"There is no such thing as luck."

- Obi Wan Kenobi

 

Actual Screen Captures Of Bad Plays

 

It doesn't matter what the dealer has, you can't make this hand any worse by hitting... and you certainly might improve upon it, especially if you catch a 5 or a 6.

Splitting 6's against the dealer's 5, as this player did, was fine. But then hitting on 15 and standing on 11 were both incorrect.

A common result when 10's are split. You turn a great hand into several bad ones.

 


 

Notice Spadeboy's wager... $2,000. Since the maximum bet is just $1,000, you can figure out he doubled here... on a hard 14!

And again, another outlandish double, this time on a hard 15...

...and on 16. I asked him about it and he says he loves to double. He was doing this constantly. Unbelievable.

Obviously, one should never double on any hard total of 12 or more. I think this is one of the fastest ways to go broke there is.

 


 

When the dealer has a bad card up, let him do the breaking, not you! 16 vs. a 6 is a stand.

Never hit a hard 17, ever, no matter what the dealer has.

Never hit Aces! Split them!

 


 

5's are never split. You have the start of a good hand! Don't break that up!

A pair of 5's are so good Basic Strategy calls for you to double this hand, with any upcard other than an Ace.

This player should have doubled and would have had 20 and probably would have won $2,000. Now if he was lucky he only broke even!

 

 

Here all four players played incorrectly. With the dealer's upcard of a 6...
  • ...after A, 4, A, 7, the first player to act should have stood with 13 points. Taking a hit after this was a mistake.
  • ...10's should never be split and even then that player should have stood with 12 on the first hand and 15 on the other.
  • ...14 against a 6 is also a standing hand.
  • ...a soft 17 requires another hit.

I was so quick to capture this screen I grabbed it before the dealer finished drawing to his hand! So, what did the dealer end up with? I have no idea! Does it really matter? If you make continuously make the wrong play, you will lose in the long run.

 

 

As you can see, Bajan64 doubled here with 12 points against a 9! You never double with 12, let alone when the dealer has a good upcard!

And once again, with a soft 14, why stand? You can't make this hand any worse by taking a hit. 14 points is no better than, say, 2 points. Soft hands cannot bust by taking a hit.

Even if you yourself don't wish to take a chance by hitting hands that could exceed 21 (a losing strategy in itself anyway) at least take one more card here and give yourself a chance of pulling a 7.

You may be wondering how anyone can have -$611,000. I watched Bajan64 play for quite awhile. Not only was he splitting every pair of tens he had, and taking insurance at every opportunity, but he was continuously making plays like this one. Shoot, why don't you just give the dealer all your money by hitting every hand until you bust? It's just about the same thing.