The Rationality of Blackjack Fallacy and LuckBlackjack also has concepts about betting rituals and luck. This is what experts call mystifying a blackjack win. Well, here are some factors worth considering demystifying blackjack superstitions passed off as blackjack psychology. Some blackjack players believe in the increase-decrease phenomenon in gambling, or what they refer to as gambler's fallacy. A bet is supposed to be increased after losing and decreased after winning. Some mysterious power is supposed to enforce this formula and tilts the odds of winning and losing accordingly. If this were so, then let's all forget about strategy and technique; after all, when we lose this round, we'll surely win the next one. But the rationality of blackjack is that winning and losing all has to do with wit, skill, and luck. On the interplay of these three factors depends winning chances at poker. Other players, thinking to out-smart this superstition, do the reverse: decrease when losing, increase when winning. The idea here is that a win is a signal that lady luck is on one's side. So grab the winning chance while it's around. As the winnings come, the bets are raised. But this is true only in blackjack wonderland. There are times when winnings come successively, but so do losing. Sometimes the two come in alternates. So if we stick to this fallacy and forget about the rationality of blackjack---that we win with wit, skill, and luck---then it's money all down the drain. To stick with the rationality of blackjack and rid ourselves of fallacy and too much hullaballoo on luck, we pay close attention to the following rational blackjack principles: Everybody wins and loses in blackjack and no amount of superstitions or mysticism is going to change this scenario. Winning and losing does not follow any pattern except when the player is too lazy about focusing---then a pattern of losses will surely emerge. Don't be too eager to recover losses. This is the common pitfall in blackjack that even veteran players get trapped into. Some players assign imaginary titles or supernatural blackjack powers to themselves that they cannot imagine losing. So what they do is call on these powers as they pursue to recover losses---only to find themselves deeper in the quagmire. It is important to remember that blackjack is a mathematical card game---card counting and adding up numbers ought to make this obvious. Hence, we should understand that on both sides of the blackjack equation are plus and minus factors. |