Common Mistakes to Avoid in Online Blackjack

As a casino game, blackjack and its online and live variants is a game of chance. However, as one of the casino games with the lowest house edge (ranging on average from 0.5/2%) and one that has a degree of skill to it, blackjack is popular with players.

It is important to note, that while the house edge of your chosen blackjack game cannot be reduced beyond its stated percentage, it can increase when the player is not making optimal decisions or falling foul of rookie errors.

In today’s article, we’ll be exploring the common mistakes experienced by online blackjack players, and how you can avoid them to keep the odds as much in your favour as possible when you play blackjack online.

Disclaimer: The house will always have the edge. Players should never try to recover losses by gambling more. The outcome of the games is always entirely based on luck.

Ignoring Basic Strategy

While knowing the core rules of blackjack is a fundamental ‘must’ for players, when we talk of basic strategy we are referring to the optimal gameplay strategy for each possible hand combination. Don’t worry though, you don’t need to memorise every possible outcome as you can use a blackjack strategy chart to provide you with the most statistically beneficial choice to make.

What It Is: Blackjack strategy charts are perfectly legal in both online and real-world casinos. You can even hear players request this information from the croupier referring to the chart as ‘the book’. Blackjack strategy charts are simple tables which serve as an at-a-glance ‘cheat sheet’ (remember it isn’t cheating to use one!), which first outlines the rules of play for your specific blackjack game. This can be helpful as different variants can include different rules and side bets. Secondly, a blackjack strategy chart will outline the optimal choice for each possible player hand, when faced with any face-up card from the dealer. For example, if your hand is a hard 16 and the dealer has a face-up 7, the optimal gameplay move to make is to hit. However, with a player hand of the same total with the dealer showing a face-up 6, the optimal move is to stand. As you can see, the smallest changes in outcome can change the optimal gameplay choice.

Why It’s a Mistake: Not making the best gameplay decision means that your return to player percentage decreases, while the house edge rises. It is important to note, though, that blackjack strategy charts cannot provide guaranteed results. Instead, they provide a mathematical likelihood. Random chance still has a big role to play in the game, so you can still lose hands when using a guide.

Solution: Check out a strategy card! If you’re gaming online with us at Spin Genie and blackjack is your game of choice, have a strategy chart bookmarked on your browser. Alongside this, you can also use the practice tools available on Spin Genie such as playing the game in demoplay mode first so you can learn the ropes without wagering real money.

Poor Bankroll Management

The term ‘bankroll’ refers to the funds you have available to spend. Your total bankroll is all the funds you have in your account, while your session bankroll is the funds you have set aside for your current gaming session.

What It Is: Bankroll management is a crucial part of responsible gambling. Before you play any game you should set a budget for your session; known as your bankroll. Good bankroll management will allow you to get the most out of your play session without breaking the bank. Some players choose to use betting strategies such as the Martingale or D’alembert to manage their bankroll.

Why It’s a Mistake: When playing casino games online we are more detached from the money we’re spending as there aren’t physical chips we’re placing down. This makes bankroll management way more essential, you need to be mindful of how much money you’re spending. Being inconsistent with your bankroll can lead to overspending and negative financial outcomes,

Solution: Before you play any online casino game, make sure to set a time limit for your session and a budget and stick to it. Spin Genie offers a selection of deposit limit tools to help make this easier. A good rule of thumb to remember is the 1-5% rule; never stake more than 1-5% of your bankroll on a single hand to avoid excessive risk and loss-chasing.

Taking Insurance Bets Unnecessarily

What It Is: Blackjack insurance can be considered as a side bet that wagers that the dealer has blackjack when the dealer shows an Ace. If so, the insurance bet pays 2:1 and restores the player's initial wager. However, if the dealer doesn't have blackjack, the player loses their insurance bet and the game proceeds.

Why It’s a Mistake: Insurance is generally a losing venture, despite its appeal. Since blackjack is all about probability, insurance odds don't work out in the long term. The insurance bet payout rate is higher than the dealer's blackjack odds. The dealer's blackjack odds are 30%, thus the gambler will lose their insurance bet 70% of the time. Thus, expert blackjack strategists advise against insurance bets.

Solution: Take insurance bets wisely, do not take this wager lightly. Players who card count playing real casino blackjack might be able to use the insurance bet successfully but remember the odds aren’t in your favour for doing so.

Misunderstanding the Value of Aces

What It Is: The most important card in blackjack is the ace. In blackjack, the ace has the unique ability to be either the highest value (11) or the lowest value (1) card in the game. When a player has an ace in their hand that is worth 11 it is known as a ‘soft’ hand, but, should the player hit and end up with a total over 21, the ace will change its value to 1 to prevent this, and the hand is then known as a ‘hard’ hand.

Why It’s a Mistake: A soft hand is a powerful thing as you can hit and no matter what you won’t bust. This means that unless you have a total of 17 or more (as the dealer usually stands at this figure) or achieve a ‘natural blackjack’ (a two-card hand with an ace and a royal card), it is worth hitting as in the worst case scenario the ace will change its value to 1 and you won’t bust.

Solution: Understanding how aces work is a fundamental part of blackjack gameplay. When it comes to optimally using them during play, use a blackjack strategy guide until you feel more confident.

