Card Counting in Blackjack
Blackjack is arguably the most popular card game found at online casinos – only poker can boast a higher level of popularity. Hence, it’s no surprise that strategies and techniques such as card counting for blackjack are being practised even by casual gamblers with a basic knowledge of the matter. In this article, we will answer all the main questions about card counting strategies for online and live blackjack, including:
- Is card counting legal?
- What is Hi Lo card counting?
- What is True Count?
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Card Counting Blackjack
One of the most popular card games in any casino, live blackjack has been our favourite table game for over a decade. But like anything in life, for some reason we enjoy it just that little bit more when we succeed and win. By implementing a strategy like card counting blackjack odds will certainly creep back towards your favour.
Counting cards is not memorising all the cards that have come out of the shoe so you know which are left. If you can do that, stop reading this and start playing, immediately. You are a god, and will be filthy rich with many husbands.
What Blackjack is Really About
On the contrary, blackjack counting is more about recognising the slight shift in advantage that the shoe holds, be it towards you or the dealer. By knowing if the shoe has a higher or lower percentage of 10 value cards and aces, you can adjust your betting accordingly to shift the odds in your favour.
Please note: this is not a get rich quick scenario. This is also not recommended for someone who lacks the interest in blackjack either. Card counting blackjack is a strategy for players who love the game, play it a lot but are looking to get a little more back from some effort they will put it.
How Exactly Does Counting Cards Work?
Generally known as hi lo card counting, there are a few different strategies but we’re going to focus on the most popular which is also easier to get your head around. Just like in blackjack, we’re going to group the cards mentally into those with a value of 10, and those that aren’t. The tens are as follows:
- Ten
- Jack
- Queen
- King
And as the ace holds a greater value to us, being both 11 and 1, we will also add this to our group which is our good cards. Good cards are what we want to be left so it’s a negative thing for us every time one leaves the shoe. So we give these cards a value of -1.
Bad Cards
We then have our bad cards. These are the cards that we don’t want to have in our shoe. They have low value to us and will increase the odds of the dealer winning, so we give these a value of +1. Plus because it’s a positive thing for us that the low cards have left the shoe. They are as follows:
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
The Remaining Cards
Lastly, we have the remaining cards that are on the fence. They aren’t particularly good for us, but by no means are they as worthless as the above, so we give these three cards a zero value:
- 7
- 8
- 9
By committing these values to memory, you’ll soon be able to rattle them off at speed and at random, which is exactly how these cards will come out of the shoe. So, every time a 2,3,4,5 or 6 is dealt, we add 1 to our running total for the shoe. Every time we hit a good card, 10, J, Q, K or Ace, we -1 to our total. We don’t count anything for the 7,8 or 9. As the average shoe contains 8 decks of cards, this running total is a simple way for us to know if the odds are with us (low) or with the dealer (high). With this knowledge we can bet accordingly.
Advanced Card Counting: The True Count
The next step is to use this running total slightly more to your advantage by taking into account how many cards are left in the shoe. You don’t need to know exactly and generally in hi lo card counting, we just estimate by deck. This is where the so called true count blackjack strategy kicks in.
The thing is, if you have a running count of +5 but there are still 5 decks left in the shoe, things can quickly go down hill for us. Technically, there is only one extra high card for every deck left, which isn’t good odds. Whereas if that +5 was there with only 1 deck left, those are far better odds for us. That means there is 5 extra cards in that deck that will help us. It’s these tiny differences that we need in order to make this strategy work.
How True Count Divides the Running Total
The true count then divides your running total by how many decks are left in the shoe. If are running total is 5 with 5 decks left, our true count is +1 which isn’t great. If we had -7 with 2 decks left, that would make it -3.5 which is terrible. It’s like someone removes 3 and a half good cards from our deck and expects us to start betting. The true count is important because card counting blackjack professionals don’t care about how many good cards are in the shoe but their concentration. We need to know that the odds of those good cards coming out is high to then increase our betting and our chances of winning.
Card Counting Blackjack: Is It Important?
Think about what you enjoy doing in life? If you enjoy swimming, will you get more enjoyment out of it if you’re a little fitter or have a better technique? Or you like to listen to music. Would having more records in your collection, or just better sounds, improve that experience? For players that already find blackjack a great pastime, blackjack counting is only going to improve their experience. It will give them a new challenge to begin with but will see them winning more in the long term.
Long Term Goals of Card Counting
But we do need to focus on that long term because, as mentioned, this will not get your rich over night. In blackjack counting cards is a skill and like any skill, it only comes with hard work and practice. If you don’t already have a passion for blackjack counting cards will not be worth the effort for you. Likewise, if you don’t have a mathematically minded brain, it may only end up hindering your experience and leaving you frustrated.
Is Counting Cards Legal?
In blackjack counting cards is known as using your brain to beat the house edge. That is allowed. If you set up a team of people to focus on a particular table, that is now known as collusion and that is not allowed. If you bring a device into the casino that assists your card counting blackjack strategy, that is not allowed. Maybe a little history lesson will help make things slightly clearer. So, to give a short reply to the question above: yes, card counting in blackjack is legal. Some other strategies such as edge sorting are frowned upon but they are not viable to use at online casinos anyways.
Hi Lo Card Counting
In 1962, a very smart mathematician called Ed Thorp, devised a hi lo card counting strategy and wrote a book called “Beat the Dealer” which was an immediate best seller. In 1982, another player called Ken Uston, whom was a big fan of Thorp’s book, used card counting to win a decent sum at Atlantic City casinos and ended up in court.
The judge found in favour of Uston and casinos were no longer allowed to bar players whom were card counters as long as no devices were used to assist them. Working within the law, card counters continued to use their skills to beat the odds and the casinos implemented further practices to counter-attack. The shoe was increased to make it a lot harder to keep track, security surveillance made more prevalent and regular rotations of dealers was put in play.
Counting Cards in Live Online Blackjack
So, although counting cards is not a crime, when done unassisted, it is still frowned upon at land-based casinos – if you play online at a Canadian live casino of course, things will be even smoother. And as casinos are still private property, they are allowed to ask any player to leave, as is their prerogative. If there is any suspicion of card counting blackjack croupiers will start to shuffle the shoe between rounds, switch dealers or remove players that they believe are beating the edge. Remember, the house always wins, even if you find a way of beating them.
Card Counting Blackjack FAQ’s
- Does counting cards improve your chances?
Yes. Although not an easy skill to master, being able to shift the odds even by 1% more in your favour will see the house edge of blackjack become incredibly small. With the knowledge of card counting blackjack can become a game where some decent winnings can be won, you just need the discipline and commitment to learn.
- Is counting cards easy to learn?
With blackjack counting cards is a skill that will need plenty of practice before you will see the benefits. Our strategy of hi lo card counting is straight forward but it does take a love of the game for players to really become efficient at it. Keep at it, continue practicing and you will see an improvement in your winnings.
- Is counting cards Legal?
Yes. The casinos are certainly against it but in the eyes of the law, as long as players do not collude together or use any electronic devices, no laws are broken. If you are caught by the casino security counting cards, they will certainly ask you to leave their establishment, however. As is their right.
- Can counting cards help me improve at blackjack?
Yes, and it certainly helps beginnings to master the skill, too. Not only can you concentrate fully on the strategy without fear of being noticed, any blackjack game that doesn’t implement the shuffling of the shoe will benefit.
- Why is counting cards so popular?
By implementing the strategy of card counting blackjack becomes a game with the lowest house edge of any in the casino. With such a fine line between winning and losing, serious players will take all the advantages they can find to beat the dealer and counting cards is one of the best.
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