Card Counting Systems for Blackjack Games

Counting cards in an easy skill to learn; however, performing the deed in an entirely different matter. Learning the technique of card counting can be accomplished by reading the contents of this page but that is not the deciding factor as to whether or not you will actually be able to do it. So, before talking about card counting techniques you should understand why the deciding factor is if you will be ale to do it. That depends on the where's, when's, and how's involved. For example, if you will play in Vegas a couple of casino blackjack games than you will be able to see some of the practices employed. At the Bellagio for example, the game was either six or eight deck, it mattered little, as about half way through the shoe, the dealer places all of the dead cards back into the top of the automatic card shuffler's stack, and the whole stack was reshuffled. No hope for counting cards in this situation. A Sam's town the situation was a little brighter, they play a six deck shoe close enough to its toes, but as a standard measure they burn the first card after every reshuffle.

Contrary to popular belief, card counters do not memorize every card they have seen dealt out of a deck or shoe. Card counting also does not allow a player to magically know what card will be dealt out the deck or shoe next. If you see someone take a hit on a hard 18 against the dealers 10 and he receives a three for a total of 21, it doesn't mean that he is an expert card counter, it means he doesn't know much about the game actually. A good card counter is one who understands how important is to apply basic strategy in your game and therefore he will never do such a thoughtless thing. If the cards were to be dealt down to the last remaining cards in the deck, in this case a good card counter would probably know what card is likely to come next. However, in the real world you will never find a game where the cards are dealt like this and the reason its simple and obvious; it would give a huge advantage to even the novice card counter, so casinos would risk to lose to much and we all know they don't do or like this.

The blackjack card counting theory is quite simple and the basic premise is that the player's advantage depends on the ratio of low cards to high cards in the deck at any given time. If the deck contains more high cards (aces and tens) because the smaller cards have been played, you as the player are at an advantage. On the other hand, if the deck contains more of the lower cards (twos through sixes), the dealer has the advantage. Having said that, having the deck in your favor is not a guaranteed win; it simply means that you will win more hands than you will lose.

The ratio of high to low cards plays an important role in all card counting systems. Based on the ratio, certain changes in basic strategy are made based on the 'count' that increase a player's advantage or decrease his disadvantage when playing certain hands When in a deck the number of low value cards is bigger than the number of high cards in the deck, a blackjack player can choose to modify his or her split and double down decisions, since the chances of winning these hands are reduced when a low card is dealt to the player after a split or double down. To sum up, card counters use a betting system, or strategy, of betting their smallest wagers when the deck or shoe is rich in low points cards, since their chances of winning in this case are reduced. When the deck or shoe is rich in high cards the card counter will increase their original bet since their chances of winning are now increased.

Through mathematical computation, it was determined that the card that has the most influence on the deck being in a favorable condition (for the player) was the five. When the deck is low in fives, the player has a higher advantage than if it's sparse in any other card. Logic dictates that, for a very simple card counting strategy, simply keep track of the fives. This is the basis of the "Five Count" system.

There are many different techniques that have been researched and invented to keep track of the cards played from a shoe. Some of these techniques are difficult to master, while some are easy to learn. Here again, computer simulations of the many different methods of card counting have shown that some of the easiest card counting systems to learn are just as effective as the more traditional and complicated methods.

Standard Hi-Low
This system is also known as the point count system and is one of the most well-liked card counting systems. It is based on the fact that a player must assign a point value of +1, 0, or -1 for all the cards dealt at the table for all players and dealer to. Each card is assigned its own specific point value. Aces and 10-point cards are assigned a value of -1. Cards 7, 8, 9 each count as 0. Cards 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 each count as +1.

Players try to keep a mental total or running count of all the cards that have been dealt or exposed by adding and subtracting the values of the cards, and they make wagering decisions based on the current count total.

The higher the plus count, IE: the higher percentage of ten-point cards and aces remaining to be dealt, means that the advantage is to player and he/she should increase their wager.

If the running count is around zero, the deck or shoe is neutral and neither the player nor the dealer has an advantage.

The higher the minus count, the greater disadvantage is to the player, as a higher than normal number of low cards remain to be dealt. In this case a player should be making their minimum wager or leave the table.

As the dealing of the cards progresses, the credibility of the count becomes more accurate, and the size of the player's wager can be increased or decreased with a better probability of winning.

It is important to note that a players decision process, when to hit, stand, double down, etc. is still based on basic strategy. Remember, you MUST learn basic strategy. However, alteration in basic strategy play is sometimes recommended based on the current card count. For example, if the running count is +2 or greater and you have a hard 16 against a dealers up card of ten, you should stand, which is a direct violation of basic strategy. But considering that the deck or shoe is rich in face cards you are more likely to bust in this situation, thus you ignore basic strategy and stand. Another example is to always take insurance when the count is +3 or greater. For the most part however, you should stick with basic strategy and use the card count as an indication of when to increase or decrease the amount of your bet, as that is the whole strategy behind counting.

Generally speaking, if the count is +2 or greater in a single deck game you should increase your initial bet. Offcourse now you will be wondering how can you use this system applied only for a one deck game, when usually blackjack is played with 6 or 8 decks. This is simple. As i explained you the basic of this strategy, in a game with 4, 6 or more decks you need to calculate a 'true count' from your running count, based on the number of decks that appear to be remaining in the shoe. The true count has the following equation:

To determine the true count, divide your running count by the number of decks left. Say you have a running count of +6, and there seem to be about 2 decks left, your true count is 6 / 2 or 3. If your true count is three, you should bet 2 times your base amount. The dealer may shuffle before all four of those remaining decks have been played, but for true count conversion that doesn't matter.

Informal Card Counting
This card counting system it doesn't take a lot of concentration or mathematical calculations, and demands little use of your memory. This is a system that you should always use if you are not using a strict card counting system like the Hi-Low system. However, informal card counting won't guarantee winners for you on every hand, but it will give you a slight advantage.

Since we already know that a deck rich in high card brings an advantage to the player, all you need to do is to casually observe the flow of the cards dealt from a deck or shoe. So, if you play a blackjack shoe game and you see that after a couple of hands only very few high cards were played, you are in a situation where the next hand is most likelly to be good for the player. Consequently, you increase your bet.

The key to this system is to look for extremes. The absence or predominance of exposed high cards is easily noticeable by casual observation. Often you will play several hands where the mix of face cards and low value cards are relatively even. But when you see a noticeable absence of high value cards you should increase your next wager.

Shuffle tracking
This method is based on the observation that cards tend to "cluster" in certain parts of a multi deck shoe, and that the shuffling of the cards at the conclusion of a shoe can be tracked by a player so that he can determine which portions of the next shoe will be high in player friendly cards. A breakdown of this method follows.

When playing a new shoe make note of the flow of cards while mentally dividing the shoe into sections equal to one deck.

Now you need to observe which portions of each section that are high in Aces and ten-point cards.

Rate each section as being rich or poor in high cards and then make note of how the cards are placed in the discard box.

At the end of each shoe, watch how the dealer shuffles the new shoe. Keep track of where the clusters of high cards are located, and where they will surface in the dealing of the next shoe. Have fun with that. I just give the information, I don't make it up.

When playing this next shoe, increase your wager when you reach those sections of the shoe that are rich in high point cards, and decrease your wager when the deck is rich in low point cards.