Blackjack money management

Using proper money management when playing blackjack will allow you to ride out a series of losing hands. It is unrealistic to think that you will win every hand. Read through these following tips and combine them with the money management basics that follow the tips to ensure you are put on the road to winning blackjack.

Blackjack tips: The basics of winning

  1. Know and understand the blackjack strategy charts
  2. Play perfect strategy
  3. Properly control your emotions
  4. Manage your bankroll
  5. If you do all four of the above you will be a winning blackjack player. That does not mean that you won’t have losing sessions. Everyone does. It means you remove the house edge and put yourself in the position of winning more than you lose. By following this strategy in the end you will end up winning more than you lose.

    Playing perfect basic blackjack

    It means exactly what it says. Do what the charts tell you to do all the time. Not some of the time. Not based on what happened the last time you followed the charts. Follow it every time and remember this is based on maths, not a hunch. Always play perfect basic blackjack strategy to win at blackjack.

    Control your emotions

    An important key to winning at blackjack and other gambling skill games, is how you feel. Are you feeling confident? Are you mentally prepared to play blackjack? If you are not 100 per cent, if you are having trouble concentrating on things that day, then you probably should not be playing blackjack.

    If you are unable to control your emotions when you lose then stop playing immediately. When you are not at your best mentally, then you will not be able to concentrate and play blackjack according to the strategy that you know you should be employing.

    A positive state of mind puts you into a winning state of mind.

    Blackjack money management

    Your bankroll needs to be large enough to withstand the normal fluctuations that happen during a blackjack game. Two of the biggest mistakes blackjack players make are not having enough money to bet and overbetting.

    You need a bankroll large enough to sustain the short swings of bad luck that you will inevitably encounter at the blackjack tables. You must understand that there will be times you will be losing money. You still need money to keep playing and ride out the swings.

    A player who overbets in relation to their bankroll will win more when they are winning and obviously lose more when they are losing. If that losing streak is extended then they will lose all their money.

    To help guard against overbetting, first you need a large enough bankroll. Our recommendation is to have at least 30 units at the table each time you play. A unit is equal to the amount you will be betting. So if you are betting $1 a hand then you would need $30 in your bankroll.

    Never gamble with money you cannot afford to lose. Gamblers who bring money to the table they cannot afford to lose have a tendency to continue to chase their losses. They end up risking additional money to try to win back money that they have lost. This then puts them at even greater financial risk.

    Knowing when to quit can be the difference between winning and losing in the long term.

    Often what separates the winners from the losers is that when winning, the winners leave the table a winner and, when losing, restrict their losses to affordable amounts. A smart gambler will never let themselves get cleaned out at the tables.

    Your major advantage over the casinos is that you can get up and walk away.

    To be a winner you must maximise your winnings and minimise your losses. Do this and you’ll have more winning sessions than losing sessions.

    When you are winning put some of those winnings aside. For example, if you are up 20 units put aside 10 units. As you continue to win, put those winnings aside as well.

    Keep playing as long as your winning streak keeps on going. Keep putting those winnings aside. When your luck changes and you have lost your buffer then you can go home a big winner.

    If you are winning and want to increase the size of your bet, do so in increments. Don’t go from $5 bets to $50.

    In order to minimise losses, never lose more than 20 units in any gambling session. Just get up from the table and walk away.

    Bet within your means. If you have a $100 bankroll do not start playing $25 hands.

    Don’t start increasing the size of your bets in an effort to chase after your losses. This only ends up with you losing more money.

    When should you stop playing blackjack?

    You should also quit playing when:

    • The other players at the table are really bad.
    • You lose a couple of big bets and start getting really mad.
    • You start chasing your losses.
    • You get distracted by your bad luck and are unable to concentrate.

    If you know when to quit, you will definitely be on a path to winning.