Beginner Blackjack Mistakes

Insurance

Insurance sounds like a good idea so maybe that’s how they came up with the name.

The Upshot
Insurance should only be taken when a player has enough experience to either accurately count the cards or has a very good reason to believe that the dealer has a blackjack. After all, unless you are playing in a tournament, the idea is not to get 21 but to beat the dealer.

The Reality

Besides being extremely hard to predict, there is the common mistake that taking insurance on a good hand like 10/10 is more acceptable than on a bad hand like 4/2. Insurance only works to a player’s favor if the dealer has a 10 in the hole. Even talented card counters employing advanced skill techniques can only be about 80% sure at best that the dealer has a blackjack. Overall, insurance is far more in the casinos favor than the player’s.

Maybe that’s why it’s so easily available.

Stop Loss

The Stop-Loss money management system is neither a good way to lose money, nor is it a good way to maximize it. Simply put it is when a player determines the upper limit of money they are willing to lose and once that amount has been lost the player stops that session. It is a sensible way to avoid ruin, or losing your entire bankroll, as well as keeping things simple in case using something like the Kelly Betting System is too difficult or distracting. This is a flexible money management system in use in many venues from blackjack to the stock market.

Parlay Betting

One of the oldest betting systems in all of gambling, the parlay method is easy to use and has a lower impact on bankroll requirements making it a tempting strategy. But like all strategies in Blackjack it is best to get practical experience under your belt before taking it all the way to the casino floor tables. The parlay method starts when a player makes a bet of a certain size and if the hand is successful the next wager is the original amount plus the profit of the winning hand. For example a winning $100 bet yielding a $50 profit would then become a $150 bet on the next hand. Because this method doesn’t take into account the positive or negative card count or basic strategy it is not the most sound.

Betting Higher When on a Roll

It is important to remember that just because you’ve got a good hand doesn’t mean that your next hit will be as lucky. Betting high when you are winning does nothing to improve your odds of winning or getting lucky on the next hand.

Even Money

When even money (winning the same amount that was wagered) is offered, it may be a tempting option when considering all the potential variables. The idea is that it is the ‘safe’ option such as avoiding a loss, however over the long run it is more likely to reduce your overall wins and increase your overall loses even if only by a small amount. The moral of the story is know when to play it safe and know when to go for it.