When a still inexperienced player comes to the conclusion that all sorts of subtleties of the game they have already mastered just on the basis of the fact that they manage to win for a long time, they are faced with dispersion, which can often put an end to the player’s career. In this overview post, we’ll explain what variance is, exactly how it will affect the game, and what to do to avoid it.

A Little Matter of Matte

In short, the variance in blackjack is the deviation from the expected payout in the game. The expected payout is the amount a player expects to receive when placing bets, expressed as a percentage. We never cease to remind you that any gambling games offered by casinos have an advantage (even a few percent) in favor of the gambling establishment.

Let’s turn to classic blackjack – here the gambling establishment has 0.5% advantage according to the rules. But such a modest figure is only relevant when played according to a basic strategy by a player who does not make gross errors. If you made minimal deviations from the developed strategy, the advantage of a gambling house increases proportionally.

It can be concluded that a slight advantage of a gambling establishment is much more attractive for a client than, for example, the same roulette. In the long run, it is possible to lose no more than $5 from $1,000 that was put on the line. Yes, of course, these are ideal conditions, the practice is not so optimistic.

What is in practice?

We keep repeating that all of the above data are averaged, theoretical, ideal conditions. It is not uncommon for players to lose half of their bankroll in one evening and win huge sums the next day. The most important remedy against variance is to set yourself a stop line, getting up from the table immediately after the money allocated for the evening was lost.

It is worth emphasizing that the result, with which a player will leave the game, is strikingly different from the previous one, and the differences will be not just significant, but very significant, you will have to face a big loss.

If you’re new to blackjack and are playing for your own pleasure, you might mistakenly think that blackjack losses, which are repeated systematically, are a freak of fortune and there’s nothing you can do about it. That’s partly true – even well-known tools and tricks such as card counting, sequencing and shuffle-tracking do not guarantee a 100% win. Unless you find some dealer error that you can exploit to your advantage.

The importance of accounting for variance

If you underestimate the importance of variance, you run the risk of serious problems, which can lead you to draw the wrong conclusions about the quality of the game. So, you can walk out of a gambling establishment absolutely confident in your professionalism and skill, but in practice you will not be such a master and “lord of cards” anymore. The analysis of your development should be comprehensive, relying on the outcome of game sessions and only on them is impossible.

Science Says

Well-known mathematicians at one time calculated the standard variance in blackjack.

• It was analyzed the game over a period of time and deduced 723 million payoffs in which the player wins, as well as 836 million payoffs in which the casino wins.
• The draw will be in 144 million cases.
• So, the odds of winning in a casino blackjack game is 42.42 percent, the odds of losing are 49.1 percent and the draw is 8.47 percent.

Blackjack is, of course, a game with a negative mathematical expectation. Since the rules include the advantage of the gambling establishment, you will still be at a loss in an infinite number of hands. But if you take a limited period of time, in this case, the chances of winning may increase. This data should be kept in mind when analyzing your achievements.