Card Counting
 |
Blackjack Card Counting is a card game strategy used to determine when a player has a probability advantage. Card-counting is a form of advantage gambling. The term is used almost exclusively to refer to the tracking of the ratio of high cards to low cards in blackjack, although it is sometimes used to refer to obtaining a count of the distribution or remaining high cards in trick-taking games, such as contract bridge or spades. This article deals only with card counting as it applies to blackjack. |
Blackjack card counting in online blackjack for beginners
The fundamental principle behind counting cards is that a deck of cards with a higher proportion of high cards (tens and aces) to low cards is good for the player, while the reverse is true for the dealer. A deck rich in tens and aces improves the player’s odds, because blackjacks (which offer a higher payout than other winning hands) become more common, the dealer is more likely to bust a stiff hand, and double-downs are more successful.
Card counters raise their bets when the ratio of high cards to low cards in the deck is skewed in their favor. Alternatively, they may also watch the card game, and enter when the count becomes favorable, a tactic known as back-counting. They also make strategy adjustments based on the ratio of high cards to low cards. These two adjustments to their betting and blackjack playing strategy can give players a mathematical advantage over the house.
Contrary to the popular myth, card counters do not need savant qualities in order to count cards, because they are not tracking and memorizing specific cards. Instead, card counters assign a heuristic point score to each card they see and then track only the total score. (This score is called the “count”.) This myth sprouted from the movie Rain Man, where the savant character Raymond Babbit counts through six decks with ease.
The plus-minus count
Basic card counting assigns a positive, negative, or null value to each card (2 through ace). As each card is dealt, the running count is adjusted by each card’s assigned value. There are multiple card-counting systems in use, but a plus-minus count—such as the Hi-Lo system proposed by Harvey Dubner in 1963 and later refined by Julian Braun and Stanford Wong —is one of the more basic and illustrative systems.
In the Hi-Lo system, the cards 2 through 6 are assigned a value of +1. Tens (and face cards) through aces are assigned a value of -1. Cards 7, 8, and 9 have a value of zero (so they can be ignored).
The Hi-Lo system is an example of a balanced card-counting system, in that there are an equal number of +1 and -1 cards in the deck, so a count of all 52 cards would result in an end count of 0.
More advanced card counting systems
The Hi-Lo system is considered a single-level or level-one count, because the count never increments or decrements by more than one. A multilevel count, such as Zen Count or Wong Halves, makes finer distinctions between card values to gain greater play accuracy. Rather than all cards having a value of +1, 0, or -1, an advanced count might also include card ranks that are counted as +2 or -2. Advanced players might additionally maintain a side count of specific cards, such as a side count of aces, to deal with situations where the best count for betting accuracy differs from the best count for playing accuracy.
Special-purpose counts are also used when attacking games with nonstandard profitable-play options such as an over/under side bet.
The disadvantage of higher-level counts is that keeping track of more information can detract from the ability to play quickly and accurately. A card-counter might earn more money by playing a simple count quickly—more hands per hour played—than by playing a complex count slowly.
Running counts versus true counts in balanced counting systems.
The “running count” is the running total of each card’s assigned value. In a multiple-deck game, when using a balanced count (like the Hi-Lo system), the running count is converted into a “true count”, which takes into consideration the number of decks in play. The true count is the running count divided by the number of decks that haven’t yet been dealt.
Unbalanced card counting systems
In an unbalanced card-counting system, conversion to a true count is made unnecessary by the unbalanced nature of the counting system, but the count begins with something other than 0. The starting number is a value based on the number of decks being used. Popular unbalanced card counting systems include the “K-O” system and the “Red 7″ system.
Other related articles:
Single Level Card Counting
Balanced vs Unbalanced Card Counting
More Card Counting Systems