Counting Cards in Blackjack
More than a viable movie plot, a Blackjack card counting strategy is actually quite a neat little way to bring the house profits down. Forget about any advantage that the house may have. As long as you can get the cards right, you will never leave the casinos short of cash. Of course, a good casino will catch up on you sooner or later and might ask you to leave, but you will be able to walk away with quite a hefty amount of profits by then! With the growing popularity of Live Dealer Blackjack at many online casinos, the skill of knowing how to count cards has taken on a new found significance.
How to Get Your Counting Game All Started Up?
Why is counting cards important? Mostly, because it helps you reduce the house advantage or edge. Basically, you can guess which cards are still in the shoe, allowing you to tailor your bets and the size thereof to get you the best possible yields. Of course, there are a few caveats to observe as well. To begin with, it matters where you are playing. For example, an online casino would be hard to defeat with a cards counting strategy simply because the cards are dished at a completely randomized principle, meaning that you may not be able to reliably count your cards this way.
However, the possibility exists to develop a tactic at venues where RNGs don’t play a role and defeat the house. This is a true game of skill, which will require excellent mental faculties of you to actually be able to apply it. To begin with a proper strategy, you will notice that the game is played with 4 or 8 decks and anything in between. When you start playing, the probability of each card being drawn is pretty much the same. However, as the game progresses, the odds will skew to favor some and disfavour others.
Keeping track of this progress is what is going to make your card counting techniques a successful Blackjack strategy.
How to Play Blackjack and Count Points
Counting points in itself is not too sophisticated. Each card from 2 to 6 are assigned a positive value of +1. Conversely, cards between 10 and A are assigned a negative value of -1. The remainder of these cards, to name 7, 8 and 9 are not assigned any value, really, because, let’s face it – they don’t influence the outcome of a Blackjack game in the slightest.
So, what we have now is the Hi-Low system which allows us to successfully track which cards have bene dealt and used quickly enough.
Now, the best results will come towards the end of the shoe (i.e. when the cards start running out) only if you have a high positive count – it’s at this point that you can start revving up the size of your bets, as they are likely to yield more. But remember, this only works with a high positive count.
However, a positive count is not all that matters. Let’s say that you are looking at a positive count of +2. Will this be enough for you to make a bet if there are two decks still left in the shoe? We don’t think so! So, the smart bettor that you are, you have already realized that on top of having a positive count, you will have to factor how many cards there are left in the shoe.
Remember, whatever your counting strategy is, you need to make absolutely sure that you completely understand Blackjack rules of play! Thankfully, GamblersBet is here to provide you with the complete guide on How to Play Blackjack!
Is Counting Cards Legal?
It is difficult to say. Most casinos will ask you to leave if they can prove that you are counting cards and most certainly it will show simply because these calculations will generally make you quieter at a table in a casino, not to mention that you cannot break your concentration at all. If you are playing online, card counting strategies are usually not as popular and not as useful so this may not help you much. Then again, as mentioned earlier, with new online Live Dealer Blackjack being so popular, the conditions at internet based casinos have changed.
However, in the places where card counting is prohibited by law and casinos threaten any repercussions you should just play casually, or better yet – skip those bricks and mortar venues altogether. Other than that, you are perfectly safe counting your cards as much as you wish. After all, this is a type of skill.
Blackjack Card Values in the System
Like we just commented, every card will have its own value assigned in the system, meaning that based on the system you use, you will assign a different value to it. In Hi-Low, it’s easy to keep tack of these changes, as it’s quite straightforward. You have +1 and -1. However, there are more sophisticated systems, such as Uston SS, KISS 2 and KISS 3 and the Wong Halves, which are out there and they require a bit more of preparation if you really want to make a splash in the world of Blackjack! Thankfully, you can practice as much as you love via a card counting simulator.
With this in mind, you are now prepared to storm the world of Vegas casinos. Remember, concentration is paramount. Be attentive and swift of thought and results will follow.
Blackjack and Counting Cards
Counting cards is an admirable skill that needs to be cultivated over a long time. It may take some players longer to understand how to master it, but when they do – they will enjoy their newly-found power at the casino. If you want to add to your bankroll and take advantage against the house, this is your opportunity to show them what you are made of!
