Blackjack is the second most popular card game on the planet behind poker, meaning that it’s followed by millions of players from every continent. Like any casino game, blackjack has plenty of myths and superstitions surrounding it, and for those that are entering the blackjack world for the first time, it’s important that they don’t take any of these myths to heart.

1. Illegal Card Counting

It’s a very common belief that card counting is not just outright banned in most casinos, but that it’s also illegal in certain countries. It’s actually a belief that many casinos prefer that their players subscribe to, especially those that are good at counting cards. The reality is, however, that while some casinos do, in fact, prefer that players don’t count their cards at the table, it’s certainly not illegal, and can be done by anyone that has mastered the skills, although it can take years of practice. It should be noted that card counting cannot be done online, and it’s better to find the best blackjack tables online that offer fair play instead.

2. The Dealer’s Winning Streak

Perhaps the most common blackjack myth around, the belief here is that there are hot dealers and cold dealers, and that any table with a dealer that’s on a winning streak should be avoided at all costs. Most blackjack players will prefer to be at a table where the dealer hasn’t been doing well. The truth, however, is that blackjack is a game of chance, meaning that there are no ways of holding a winning streak deliberately.

3. Progressive Betting

Here, the believe is that using a progressive betting increases the chances of winning, and many bettors will use this system by doubling their bets with every loss until they finally reach the win. For one, this is a very dangerous system of betting, as it can easily run someone out of money as they keep betting on losses, and because of the random nature of blackjack, it’s very possible that the bettor may never reach that win. It’s impossible to predict what will happen, and it’s much easier to just avoid progressive betting altogether.

4. The Objective of Blackjack

The first rule that most blackjack players learn is that they need to try and get as close to 21 with their hand as possible. This may seem like a fundamental rule of the game, but it’s actually a good way of losing more often than winning. The real objective of blackjack is try and always beat the hand that the dealer was given. This is done by having higher value hand than the dealer’s, and it should always be the main goal for those that play blackjack often.

5. Avoiding Bad Players

This ties into the superstitious nature of how chance works, and it’s something that too many players take to heart. It’s believed that joining a table that has many bad players on it will spread that bad luck to those joining, which is why many veterans will either join successful tables or new ones. As is mentioned, there is no such thing as a systematic loss in blackjack due to the game being completely in the hands of chance for every single round.