Playing Based on Emotions or Hunches

What It Is: Emotions are part of what makes us human, and we’re not saying you need to be a robot when you play. However, it is important to be mindful of your mood, and how it may impact your gameplay decisions such as following hunches.

Why It’s a Mistake: Gamble Aware uses the slogan ‘when the fun stops; stop’, and this is the perfect attitude to have when playing casino games. This means that if you notice yourself becoming frustrated or not having fun anymore, walk away; even if the budget or time limit you set for the session has not elapsed.

A good tip is to have a ‘maximum win’ limit; where you stop your session early if you win x amount. Similarly to how a string of losses can lead to a negative mood and loss-chasing behaviour, a big win brings a rush of dopamine to your system giving you a rush that should be enjoyed and savoured and not used as a catalyst for bigger wagers.

The same goes for hunches. We all have little things we view as our ‘lucky charms’ but it’s important to recognise that these hold no actual merit. The reason why many of us have these lucky items comes down to something called ‘survivorship bias’. Survivorship bias is the mistake of focusing on things that made it through a process/event/experience and ignoring the things that didn't. This leads to incorrect assumptions of fact, skewed by the bias towards the 'survivors'. Therefore, while you may have had a really good session or two at the blackjack tables when wearing your red 'lucky' socks, as you wear them every time you play, there will be tens more examples where you've lost when wearing them.

Solution: Being aware of basic psychological elements such as dopamine release and survivorship bias helps you to be a savvy player and spot when your gameplay experience may be being impacted by emotions and hunches.Alongside this, be sure to always set yourself a budget and a time limit for your session, and consider including a win limit too. You can use Spin Genie’s self-control tools, like time management reminders to help you.

Failing to Recognize Unfavorable Table Rules

What It Is: Blackjack has a broad range of variants and house rules can differ from place to place. Therefore before even playing choose the ideal blackjack table by considering min/max betting limits, payout, deck count, card shuffling, and variation rules such as surrendering, insurance payouts, doubling down after splitting, doubling down for one hit, single deck game, or multiple deck game as these factors can impact the house edge.

Why It’s a Mistake: In any casino game you want to put the odds in your favour as much as possible; which is why this article has placed a strong emphasis on optimal gameplay. However, before even playing the game you can put yourself at a disadvantage if you don’t check the table rules and avoid the less favourable ones. For example, Blackjack comes into two main payout options; blackjack 3:2 payout and 6:5 blackjack payout. 3:2 is better odds than 6:5 so if you don’t check this information you’re putting yourself at a disadvantage before you’ve even wagered.Similarly, check the house rules. Many games follow similar house rules, but some games have the dealer hit on a soft 17, while others dictate the dealer must stand. By not paying attention and picking the game where the dealer stands you are increasing the house edge by as much as 0.20%.

Solution: When picking your blackjack game, come up with a short list of a few options. Then, read their game information to directly compare them and pick the game which you view to have the most favourable rules. You can also do a quick Google search on the game name to find out what other players think.

Overusing Side Bets

What It Is: Side bets are extra wagers that players can make alongside their normal gameplay. In-game options such as Insurance, Double Downs, Splits, and Surrender are not counted as side bets because they are part of the main game. Common side bets include ‘Perfect Pairs’ and 21+3.

Why It’s a Mistake: Unless you’re feeling particularly lucky, side bets are just a way to burn through your bankroll faster. We’ve already explored that Blackjack is one of the table games with the lowest house edge, but the house edge of its side bets range from 2% all the way to an eye-watering 24%. Therefore you’re statistically much more likely to be better off by saving the money you’d spend on side bets on playing a few more blackjack rounds.

Solution: It is best to focus on the main blackjack game, particularly if you’re a new player. Focus on getting the core gameplay right and use side bets sparingly.

Mimicking the Dealer’s Strategy

What It Is: This is a popular blackjack strategy where the player chooses to adhere to the house rules alongside the dealer. For example they would hit on a soft 16, stand on a soft or hard 17; or whatever rules are dictated in the game rules.

Why It’s a Mistake: While the theory of this seems sound, it actually causes the house edge to increase as you’re taking away the biggest edge you have over the dealer.Knowing the rules the dealer has to follow allows you to use statistical likelihoods to inform your gameplay decisions. For example, if an ace is face up on the dealer's side (and blackjack hasn’t been achieved) and you know the dealer will stand on a soft 16, you can comfortably stop hitting at a hand total of 18+ as it is more likely that the dealer will reveal or hit to the soft 16 threshold before standing.

Solution: Instead of trying to copy to the dealer, focus your attention on how you can use the information provided to you by the house rules to better inform your gameplay decisions. You can accompany this knowledge with a strategy chart for the best statistical odds.

Not Knowing When to Quit

What It Is: Though simple, blackjack is an incredibly entertaining game; it wouldn’t have survived for centuries if it wasn’t! However, because the rounds are played at the players pace (even more so in online blackjack), it can be tempting to play ‘just one more round’ particularly if you’ve had a pretty successful session.

Why It’s a Mistake: While the world isn’t going to end if you play a minute longer than your planned session time, it is very important to always set a time limit and a budget for your gameplay session. These cut-offs will help you to end your session on time, and not overspend, chase losses, and play for hours longer than you intended.

Solution: Set realistic session goals, never budget more than you can afford to lose, and when setting your expenditure and playtime always err on the conservative side. You can use Spin Genie’s responsible gambling features to help you.