Blackjack Myths
There are many myths associated with Blackjack and what follows is information that a professional player will likely know. However, dealers and players are susceptible to some of these myths.
Many players believe that if a player sitting at their table makes incorrect playing actions, it decreases the other players' advantage. There may be times when a player sitting at third base (the left-most seat) hits a 16 when the dealer is showing a 5 (according to basic strategy you should stand) and ends up busting and then the dealer ends up with a good hand. If the player had not taken the hit then the dealer would have busted, and everyone at the table would have won (the third base position gets a lot of heat from the other players if basic strategy is not followed). People tend to remember these bad incidences, but in reality these kinds of actions have just as much chance of helping the other players as hurting them.
If the house rules are the same, games that use the least number of decks are more favorable than the games that use more decks because the players receive more blackjacks and win more of their double downs. The casinos know this and they usually have slightly less favorable house rules on single and double deck games to offset this advantage.
Don't over tip. The best playing strategies only offer the player between a 1% and 2% advantage over the house. If you are tipping the dealer one betting unit every 20 hands you are giving away 5%. It is almost impossible to make money when you give this much away.
For players playing basic strategy, it doesn't matter which seat you sit at, they will all yield the same advantage for them in the long run. This is also true for players who alter their bet size based on the true count. For players who alter their playing strategy based on the true count, however, third base will yield the best advantage.
For players who are playing a count strategy, the less number of players playing at the table the better. This is because they will get to play more hands during high counts when their large bets are out. In order to get even more of an advantage during high counts, some players play multiple hands when the count is high and only one when the count is low, thus resulting in a greater number of hands during favorable conditions.
For anyone who is not counting cards, it is never a good idea to make an insurance bet. Many people automatically make an insurance bet if they have a blackjack or perhaps other very good hands. In reality it makes more sense to make an insurance bet if your hand does not contain a 10-valued card because this would be one more 10-valued card that could be the dealer's hole card. Basically, you should only make an insurance bet if you know that more than 1/3 of the remaining cards are 10-valued cards. Many counting systems have a specific true count value that would indicate when it is beneficial to make an insurance bet.
There are almost as many betting strategies as there are gamblers. Many people increase their bet when they get on a winning streak (thinking that the winning streak will continue). Many people increase their bet when they get on a losing streak (thinking that they are due for a win, or perhaps trying to recover their losses in a hurry). Many people have complex betting patterns based on the results of their previous hands. Many people base their bet size on hunches (they feel that they are going to win or lose the next hand). All these betting strategies do not work! In order for a betting strategy to be effective, you must know when the cards become favorable for the players. There are numerous counting strategies that can do this.
It is best not to give advice to other players who you do not know. If they end up losing the hand after taking your advice they probably will hold some animosity towards you and will let you know it.