What is Card Counting?
Many players believed that blackjack is a complicated game and it always favors the dealer but in 1962, the book of Edward O. Thorpe, “Beat the Dealer” was published. Thorpe claimed that there’s a technique that players can use to outwit the dealer.
In the game of blackjack, some cards favor the players while others favor the dealer. He attested that you can determine the cards left in the deck, depending on what cards have been played. Hence, if more cards were left in favor of the player, then the player will have an edge over the dealer.
Overall, the concept of counting cards is frown on by online casinos as they consider this to be cheating at blackjack. If you are caught, the casino can reserve the right to escort you from the casino and put you on a blacklist.
The Art of Card Counting
Card counting in blackjack is your only tool if you want to statistically win over the dealer. The art of card counting was conceptualized by Edward Thorpe.
Card counting works based on the notion that some cards are good for the players while other cards favor the dealer.
With the use of card counting, players can determine the cards that will be beneficial to them in the long run. Thus, they can alter their betting strategies. But why do dealers aim for the lowest possible hand?
A dealer must have the lowest possible hand because it is necessary for him/her to make the right decision during the betting rounds. Sounds a bit complex? If you know how to add and subtract and you know the value of each card, you can make use of this technique (card counting).
What is the advantage of card counting to players? If players use card counting, they will have at least 1% to 4% of the overall winnings, depending on the type of blackjack played.
But you cannot assure that card counting will give you the higher possibility of winning the pot. Card counting should be managed properly and its good outcome happens in the long run. You need to play for about 400 to 500 hours to prove the statistical notion.
How to Count Cards
If you want to master the art of card counting, you must follow these steps:
1. You need to practice and memorize the cards being dealt on the table. All you need to have is a good memory and a “poker face” so that your opponents will not know what you’re doing.
2. Imagine the cards face up on the table. Keep these cards in your mind and remove each visible card from the deck and do the counting in your mind.
3. Memorize all the cards each player holds. Give attention to every card and do your best to keep on counting. Every moment you remove a card from your head, you’re definitely close to shaping the cards that will be left on the table.
4. Don’t rush into things. Assess the status of the game and if you’re sure that you have an edge over other players, you can make your bet.
To count cards properly, you need to assign each card a value. Traditionally, you are going to give any face card, 10 or ace the value of +1. Cards ranks between 2 through 5 will be valued as -1. The cards ranked between 6 and 9 will be valued as 0.
You will start at 0 when the shoe of cards has been shuffled. Whenever you see a face card, you will add 1 to your total; and whenever you see a low card, you will subtract 1 from your total.
When you have a particularly high total, like +10, you are going to want to bet lower overall because the dealer is less likely to bust overall; but you can be more confident that you should be able to hit your 14, 15 or 16 without busting.
When you have a particularly low total, like -10, you should start betting higher overall because the dealer is more likely to bust when he is not showing a face card. This may also give you an indication that you should surrender or stay when you have 14, 15, or 16.
