Maximize Your Blackjack Budget
There are several ways that you can make the most out of your blackjack budget. Here are a few tips and tricks to making sure you stretch your budget as far as it can go:
- Make a budget, and stick to it! Though the house odds are pretty low, you can and will still lose some of your hands at blackjack. The best way to go about it is to determine ahead of time how much money you can afford to lose. Once you have gambled this amount, stop playing.
- Do not bet your winnings. Since you should only be betting a certain amount (if you did a budget), then winnings are not included in this budget. Set aside your winnings and make sure you leave the table with them. Once you start betting your winnings, it is very easy to go away empty-handed.
- Play with surrender rules, if possible. Not all casinos offer the surrender rule, but if they do, take advantage of it. The Surrender rule is a great way to get out of a bad hand and only lose half of your bet.
- Do not take insurance. Insurance is a side bet you can take if the dealer's face up card is an ace. There are too many cards in the deck (especially in a multi-deck game) that can come and ruin your bet. It is at best a sucker bet, and you will quickly lose money if you keep taking this side bet.
- Don't be afraid to use charts. If you are not sure what to do on a particular hand (hit, stand, etc) then don't be afraid to refer to a chart. You can find several charts in the "strategy" section of this site. Many people use charts, and there is no shame in it. In fact, many offline casinos have pre-printed charts available for customers to use.
- Do not count cards. Card counting is something that professionals use to try to win at blackjack. It involves remembering all the cards that have already been dealt, so that you can better predict what you will get dealt next based on what cards are left in the deck. Since most games are played with multiple decks and many casinos randomly shuffle, counting cards is becoming increasingly difficult. It could also get you thrown out of a casino. Unless you are a professional, card counting may confuse you and distract you from making good bets. Best just to have a basic strategy and stick with that.
- Do not take high-odds side bets. Many blackjack variations have side bets with huge potential payoffs. The key word here is 'potential'. Many of these side bets lure gamblers in with promise of payoffs that can go the hundreds of thousands. The problem is that the chances of you actually winning one of these bets is miniscule at best. Even if you only bet a dollar on each of these bets, imagine playing twenty hands. If you lose each time that is $20 you are out. If you are playing at a $5 minimum table that means that you have just wasted enough money to have played four more hands.
- Practice your strategy whenever you can. This can mean playing at home, or in the case of online casinos, playing free games. This is a good way to use and familiarize yourself with strategy charts and other tips and tricks you have learned here. This is especially good if you are playing a game with variations, and you are not too sure of the rules. Playing free or practice games gives you time to learn more without losing money, since there is not betting involved. This is always a good idea, if available.
- Do not play where blackjacks are even money. Getting a blackjack usually pays 3:2 odds. But in some variations, blackjack pays even money. Not only do you get a smaller payoff, but the odds are now much higher in favor of the casino for the game.
- Play at tables with as few decks as possible. The less decks that are used in a game, the better your odds of winning. The more decks that are used, the higher the advantage for the casino goes.
- Avoid games where ties are always won by the dealer. This increases the casino's advantage over you, the player. It also does not give you the chance to win a tie with another hand, which means less winnings for you. Though ties are not exactly common, they do occur. Make sure you have a chance to win any ties that may occur!
- Know when to walk away. If you are losing and have spent all of your budgeted money, then the best thing to do is walk away. If you continue to gamble with money you did not intend to, you may develop a gambling problem. If you think you have a gambling problem, seek professional help immediately.