Today we are going to talk a little bit about using how to handle your wins and losses in regards to your blackjack bankroll. What do you do with your winnings once you get them?
I know your first response is to keep them, but stop and think for a moment. Do you really pocket your winnings? Most blackjack players do not. In fact, most casino patrons do not. They will turn around and immediately reinvest their winning in their bankroll.
And there is nothing wrong with this. However, it is counterproductive to making a profit in blackjack.
Let’s say you convert $100 into chips. You are also playing blackjack according to basic strategy. So under that strategy you should only lose on average $5 in an hour, give or take a bit. So you would think you’re then down to $95. But because you put your winnings back into your bankroll, you’re back at $100 if not higher.
The problem with this is that it puts you in the position to lose your winnings. If you are losing 5% per hour, having a bankroll of more than $100 means that you will then be losing more than $5 per hour.
The smartest course of action in regards to your bankroll when you are playing blackjack is to keep your winnings separate from your bankroll. This means that when you are paid your winnings, you pocket them or set them in a separate pile from your bankroll. This way at the end of the night you still have something to cash in. And in the worst case scenario, say you did lose all of your bankroll, you would still have something to show from your blackjack playing.