Blackjack & "The House Always Wins"

In fact, Blackjack has one of the lowest profit margins of any game at the casino.

The house has a 50.5% chance of winning any Blackjack hand.

Against an amateur, the casino's edge is actually closer to 2%. But if the player is playing Game Theory Optimal (GTO), meaning they either draw a card or stay when they probabilistically should, it's close to a coin toss who wins the hand (not including card counting techniques).

The slight edge the casino has in Blackjack is surely considerable on a long enough timeframe.

However, sitting at a table with your friends for a night is not statistically significant.

Instead, "the player always loses" because:

1. You're greedy

It's one of the most primitive emotions humans have, so don't take it personally. But that doesn't mean there's not an entire infrastructure built to capitalize on this ancient wiring.

It's the big bets that ruin the player.

You may have won a lot of them throughout the night, but one big loss is all it takes. And it's bound to happen.

Surviving Russian Roulette conveys way different odds depending on if it was played once or a thousand times (see: ergodicity)

2. The casino has "infinite" money

One of the hardest decisions for a player is knowing when to get up from the table when they're on a good run.

• You think you're going to keep winning

• You're having fun

The casino, instead, never makes this call.

So next time you gamble in Blackjack, know that you are at almost equal odds with the casino, try to keep yourself in check, and have fun!