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Blackjack is a staple of any good casino.

Be it an online casino or one in the middle of a thriving Las Vegas street, blackjack and casinos just go hand in hand.

The fairly simple card game is nothing short of a global phenomenon, dating back to as early as the 17th century and perhaps even beyond that. Known as 21, Twenty-One, Pontoon and by other names across the world, the American version of the iconic card game is perhaps the best known and most played.

It is a game with a rich culture even within it’s playership, as aspects such as traditions and card counting exists within blackjack, making it a really unique way to gamble that is like little else. Like with so many aspects of popular culture, blackjack does not come without it’s conspiracies, misconceptions and myths. There are still a lot to learn about table games.

In this read, we plan to debunk blackjack myths that exist within the public domain. Despite being one of the most iconic games at the casino, you would be surprised how many people know so little about the age old card game. From the aim of the game to the intricacies of card counting, we look to cover all myths and debunk some here in this, Blackjack Myths Debunked.

Counting cards is illegal

We start with what is surely the most controversial part of blackjack: the act of counting cards. 

However, despite some punishments being handed out and some players being thrown out of casinos for counting cards, the act of card counting is not actually illegal. It is not technically cheating, even it does swing the advantage towards the player when done correctly.

However, many casinos have actions in place to stop players from counting cards including eagle eyed dealers and camera surveillance on blackjack tables. So try to count cards at your peril… just don’t expect to end up in jail.

You need a photographic memory to count cards

Considered cheating by some and thought to be an act of pure genius by others, those who have practised the fine art of counting cards at blackjack surely have an advantage. What is not true though is that you have to have an almost impossibly photographic memory in order to count cards.

A myth fuelled in American cinema, in reality, you can practise the technique and in some respects, make it up as you go along. You do not need to remember every single card that has been played to count cards, you just need to know the system and what to do in each situation conjured up.

There are plenty of ways to learn the technique, too, and YouTube is a good place to start, as ever.

The aim of blackjack is to get as close as you can to 21

The go-to description of the aim of blackjack may be to get as close as you can to 21, but more so, it is actually to beat the dealer.

This does not just mean being as close to 21 as you possibly can, it also means not going bust before the dealer does and having a higher total than the dealer does. The aforementioned description is true, but a bit of clever wording that encourages players to risk going bust and losing even when the dealer might have a weak hand.

Remember that your first aim is to beat the dealer, not hit 21, otherwise you might find yourself handing the casino some very easy wins by going bust. Don’t beat yourself, just beat the dealer, and you will be okay.

Blackjack is just a game of luck

There are, of course, plenty of options in the casino in which whether or not you win does purely rely on luck.

Some slot games for example are based on nothing else but luck, as is the iconic roulette wheel with it’s limited amount of outcomes. However, blackjack is just as much about luck as it is about skill. You can bluff, you can play the odds game, you can consider what the dealer has and what your chances are of beating it.

Also, as already mentioned, learning to count cards will give you an advantage, too, taking luck further out the question and putting it into the skill of the gambler.

Picture cards always follow each other

This is a myth based on nothing more that superstition, surely.

There is an old assumption that picture cards always follow each other and although there is a lot of them in a pack of cards, it is simply not true. The reality is that once you have seen a picture card, the chances of another following is actually less likely because, of course, one more picture card has been removed from the pack.

Quite what this myth is based on is beyond us but, then again, it is nothing more than a myth. Like so many others told around the semi-circular table that blackjack is played on, it is nothing more than a myth that should not be believed when gambling.

The dealer always has a 10

This is myth based on the fact that there are more cards in a pack that equal the value of 10 than anything else.

The number 10, as well as Jacks, Queens and Kings all amount to a total of 10 on their own, making up 16 cards of a deck of 52. This means that 31% of cards in a pack amount to 10 which is a large amount, but the chances of being something other than a 10 in the dealers are much higher.

This actually amounts to a 69% chance, with 34 of the cards not being a 10. Assuming the dealer has a ten is actually a very pessimistic if not conservative approach to blackjack. Using this method or believing this method will certainly cut your chances of winning but perhaps reduce your chances of losing big sums of money out of pure fear of losing.