The Need for Money Management
Proper money management virtually insures that you win more than you lose, regardless of the cards you may receive. There are players who have learned the correct BS as found in chapter 3, mastered the implementation of a practical counting system as suggested in chapter 6, and have the MBS indices found in chapter 7 all firmly entrenched in their minds, but they still fail to make much money from the game. Poor money management is generally responsible; there is far more to blackjack than merely playing your hands correctly. Incorporating smart money management into your game is essential if you want to end up ahead in the long run.
An expression of my late father comes to mind, which is relevant here. Regarding any game his philosophy was “If you don’t play to win, you deserve to lose!” Winning at blackjack is very much a matter of attitude, too. You must have the desire to win, know that you can win, and be determined to remain a winner, or you not only will lose, but you should lose. You must be serious about beating this game; the proof is in your hands right now. If you didn’t care whether you won or lost you wouldn’t be reading this blog.
Unless you aspire to be a professional blackjack player, you will likely play the game primarily for entertainment rather than to make huge amounts of money from it. This does not imply, however, that you should not be playing to win. Many players think of their winnings as “the casino’s money,” and adopt a cavalier attitude toward them. This is exactly how the casinos want you to feel. It’s one of the reasons they insist upon selling you chips to use in the first place. Psychologically, chips are not real money and certainly not your money, since they have the casino’s name stamped into them. Nothing could be further from the truth. Always keep in mind that the chips you win represent real dollars in your pocket. They are equivalent to money in the bank your bank.
Once they are up money from playing blackjack, most people just hand it all back to the casinos again. Instead of this, learn to consciously consider any gains that you make as your money, the same as the stuff in your wallet. You had to risk your hard-earned “folding green” to earn it. It is not “found money” with which you should play recklessly; rather, any amount that you win immediately forms part of your total blackjack bankroll. Guard those little black chips just as you would $100 bills. Learning how to protect them properly is an integral part of money management.
Incorporating the money management advice found on the following pages will establish you firmly as a consistent winner. It is based on scientific and mathematically sound approaches, which few players know and even fewer follow.
