Anyone even slightly familiar with casino games will be able to reel of some of the most popular beliefs and myths surrounding blackjack. Unfortunately, a lot of these beliefs are entirely untrue, and believing in them just causes people to lose money for no justifiable or rational reason at all, except that they’ve placed credence in a simple myth circulated by someone who has very little idea about what they’re talking about.
Believing in these blackjack ‘myths’ may put you at risk of potentially making bad decisions during the game that will cause you to lose – not just once, but, in all likelihood, again and again.
There are a lot of blackjack myths circulating out there, and if you’re not careful, you may fall victim to believing them.
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Popular Blackjack Myths
Let’s explore some of the most common myths about blackjack that may place you at a possible disadvantage during the game.
1. Often the most commonly held misconception about backjack is the goal of the game. Many people believe the goal of the game is to reach 21 first. Although an automatic blackjack is definitely a great thing, reaching 21 isn’ t the game’s aim at all. In actual fact, all you have to do is to beat the dealer’s hand; scoring higher than the dealer, regardless of whether either of you reach 21, is the actual aim of the game.
2. The belief that blackjack is a game of luck (therefore, if you’re not feeling lucky or have committed some horrendous deed that may incur a bad omen then you should stay away from the game) is ludicrous to me. In truth, blackjack is the only casino game that draws on an element of skill. This skill lies in the fact that the game allows a player to make choices for their next move and, with these choices, can gain a degree of advantage over the house in the long term, providing they have good and careful bases for such choices.
3. A further ‘myth’ is that you need to have some sort of special abilities, like, for example, being a mathematical genius or possess a photographic memory, in order to win the game. This isn’t true because being a genius or having a photographic memory doesn’t give you control over a deck of cards. In reality, all you really have to have is a normal amount of common sense, and possibly an understanding of basic blackjack strategy. Basic blackjack strategy is not another myth type thing to put your hopes on but is instead a chart of inferences (mathematical and based on probability) based on the values of the hands of both the dealer and the player.
4. Some people believe that someone entering or exiting in the middle of a game can make you lose. Really?! A person joining or leaving at the middle of the game has absolutely no bearing whatsoever on your game. Your chance of winning lies in the deck of cards, not in the locations of over people!
5. A further one is: stay away from hot dealers. But dealers can’t make any choices during the game at all – they have to follow the house rules and deal the cards. Kind of like robots The choices involved in the game actually all come from you. Consequently, if there’s any hint of game control at all, it comes from nowhere else but from you.
6 It is a common belief that bad players can affect you, or bad luck from other players can actually rub off on you and affect your chances of winning. This is completely ridiculous. In the world of blackjack, only maths and probability affect the outcome, and nothing else. Bad players, or those with poor social skills or awareness of blackjack etiquette, can irritate you with their grumbling if ever they get into a foul mood because of losing, which could, in theory, make you lose your concentration, but that’s got nothing to do with good or bad luck.
People believe so many weird theories and myths about blackjack, but the best thing to do is to keep in mind at all times that you just need to possess a sound understanding of the games rules, familiarise yourself with basic blackjack strategy , and use your common sense. If you fancy developing your insight into the game a little further, you could check out William Hill live blackjack, as there’s a great tutorial video that covers more of the basics and is a good place to start.