As you may or may not know, blackjack players can lower the house edge down to 0.5% just by using basic strategy. Unfortunately, many players don't know enough about blackjack strategy to lower the house this much. Furthermore, the majority of people make a lot of blackjack mistakes when they play the game. This being said, here is a look at some common blackjack mistakes that you should watch out for.

Failing to look at the Rules - Not all casinos feature the exact same blackjack rules, and the rules in place can have a huge impact on the house edge. For example, if there are 6:5 blackjack payouts in place instead of 3:2 payouts, the house edge increases almost 1.5%. Other rules such as if the dealer stands on a soft 17, or if you can double down after splitting will also affect the house edge. Case in point, make sure you check the blackjack rules before sitting down at any table.

Playing at Empty Tables - Although it may seem harmless, sitting down at an empty blackjack table at land-based casinos is a bad move. The reason why is because you'll see a lot more hands per hour because there are fewer people being dealt to, which exposes you more to the long-term house edge. Now if luck is in your favor, this isn't such a bad thing, but for the average player, you're going to lose more money by seeing extra blackjack hands. So the solution is to either play at more crowded blackjack tables, or visit online casinos where you can control how many hands are played.

Over-Tipping - Sometimes when you get on a roll, you get generous with tips to the dealers. But when you do this, you're losing sight of the fact that your long-term expected value decreases by giving away money. Now this isn't to say you should avoid the standard $5 per hour tip, but don't go crazy just because you're having a good night.

Drinking Heavily - Whether you're playing casino or online blackjack, you need to avoid the temptation to drink heavily. After all, there's a reason why casinos feed players free drinks, and it's not to be generous. Instead, they want to dull players' senses so they bet more money and make frequent mistakes. In blackjack, every mistake can cost you money, so slow down on the drinking.

Not studying Blackjack Strategy - The biggest mistake of all in blackjack is not studying any strategy. This is actually quite common among beginning blackjack players who are only in the casino to have fun. However, blackjack is a lot more fun when you actually know strategy for the game, and use it to increase your profits.