Money Management

We all know that playing Blackjack can be a little like riding a roller coaster. There will be many winning and losing streaks during the course of a game, but, you must not let yourself get discouraged. These large winning and losing swings are a fact of playing the game but know that using correct strategy will ultimately win in the long run.

Normally, you should multiply your minimum bet by forty (40) to determine what your maximum loss will be for one session. That is, if your minimum bet is $2, the total amount of money to put on the table for your play session will be $80. If your minimum bet is $5, then your total amount of money to play with will be $200.

Remember that you never want to bet with money you can't afford to lose, which is why I stated in the previous paragraph what your maxium loss will be. There will be sessions when you lose all of it and there will be sessions when you double it. However, you want to learn to minimize betting when you are losing and maximize betting when you are winning.

Typcially, you should try to double your stake for each session, or, chose a maximum win amount and a maximum loss amount for each session you play.

If you reach the maximum loss amount, walk away. Never dip into your pockets for more money (the first loss is always the cheapest). Casinos (online or offline) will always be there tomorrow.

If you reach the maximum win amount, walk away. Never try to win just a little bit more. To do so will more times than not make a loser out of a winner, and the goal is to walk away a winner.

Learn to minimize your losing streaks and maximize your winning streaks. One strategy for doing this that I use is called the "telephone number" that I picked up from George Pappadopoulos and it goes like this:

First Bet = twice the table minimum (which would be twice your minimum bet);
If you win, then reduce your bet to the table minimum (because the odds are not in your favor that you will win two hands in a row). Therefore, when you win the first hand and lose the second, you are still ahead.
If you win again with the table minimum bet, then increase your bet back to the initial bet amount (twice the minimum), and then, as you win each hand, keep increasing your bet by one unit. This will maximize your bets during a winning streak.
If you push or tie then simply rebet your current amount.
Whenever you lose, go back to your initial bet (which will be two times the table minimum). This will minimize your your bets during a losing streak.

From a mathematical perspective, your bet strategy looks like 2-1-2-3-4-5, and from a money management perspective, this approach should be sufficient to keep you in the game until a winning trend can develop. These winning trends are a mathematical fact but if you lose all of your money during a session then no winning trend is going to help you. This is why money management is so important and should be part of your overall strategy.