Blackjack Articles

Streaks

There are sound mathematical principals at work, when you’re playing blackjack online. The cards are shuffled perfectly. The dealer deals perfectly. There’s no advantage play, no collusion between casino employees and customers, and nobody handles the cards.

And yet, I’m amazed to see how many people try to ‘play a streak’ online!

Now don’t get me wrong, playing a streak in a casino can have a sound basis. Among the techniques that you can use to determine what a streak might be due to: shuffle tracking, card counting, and dealer weakness or collusion. With other casino games, you might attribute it to dice control (craps) or long-term wheel bias (roulette).

But in the virtual world, you need to be very careful to avoid falling into the voodoo-logic of streaks. Just because the dealer busted the last two hands, do you honestly think it’s a good idea to stand on your 13 against a dealer 9? I certainly hope not!

Remember that logic is your friend in the casino, whether it’s physical or virtual. Hey, don’t get me wrong; if it’s a harmless superstition then go for it. Don’t step on any cracks, maybe rub your lucky rabbit’s foot (though I guess that one isn’t so harmless to the bunny…), or whatever makes you more comfortable. But if it starts influencing your play at the table, we have a serious problem. That kind of problem has an impact on your bottom line.

Some people have actually tried to justify ‘streak’ play as part of a betting system. That’s great, but will that betting system work online, without the use of card counting or other casino related factors? Playing a streak online without regard to basic strategy isn’t part of a betting system, it’s an attempt at hocus pocus. If it works, that’s great, but don’t bet on it working tomorrow, boys and girls!

On that note, parts of the streak myth are two specific betting systems: the Cancellation Betting System and the Martingale system. T hese involve number manipulation that makes you think that you can’t lose without a horrible streak of bad luck.

The reality is, Cancellation and Martingale are both sure ways to lose your entire bankroll. They’re based on fuzzy logic and unsound math. More people have lost their shirts with these systems than can be listed by this humble author in a lifetime. When you win, you win modestly. When you lose, you lose EVERYTHING. You lose your entire bankroll in one sitting when it doesn’t work. What’s the point of stringing together a few modest wins if the systems will bust you in the end?

I hope that I’ve convinced you that streaks online are just an aspect of the randomness inherent in any gambling medium. Don’t play streaks blindly, and more importantly, don’t let them play you!

Bill Ricardi
Online Blackjack Expert