As an avid hobbyist and student of the game of blackjack for the last year or so, I’ve come to see that, like so many other things one studies, there is a whole universe inside the simple game of “21″. As with other endeavors, looking deep into the game of blackjack we find mirrors reflecting pieces our own image looking back at us. Do we like what we see there? By learning and improving at blackjack, can we learn to improve ourselves? The answer is yes! Some may be surprised that a casino game can offer opportunities for self-knowledge, growth and improvement but it certainly does.
I’ve always been good with numbers, and I’ve always been a very fast learner. Thus the basics and the math of the game came easily to me. However, like many, I’ve had times of struggle with discipline, obsessiveness, stubbornness, ego, alchohol and greed! Mastering technical aspects of the game is the relatively easy part - it’s weaknesses in these psychological aspects that can determine if you are a real loser at blackjack, a break-even player that can have some great fun on vacation and earn comps, or maybe one of the very rare winners that actually shows a profit. Certainly the casinos count on these non-numeric weaknesses in those few who are even willing to learn the details of basic strategy and can play a relatively even game with the dealers. That’s fine with me. Looking at the “big picture” I can say that is certainly fair on their part and any failure on my part to identify and correct these “off the felt” weaknesses in my game is not their concern. I’m a big boy, and one of the things I love about Vegas is the libertarian attitude there. A casino doesn’t pretend to be your Mom or your babysitter, they want to get you drunk and take all of your money that you’ll let them take and call it entertainment. That’s their job and we should all be grown up enough to know that!
Oh, I’m not saying it’s not fun and entertaining and friendly. That’s another thing I love about blackjack, it can and should be like a gentlemanly (or ladylike), friendly, knife fight in a back alley! You want their money, they want your money, you both know that and you have an agreed upon (vicious) set of rules to engage in competition for the cash. Who has a weak card or cards showing? Well you better darn well expect the other side of the table to kick the weak one when they are down. That’s the whole nature of the game. The player has to move first, without knowing the dealer’s down card. Do you have a weak hand? Well, the dealer can sit with a 6 down and a ten up, just waiting for you to bust out against that ten. On the other side of the table, if the dealer shows that 6, you can split, re-split, double down, and just pile chips onto them when they show the slightest weakness. That’s the only way to stay close to even with the house. You just pray they don’t reveal that hole card is a 5 !!! And, sure enough about 42% of the time, they will bust when showing a 6. But don’t worry! The casino is only too happy to numb you out with all the free booze of your choice that you can drink! 
When faced with a vicious and brutal game like this, with your own personal bankroll on the line, the emotional and psychological aspects of the game can really make the difference between a good trip to Vegas and a depressing bummer of a trip that has cost you thousands. Let’s look at some of the things other than the strategy and math of the game that can really dig into your wallet. Perhaps you are adept at denying your own foibles and weaknsses in life - but it’s difficult to obscure or deny personal weaknesses that affect your blackjack game - the chips don’t lie! Observing and overcoming, or at least controlling, these weaknesses in your blackjack game can lead to improvements in your life off the felt!
- Laziness/”Sloth”
“Laziness travels so slowly that poverty soon overtakes him.”
- Benjamin Franklin
Ol’ Ben knew this to be true over 200 years ago and nowhere is the truth of his pithy quote better revealed that at the blackjack table. Not studying and understanding the basic strategies for blackjack, yet expecting to play the game without severe losses, is beyond my comprehension. This is one problem that I personally don’t have, but I can say that in the time I’ve spent at the tables, I’m amazed at the obvious lack of knowledge or study on the part of so many players, and yes, even dealers! It’s not that hard, folks. Study the game and learn the strategy before you put your hard-earned cash on that felt, or kiss it goodbye without a chance. We’ll soon have a complete basic strategy guide to all blackjack versions on this site, and there are some other great sites already out there like the wizard of odds and blackjackinfo.
“The more I practice, the luckier I get.”
