Blackjack Psychology: How We Think to Win

It will help a lot if we listen to how we think about winning at blackjack. It will help weed out bad points we may have been keeping and add in a lot of useful new ideas.

How we look at our and the opponent's play is the meat of our blackjack psychology. But we must make sure that such blackjack mind frame is indeed effective and reflects the real score between us and the opponent.

We had better avoid a blackjack "psychology" which is really nothing but a fantasy to win or wishful thinking, or worse some voodoo technique we've come up with to control a play. A genuine blackjack psychology is scientific, first and foremost.

Illogicality, or foolishness in plain language, is what often emerges when we cannot control a money risk we think we have to win in or gain from. And when there's a dire desire to win and control the situation, there goes all attempts at strategizing and focusing and keeping cool, etc. down the drain.

How come when no betting is involved, we are able to dare any risk and just laugh at losing when the risk proves inappropriate? Most blackjack psychology changes in proportion to the rewards and punishments involved.

Another blackjack psychology worth examining is the fear of busting. Sometimes the obsession to win keeps us fearful of busting or going over 21. Consequently, we often stick to a 16 or 17. When this becomes a habit, we begin to lose the art of risking. We forget that the dealer often do not stop hitting cards unless the dealer's hand is 17 or above. So what good would a hand of 17 do us?

The preoccupation to avoid a bust most times is a wrong mindset to have. It restricts the imagination to risk to beat the dealer. The battle now is between the player and busting. But we can never win a bet against busting. It's the dealer we have to win against if the pot is what we're aiming for.

Busting is a possibility, not just for us, but also the dealer. And as a general rule, to win at blackjack we have to risk going over the target. And sometimes it does happen, even to dealers.

The idea is to think clearly and objectively from start to finish. And this means we have to assume an attitude of disinterest in winning if we want a balanced blackjack psychology that works.