5 Common Mistakes Made by Blackjack Players
Blackjack is easily the most popular table game at Australian online casinos. The game attracts players due to the low house edge and the simplicity of the game. However, simplicity often leads to players making a ton of mistakes.
Today, we will take a look at common mistakes made by blackjack players. Avoid these mistakes and you’ll experience a higher win rate at the blackjack tables.
Failing to Split Aces
Believe it or not, there are people out there that will not split aces. When you’re dealt a pair of aces, you are starting with 12. If you split them, you get two shots at an instant 21.
Granted, you will not get the Blackjack payout as splitting will only allow you to get 21. However, two shots at 21 is a much better long term play than hitting 12.
Doubling Down on 15 or Higher
While this seems obvious, there are some out there that will gamble and try and double down on 15 or higher. This is a low percentage play as you have less than half of the deck that can help you. In many cases, you’re going to bust your hand and just donate more money to the casino.
If you feel that you have to hit 15, that is fine, but you’re still much more likely to bust in this scenario. Adding the double down element will lose you much more than you will gain and this play should always be avoided.
Taking Insurance
There are many players out there that will take insurance whenever there is a chance that the dealer will have Blackjack. While they are hoping to recoup some of their losses in these spots, they are giving up a huge chunk of the house edge to do so.
For example, let’s say that your blackjack game has a house edge of between .4 to 1 percent. The insurance bet will jump up to a massive 6.79% house edge. That edge can grow from there to around 7.4 percent.
Taking insurance looks like an appealing bet but often it is a losing one. Keep your house edge as low as possible by avoiding it.
Playing Blackjack Side Bets
There are a wide variety of side bets you will see from blackjack games, but there is a simple strategy you should employ. DON’T PLAY SIDE BETS. The reason behind this is the same as for insurance. You are simply giving up too much house edge depending on the bet.
While there are a few side bets that have a lowish house edge, the majority of bets have an insanely high edge. For example, a Super Sevens side bet has a house edge of up to 12.6 percent. You get better odds from progressive jackpot pokies than you do with some of these side bets.
Playing Blackjack to Clear Casino Bonuses
If you are a blackjack player, you probably think that the game is a great way to clear your deposit bonus. Unfortunately, online casinos will stack the deck against you when it comes to blackjack. The majority of online casinos will only allow blackjack to contribute around 10% to the wagering requirement.
This means that you have to $10 to contribute $1 for the playthrough requirement. As such, you will have to wager 10x as much as you would with pokies to clear the playthrough. It simply is not worth it unless you are an extremely high volume player.
For blackjack players, it is usually better to play without an online casino bonus and instead to focus on the rewards or VIP program. These are usually much more suited for table game players.