- Gary Player
You should practice “for fun” blackjack online, or with a couple of decks on your desk or table at home, before you ever risk real money in a real casino. Practice until you have that basic strategy down cold. If, for whatever reason, you don’t believe the basic strategy is correct, deal out the hands yourself over and over and test the theory for yourself - you’ll find it holds up to experimental verification.
- Fear
I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.
Frank Herbert - Dune (1965) - “Bene Gesserit Litany Against Fear”
You’ve got two 8’s looking at a dealer 10 up. What do you do? Many players FEAR that dealer 10 up. Psychologically, we tend to remember hurt and loss more powerfully than feelings of elation and victory. Thus we tend to assume that the dealer has that ten waiting in the hole, remembering all the times this has happened more clearly that all the times it did not happen. In truth, simple mathematics shows us that there are 16 out of the 52 possible cards that are ten values, thus about 31-32% of the time the dealer will have a ten in the hole.
So the fearful think, “Why break up those 8’s and get burned twice when the dealer rolls over that 20? Won’t I just lose twice as much?”
There is no doubt that is going to happen at times. You’re stuck in a weak situation to begin with, and there is nothing you can do now but make the best play with the cards you’re dealt. Face it - don’t fear it - you’re going to lose more than you win when you split 8’s against a 10.
It’s not a winning move, it’s a very important lose less move. Starting with an 8 is a much stronger hand that starting the 16, your weakest possible hand. By splitting those 8s and starting stronger, twice, you’ll find that you lose only about half as much money by splitting the 8’s as you would have by trying to play that weak 16.
Lose the fear - yes, you are most likely going to lose in this situation. Accept that, it’s already a done deal. But don’t let your fear make you lose twice as much by not splitting those 8’s!
Here is another “fearful” situation. You’ve noticed that a great many smaller cards have been coming out of the deck for several hands. You think, “I should probably increase my bet, since I expect big cards that are good for me as a player to be coming out.” You increase your bet, and you lose, yet still with mostly smaller cards showing on the table. You put down another big bet, and you lose again, yet you are starting to see those expected 10’s and aces coming out. Do you fear losing again because you’ve done the right thing and lost twice in a row? NO! You put down those bigger bets until the mini-storm of paint and aces is over. Maybe you will lose ALL of your bigger bets! It happens all the time! Maybe the dealer or another player will get that blackjack that is sure to show up, and not you! DON’T be afraid, DON’T back down. Push out those chips and try your best to scoop up some larger wins. It’s the only chance you have to keep even with the casino. “Fear is the little killer” - and when you back down to a minimum bet, inevitably you’ll get that natural that could’ve paid off that larger bet at 3:2 and then your FEAR will be replaced by PAIN and LOSS!!
Conversely, this leads to another lesson - don’t play with the rent money - if you’re playing with “scared money” that you can’t risk comfortably, then you shouldn’t be playing. Period.
There is a flipside to this that must be recognized. Sometimes a little fear can be a good thing, as we can see in the section below on pride, arrogance and ego. “Don’t be afraid” doesn’t mean “beat your head into a solid brick wall like a fool!”
- Weakness for drink / inebriation
Drunkenness is nothing but voluntary madness. - Seneca
Wine gives courage and makes men more apt for passion. - Ovid
Folks, you can ask Larry Long himself, I sure do like my whiskey and tequila. And they will give me the good stuff, for free, at the blackjack table - as much as I want!
Now, I wonder why the casinos are being SO-O-O nice as to give all their guests as much of their favorite poison as they want? Could it be …. profitable for them to do this??
I’ve definetely had nights where my losses were recompensated to me in bottles of crown royal and Sauza! And I’ve had a lot of fun with drunken new friends in Vegas - it’s amazing what some high quality booze and joint competition against the casino can do for sociability. So I know that of which I speak here.
