Blackjack Card Counting Made Easy

Blackjack Card Counting

Card counting is a card game strategy used to determine when a player has a probability advantage. Many blackjack pros will openly tell you that the only way to truly profit from the game is to master a comprehensive card counting system. Some systems assign a value to every card, some systems generalize by having you count cards as either high or low, and some cards only count specific cards like Aces. As a general rule, the more specific a system is the greater edge it will give a player. Card counting is truly relevant when playing Blackjack Freerolls and Tournaments, so read on to get ahead of your opponents.

The simplest blackjack card counting system that's commonly promoted is called Wizard Ace/Five after its creator the Wizard of Odds. As its name implies, this system advises players to only count spent Aces and fives and to adjust their bet accordingly when the deck's value is in their favor. In most cases the end result is that this system is so limited it's virtually worthless, especially as larger shoes become more common.

The expanded but still easy version of the Ace/Five system is the High/Low blackjack card counting system. While it may be more challenging to keep an accurate running tally while using the High/Low strategy, you'll get a more accurate read on your remaining deck.

Contrary to the popular myth, card counters do not need unusual mental abilities like Rain Man in order to count cards, because they are not tracking and memorizing specific cards. Instead, card counters assign a point score to each card they see that estimates the value of that card, and then they track only the sum of these values. With the High/Low online blackjack system the value of your deck begins at 0. You'll adjust that value with every card that's dealt. Cards of 6 or smaller will add +1 to your total. The 7, 8 or 9 cards are worth 0. The 10, face cards and Ace are worth -1. You can use the value of the deck to help you to decide whether to hit or stand in tricky situations (like with a hard 16). Try your card counting at Canbet Casino (Microgaming), a higly recommended casino for Blackjack Players!

A myth that some casinos propagate is that card counting is illegal in the United States. Card counting without an outside device is completely legal. There are no provisions in the rules of Blackjack or United States law that prohibit card counting. Despite this, casinos still offer Blackjack as a game knowing that a skilled player will have an advantage over the house.

Read more about card counting at Wikipedia.