Single Level Card Counting
The single-level blackjack card-counting systems are for the beginner who has never counted cards before. These are the easiest systems to perform and for some they can be mastered in a short period of time. The strategy is simple; all cards two through six are assigned a value of 1, and the tens and aces a value of -1. Middle cards are ignored or given a value of zero.
This will enable the player to know when the blackjack shoe has more high cards in it than small ones. A high count indicates more small cards have been seen, leaving the shoe with a higher ratio of big cards. The player will win more hands when the deck is in this state, so it’s important for the player to increase their bet at this time. That’s essentially blackjack card counting in a nutshell.
These are the most popular systems because the others require a strong mathematical mind. The best-known single-level systems are Hi-Low and Uston Advanced Plus/Minus, with Hi-Low being the more popular of the two. Hi-Low gives you a raw count, and is quite effective, but it’s also the most detectable by the house. Uston Advanced Plus/Minus assigns cards 2, 8 and 9 the value of zero.
Once players master these single-level strategies they will have a better understanding of the mechanics of counting, and will able to advance to level 2 systems. Even the single-level blackjack counting systems require lots of practice, so if you find them difficult to perform you may want to forget about counting cards.
