Read this section carefully, for the difference between endings up a winner or a loser is heavily influenced by your skills in managing your money intelligently.
Money management skills can be divided into the following three categories:
- Emotional Control
- Bankrolling (Total bankroll, table bankroll).
- Bankrolling (Total bankroll, table bankroll).
Before we look at these skills more closely, there is one extremely important point that must be thoroughly understood.
Emotional control
It is important to recognize that behind every bet you make is your money and your emotions, and that the ups and downs of your moods and feelings affect the quality of your play. For blackjack to be a pleasurable and successful experience every time you gamble, you must be aware of your state of mind and obey its needs.
Sometimes you won’t feel 100%, perhaps you’re having a day where your confidence or alertness is low. Accept and recognize that condition. As a human being, you experience moods, and will not always feel at your best. You must learn to recognize when your physical or emotional condition is affected and refrain from playing.
Bankrolling
To be a successful blackjack player, your bankroll must be large enough to withstand the normal fluctuations common to blackjack. Undercapitalization and overbetting are great dangers to the serious gambler. The player that consistently overbets will have larger winning sessions when he wins, but when he loses,he’ll lose big. If a losing streak becomes extended, that player could be wiped out. Playing with a bankroll large enough to sustain short run swings of bad luck is the only way to insure that your skill will bear long term results. The following bankroll requirements have been prepared to give you enough capital to survive any reasonable losing streak, and be able to bounce back on top.
Minimizing losses
Here are three simple guidelines that, if followed, will save you a lot of money.
- Limit your table losses to 20 units (30 at the most)
- Never increase your bet range beyond your bankroll capabilities.
- Never increase your bet size to catch up and break even
It is essential to understand the following simple concept: You can’t win all the time. Rest awhile; you’ll get them later.
Maximizing gains
- Once winning, the most important thing is to walk away a winner.
- Set no limit on your winning sessions.
If your hot streak continues, keep putting wins aside into your “don’t touch” pile. When your luck changes and you have lost the 10 unit buffer you have set aside to protect your guaranteed winning pile, you can quit a big winner.
Should you increase your bet size when winning?
If you would like to try for a bigger win, the answer is yes, go for it—but in moderation. Do not get overzealous to the point that your hard-earned win is vulnerable to a few big losses. Increase your bets gradually when winning, keeping in mind that the more you bet, the more you risk losing. One more thing to keep in mind. Just because you may have won six hands in a row doesn’t mean that you’ll win your seventh bet. You can just as easily lose that seventh hand as you could win it.
A winning reminder
If you learn your basic strategies perfectly, apply the Cardoza Non-Counter betting strategy, and follow the advice offered in this money management section, you will have the knowledge and skills to be a consistent winner at the 21 tables.
Having the advantage over the casino doesn’t mean you will always win, as we discussed, but if you follow our advice to the letter, you should win a majority of the times you play, and overall be ahead of the game. Good skill!
Lastly Word
The theory on betting more at “hot” tables sounds good, but nobody has ever made a living following that strategy. In fact, many have gone bankrupt chasing that tooth fairy. Mathematically, and in practice, only the odds of the game determines your chances of winning a particular play, not the won or lost results from a previous hand.
