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Playing Smart On Blackjack
In order to get a good edge in the game of blackjack, you need to play smartly. However, playing smart is not as easy as you may think. You need to know how to be smart in order to play one. And by smart, it doesn’t mean only being brainy.
In order to be a good blackjack player, you need to have the skills to use. This is particularly easy since you can easily learn the basic skills that you will need in the game. You can also gain a good amount of skills by observing other players.
However, how you use the skills is the one that would separate smart from those that are just skilled. Here, strategy becomes very important. You should know how to use the card skills that you have properly and in the right time. You also need to learn how to adjust your gameplay when the situation needs it.
One thing that you should remember is that learning strategies is not solely by the book. You can learn other strategies by observing other players’ moves during the game. You can also talk with other players to get more info on various strategy. The last one, in particular, is very useful, since you not only get to learn new game strategies but also gain new friends who can teach you other strategies.
Keen observation is also one of the most important skills that a blackjack player needs to have. Often, many players, especially the new ones, get too focused on the hands that they do not notice useful hints that would show up every now and then. A smart player, on the other hand, would be out looking for cues during the game and using them to their advantages. Other players would be often be surprised as to how one pull off a surprising win right under noses.
You should also know that while you are observing others, they may be also looking at you. A smart player would be aware of this and would try to hide their from other players. Here the really crafty player would try to look normal while he is actually concealing his strategies. Often one can use certain house rules that the casino implements, to his advantage. One particular rule actually allows wearing a cap on the table, which he can use to hide his eyes when observing others.
Perhaps the most important thing that a smart player must have is good money management. Since blackjack is a casino game, money is definitely involved. Thus, one needs to be very careful when spending his cash in the game. Sadly, however, many players often get too carried away with the game that they lose track of the money that they spend. A smart player would avoid this and instead chose their bets very carefully and also control their money very closely so that they can still have as good portion to take home.
As you can see, being smart not only relies on knowing what cards you hold but how you actually play them. One thing to remember is that you should always try to learn more in the game in order to become better when playing.
Are you a problem gambler? (Page 1 of 2)
Gamblers who fall in love with the excitement and “action” of gambling may, at first, be quite successful. They have fantasies of further success and of gambling becoming their personal path to wealth and power. Those who are headed for problems think they are smarter than the average bettor. They know that gambling is going to work for them because they, unlike less clever people, really understand how to beat the system.
As they become more involved in gambling, they derive an increasing portion of their self-esteem from seeing themselves as smart or lucky. Because of this, two things happen when they do incur the inevitable losses. First, they suffer monetary loss. Second, and often more important, they suffer a deflated ego.
To salvage their self-esteem, they rationalize losses by blaming other people, such as the jockey or the pitcher, or by blaming “bad luck” in cards, craps or lotteries. Or they reflect on their handicapping abilities and tell themselves they will not make the same “mistake” the next time.
The monetary loss is another matter, however, and this is dealt with differently. In order to recoup the loss, many gamblers “chase.” That is, they continue their betting and increase the amount of their bets in order to get even. Instead of saying, “It’s lost,” the chaser says, “I’ll get even tomorrow.” Chasing losses leads the gambler to gamble with more than he or she can afford to lose, and often to borrowing money in an effort to get even.
Many gamblers may chase for short periods, until they learn from bitter experience that this is counterproductive. The long-term preoccupation with chasing losses is the defining characteristic of the pathological gambler.
Chasing seems logical to many gamblers, as it means giving oneself a chance to get even.
If a gambler stops chasing, both money and self-esteem are lost. If the gambler continues chasing and wins, both can be regained. There is, therefore, the impetus to borrow in order to recoup losses. When continued gambling leads to still more losses, the compulsive gambler continues to borrow. The more money borrowed, the greater the commitment to more gambling as the only possible means of gaining enough money to pay off the debt.
This spiraling commitment to increased gambling often depletes family resources. Many compulsive gamblers cash in joint savings bonds, empty checking accounts, pawn joint property, and take out loans without the spouse’s knowledge. In order to preserve or regain respectability in the eyes of parents, spouse and others — and because their paychecks are insufficient — desperate gamblers see more gambling as the only alternative.
Fearing loss of respectability, the gambler hides loans. When gamblers default on the loans, fear that the bank or loan company will tell their spouse may drive them to more gambling as a possible quick way out. The behavior that caused the problem is increasingly seen by the gambler as the only solution, as there is no other way to get the needed money quickly.