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Blackjack Card Counting

Blackjack Card Counting Basics

Card counting is a blackjack strategy by which a player can gain an advantage over the casino. In card counting, you keep track of cards as they are dealt. You distinguish between cards that are favorable to you (high cards - 10, court cards and ace) and cards that are unfavorable to you (low cards 2-6). Middle cards 7-9 are neutral and disregarded in card counting.

For every favorable card that is dealt, you count negative, that is -1, -2 and so on. This is because the more favorable cards that show up, the fewer that are left and the less advantageous for you.

For every unfavorable card that comes up, you count positive as in +1, +2 and so on. That's because the more bad cards that are dealt, the less that are left in the deck.

Card counting lets you determine the ratio of good cards versus bad cards. When you know there are enough good cards than bad cards in the deck, you have a definite advantage and can increase your bets. This is how you beat the casino with card counting.

How Blackjack Card Counting Works

You do not have to memorize which cards have come out. Rather, you just check if it is a good, bad or neutral card and count accordingly. If it is a good card, count minus or negative. If it is a bad card, count plus or positive. If middle, ignore it. You want to see bad cards.

Often, cards will cancel each other out. If you are dealt a king and a 3, you get both a -1 and a +1 or 0. Or you may get queen and ten in one hand and 2 and 4 come next. You might as well not count them. Every time this happens, just go back to zero.

When you are at an advantage, increase your wagers for bigger profits.

Complexity of Blackjack Card Counting

There are many card counting systems. As a rule, the more complex thy are, the more effective they are.

Simple or single-level card counting systems assign a single value to all good cards an a single value to all bad cards. It is always -1 or +1. More complex multi-level systems assign different values to the cards, such as +2, -3 and so on. Naturally, this is harder to learn and use, but it is more accurate.

Another thing that adds to the complexity of card counting is the number of decks used in blackjack. If it is only one deck, the basic or balanced card counting system will do. A balanced system means when all the cards are counted, the value becomes 0. In an unbalanced system, the final value is not 0. An unbalanced system the card counting starts with the number of decks (say four or six) that are in use. This is to account for the greater number of decks present.