Why do blackjack dealers seemingly always get 20?

[Anonymous]

cards are mixed. cards are cards. so why are the dealers first 2 cards so often a 20? or if they hit, how do they magically find the low cards to bring them up to a twenty without busting? Anyone know?

[slatyb]

Playing with physical cards? That's not possible because the house can't predict whether the players will hit or not, or even how many people will be taking a hand. I expect their hand distribution in the long run is exactly as predicted for randomly dealt cards. They don't have to cheat to win.

Where are you playing? Do you know basic blackjack strategy -- when to hit, split, and double down?

[Asker]

yeah. i've played video blackjack for a million years. Recently played my first live table blackjack, and have just been thinking about it. dealer first 2 cards are so often a twenty, and if they need to hit, they find those small cards. But maybe it's like Barry said. And it just seems that way, because our brains don't remember the times the dealer busts, but the times we get screwed by the dealer instead. 🤣 not sure, but it's interesting.

[slatyb]

The house doesn't need to cheat to win. Depending on the rules, they have at a smal-ish edge (>1%) over perfect basic strategy, and a much larger edge over the average player.

[Asker]

yeah that's what I always say too. They have a built-in advantage, so why cheat? But it do be crazy to see them always popping a 20. lol. But I did notice my money lasted a lot longer on the live tables than when I play video blackjack. maybe I won a lot more than i realized. :o

[slatyb]

If you want to have a chance to win over the long run, you'll have to learn poker, and learn it well enough to beat the other players.

[BarryLiverstone]

It’s human psychology. We are wired to remember pain. You don’t remember all those times the dealer busted

[Asker]

thanks. you might be right.

[BarryLiverstone]

Unfortunately I’ve chosen to gamble so it happens. Smart to do it rarely

[BarryLiverstone]

But if you are curious take a night and Google human psychology and casinos. Like they use chips increases of money as our brain doesn’t associate chips with actual $. Also notice no clocks or windows.. it’s all tied in