Look, a little alcohol and fun is just fine in the pit. It’s supposed to be fun, even if you are trying to be the best blackjack player you know how to be and it’s your money on the line. And there is no doubt that a bit of alcohol can give you some “liquid courage” to put down those bigger bets, take those risks, and shrug off the inevitable ups and downs of the emotional roller coaster that is blackjack. A little alcohol can ad to the fun and excitement of a hoppping, happening night in the gaming pits of Vegas - have fun!!
BUT …. when you take it too far, you may find that your chips are evaporating just as rapidly as your dignity or the 100 proof fumes coming from your breath.
Alcohol can reduce your inhibitions and amplify your emotions - making the very psychological weaknesses that we are discussing in this article harder or impossible for you to control. Your greed is greedier, your ego more inflated, your risks become riskier, your steaming steamier. Whatever nightly win or loss limits and goals you may have had, whatever your “stop loss” plans to quit after a certain percentage down off of your peak win, your promise to yourself not to steam or tilt, your money management - it can all get flushed right down the casino urinal along with the last 5 double crown-and-cokes they gave you.
There are plenty of places in Vegas to drink up and party down, without having your hard earned cash put at the risk of your inebriated decision making. Don’t drink much, or any, at the tables if you are serious about the game. If you do drink, recognize when you are no longer at the top of your game or your emotional and get the heck out of the gaming pit, go to a club and party on. You won’t feel those morning regrets about your empty wallet and your lousy gaming decisions to go along with your aching head and queasy stomach.
Larry’s Las Vegas can show you the best nightclubs in town and provide you with VIP tickets and passes so you can enjoy a great night partying without putting your chips on the felt.
- Pride/Arrogance/Ego
“Pride comes before a fall, and arrogance precedes failure” (Proverbs 16:18)
So you’ve worked hard to know the game of blackjack. You know the right play for each hand you hold vs. each dealer upcard. You pay attention to what cards have been dealt and have some idea of where you are in the deck and what to expect. Your training and skills are working, and you’ve been winning and having a great time! Maybe you’ve been winning for days and you’re feeling invincible! You have a pile of money in a safe deposit box in the casino cage and you’ve got no doubt it’s all because of your hard work and abilities at the blackjack table.
Then the inevitable happens, but you don’t see it at first. You get that bad shoe, but it all starts with just a few lost bets, nothing big, it’s happened many times before on this trip and you’ve always recovered. You’re paying attention, and you’re expecting good cards to come to you like they have so many times the last few days. You’re proud of your skill and ability, arrogant and overconfident, but you don’t even realize it yet.
You lose a few more hands, and big bets too, when you are expecting to win. You fill in two betting circles with black $100 chips and, just like you expected and hope for, you end up with two hands of twenty. The dealer is showing a 6 and you’re already counting your winnings, which should make up for some of the lost hands. Then, to your shock and dismay, she rolls over a 3, then a two, then a ten - she just made twenty one!!
WHAT!?!? How can this be happening to you!? You can play this game! You’re angry now and all the losses so far in this shoe feel like money that’s been stolen from you. You start putting down bigger bets, taking risks to get those losses back.
It doesn’t get any better, and you’re only winning maybe 20% of the hands in this shoe, although you know you’re playing perfectly!! Just by odds alone, you think, this cannot continue. You know the numbers!
Surely this is going to turn around, just any time now, this game, this casino can’t do this to you after all your hard work!! “Come on,” you start talking to the cards, “what is going on here?” But you don’t walk away - you’re too prideful to admit you’re being defeated. Your confident after all your recent wins, and you think you can recover, immediately, and get that ego stroke, that charge you get from feeling like a winner - so you go to the cage and get some more of your earnings out of your box to fight back!!
Your pride chokes down that nagging feeling that you have about blowing your money-management plans and daily win/loss limits. You’ve just lost a major chunk of bankroll in a couple of bad shoes and you just know you can get it back. Not only that, but you need to get it back - you don’t like being beaten! YOU are a WINNER, by god, and you’ll prove it!! You know you aren’t really playing your best, you know you’re steaming, but you just don’t care - your pride and obsessiveness won’t let you quit!
