21 Standard Hi Lo

One of the most popular card counting systems out there is the Hi-Low system. When using the Hi-Low system the first thing to know is that you must give every card in the deck a value. The values assigned to each card are:

• 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 have the value of +1;
• 7, 8 and 9 have the value 0;
• 10, Jacks, Queens, Kings and Aces have the value -1.

All you have to do now is add these values in your head. For example if an Ace, a Queen, a 3, a 10, an 8, a 9, an Ace and a King are dealt out, your score should be -3. According to this score the player will then decide to bet low or high.

A high score means that mainly low value cards have been dealt out. The deck is rich in high value cards, and that means more chances for the player to get a Blackjack. You should increase your wager.

A low score means that mainly high value cards have been dealt out. The deck is rich in low value cards. A deck like that is not favorable for the player. You should bet as low as possible, even the table minimum.

This card counting system is more accurate as fewer cards are left in the deck. This means that as cards are dealt out your count is more and more accurate. Take advantage of this and place your bet accordingly.

The Hi-Low system is not meant to be used on its own. You must always combine this system with basic strategy. It won't do you any good to count cards the Hi-Low way if you do not also use basic strategy. But because you have knowledge of what cards are in the deck, you may stray form basic strategy. For example if you have a hard 16 and the dealer is showing a ten, basic strategy says to hit.

But because you know the deck is rich in ten valued cards, you will stand. Hitting in this case only means that you have a high chance of busting. Another example is taking insurance. You should always take insurance if your running count is +3 or higher. In general, following basic strategy is the way to go. But when offered the occasion to use the knowledge you get from card counting, do not hesitate to use it and stray from basic strategy.

When playing a single deck game the rule of thumb is to increase your bet if the running count is +2 or higher. Unfortunately there are no more single deck games nowadays.

For multiple deck games we must first find what the "true count" is. You can calculate the true count rather easily. Just divide the running count to the number of decks in the game. The running count is simple math. As cards are dealt out of the deck just add the value attributed to them. For example when playing a six deck game, the first six cards dealt out are small valued ones. This means that the running count is a high +6. But the true count is 6 (the number of decks) / 6 (the running count) = 1. By doing some simple math we have found out that the real count is just 1.

Finding out the running count is easy. Just add the value attributed to each card as they are dealt out. The true count is also easy to find out. Just divide the number of decks in the game to the running count. The tricky part is figuring out how many decks of cards are left in the game as cards are dealt out. Luckily enough you can always take a look at the dealer's discard tray. It's rather easy to see how many decks have been dealt out. Now just recalculate the true count according to how many decks are left in the game. For example a running count of 8 when 2 decks of cards have been dealt out will let you know that the true count is 8 (the true count) / 4 (the number of decks left in the game) = 2.

Card counting can be challenging and require a lot of focus. This means that you won't enjoy playing Blackjack as much, but there are easier systems that do not require as much concentration. Try one of those if you want to use a card counting system but find it hard to keep focused and do all that math.