Hold Em Authority - Texas Hold Em Strategy and advice for all levels of players

I never really thought that this issue would come up when writing content for this poker site, but it has.

The issue is this: Why do online poker sites now insist on putting blackjack on their main lobby page, and why have I just now figured out how to avoid playing it?

Obviously me admitting that I can’t stop playing it sounds like a true addiction, however, I have zero desire to play blackjack if it is not staring me in the face. That being said, my addiction is only present when I’m on a poker site. I’ve finally figured out what it takes to stop playing this devilish black jack game, but it took me awhile to figure it out.
This is typically the way it goes down: I will buy in to a $10 SNG or something of the like. I will lose, and then find myself trying to win it back in two $5 hands on the virtual black jack table. Before ya know it, I’m down waaaay more than I should be all because I’m willing to put my ass on the line for a quick score that many times doesn’t pan out.

I\’ve found three ways to deal with this problem:

1. If there is a “hide blackjack” option on your toolbar, click it immediately so that icon isn’t tempting you every time you look at the poker room lobby.

2. Every time you think about putting $5 on a hand of black jack, put that $5 on a heads up SNG. Obviously it will take a little longer to win/lose the $5, but that is a good thing. First off, you are playing a game where you control your fate much more than blackjack allows you to. Secondly, you are getting better at heads-up play. Finally, you are using your time more wisely, because even if you lose, it\’s only $5. You could lose a ridiculous amount of money in that same time period playing blackjack.

3. Finally, if push comes to shove, before you put that $5 on a blackjack hand, spend it on something tangible instead. If you’re going to do spend the money regardless, it might as well be something that can be used on a regular basis.

This blackjack is driving not only myself but a lot of my other friends crazy, and I think that while it is understandable from a business standpoint why these poker rooms are diversifying, it’s a shame at the same time.

Good luck at the tables, poker tables that is.

This entry was posted on Friday, September 29th, 2006 at 12:26 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.