The Most Common Blackjack Mistakes Made by Casual Players

Published: August 28, 2014

The movie 21 from a few years ago really put blackjack on the map as millions of people saw a narrative about how card counting could get players an advantage against the casino. Along these lines, more people started playing blackjack online than ever before, and we want to help you to avoid the common mistakes that these casual players frequently find themselves making. We're going to cover a few different things to think about that will help you to boost your payout rate and your understanding of blackjack as a whole.

First off, casual players don't really pay attention to the difference between the weak and strong dealer cards. The weak dealer cards, starting with the weakest, are six, five, four, three and two. Seven and up are considered strong dealer cards, though a ten and ace are the strongest of the bunch. Against weak dealer cards, you have to take into account the fact that the dealer is likely to go bust. So if you have a hard total of 12 or more, then you don't want to risk going bust yourself by hitting since the hand isn't likely to be determined by the strength of your hand. Instead, you should stand and give the dealer his good chance of busting out on his own.

Another common mistake is not doubling enough. If you have a hard ten or eleven, you should be doubling every single time unless you have a ten against a ten or ace or if you have an ace up against an ace. You should also be doubling with nines against weak dealer cards if you have the option, and you should be doubling with soft hands against weak dealer cards fairly often as well.

Finally, a big mistake that happens really often is that the player surrenders a lot. Surrendering more than you are supposed to will absolutely destroy your payout rate since you're just losing half a bet over and over again with no chance of winning it back. You should only surrender if you have a hard 16 up against a ten or an ace. In some games, you can surrender with a hard 15 against a ten or an ace, but not all. Overall, surrendering should very rarely happen, and only in these situations, if you want to avoid the common mistake of surrendering entirely too often.