12/27/2024
Blackjack is an amazing, frustrating game. The perfect amount of winning hands to keep you playing, and just enough losing hands so the house always wins.
If you want to win at blackjack, the first step is to master "basic strategy", which requires making the right statistical decision based on your card total versus the dealer card total. You can memorize all of the combinations and decisions, or you can reference a basic strategy card to speed up the process. However, even playing perfect basic strategy still gives the house an edge of about 0.5%. You're going to need something else in order to get ahead.
That is where counting cards comes in. This involves keeping track of the 10's and aces that have already been dealt and altering basic strategy depending on how many of those 10's and aces are left in the deck. With more higher cards still left to be dealt, you can expect more blackjacks, plus the dealer will go over 21 more often, a win-win scenario for you. Counting can give you an edge of just a percent or two, and you can bet more at those times to offset the losses when the count is not in your favor.
Seems like a foolproof strategy, except for the fact that card counting isn't allowed and will get you kicked out of every casino that notices you winning too often. Not very good customer service if you ask me, but you have to protect that bottom line. Lame...
So how do you get ahead? You can be more discrete with your betting, wear a disguise, jump around from casino to casino, but most of us aren't willing to go that deep into the gambling underbelly just to get kicked out all the time. Props to the ones still trying to beat the house.
Blackjack ends up simplifying down to a fun, complex version of a rigged coin flip, and that's how it will stay as long as people keep placing their bets. Can anything be learned from this that means more than just the game itself?
I'm always looking for a basic strategy to accomplish more in life and achieve my goals, and it tends to feel like the blackjack analogy. Structure and defined decisions tends to improve your chances of success (like basic strategy), but never quite gets you all the way there.
In any endeavor, finding that next-level piece of the puzzle that gives you the edge is what it takes. Not everyone who plays blackjack is willing to learn basic strategy and card counting before they place their bets. What strategy gives you the biggest edge toward accomplishing your goals? Figuring that out is the key to hitting it big.
