figure out how much money you are willing/able to lose before you leave the blackjack table. They are very good at this and there are various ways of telling.
Let’s look at some important ones…
Dress for Success
This is one of the simplest and very accurate ways of telling. If you are dressed in a t-shirt and shorts with a baseball cap on what do you think they will think of you. Of course, you are a tourist, staying for a few days with your limited budget you already put aside for gambling when you planned your trip. They know that, in most cases, when that money is lost you will be gone. They will make every effort to separate you from your small bankroll as fast as possible, so the next blackjack player can sit down.
If, however, you are dressed sharply they will assume that you are a businessman, a professional of some sort, a well to do individual whose main goal probably is to have a good time and the money is of secondary importance. They will treat you accordingly and every effort will be made to make your stay as long and comfortable as they can. So, when you go to the casino dress up like it’s a special occasion. Actually, it is!
Casino Behavior
Just keep a cool profile, be confident and act like a success, the way you are dressed. They will notice if you behave accordingly or not, so just play your part. You have to look at this as part of the overall winning strategy. That includes the reactions to certain situations. If you jump up and down when you win a $100 blackjack hand they will see through your act in a second.
Just have an “I am here for the fun and the money doesn’t matter” attitude. In case you happen to lose a larger blackjack bet just say; “well, easy come – easy go.”
Choosing a Casino to Play Blackjack
ou must realize that all casinos are not the same when it comes to overall odds. Even though the basic rules are similar in most casinos, in some, there are “minor” variations to the rules that can change the odds and playing conditions considerably. The average blackjack player, however, doesn’t even have a clue about this.
In some casinos the betting range (the difference between the minimum and maximum bet) is too small, limiting your ability to use certain betting plans.
In some others, they change dealers too frequently, like every 15-20 minutes, or cutting the deck short (penetration), or burn too many cards, etc., all of which makes the life of a card counter more difficult. All these minor rule changes add to the casino’s advantage and it can add up to an insurmountable edge which you cannot overcome.
You must seek out casinos that have the most liberal rules thus giving you the most favorable odds. Contrary to popular beliefs, those are not the smaller casinos, as most people think. I guess, this false belief originates from the fact that most people find these casinos less intimidating than large mega resort casinos with all that glitter, high rollers, higher limits and so forth. For example, in Vegas you want to play in those large casinos on the Strip not in downtown or in those off the Strip small casinos.
The Wrong Blackjack Dealer is a Hot Dealer
Most people are not aware of this very important phenomenon that is present when you are playing blackjack, however, it alone can determine whether you win or lose.
First of all, there are many people, including so called “experts,” who dispute this fact saying that there is no such a thing as “hot dealer,” it’s all random. Well, you tell me. What would you call a dealer who is flipping 19s and higher totals hand after hand for 30 to 45 minutes and very seldom bust? Would you stay at his blackjack table and continue playing? I am sure you’ve experienced this already if you are playing the game of black jack.
Yes, it’s a fact and take it as such, that a dealer is hot, in other words, on the rush, over 50 percent of the time. I have first hand experience in this as a blackjack dealer, and in addition, in many casinos the pit personnel keep track of this, just in case they need to use this “feature” against some “lucky” black jack player. For now, just accept it as a fact or you will be doomed.
It is also a fact that most people choose the blackjack table based on the minimum bet limit and completely disregard this very important aspect of the game. What that means is that they already have less than a 50/50 chance of winning at the very moment they sit down, and they don’t even know it. Of course, the opposite is also true. A blackjack dealer can be on a cold streak (losing streak), busting often, giving an excellent chance to players at the black jack table.
So, in order to be successful at playing blackjack, you must avoid a hot dealer because you practically have no chance to beat him. Seek out black jack dealers who are on a losing streak or at least neutral.