Card Counting

I'll get this out the way first as its not relevant to online casinos.

Blackjack is the only Casino game that has a "game history" and at certain points the odds can turn in favour of the player. Card counting involves keeping track of the cards which have been dealt so you have a better idea of the cards that are left in the pack. There are the basic predicates that make card counting work;

• A player is paid 3-2 for getting Blackjack where as the dealer only wins the wager.
• When the pack is has more 10-value cards in it there will be more blackjacks and pat hands (17-21)
• With a hand totaling 9,10, or 11, the dealer can't double down on a face card rich deck, but you can.
• The dealer has to draw to 16, the player doesn't. If the dealer has been dealt between 12-16 he must draw and is therefore more likely to bust when the deck is rich in 10-value cards.
• A deck that is rich in 10-value cards Mathematically favors the player whereas a deck rich in low cards favors the dealer.

Card counting takes advantage of these factors by counting the cards with a value of 10.

High-Low Point Counting System

There are more advanced systems but this is the basic idea

You assign a point value of +1, 0, or -1 to every card dealt.

Cards 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 are each assigned a value of +1

Cards 7, 8, 9, count as 0.

All 10-value cards and aces are counted as -1

 

Card	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	J	Q	K	A
Value	1	1	1	1	1	0	0	0	-1	-1	-1	-1	-1

For example, if player 1 is dealt 3,8 (+1,0), player 2 has J,3 (-1,+1), player 3 has 8,4 (0,+1), and the dealer's upcard is an Ace (-1), the running count in a single deck would be +1.

So you keep adding add and subtract by 1 as each card is dealt and keep a running count of the current value of the deck. When the running count rises to +2 or higher then there are more 10-value cards left in the deck so the odds are in your favour, so you increase your bet. When the running count is around 0 or lower then bet the minimun. Simple, but it works consistently. So much so that Casino are well aware of it and you'll have to go to great lengths to disguise what you are doing or you will be asked to leave fairly quickly.

So thats card counting it works, but unfortunately not in online casinos as they shuffle the deck after each hand, this has the result of reseting the pack value to 0 before each hand.

Current best bonus offer

Casino Tropez is currently offering a welcome bonus of up to $3000 with your first deposit, visit their site for more details

Learn to play perfect Blackjack

Blackjack has the lower house edge of any casino casino game if played correctly, learn what card to play here