Blackjack Mistakes

According to the experts there are quite a few common mistakes made by Blackjack players so we’re hoping that you’ll avoid some of them by casting your eye over the following:

Not playing ‘18’ correctly
There are many ways to play 18, especially if you hold an ace, and most people stand on it. Thinking it’s as close to 21 as you’re likely to get without going bust is technically correct but have a look at how you can play it to your advantage…

• Ace/7 against a 3
  double down on this hand for a more profitable return
• Ace/3/2/Ace/Ace against a 9
  believe it or not, take a hit on this
• Ace/7 against a deuce
  If you would ordinarily stand on this then you’re right!
• Ace/3/2/2 against a 10
  similar to our second example, take a hit on this, they are low cards and can also be counted as 8 meaning that anything added will increase your hand value
• Ace/7 against a 6
  double down if you get this hand – the odds are in your favour to take the pot
• Ace/7 against an Ace
  take a hit on this, the dealer has a great chance of hitting a card higher than 7

So, aside from incorrectly playing ‘18’, what other common mistakes can you avoid to be a more successful blackjack player?

• Sizing your next bet according to the last outcome – forget the bad beats, play each hand individually.
• Taking insurance based upon the quality of your own hand – insurance is not recommended by anyone, certainly not if you’re considering it because of your hand quality.
• Not splitting your medium sized pairs against a small dealer card – the only pairs you should never split are 10’s and 5’s – give everything else a go!