Bad Blackjack Strategies

This is the page were we're going to look at bad blackjack strategies that aren't recommended. There's nothing else I can say with regards to the introduction to this page, so let's dive straight into it.
Bad Strategy 1 - Mimic The Dealer.
Mimic the dealer is a strategy where you apply the same rules to yourself as what the dealer has. Some people have the misconception that if you play in the same way that the dealer does, it will remove the house edge.
This is a fallacy if ever I saw one and I will get onto that in a moment, but first let's discuss what Mimic the dealer actually is in more detail. As a player you have lots of options available to you; you can hit or stand whenever you want6 and you can also split, double down, surrender and get insurance to name a few of your options.
The dealer has none of these options, they just follow their set rules which is usually hit on anything 16 or under and stand on anything 17 or over.
Obviously when using this kind of strategy, you apply these exact rules to yourself. The main reason why this doesn't work is because you need to make your moves before the dealer.
This means that when you're hitting up to a card value of 17, you will be going bust sometimes before the dealer has had to do anything. This is why the house has an edge and following basic strategy is more effective.
Bad Strategy 2 - Never Go Bust.
This strategy is pretty self explanatory really, you play the safest game possible and never go bust.
For example, on any card value of 11 or under you will hit, anything 12 and over and you will stand. If your first two cards give you a blackjack or 20 then this isn't a problem.
However if you only have 12 or 13 then your hope is that the dealer will go bust.
Normally this strategy is used in conjunction with a betting pattern such as the Martingale. The problem with this strategy is that you can go very long runs with the dealer not going bust so it will normally end in disaster long term.
As I said with Mimic the dealer, you would be better off with basic strategy long term.
Bad Strategy 3 - The Insurance Bet.
Ok this isn't really a strategy and this has already been mentioned on the blackjack tips page but don't bother with the insurance bet. You don't win anything for the insurance bet, all you get is your money back if the dealer gets a blackjack.
Sure, sometimes the dealer will get a blackjack after you were offered the insurance bet but over the long term of play, the insurance bet will cost you more than it will save you because the odds of a dealer getting a blackjack when they're showing an ace is less than 50%.
Final Thoughts
Your best option with any strategy is to have a dabble in free play games before you start playing for real. That's something that we do very well here so feel free to take a look at our free blackjack section which has 4 different free games.