Card Counting

There is a method you can use to lower the casino's edge and make sure that you will walk away from the Blackjack table a winner. This method is card counting. Used in combination with basic strategy it is deadly accurate and will guarantee a profit. Card counting does not mean that you have to remember each and every card that is dealt out of the deck, or that you know exactly what card the dealer will give you. A good card counter has a pretty good idea if the deck is favorable or not and has a general idea what value card he may be dealt.

Using this knowledge of the deck along with basic strategy can only mean one thing. He has managed to lower the house advantage to a minimum and has the highest statistical chance of winning. If you see somebody ask for a hit while having a hard total of 18 and the dealer will give him 3, do not assume he is counting cards. At best consider him extremely lucky, if not foolish. No real card counter would have hit on a hard 18. The chances of busting are far too great.

The question in everybody's mind is can card counting be done, and it can be done successfully? As a matter of fact casinos have been trying to prevent card counting for a while now and they've done a pretty good job so far. Blackjack games today use up to 8 decks of cards and cards are re-shuffled often. There are even automated shuffling machines. Taking all these into consideration, card counting isn't as easy at is used to be, and it can prove to be impossible sometimes.

The main idea behind card counting is that you are more likely to get a ten valued card when asking for a hit. This makes sense as there are more ten valued cards in the deck than any other value cards. A deck rich in ten valued cards can only be good for the player. More ten valued cards mean more chances for the player to get a natural Blackjack and get paid at a ratio of 3-to-2. It also means that the dealer will have a greater chance of busting since he must obey casino rules and hit on 16. The dealer has to respect these rules, but you don't.

So, make the best of this situation. Stand on a low card total if the dealer has busting cards. Or even double your hand or split pairs to make more money on a pretty much sure thing. But when the deck is low on ten valued cards you should be careful. Your chances of beating the dealer are low, so taking a risk and doubling or splitting is just not worth it.

As a rule of thumb you should bet big when the deck is rich in high value cards. The deck is favorable for the player in this case, so why not take advantage. When the deck is rich in low value cards, bet low. In this case the deck is not favorable for you and the chances of your hand beating the dealer's are small. So don't risk it, play safe.

All this sounds easy enough. But how does one actually count cards? There are a lot of techniques out there that vary from very simple to very complicated. It doesn't matter how simple or how complicated a strategy is. Simpler strategies can prove to be just as effective as complicated ones. The only difference is that they are easier to master.

21 Simple Counting

This form of card counting is extremely easy to learn and to use. You don't have to focus a great deal, do complicated math calculations or have a good memory.

A deck rich in ten valued cards (10's, Jacks, Queens and Kings) is favorable for the player. All you have to do is keep an eye out for Face cards and tens. If you notice that most of them have been dealt out, then the deck is not favorable. As a consequence you should bet low.

The main idea behind this strategy is to keep an eye out for extremes. Most of the times high value cards and low values cards are dealt out in an even proportions. But when high value cards aren't dealt out, it is pretty noticeable. There is only one logical and at the same time profitable course of action. Bet larger amounts of money when you notice this.

This is such an easy system that you do not even have to focus very much. You will pretty much notice naturally that Face cards are not dealt out. It is not a fail safe system, or even a very good one. At best you will get a small edge, but winning is not a guarantee.

For more Card Counting resources read our pages about:

• 21 Standard Hi Lo
• 21 Shuffle Tracking