Most people are not aware that counting cards in casinos aren’t illegal. The whole concept of counting cards being illegal is a thing made by casinos themselves to have the upper hand on the players. In fact, most people are chased out of the casino just because they counted the cards.
Here’s the truth, there is no such rule where you are not allowed to count the card. But, at the same time, counting cards is really difficult. Not just anyone can count the cards accurately.
Blackjack Card Counting
Blackjack card counting is a simple theory, and counting it is not that difficult if you try. The real difficult thing is to use it to your advantage. You need to use the number of cards on the table according to what and how you want to play Blackjack.
This mindset is what we call ‘Advantage Play’.
In gambling, advantage play is when you mathematically place a bet on the number where you are getting the best result. In almost every scenario, the house holds the mathematical advantage in all casino games. Yes, with luck and a little effort, you can sometimes turn the tables on your side.
Blackjack card counting is related to the mathematical advantage. If you know what and how many cards are on the table and with the house, you will be able to calculate your winning and losing percentage. Based on that mathematical advantage, you can take the decision of wagering or simply holding your ground.
Why Counting Card Works?
Blackjack is about removing one card from the deck at a time. This creates a situation where either the card dealer will win or, more likely, the player receiving the next hand. When you are in a situation where you can’t be any of them, the best way to ensure you win a few games is by counting the number of cards.
The Importance Of Basic Strategy
One of the common misconceptions among the Blackjack players is that they can win games as long as they are playing every hand correctly. Well, it will certainly help you win most of your games but not all.
The correct play of every possible situation is called “Basic Strategy”. And before you start playing Blackjack, you must master your skill of basic strategy.
When you start playing against the house, the house is always at an advantage—probably 0.5% over you. However, if you keep making mistakes in your basic strategy, you allow them to gain the upper hand over you by 2% to 3%.
This is why, even if counting cards is important, you shouldn’t count cards and depend only on strategy. What if you were unable to count it accurately, you would lose the game.
Basic stages are tried and tested repeatedly with computer simulation, and have been found that card counting strategy affects the game situation only a little bit, while basic strategy is usually almost accurate.
The Hi-Lo Of Counting Cards
The better system for card counting is the Hi-Lo system. Unlike the other method of Thorp’s system, where you count 10 cards, the only value you need in this system is +1 and -1. Just having these two variables, counting the card becomes easier.
In the Hi-Lo system, the low cards are 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6. Any card with these numbers will be considered as +1. The 7, 8, and 9 are considered middle cards and are counted as ZERO. Finally, the aces and 10s care to count as -1.
As with the 10 counts, you start your counting with zero. You then move up and down depending on which cards are dealt. That being said, if you are just playing with a single card, you are just counting the card to determine where to bet.
However, if you are using more than one deck of cards for the Blackjack game, you must use the true count method. You do this by dividing the running card count by the number of decks involved in the game.
Can Anyone Learn How To Count Cards?
Fortunately, YES – As long as you are willing to put in the effort. Unlike the common belief you might have where you need to remember the card, you simply need to remember the number of cards in the play.
For instance, if the count of the card is 4 and the next card you receive is a +1, you make the count 5. The next card is -1; the count goes back to 4.
Most systems use +1 and -1, but there are some that use +2 and -2 or more. The higher you go with the count, the riskier the games become.
Conclusion
Does the Blackjack card count simply based on what we have represented? Yes, we will say that it’s not the easiest thing to do, but certainly not impossible.
While we have tried to add every piece of information in this post, we know that some might find this incomplete. In that case, you can drop your queries in the comment section.