We all know what a double down is, don't we? Let's review: You're playing blackjack, you get a 6 and a 5. The dealer has a 6 showing. Now, let's look at the odds. Every 52 card deck has 28 cards that would make your 11 a good blackjack hand. There are four 7s, four 8s, four 9s, four 10s and 12 face cards. All of those cards give you a 17 or better. That's a better than 50/50 chance you will get a good card.
On the other side of the coin, those same odds work in favor of you with regard to hurting the dealer's hand. The odds are better than 50/50 that he will have a card in the hole (the dealer's facedown card) that gives the dealer a 16, 15, 14, or 13. Then the odds are better than 50/50 that the next card the dealer draws will bust him (the same 7, 8, 9, 10, or face card that helps you will kill his hand).
All of these factors give you an excellent chance of winning your hand. So, what do you do? You use the greatest gift ever given to a bettor in Las Vegas: The Double Down! You double you existing bet, and you get one card. Odds are it will help your hand. You then wait for the dealer's cards to come up and as we have discovered, odds are his hand will be destroyed with their card. So you've doubled your winnings.
As you can see, in blackjack, the double down is a great opportunity to win extra money when the odds are with you. But, in betting sports at a sports book, some gamblers fall into a trap of doubling down in a very different way. After a series of losses, they will pick one game and load up on it trying to break even and climb out of hteir hole. By using the opposite of good money management skills, they have a 50/50 shot of actually doubling their losses in stead of doubling their winnings.
In blackjack, you only double your bet in those instances when all of the odds are working in your favor. This makes a very smart wager. But chasing a losing trend with a giant bet, trying to go "double or nothing" is a loser's bet and defies logic. And yet, you see it every day .
Wise money management habits in sports betting dictate that reasonable wagers in the same monetary unit for your wagers is the best way to minimize exposure to risk and maximize potential winnings. The only time you should increase your bets is after a winning pattern emerges and you have a bank of winnings to draw off of.
Conversely, the only wise betting pattern you should establish after a string of losses, is to reduce the amounts of the units you are betting until a winning trend emerges.
Doubling down is a great idea in blackjack, it is disastrous when
betting sports .
Lawrence O'Connor is an avid sports fan and blogger. He only bets in Vegas and only a couple of times a year. His
betting sports blog and podcast are updated daily.
Friday, February 29, 2008
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