Blackjack Myths Explained Part 1: Card Flow

If you like to play blackjack and you’ve been to the casino to play it’s almost certain you’ve heard some old guy explaining some great theories on blackjack that only an old timer with no understanding of the mechanisms of the game could believe. In this article we will take a look at casino blackjack players’ favourite myths.

The Card Flow System:
There is a belief that the Card Flow will mean everybody wins at the table consistently over time if you don’t mess with the flow of the cards by making a bad decision. Playing away from basic blackjack strategy changes the flow of the cards and means you upset the balance or the Karma or whatever primeval force they believe in.

Obviously this just isn’t correct, this works in the theorists mind because they remember times when they have lost because of a bad decision from another player but forget when a bad decision has made them money. This is basic utility theory in that something lost that you think you should have carries a greater utility than something gained that you thought you would get anyway. Essentially you put a higher price on something you have lost then something you have.

It is also a by-product of analysing after the event when results are concrete rather than in the hypothetical world that surrounds the decision in the present. Whilst a range of cards can be expected when you make the decision, after the decision is made the cards are definite and you have either won or lost.

Don’t allow a theory like card-flow to affect your blackjack whether you are playing online blackjack or casino blackjack, play the basic strategy and this way you will cut the house edge by as much as possible.