Top 7 Beginners Errors that Mean You'll Lose at the Blackjack Tables

Blackjack is a classic casino game that is very popular among players. You cannot mention casino games without the word blackjack coming up. Unfortunately, many new blackjack players make mistakes that greatly decrease their winning odds. If you find blackjack interesting and want to give it a try, then it is wise that you know the most common errors committed by new blackjack players so that you avoid making the same costly mistakes. A majority of these blackjack errors are avoidable, and this is the main reason why every player should know about them. This page takes a deeper look into the most common, yet avoidable blackjack errors that both novice and less experienced players should avoid if they want to avoid losing at the blackjack tables and get good returns on their gambling money. We explain what each blackjack error is, and what can be done to avoid it.

Taking Insurance

A dealer will ask if any players at the table want to take insurance when his/her (the dealer’s) up card is an Ace. A player who wants to take insurance will put out an additional bet that’s worth half of their original bet. If the dealer then happens to reveal a blackjack, the dealer will pay off the insurance bets at 2:1. This sounds very lucrative and very tempting. However, the chances of a dealer showing an Ace has a blackjack are very slim. This means that taking insurance is a very risky move that should be avoided at every cost. As much as the returns may be promising, chances of this actually happening are very low.

Do not take insurance, even if the dealer’s up card is an Ace or even if you have a blackjack. Taking insurance means that you are exposing yourself to risk, and this does not make financial sense. As someone who is still learning the ropes of this game, taking insurance can be one of the ways to easily lose money. A player can consider making insurance bets once they learn to count cards and to make wise decisions and judgements. As a beginner, avoid this as much as possible. Most insurance bets play out in favour of the casino as opposed to the players.

Splitting the wrong cards

Knowing when to and when not to split could either make or break your blackjack strategy. It will determine whether you win or lose at a blackjack table. If you wrongly split your blackjack cards, you will undermine your chances of walking away with winnings at blackjack. For example, you should never split 5s when playing blackjack. When 5s are put together, you get a 10, a very strong hand in blackjack. If you split these 5s, you can get two 10 cards to go with your 5s, resulting in you having two hands of 15. A hand of 15 is among the worst blackjack hands a player can ever have. It is way too low to beat the dealer. You should also never split a pair of 10 value cards. On the flip side, a great example of what you should always split is 8s. You should always split 8s regardless of what the dealer has. Your splitting strategy will determine how well you fare on when playing blackjack. It is one of the most important tools a blackjack player can have. If your splitting strategy is good, you can easily get two strong hands from one weak hand.

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Raising bets

Progression betting is not a wise blackjack strategy both for novices or experienced blackjack players as well. This is mainly because odds are usually skewed against you. What you should do is to come up with a money management scheme and stick to it. So many players fail to stick to their game plan and opt to increase their bets having gone through a sequence of winning hands. As a new player, having a winning streak can be very exciting. You should, however, remember that as much as odds might sometimes be in your favour, your winning streak might end, and you might lose all the money you previously earned. If you happen to have played that particular game for long and your winning streak ends, your loss will be even greater.

You might sometimes get encouraged by other players or the casino to increase your bets. You might be told that it is not your money but the house’s that you could lose. Do not do that. This is a trick to tempt you to keep raising your bets. It is very risky. You might be tempted to raise your bet out of curiosity or just for the fun of it, but you should refrain from doing that because you could end up losing everything in the end. If you start raising your bets, you will keep doing it and risk losing everything and making big losses. Losing all your profit is not something that a beginner should go through since it can be quite discouraging.

Chasing Losses

Sometimes making losses at a blackjack table is inevitable, especially for a beginner. If this happens, you might be tempted to put more money back on the game with the hope of winning and recovering your loss. This is what is referred to as chasing losses, and it is one of the many blackjack errors that players make. Injecting an extra £50 into the game to recover the £50 you lost earlier in the game is not a wise decision. It is a very risky move since you have no guarantee that you will win in your next game. You might end up losing the extra £50 you put back in the game. Doing this is a bad gambling habit that should be avoided by every player, not just beginners. The best solution for this problem is playing with money you can afford to lose if things do not go your way. Losing money is terrible, but losing money you can afford to lose will not hurt as much.

Playing when its not fun

Your sole reason for playing blackjack should be to have fun. You can also play to pass time. You should not play this beautiful game to settle a debt or raise money towards achieving something. Things will not always go your way and you could lose money in the process. So if you are playing to raise money for a particular reason, you might lose your investment money as well. Playing for any other reason other than enjoying the game takes the fun out of it and could lead to serious disappointments. Making extra money should be one of the perks of playing blackjack but it should not be the main reason for doing so. You should enjoy every second of playing the game, without putting unnecessary pressure on yourself.

Betting for Comps

Another very common blackjack error that most inexperienced players make is overplaying for comps. Yes, comps are amazing, and winning them can be quite fun, but overdoing it can lead to losses. Comps are complimentary items that a casino gives players who bet on certain games. This usually depends on a player’s betting level and the time that player spends on a particular game. They are used by casinos to attract bettors and to keep them at the blackjack table for long periods of time. As much as these freebies are fun, they come at a costly price. Comps usually correspond to a bettor’s expected loss. New players should, therefore, avoid overbetting for comps since it could lead to significant losses. A player should first figure out what bets they can afford and then gauge what comps they can aim for, that cannot lead to losses.

Know when to quit

Greed is the number one cause for losses at a blackjack table. Most people do not know when to quit, especially when they lose money. You should know when to quit, regardless of if you are winning or losing. If you lose, do not keep on playing with the hope of recovering your lost money. You might end up losing even more. Betting more does not guarantee winning. When you make a win, walk away. It does not matter if you have been playing for a few minutes or a couple of hours. Grab your winnings and leave the blackjack table. The more you keep betting, the higher the chances that you will lose your money. You can even lose the winnings you already made. `

Every player should have a betting limit, and it is obvious that every player’s limit is different. Every player should set their limit according to their income and how much they are willing to spend gambling as an individual. A budget is very important since it can prevent players from overspending. A great way to set a betting limit is by determining a daily loss and win limit and sticking to it. A loss limit will prevent you from losing even more while a win limit helps protect whatever winnings you will have made that day.