Blackjack – a question of luck or talent?
When it comes down to it, blackjack is more a question of luck than talent. Yes, it requires talent – perfecting the system of card counting and developing your betting strategy around it can take years of practice. But even with all that time, with a system perfected, the sequence of the cards and the decisions of all of the players are what dictate the outcome.
A number of approaches and strategies have been developed throughout the existence of the game, ranging from extremely simple strategies that just require the memorization of a few points to complex strategies that can take thousands of hours to perfect. The correct strategy is more about betting than it is about making the correct call on hitting and standing. Combining these for the perfect strategy – talent – can swing the short-term odds to practically even, and late in the deck, even to the favor of the player.
However, pure luck is what keeps a perfect strategy from ever being able to beat the casino regularly, and it’s what allows poor players to win big even when they play hands terribly. A perfect strategy accompanied by perfect card counting will pay off in the long run, but the casino will still always have the edge that can only be negated by luck. Even with the odds in the favor of the player, they’re still odds – nothing is guaranteed until the cards that are determined by luck land on the table.
So never listen when someone tells you they have the talent to beat the dealer and the deck. They may have a system that gets them close, but luck is the difference between the dealer winning and the player winning. Let’s face it, the casinos would never allow something in their doors where the player could use talent to best the house.