Let's Discuss

8 October 2024

By Frank Scoblete

Blackjack is a game where people can play silently, existing in their own heads, enjoying the game or not enjoying the game depending on wins or losses, and the people who enjoy such silence enjoy such a game.

With a full table of 7 (or 6), there are always occasions for conversations, most of them cordial and pleasant, but some of these conversations are atrocious and those who contribute to the atrociousness tend to be those who perceive of themselves as expert blackjack players who will not hesitate to give their opinions on how to play their fellow players’ hands.

And these “experts” are rarely experts in the sense that they understand how to really play each and every hand correctly. They will often make very bad decisions on their own hands and these decisions they will then badger other players to make them as well.

I have some simple examples to illustrate my point here. Let us say that the dealer is showing an ace and you have miraculously gotten a blackjack. Should you insure your bet and guarantee a win of even money, but not a win a 3-to-2 payout since you have insured your hand. You’ll just get even money; like a regular win.

The “expert” will assert that you should insure your hand. Wrong decision.

Next you have 8:8 versus the dealer’s 10 face-up card. The expert will just tell you to stand on your hand or maybe hit it. If the dealer has a hand totaling 20 you lose.

No, his advice is wrong advice. You split your 8s. That’s the correct decision. There is only a 30 (or so) percent chance the dealer will flip over another 10. You are doing the right thing if you split your hand. Same goes if you had a pair of aces. Split them all the time.

All right, you just got a hand of 12 and the dealer is showing a 2 as his or her up card. What now? Take a deep breath and hit that 12 of yours. The “expert” will groan and he or she might even jump in to tell you what a boneheaded mistake you just made. Ignore him or her.

The conversation you do not want to engage in is why you make the decisions that you make. That is a road to heartburn. The “expert” is wrong but he or she will never realize that.

If you explain that you know the correct basic strategy of the game, the “expert” will go on a tear explaining why the so-called true experts have gotten everything wrong.

If the “expert” is a real talker you might have to tell him it is your money and you’ll bet it anyway you like. Or just get up and go to another table where you will meet other players who probably got up and are now playing there.

Of course, other conversations can be entertaining or boring or everything in between. You’ll have to deal with them as your inner self would deal with them.

All the best in and out of the casinos!

Frank Scoblete’s books are available from Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble, Kindle, e-books, libraries, and bookstores.