Playing blackjack in a live casino means more social interaction with other players, and that has both up and down sides.
If you're playing at an online casino, you don't have to put up with taunts and barbs from other players who think they can play your hand better than you can.
Sometimes there's a legitimate strategy mistake. Sometimes, players make correct plays and draw the ire of others anyway.
In any case, the best policy is to ignore the mistakes of others. They help you as often as they hurt you. There's nothing magical about card order.
Imagine the dealer has 16 and the next two cards in the deck are a 5 and a 10 in no particular order. Sometimes a player who hits will draw the 5 and leave the dealer the 10 to bust, and sometimes the player will draw the 10 and leave the dealer the 5 for 21. There's no way of knowing until the cards are dealt.
Still, other players react to the here and now. If they think your play cost them money, the complaints may be long and loud. If you can ignore the critics, that's for the best. You have the right to play your own hand your own way.
But some can't just ignore it all. Just listen to these blackjack players who shared their tales of adverse table talk.
'Advice' for the Beginner
PAUL: I was at a table with a player who clearly was a beginner. He was hemming and hawing on every hand. People tried to give him advice, but he waved it away, so I just kept my mouth shut.
He was dealt Ace-5 and the dealer had a 10. He didn't want to hit. Everybody at the table told him he should hit it, that it was a soft hand.
I finally spoke up and said, "There's no hit that would hurt that hand. Right now, it can't win unless the dealer busts. Even a bad hit just give you another hand that needs a dealer bust to win."
He paused for a second, then insisted he was going to stand. Other players shouted, "Oh no!" and "That's a big mistake," but the dealer had no choice. She gave a resigned look and moved on to give herself the next card. The dealer's down card was a 6, and the draw card was a 5.
That meant the dealer had 21 and beat the whole table. If the player had hit, he'd have had the 21.
I kept silent, but it set off a whole new round of grumbles. One player took it to the extreme. He picked up his chips and moved, shouting all the way. "You cost me money! You cost everybody money. You should NEVER play this game."
The player kept his seat and went on with the game. I don't know how he kept his composure. Yes, he made a mistake, but he didn't deserve that rant."
Spoiled Split
BOB: I was playing a six-deck game, so players' cards were all face up. The dealer showed an Ace, and I had 6-6.
Problem was, I read them as 8-8. I don't drink when I play, so just a total brain cramp, eye fog, whatever. The groans came from around the table and the dealer even hesitated, and I left the split up.
It wasn't until I saw a 10 come out to give me 16 on the first split hand I realized what I had done. By then, a couple of the players were giving me the business. One was joking, or at least half joking but the other was legitimately upset. He said, "How can I play at a table where someone makes a play like that?" He was all in a huff.
I've been playing blackjack a long time and I know basic strategy and then some. That wasn't a play I would normally make. So I tried to defuse the situation with humor. Remember Roberto De Vicenzo, the old golfer who cost himself the Masters by signing an incorrect scorecard? I quoted him and announced, "What a stupid I am!"
Most laughed, and the one guy at least stopped haranguing me, even if he wasn't altogether happy.
Right Strategy, Poor Reaction
JACK: I had a hand that was a real mess, and I took some heat even though I was making the right plays all the way.
I started with a pair of 2s and the dealer had a 3 up. Basic strategy says to split 2s against a 6 if you're allowed to double down after a split, so I did. Nevertheless, I started hearing about it from one guy.
"Splitting 2s is NOT a good idea," he said. "What if you get two 10s? Then you're stuck with two 12s. What do you do then?"
I said then I play them as two 12s, and he snorted and shook his head. On the first 2, I draw a 4, then a 6, so I had 12. Basic strategy says to hit 12 vs. 3, so I did. Luck was not with me. I drew a 10 and busted.
On the second 2, I drew another 2. So I split again. The critic said, "That worked so well the first time, you're going to compound the situation, right?"
Back to the second 2, I drew a 10, then another 10 and busted again.
On the third 2, I drew yet another 2, and I split yet again. Most of the table laughed, shook their heads or both, but the one guy grumbled, "Glutton for punishment."
I had one of those streaks of low cards and messy hands. Back to third 2, I drew Ace, 3, 3, Ace, 2 to make yet another 12, then a 10 to bust again. On the fourth 2, I drew 5, 2, 3 to make 12 for the fourth time, and a 10 to bust again.
As the dealer cleared away my cards and chips, one of the friendlier players said, "Now that that mess is cleared away, we can move on." The critic said, "Serves him right. He should learn how to play."
I knew I had made the right play every time, but that the right play sometimes turns out wrong. I was confident enough to shrug off the comments, but I did hear, "Do you need some help with that?" on just about every hand after that.
Card Counter Questioned
BRYNN: I should explain. I'm a card counter, an advanced player, and I got into a big positive count. I stood on 16 against a dealer’s 10, and this other player started in on me. He asked if I ever hit 16s against 10s, and I said sometimes. He said, “When is it isn’t the right play? The book says to hit that hand.”
I just let it go. I want the house to think I’m playing by gut, and I don’t want to tell anyone I’m standing because the count says so.
He really let me have it later on when I insured a blackjack. I don’t most of the time, but like I said, the count was favorable. But I got an earful over how I should buy the book and study it, that I’d do better and other players would be happier, too,
I wasn’t going to leave until the count turned. Those positive counts are where we make money. But man, listening to all that was a pain in the rear.
