Playing blackjack in casinos can be precarious at times if gamblers are not wary. More often than not, there are short payouts on a blackjack, in other words, cheating the gambler.

More and more casino tables are showing up to pay less than the full 3 to 2 on a blackjack. Most of such tables pay 6 to 5, some even money and 7 to 5 tables are known to exist.
Casinos seem to just be after the gamblers’ money at times; even if they won which is rare, the casino still tires to take advantage of them and provide them less remuneration as initially promised. About 20% of blackjack “21” tables in Las Vegas now pay less than 3 to 2 in a blackjack, Experienced gamblers would only call games that pay 3 to 2 “blackjack”, the rest fall under “21” games including Super Fun 21 and Big 21.

Gamblers should insist on nothing less than a 3 to 2 blackjack. Hence, it is wise for gamblers to always check the felt to confirm and if the felt does not indicate, look for a sign or a board. If there is nothing mentioned on the payout on a blackjack, then ask the croupier before the game starts. It is best if there are witnesses around, so in the event of conflict, the gambler will still be able to get his payout of 3 to 2.

Furthermore, there are also bad strategies that are encountered at the blackjack tables. They are never bust, mimic the croupier and always assume the croupier has a ten in the hole. All three are strategies that will probably never work.

Never bust is the gambler not drawing a card under all circumstances. However, in this case, the player would hardly hit a hard 12 or more, and based all other decisions on maximizing the expected value under this strategy. This results in a house edge of 3.91% which greatly disadvantages the gambler. By mimicking the croupier, the gambler would always hit 1 or less and at the most, stand on 17 or more.

The gambler will not be able to double or split as the croupier is not allowed to do so. In this strategy, the gambler limits him to many of the advantages for the gambler.

Assuming ten in the hole; if the croupier had an ace up, then the gambler assumes that the croupier has a blackjack. More often than not, this is not the case, and will result in a house edge of 10.03% which increases significantly the gambler’s losses on the bets.

To conclude, gamblers should only try strategies that have been proven, or else they might just lose even more.