Blackjack Card Counting

You need to learn about blackjack card counting to take your game up a level. Counting cards is an easy skill to pick up but difficult to master. Get yourself equipped with the ultimate how-to guide, plus strategies, legalities, and the history of card counting. After studying our exclusive card-counting guide, you’ll be playing like a pro in no time.

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To get started, Assign a tag of (+1) to every 2- 6 ranked cards and a tag of (–1) to every 10-A. Start your count after the shuffle and add the tags to each card that is pulled from the deck. When the running count is positive after any round, the undealt cards are richer in large cards; you should increase your bet size. When the running count is negative after any round, the undealt cards are richer in small cards; you should decrease your bet size. 

No experience is required to use card counting. What is needed is the desire to learn a mathematically proven technique that will give you an advantage over the casino when you play blackjack.

There is the misconception that card counters memorize every card that is played. As you will soon see, that is not true. In fact, card counting is a strategy that anyone with average intelligence can learn. And you can get started with the help of this trainer.

Card counting is a technique that lets blackjack players know when the advantage shifts in their favor. When this occurs, card counters will increase their bets. When the advantage shifts in favor of the dealer, the counter will make a smaller bet or no bet at all by not playing. Counters can gain a positive advantage over the casino by varying bets in this manner.

It’s been mathematically proven that high-value cards (i.e., tens, picture cards, and aces) benefit the player more than the dealer, while low-value cards (i.e., twos through sixes) are more beneficial to the dealer. The remaining cards – sevens, eights, and nines – are essentially neutral. On average, these cards don’t help the player or dealer very much.

After the dealer shuffles the cards, there is an equal number of high and low cards in the deck(s). Depending on which cards are dealt in the early rounds, the ratio of high to low cards in the remaining undealt cards most likely will change.

For example, if more low than high cards were played in the early rounds, then the remaining undealt cards must have a greater concentration of high versus low cards. When the latter occurs, card counters will bet more because they have a better chance of getting a blackjack (with a bonus 3-to-2 payout) and winning a double down.

In addition, if dealers show a low card, they will break more frequently when hitting their hand. If, instead, the undealt cards contain a higher concentration of low cards, this benefits dealers; by casino rules, dealers must hit their 12 through 16 hands, and the excess concentration of low cards will increase their chances of getting a pat 17 through 21 hands while decreasing their chances of busting.

To know when the undealt cards are richer in high cards, favoring the player, or low cards, favoring the dealer, card counters assign a tag to every card.

Card counters must watch every card that is played and arithmetically add the tags for each card. The count after the shuffle always starts at zero. For example, let’s assume the first player had a three, six, and 10 for 19 and stands. The counter would add one for the three card, add another one, for the six card, and subtract one, for the 10 card. At this point, their running count is “plus-one” (i.e., +1 + (+1) + (‒1) = +1).

The counter continues to add the tags of each card in every hand, including the dealer’s hand, until the end of the round. If the running count is positive, depending on how many cards have been played, the counter may have the edge on the next round, and they will bet more.

The higher the positive count and the more cards that have been played, the greater their edge and the more the player will bet.

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