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THE GRACIOUS GAMBLER:
Style Can Be a Strategy For
Winning at Blackjack
By Basil Nestor
Basil Nestor is author of "The Smarter Bet Guide to Craps," "The Smarter Bet Guide to Blackjack," and other comprehensive gambling guides. Got a question? Visit
SmarterBet.com and drop him a line.Have you ever seen a player throw his cards at a dealer? I have. It ain’t pretty. I’ve also seen players yell, mutter, curse, do the "psycho stare," and other unpleasant things. Some people just can’t handle losing.
It’s easy to wave a finger and proclaim boorish behavior as "Wrong, wrong, wrong!" But beyond being bad manners, it turns out that acting badly is also wrong from a strategic point of view. It can cost money. And the reverse tactic, being gracious, can actually be profitable.
Here’s how it works. The typical theory is that losing causes bad behavior. Ironically, this idea is particularly seductive to people who are prone to going berserk because it justifies their boorish conduct. A person will say (essentially), "Hey, I wouldn’t be frothing at the mouth and vibrating with anger if the chips were coming my way." And most observers would agree.
But, if this reasoning were correct as a general rule, then everyone would eventually have episodes of shouting and cursing, because everyone loses sometimes. Obviously, that’s not how it works. Some people keep their cool when the chips are down. Others go bonkers.
Moreover, if you watch the "cool dudes and gals" over time, you’ll see that they tend to recoup losses and win more (or at least lose less), while the fire-breathers can’t seem to get a break. Is it possible that acting cool can help make you a winner when playing blackjack? Could it be that simple? Turns out, yes.
Bond… James Bond
Here’s a practical demonstration of the concept using a fictional character, James Bond, agent 007. Note that the focus of this demonstration is not about the reality of the situation, but rather, it’s about our real-world perceptions of gracious behavior.
When the world first saw James Bond in the movies, he was gambling. The film was Dr. No, the year was 1962.
The scene was in a London casino...
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