Sir, Please Don’t Tell Me I’m Playing Blackjack Wrong

For my 50th birthday, I went to Oxford Casino with friends for dinner, drinks and, as they say, "A Wicked Good Time." Everything was great until one person at the blackjack table decided they wanted to ruin it for me.

Like I always do, I go to the casino with money that I plan to lose. If I come home with some of it, I consider that a win. I'm not there to make money. I'm there to have a good time and if I win some money doing it, even better.

I had played several slot machines and was ready to change things up a bit and took a seat at a blackjack table. I don't play blackjack often, but I understand the basics of the game. Get a hand that is higher than the dealer's and not over 21 and you win. But there are times when the odds are in your favor to hit, stand, double down or split. There's a strategy that the hardcore players follow. I however don't always do that and some people at the table don't appreciate that.

During one hand I hit and you would have thought that I made a criminal move with the way the guy to my left reacted. "You don't hit that! That should have been my card!" he said. I don't even remember what the card or my hand was at this point, but I ended up winning and he lost, claiming he would have won if I played the cards correctly.

I turned to the man and I said, "Sir. It's my birthday and I'm here to have fun. You are ruining my birthday. There is no rule here at the casino that says I have to play the cards a certain way and I will play them any way I choose. Thank you."

He scoffed and didn't say another word after that.

So, did he have a legit gripe? The short answer is no. According to the YouTube channel Blackjack Apprenticeship, bad players have absolutely no effect on your odds of winning over the long term. Sure, you might have beaten the dealer if I didn't hit and you got my card instead, but when you play 100 hands an hour, does that one hand matter?

How did I end up doing? I showed up at the casino with $400, played for about four hours and went home with $528 dollars. I wonder how much the guy whose card I "stole" made.