A couple of hours later, perhaps with most (or even all) of your last few days winnings gone, you finally give up in disgust. You know you have royally screwed up and your diminished stack of cash shows that, beyond any doubt, you are a steaming, heaping pile of stinking idiot!! All that hard work, study, training and practice have gone down the tubes in a big emotional tilt session. Money that you had, that could have used to fund any number of things, is now gone. Now you’ll have to repeat and reproduce most of the winning sessions you’ve recorded on this trip, just because of this one bad night when you just could NOT walk away. Lady Luck had turned her attention elsewhere and you just could not admit it to yourself, thinking that YOU and YOUR SKILL could win her back to you. But it wasn’t to be.
How does that feel? Well it feels pretty stupid - I know because I’ve been through this exact same scenario myself, in living color. On a September, 2007 trip to Las Vegas, I brought along a $3500 bankroll. I was playing like blackjack like a pro, executing my strategies and scooping up chips for days. After about 4-5 days I had $11,000 stacked in neat $100 bills in a safe deposit box in the casino cage. This is not even counting the approximately $3,000 I had spent riding in limos to the most expensive nightclubs, getting private bottle service, and dining in the finest restaurants in town during my winning streak!
Then when my luck turned, I just could not admit defeat and get up from a few losing shoes when I KNEW that I should have done so. At least I did stick to one rule - buy in for $1,200, if that goes put in no more than another $1,000, and no more for the session. But looking back I can see that these were just really, really bad shoes that I should have walked away from after only maybe a $500 loss. I just had too much pride to admit I couldn’t win, at all, against these shuffles - I couldn’t admit the cards just weren’t coming my way no matter how I played or bet. I dropped $2,200 at the Wynn. Then another $2,200 at the Bellagio. Then another $2,000 at the Palms! Now I had gone from $7500 ahead to only about $1100 ahead in just three sessions!!
Well I finally got my head together, took a day completely off of playing cards, and got two good nights of sleep. Then I took $500 out for my day’s play and told myself to be careful, go slow, bet within this small bankroll and see what I could do with it in 24 hours. I started going to some of the smaller casinos and playing smaller tables, leaving when i was $100 or $200 ahead, then progressing to leaving with a $500 win. Finally by the end of the next evening I was back at my favorite $25 double deck games and I ended that evening with $3200 - a $2700 win overall from one day to the next.
Things were going great, then Lady Luck had to spank me one more time to keep me humble. At the Palms, one of my favorite double-deck $25 tables, I bought in for $1200 and lost down to only $200. Fine. I put in another $1,000 and won my way back to $2500 - a $300 win for a couple of hours of card play. I asked for a meal comp and they told me to wait for a casino host to return. “Well, I’ll just play a bit more then,” I said, thinking that I wasn’t really satisfied with “only” a $300 win. “I’m good enough,” I thought, “to play here a bit while waiting on the host and not worry about losing much!” Already pride and ego had worked their tricks and the memory of my three previous bad sessions had faded in the light of my previous day’s victory.
Well, it was another one of those sessions, I kept losing and losing, betting more, trying to play my “A” game and expecting things to turn around. They just didn’t!! To the amazement of myself and the other players at the table, the dealer turned a 6 into a 20 or 21 - SIX times in a ROW!! Still - I couldn’t admit the cards wouldn’t be there for me. I lost back $2200 of my $2700 win from the day before - through pure pride, stubbornness and arrogance. Then I put in another $1,000 and lost that, too. All while I was waiting on a stupid $100 comp from the casino host!! What an idiot!! I couldn’t accept that I couldn’t pull out a win from the session, after all I had just turned $500 into $3200 the day before!! I had to learn my lesson about this at least twice that trip.
