Most blackjack players aren’t rolling into the best online casinos with a thousand bucks or more to put toward a 12-hour marathon. They’re there to try their luck, maybe having studied up on the game a bit, for an hour or two. It’s not a job, but a hobby, a test to see if they can double their money once in a while.
If that’s you, you’re probably wondering how much you need to bring as an absolute minimum to the tables. This great question, of course, depends on a few factors.
First, what table stakes are you looking at? If you’re a beginner, and you can find $5 tables, that should be your first stop. And you’ll be able to last for at least an hour with no more than $100. That’s all you’ll need. Don’t increase your bet after winning or losing a significant percentage, though. You have to resist that temptation. If you keep the wager flat the entire time you’re at the table, you’ll last for a while. In fact, you might already know that $100 is the most common buy-in at a $5 table across the country.
Of course, the real problem isn’t having enough to win. You can do that with $20. The challenge comes from having lost too much to walk away when it’s all gone. This is another trap the novice player must be aware of. If you commit to only bringing a certain amount of money to the table, that means you’re done when it’s gone. And if you’re goal is to double your money, you’re done if you achieve that goal, as well. The hardest thing to do in either case is walk away from the table, but if you’re asking how much you “need” to last for a while, win or lose, walking away is exactly what you must do at the end of that time.
If you’re sitting at the $25 USA online casino tables, looking to make some money with a set strategy and goal in mind, play to bring at least $500. That should be enough to weather any ups and downs and give you enough bankroll to stay in the game long enough to go up $200, $300 or whatever you goal is. Even at $500, that’s only 20 hands if you keep your bets flat and avoid doubling down, two things you’re not likely to do at a game with the stakes that high. So, think of $500 as an absolute minimum, and $1,000 as a comfortable spot to start at if you want to last more than 2 hours.