Card Counting
Card counting is another blackjack strategy that you can use alongside basic strategy. Both used together can bring the odds to pretty much even, and sometimes actually tip the odds in your favor.
Card counting is used to determine what the remaining cards in the deck are: rich in high cards, like tens and face cards, or rich in low cards, such as 2s, 3s, etc. A card counter will silently in his head count the cards that are played, keeping track of how many high cards have been played and how many low ones.
But one thing to keep in mind, while this is a great skill to add to your blackjack strategy, it is illegal to use in casinos. If you are caught counting cards you can be thrown out of a casino. Some casinos may even try to bar you from playing there again.
So this is a skill you must practice until you have become very comfortable with it. You must be able to count silently in your head, with no outward signs that you are counting, with distractions around you—such as lights and sounds. That means a lot of practice and patience.
The easiest card counting system is the Hi-Lo Count. In this system the cards are assigned values as such:
-Cards 2-6 are low with a value of +1
-Cards 7-9 are neutral and have no value
-10 cards-Aces are high cards with a value of -1
The way the system works is that you add up the values of the cards that have been played. If your count goes positive, around 3, it means that a fair amount of low cards have been played, and the remainder of the deck is rich in high cards. In this instance you would want to increase the amount of your bets—not too high, you do not want to give yourself away. On the other hand if your count goes into the negative, pull back on the amount you are betting because a lot of high cards have been played, and the remainder of the deck is rich in low cards.
Make sure you practice this plenty before trying it in a casino.
Unlike basic strategy, this cannot be practiced online either. Cards in online blackjack games are ‘dealt’ using a Random Number Generator (RNG). The way an RNG works can be compared to playing a round of blackjack, and then all of the cards that were just played being shuffled back into the deck before the next round is dealt. In other words there are no discarded cards.
Card counting online is therefore, impossible. Card counting must be practiced using a deck of cards. If you want to add this skill to your blackjack strategy you will need to allow yourself time and patience to learn it to the point that you can go undetected.
Card counting is used to determine what the remaining cards in the deck are: rich in high cards, like tens and face cards, or rich in low cards, such as 2s, 3s, etc. A card counter will silently in his head count the cards that are played, keeping track of how many high cards have been played and how many low ones.
But one thing to keep in mind, while this is a great skill to add to your blackjack strategy, it is illegal to use in casinos. If you are caught counting cards you can be thrown out of a casino. Some casinos may even try to bar you from playing there again.
So this is a skill you must practice until you have become very comfortable with it. You must be able to count silently in your head, with no outward signs that you are counting, with distractions around you—such as lights and sounds. That means a lot of practice and patience.
The easiest card counting system is the Hi-Lo Count. In this system the cards are assigned values as such:
-Cards 2-6 are low with a value of +1
-Cards 7-9 are neutral and have no value
-10 cards-Aces are high cards with a value of -1
The way the system works is that you add up the values of the cards that have been played. If your count goes positive, around 3, it means that a fair amount of low cards have been played, and the remainder of the deck is rich in high cards. In this instance you would want to increase the amount of your bets—not too high, you do not want to give yourself away. On the other hand if your count goes into the negative, pull back on the amount you are betting because a lot of high cards have been played, and the remainder of the deck is rich in low cards.
Make sure you practice this plenty before trying it in a casino.
Unlike basic strategy, this cannot be practiced online either. Cards in online blackjack games are ‘dealt’ using a Random Number Generator (RNG). The way an RNG works can be compared to playing a round of blackjack, and then all of the cards that were just played being shuffled back into the deck before the next round is dealt. In other words there are no discarded cards.
Card counting online is therefore, impossible. Card counting must be practiced using a deck of cards. If you want to add this skill to your blackjack strategy you will need to allow yourself time and patience to learn it to the point that you can go undetected.