Blackjack And Card Counting Articles | Casino

By: Richard Bleuze

Blackjack is a game of skill and card counting can help you gain an advantage in the game.  The reason why blackjack card counting works is because in the game of blackjack your probability of winning a hand is dependent upon the mix of the cards remaining in the deck.

Edward R Thorp is considered by many blackjack players and casinos the father of card counting.  Throp discovered the principles of card counting and published his method in 1962 in his now famous book, "Beat the Dealer".  His book started what I would call the blackjack revolution.  The book was also instrumental in the casinos taking action to ban card counters. Although, card counting is not illegal, casinos can ban players from playing blackjack if they detect that a player is counting cards.

You will find many different blackjack card counting systems used by the blackjack pro.  A few are more complex than others.  However, all blackjack card counting systems are designed to keep track of the high and low cards left in the deck.  There are basically 4 card counting systems for the game of blackjack.  Know and understand the first two before moving on to learn the more complex blackjack card counting systems.  They are:

KO Count
Hi-Lo Count
Hi-Opt I Count
Hi-Opt II Count

Before you can successfully apply a blackjack card counting strategy to your blackjack game you need to understand how card counting works.  Basically, you want to keep track of every single card dealt, so that you can adjust your betting pattern to fit how your particular blackjack shoe is going.

Most of the blackjack card counting systems start with a count of 0.  This means that when you first sit down at a blackjack table, the count is 0. Depending on which blackjack counting system you are using, the count will fluctuate with every card that is dealt.  Thus, in addition to keeping track  the cards that you are being dealt, you must also keep track of every single card dealt to every player and to the dealer.

Generally, when you use a blackjack card counting systems you are looking for a positive count.  The reason that you want a blackjack card count to be  positive is because this generally means there have been more smaller cards played and thus the deck now has a higher percentage of larger cards.  When the deck has a high percentage of larger cards, the blackjack player usually has several different advantages:

Dealer Will Bust More Often
Player Will Be Dealt More Blackjacks
Player Will Be Dealt Stronger and Higher Starting Hands

The opposite is true if the blackjack a card count is high.  This generally means that the blackjack player should bet larger amounts of money since the player has a higher mathematical advantage.  Blackjack card counting does not stop here, however, even though you are betting more and winning more.  As a successful blackjack player, you must still focus and continue to count cards. Once the high count starts to drop and gets either neutral or into the negative, the blackjack card counter should go back to betting smaller amounts because the casino will have a higher advantage in the blackjack game.

The only way that you can become skilled at blackjack card counting is to practice, practice, and more practice.  Blackjack card counting can take  several years to truly master several of the blackjack card counting systems. 

You do not need to play blackjack to master blackjack card counting.  An effective method of practicing card counting is to create practice counting charts.  All you do is create a chart that shows your hand and the dealer's up card, then you verbally or mentally recite the proper play.  Easy, is it not?  If you are ever stumped, you can simply refer to your basic strategy charts. Your practice charts can be small enough to fit into your wallet, for example, so that you can practice card counting wherever you are.

With several different blackjack card counting systems available, which blackjack card counting system should you use?  I would say that it real depends upon each individual and their knowledge of the game of blackjack.   There are many factors which will determine the blackjack card counting   system that you should use; such as what type of blackjack games you play, where you play, your skill level, and how many hours you are playing.

As a rule of thumb, it is recommended that you learn the most basic system first.  That would be either the Hi-Lo count or the KO count.  These systems of blackjack card counting are generally the easiest to learn for most players.  Remember, it can often take, at least a year, to learn how to master one blackjack card counting system.

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