I hope I’ve learned my lesson now, and it’s a lesson I want to impart to the readers of our website. I’m a relatively new card player - my very first time to play live blackjack was less than one year ago. So I’m sure this is a lesson that every new player has to have burned and etched into their brain - THE CARDS DON’T CARE!
The cards don’t care how good you are at the game. The cards don’t care that you’re losing WAY more than you statistically should. The cards don’t care that your money is evaporating, rapidly. The cards don’t care how you feel, how smart or prideful or cocky you are, or whether or not you can believe how they are coming out. They’re just inanimate game pieces in a random universe that are simply coming at you in whatever order they just happen to accidentally be shuffled into.
So DON’T let your pride and ego get to you - you may very well have worked up a valuable skill, but recognize, as soon as you can, when the cards are not going your way and get up and walk away. Don’t let it hurt your pride - the cards don’t care! When they go bad, it’s nothing personal, it’s no reflection on your or your ability - or your needs or ego. When they’re going just great for you and it seems like you can’t lose - they also don’t care about that - and again it’s NOT 100% YOUR SKILL AND ABILITY no matter how much you’d like to think that it is.
Lady Luck has to be there. It doesn’t matter if you are the greatest card player on Earth, if she’s not at your side, you need to recognize that, accept that, and humbly walk away. Minimize the losses from these bad sessions and don’t expect that you can turn every bad session around. Sometimes, you just can’t. Sometimes the bad beats just don’t stop until you quit. Don’t chase your losses. Accept defeat early on, and the inevitable defeats will be smaller and less painful to your bankroll.
Recognize that, once you’ve won it, it’s YOUR money now. It’s NOT casino money anymore. It’s YOURS. All that practice and study paid off and you EARNED that money by taking the right risks, making the right decisions at the right time, with a healthy dose of good luck. Take care of it, treat it like a business - if you had a bad stock wouldn’t you sell it early before it wiped out all your profits and value? Think of all the things that you can buy for yourself and your family with your hard earned winnings. Ask yourself, early on in a losing session, isn’t this money you are about to lose one of the reasons why you took the time to study and practice this game to begin with? Or is it all about YOU and YOUR PRIDE and your NEED TO PROVE YOU CAN WIN, EVERY TIME!??! You can’t win everytime, no matter who you are. There is nothing to prove. Accept the loss you’ve incurred, shrug it off without emotion, and keep your chips to fight and win at another session. Cash out and put some winnings in the bank and don’t take it back to the table. Keep it for your family if not for yourself.
On the prologue to this story, is a good ending. On my last day of that September, 2007 trip, I decided that I would take out $1200 and play hard that day, I would overbet my bankroll and try to hit a homerun before I left town. If I lost it all, it was no big deal because I still have my internet and oil income, my rent was paid, family safe and fed, the trip was over, so let’s go big or go broke, then go home!
I went to Palace Station, which also has some very nice double deck $25 tables, and sat down to play a few hours before my flight. Sure enough, I immediately dropped $500!! Luckily the lessons of my losses earlier that week were burned in my memory and I got up and walked to the bar and relaxed and had a drink and a smoke. A little while later I calmly walked back to the table and the dealer had the cards out on the table, waiting on players. With a fresh shuffle, I played well and luck was with me, and I ended up winning exactly $3100 and then I quit. My trip and entertainment was paid for with cash from winnings, room and food almost all comps, and I was bringing a nice little chunk of change home to boot. My weakness of pride and ego that had caused me to stay with several bad shuffles when I should have walked had been overcome to a degree and I left Vegas a winner. Just - not as big a winner as I could have been if I had been stronger !!
That shows another great piece of advice for Las Vegas. If you can replenish your bankroll with other income, then it can be a great strategy to try and get in one last good win before you leave Las Vegas - then catch that flight before Sin City takes it all back !!
There is more to come in this series. Blackjack is a great way to learn a lot about yourself and to defeat your own worst enemy - yourself!
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