In blackjack, for example, deciding when and how to hit and stand is paramount, as is knowing when and how to split. A key mistake is splitting the wrong pairs; another is ignoring all the cards that the dealer shows that can alter decisions.
Avoiding these errors will improve your chances for long-term winning more than any other factor – impatience and playing for the wrong reasons, or certain basic strategy errors, for instance.
Not using a basic strategy
You’ll never win at blackjack without basic strategy. The chart tells you how to hit, stand, double, or split depending on the dealer’s up card and your cards (learning this chart, which will look much the same even if you are playing European rules, is the only strategy component you’ll have to memorise – online blackjack trainers can be helpful to get you there, and after that you’ll know it without thinking; never, ever worry about increasing your bets after a loss – you are better off not betting at all than doing this You need to play at a table with six or eight decks so that your average loss percentage will assume its optimal value.
A second error committed by blackjack players is to use the game as a source of income or to pay off debt in hopes of gaining luck, certainly leading to disappointment and possibly worse, making the magical feeling rather less enjoyable at times. Playing for fun must always come first and if you are going to play for any other reason, be aware that it will take away from that magic, perhaps to a greater extent than you had intended both in terms of income and losses. Don’t play too long – you need to learn to stop before exceeding your prescribed budget.
Taking insurance bets
The blackjack insurance is a side bet you will be offered if the dealer shows an ace: if you were right in suspecting that he has a blackjack, the insurance pays you two to one – but don’t be fooled, in the long run any insurance is simply no good to your bankroll, and really bad betting in cards.
Managing your bankroll is one of the number one biggest mistakes that most blackjack players make [when] playing and chasing losses, and trying to play when the tide has brought bad luck upon you until those larger and larger losses would not be warranted if you don’t dictate and assess your current state of bankroll and current bet adjustments [Do] play for fun [rather] than for money [and] hopefully this helps in avoiding many other common pitfalls, like mismanaging bankroll and frustration [which] can actually improve your ability to make astute decisions and stay focused over the long haul! Good luck, and may the cards be with you!
Playing for too long
If you enjoy playing blackjack in casinos, then you would know that it’s a fun game that uses a good degree of skill mixed with luck, but players tend to do things incorrectly while playing that raise the house odds (given the chance that the casino will win rather than you) – so you should always use basic strategy when playing (for an acceptable period) or practice online for free (tutorials available) or via mobiles (more opportunities to practise).
Good blackjack does indeed demand concentration and memory. Once you begin to feel fatigue or lose focus, that is usually a sure sign to stop, or you’ll find yourself making rash decisions driven by impulse or emotion, or chasing losses that likely don’t end well.
One easy way to ruin it — just as, in my experience, one easy way to almost completely ruin poker — is to not practise sound bankroll management. Another is to not have enough mental discipline to accept periods where luck and skill pull against each other — to not be able to experience the luck and skill ‘swings’ so that blackjack retains its fun appeal.
Not leaving the table
As much as blackjack can be a game of skill, there is no guarantee that all players make choices that will optimise their blackjack playing experience. To avoid costly blackjack mistakes, you must follow basic strategy and proper money management. That way, you will have fun blackjack sessions and can afford to enjoy more.
Lack of table discipline is probably the most common blackjack mistake made by beginning players, and this stems from that fact that if you don’t leave the table when you should then you can make some very unwise playing decisions that can quickly deplete your bankroll. Be sure to set time limits for yourself for your playing sessions and know when you should leave.
A more costly error is to take insurance bets, which is contrary to basic odds-based strategy. Therefore, it is better not to take insurance bets, but to rely on good mathematical playing decisions – this prevents mindless insurance bet-taking that both reduces your chance of winning and allows you to maintain that discipline. It also prevents you from chasing losses in overly risky way liable to blow up your bankroll.
