Page 12 - Jackpot Magazine Tunica ~ July, 2024

PLAY TO WIN
Instead of losing well, why not try to win?
“Some people are born losers; others acquire the knack gradually.”
— W.C. Fields, actor and comedian
In a recent survey conducted by Captain Gambling, it was revealed that 49% of Americans typically get upset when they lose. The survey went on to investigate which state copes with defeat the best and which state doesn’t.
With all due respect to our neighbors north of us, Arkansas topped the list of sore losers with 83% of residents getting upset after losing a game. Residents of Iowa and Utah stay the calmest, with only 17% losing their temper. The nationwide survey also revealed that 15% of the 2,137 Americans questioned have found themselves in a fight after losing a game.
In Mississippi, 50% of residents cope well after losing, which conversely indicates 50% of residents do not. But, for the most part, it was revealed that in Mississippi, residents express themselves after a loss by staying calm, whereas residents of other states
ask for a rematch, walk
away, or even deny the
loss.
Now, we all know, or perhaps have seen, some blackjack players who have not handled their losses well, maybe throwing the cards down with a grunt or walking away with perhaps a little kick to the chair. Gaming expert Henry Tamburin, author of Blackjack: Take The Money and Run, knows losing at blackjack can cause even a seasoned player to get upset and want to deny the loss.
In a column he wrote for Jackpot!, Tamburin said while blackjack is one of the most studied games in the world, there are still many misconceptions about the game and the strategies to beat
it. He shared some of
the misconceptions
in the hopes players
do better and don’t
find themselves on the
losing end of the game. Here are those misconceptions:
Blackjack is all luck
Nothing could be further from the truth because blackjack is different than all other games of chance. If the roulette ball lands on a red number, or a shooter tosses a 7, or someone just hit a jackpot on a slot machine, these results have no bearing on, and will not influence, the next spin of the roulette wheel, or toss of the dice, or spin of the reels. The odds in these casino games remain fixed from one decision to the next. But, if
Splitting 10s against a dealer’s 6
You see players make this play all the time. They mistakenly
believe that because the dealer has a high probability of busting with a six showing, that it makes sense to split 10s to win two hands instead of one. The bottom line here is that you will win a lot more money by staying on your 20 than you will by playing two hands starting with a 10 on each.
If you lose five hands in a row, you are due to win the next hand
You have roughly a 44% chance of winning a hand in blackjack. Even if you lost the previous five hands, your chance of winning the next hand is still 44%. The only thing that influences your chances of winning the next hand is the ratio of high and low cards that remain in the deck and not whether you won or lost the previous hands.
Clueless players will affect your chances of winning
Negative. It doesn’t make any difference how your fellow players play their hands as far as your long- term chances of winning at blackjack. Certainly, the outcome of any one hand could be different depending upon whether one (or more) players misplay their hand, but sometimes it could result in the table losing, and other times, everyone could win. In the long run, it’s a wash.
So, don’t worry about how your fellow players play their hands. Instead, focus on what cards they had in their hands because that is what will influence your chances of winning in the long run, specifically the ratio of low cards to high cards.
Play To Win Again
The Best of... Series
you remove, deck of the game change,
say, one ace from a cards, the odds in of blackjack will
meaning they do
not remain fixed from one hand to the next. This fact makes blackjack a
beatable game.
Taking even money
Many players believe that taking even money is the best play in the entire casino because you’ll get paid instantly when you hold a blackjack even if the dealer also has a blackjack. What most players don’t understand is that the dealer more often will not have a blackjack, and therefore, if you decline even money you will get paid at 3-2 odds, which will more than make up for the times that the dealer will blackjack and you push. In the long run, rejecting the even money payoff will result in a player having more money in his pockets compared to always accepting the even money.
12 JACKPOT! MAGAZINE • July 2024
THE SOUTH’S LARGEST GUIDE TO GAMING & FUN • www.jackpotmagazine.com