A Countdown of Card Counting Blackjack Myths
Players, mathematicians, and just about everyone in between are united by a common desire to lower or eliminate the house edge in Blackjack. One of the most popular and effective strategy they favor is card counting.
A lot of hype surrounds card counting in large part due to the fact that the strategy works. Movies and books glorify card counting as keys to a sure win. In a matter of time, the real benefits of card counting in blackjack became obscured. It became a fertile source of numerous blackjack myths.
The most popular blackjack myth is complicated methods guarantee victory. Blackjack is a game of chance. There is no strategy on the face of the earth that can guarantee a win in this game every time.
Another blackjack myth is that card counting can predict the next card to be dealt. This makes card counting sound more like a psychic ability. The truth is the theory of probability is at work in card counting.
The usual deck contains 52 cards with different faces. A face can only appear once in a game; after it is set aside, the players can anticipate which cards will be played next based on their knowledge of the faces that have yet to make their appearance. Knowing which faces have not been played help the players guess the sequence these faces will appear.
An equally delusional blackjack myth is card counting works for all casinos. Casinos have different house rules so card counting will impact the games differently for each casino. Depending on the house rules, this blackjack myth may enable the player to win on a short-term game but lose in a long-term one and vice versa.
The more alarming blackjack myth is that card counting ensures a steady stream of profits. Card counting can ensure favorable odds for a player as long as it is a long game. The significance of this statement is that the player must have the time and money to duke it out with the house if he or she wants to profit from counting cards. Short games, on the other hand, are unpredictable. The short duration of the game makes it difficult for the player to recover if he or she suffers a loss with or without the benefit of counting cards.
Card counting works as long as the player knows how to differentiate realistic benefits from the myths. There's more to blackjack than these myths.