Should you mimic the dealer’s playing style?

Where blackjack really differs from poker is that the former is all about you and the dealer. With the latter, you have other players to contend with and the actions they take can have a huge impact on your game. With blackjack, the other players just don’t matter. What they do impacts their game alone and you are left to get on with your own. As stated above, it´s all about you and the dealer. So, mimicking the Blackjack dealer might seem like a smart idea, but is it? 

As we all know, the house has the edge in all casino games and blackjack is no different. The thing with blackjack though is that there are actions that you can take to bring that house edge down and to get things closer to being in your favor.

Despite the actions that you can take, there are many blackjack players who are left feeling that, no matter what, the dealer always wins. They are then left wondering if it’s worth simply copying how the deal plays. After all, if it leads to the dealer winning, surely it can do the same for a player. Or at least that’s the thought.

To fully understand if mimicking the dealer is the right course of action, players need to have a full understanding of how the house gets its edge. Let’s explore this now.

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Mimicking the Blackjack dealer

How the house gets its edge

The first part of the answer to how the house gets its edge is less than flattering to blackjack players. That’s because the reality is that the house gets its main advantage due to the fact that players just don’t know how to play their hands. Rather than have a strategy to play to, many players will simply make a guess as to whether they will hit or stand. Of course, there will always be some lucky guesses but this will never help you reduce the house edge.

The main way in which the house gets its edge is due to the fact that players have to act on their hands before the dealer does. If the player exceeds 21 they go bust and are out of the game before the dealer has even had to make a decision. 

Double bust rule

Out of all blackjack rules, this is the one rule that gives the house a built-in edge that you simply can’t escape from. Let’s say you mimicked every move that the dealer made and everything else was equal, the double bust rule would still lead to you losing. Just in case you’re not aware of what this rule means, it states that if a player and the dealer go bust, it’s the dealer that wins.

Looking at this in a little more detail, if you did just what the dealer would do such as stand on anything from 17-21 and hit on 16 or less. This would lead to the house edge being around 8%. That comes about because the player and the dealer have around a 28.3% chance of going bust if they’re both playing in the same way. That means that there is around an 8% chance that both will go bust and that means the dealer wins.

Tipping things back towards the player’s advantage 

Simply mimicking all that the dealer does means that you miss out. That’s because players have access to certain options and advantages that dealers don’t. Some of these things include:

  • The player can receive a 3:2 bonus payout on a blackjack. Dealers only get paid 1:1
  • If favorable situations arise, players are able to double their wager
  • Players have the option to split and even re split at times
  • A player can make the choice to stand on 12-16 but a dealer has no choice other than to hit
  • At certain tables, players are given the option to surrender 

Looking at the list above, what would you rather do? Would you choose to mimic the dealer or take advantage of the numerous options that you’re given?

Mimicking the dealer is a bad idea

Hopefully, you now realize that simply playing as if you were the dealer is a bad idea. By doing this you are missing out on a host of options that exist to benefit the player. Just as bad as mimicking the dealer is guessing. Believing that your intuition is enough to lead to a win may see you hit lucky occasionally but it certainly won’t work in the long term. 

Thanks to some truly amazing mathematicians, blackjack is not a guessing game. That’s because they have looked at the probability of every outcome and this allows them to let you know what to do in every situation. This is known as basic blackjack strategy and it’s certainly worth learning. Why? Well, by playing according to basic strategy you can take that 8% house edge and get it down to 0.5% or lower.

Getting the house edge down is more important than mimicking the Blackjack dealer 

As we’ve seen, simply copying the actions of a dealer will only turn out badly. instead, you need to be taking every action that you possibly can to bring that house edge down. One of the main attractions of blackjack is the low house edge but the reality is that this only kicks in when players take action.

Let’s take the starting house edge of 8%. With the 3:2 payout, this is reduced by 2.3% meaning that there’s now a house edge of 5.7%. When you follow basic strategy and know when to hit and stand, the house edge comes down a further 3.5% meaning it now stands at 2.2%. Now, learn how to double correctly and you can knock another 1.6% off. Then get splitting mastered and you can reduce the house edge by another 0.4%. That 8% house edge is now down to 0.2%. Pretty impressive!

Final thoughts on mimicking the Blackjack dealer 

If you want to get the upper hand in blackjack, mimicking the dealer is not the answer. Instead, you need to take the time to knuckle down and master basic strategy. Would you rather play a casino game with a house edge of 8% or 0.2%? The choice really is yours. 

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