For as long as there have been card games, there have been card counters – people who mentally track the deck throughout the game and make their decisions on how to play based on the cards that they believe are still left in the deck.
There are few topics in the casino world as controversial as card counting. Casinos believe that they give the card-counting player an unfair advantage. Card counters say that they’re just “evening out the deck” by countering the casino’s house edge with an edge of their own.
Counting cards is a difficult process but, throughout history, there have been card counters who have enjoyed extraordinary success at the casino, particularly in the game of blackjack, where decisions are made based on the player’s prediction of what their odds are of building a winning hand. Grande Vegas Casino takes a hard look at the question of whether card counting really works and, if it does, how can you “get in the game?”
What is Card Counting?
Card counting isn’t a new casino tactic but in recent years, it’s gained attention due to films like “21” and books like “Bringing Down the House.” Casual players and serious gamblers alike are intrigued by the strategy which seems to be an effective way of allowing a player to build a winning hand based on more than luck.
Card counting enables a blackjack player to keep track of the ratio of high to low cards remaining in the deck and thus, gain a statistical advantage over the house. Card counting involves a combination of mathematics and strategy. Some card counters are amateurs who use the method at a basic level but there have been serious card counters who have had highly successful casino visits that have resulted in win rates far above average.
How Do You Count Cards?
Counting cards is simple, but if you want to master the technique you should prepare for weeks – even months – of learning and practice. To count cards successfully the gamer needs an excellent memory, the ability to perform addition and subtraction under pressure and the ability to maintain concentration.
Many people assume that card counting involves memorizing which cards have been dealt out and which are still left in the deck but that’s not accurate. If you’re counting cards in a game of blackjack, you simply need to remember how many high-value cards (9s, 10s, Jacks, Queens, Kings and Aces) are still in the deck, waiting to be dealt out. Then you can assess what your odds are of completing a winning hand.
There are multiple card counting strategies including the Zen Count, 10 Count, Hi-Lo, Hi-Opt 1, Hi-Opt II, KO, Omega II, Red 7 and Halves systems. Each has its own variations but all aim to increase the player’s probability of hitting a Blackjack, increase instances where the player can split, increase instances where the player can double down, make the insurance bet profitable and increase the probability that the dealer will bust.
The systems are based on assigning a point score to each card, based on the estimated value of that card. The sum of these values is tracked and then a positive, negative, or zero value is assigned to each card. If a high card is dealt, the count decreases which means that the number of low cards left in the deck is higher. Low cards increase the count for the opposite reason.
Point values are then assigned to correlate to an estimate of how likely it is that a card has been removed from play and how that removal affects the current house edge. As the ratio between point values increases, the correlations of the card’s Effect of Removal (EOR) and the house edge is gauged and the gamer plays accordingly.
Does Card Counting Work?
Experts estimate that a good card counting system can give a card counting player an advantage of up to 1.54% -- this compares to a traditional 0.6% house advantage when playing with basic strategy without any card counting. Card counting rarely works at the online casino because most online blackjack software shuffles the cards before every hand.
Detecting Card Counting
Casinos put a lot of effort into catching card counters so that they can exclude them from their casinos. In some casinos, if a player is suspected of counting cards, the casino will direct the dealer to shuffle the cards after the bets are placed and will then try to gauge the suspected player’s reaction. The pit bosses watch for suspicious behavior such as placing a minimum bet after the shuffle, appearing nervous or jittery, not drinking, watching the cards closely or going for a bathroom break when the count is negative.
New software gives the casino more ability to track what’s happening at the tables. RFID signatures are embedded within the casino chips to give the casino the ability to track bet amounts. Protec 21 and Bloodhound programs allow voice input of bet and card values.
Basic Blackjack Strategy
If you want to increase your chances of winning at online blackjack, learn the basic blackjack strategy. The basic strategy gives you guidance on what the statistics say regarding how you can increase your odds of achieving blackjack wins by standing and hitting based on the cards that you’ve been dealt. And remember to always place bets based on your budgeted casino bankroll to enjoy the most successful blackjack event!
