Which of These 5 Blackjack Stereotypes Are You?
If you’ve spent any Betflik68 time at a live blackjack table, no We doubt
you’ve come across some real characters. Blackjack players are a special lot,
because the game they’re playing is special. Blackjack is a table game, sure,
but it’s a casino-banked game in which players compete only against the house.
Good blackjack play requires a ton of strategy and abstract thought, another
fact that separates it from the typical card or table game.
In short, blackjack players often have strong personalities.
I’d say that every blackjack player I’ve ever come across at a casino fits into
one of these five broad categories:
The Social Butterfly
The Social Butterfly is in the casino to have fun. They
usually have small bankrolls, little idea of how to play, and not much of an
agenda in terms of strategy or winning. I’d say the majority of blackjack
players fall under this heading. And there’s nothing at all wrong with that.
You’ll notice that players of this variety play based on
hunches. If you handed them a strategy card, they’d be polite and thank you,
but I doubt they’d have any idea how to use it. The Social Butterfly is the guy
at your table who hits on a soft 17 while he regales you with stories from his
meat processing plant back home. Social Butterfly players split all the time
and neglect to draw enough in situations with a positive expectation.
It’s good to have a few of these players at your table. They
keep the house happy with their sloppy play and hefty tips, encourage everyone
to take shots, and keep the party atmosphere at its peak. So long as you don’t
get distracted by their boisterous attitude, they’re no danger.
The Math Whiz
The Math Whiz is in the casino as a kind of noble pursuit.
He’s either a really smart guy who happens to have found himself in Vegas for a
bachelor party, or he’s on his way to becoming a professional player or
card-counter. No math whiz is playing blackjack to have a good time.
I’d say fewer than one in ten blackjack players are true
math geniuses. These players have a little knowledge of the game, for the most
part, and rely on statistics for the ideal play. Their knowledge of blackjack
probably includes basic strategy, and you’ll find a surprising number of them
doubling after winnings in homage to the Martingale System.
I’m not crazy about having one of these guys at my table.
I’ve noticed that they tend to slow the game down, mulling over their position
or the dealer’s up-card. To make matters worse, they’re hardly ever sociable
enough for my taste.
The Nervous Nelly
The Nervous Nelly is in the casino despite their best
efforts to stay out of them. You can recognize a Nervous Nelly right off – they
look out of place, they’re saucer-eyed, overwhelmed, and maybe even a little
sweaty. They clutch a tiny amount of cash tight in their hands and approach the
table with anything but confidence.
Almost as many Nervous Nellies exist as Social Butterflies.
I’d say most of the Butterfly archetype were, at one point, Nervous Nellies,
unsure how to play, unwilling even to ask for help. They have little or no
knowledge about casino gambling, much less blackjack. They’ve probably ended up
at the blackjack table accidentally, or because it’s the only gambling game
they’ve heard of before.
We have to be patient with newcomers. At one time, I was as
nervous as any of the Nellies I’ve played next to in casinos. The trick is to
lift them up, so to speak. Fill them in on game rules and etiquette. Talk to
them about basic strategy. Point them in the direction of a decent game trainer
or article on the subject of blackjack. I fully believe in gambling karma –
helping someone become familiar with the game just might extend your next
winning streak a few rounds.
The Amateur Card-Counter
The Amateur Card-Counter is in the casino to perfect or
display her ability to beat the casino with her brain. She’s not part of any
professional network or group designed to rip the casino off on a grand scale –
she may not even win all that much, depending on her ability level. But she has
one goal and only one goal in mind – and spotting that is how you spot this
player.
Amateur Card-Counters can and will spend a little extra time
counting cards and maintaining and adjusting their betting to suit. Honestly,
I’d say you have about a 1% chance of playing next to a true amateur counter.
They need to practice this skill all the time or they lose it – so if you do
spot an amateur counter, you may be seeing her again and again.
In my experience, it’s a drag to play with a player of this
type. As I already mentioned, they tend to slow the game way down. But they
also don’t have the patience or the confidence to engage in any kind of
conversation or interaction with you or the dealer while they work. They make the
table all the more boring by generally breaking even over the course of their
session.
The Blackjack Pro
True professionals make up a fraction of a percent of the
casino gambling population. Being a pro or even a semi-pro blackjack player
requires concentration, effort, dedication, and discipline in amounts that most
people just don’t have. True pros are consistent winners at the blackjack
table.
In some cases it may be next to impossible to spot a pro
outside of the fact that he seems to win way more than he loses. He knows more
about the casino, the game, and maybe even the dealer of your game than anyone
else in the room. They tend to play for short session, maybe an hour or less.
They make a hasty retreat and leave little in the way of an impression. That’s
right – surprise, surprise, blackjack professionals don’t like to be known.
Conclusion
Each of the five archetypes above come with positive and
negative characteristics. Without the Social Butterflies of this world, table
games would be boring. Nervous Nellies remind us to follow etiquette rules and
help us brush up on the game by asking tons of questions. Every one of the
characters above has something good to offer. The next time you’re sitting
around a blackjack table, take a look at the other players. No doubt you’ll
find one of each of the above stereotypes playing right by your side.
