Blackjack Card Counting Guide
Card Counting is a skillful technique of keeping track of the cards that have been played and determining whether the remaining cards in the deck are to the player's advantage. This does not necessarily require players to have a good memory or a genius IQ! Card Counting uses a point system for the cards and the players keeps track of the point-count as the cards are issued by the Dealer. By card counting, the house edge can be significantly reduced to less than 1%!
When a player has an advantage over the casino, he can then place larger bets as there is a greater likelihood of winning plus more information about the remaining cards can help refine the Basic Strategy rules for hands played.
Isn't this Cheating?
Card Counting is not considered cheating and it is definitely not illegal, although it is not welcomed by Casinos for the simple reason that they are more likely to lose to their players. Card Counting itself has been given such a negative stereotype that many players around the world still think that it is illegal. The player merely observes what is visible to anyone at the Blackjack table under normal circumstances. If the course of events turns in his favour, he takes advantage of the situation - this in no way breaks the rules of the game.
How Card Counting Works
A well-known saying is: "past performance is no guarantee of future results", which is often used to discourage players from taking the previous outcomes into consideration believing that history offers no advantage. This is correct in a majority of cases.
However, blackjack is an exception to this rule as the 'random' result is not entirely independent. Once a card has been dealt, it cannot be dealt again and its absence from the remaining deck affects the likelihood of the outcomes of future hands (until the cards are shuffled).
If the first hand dealt all four aces out of a single deck, the fact that no others will appear in the next hand, or the next hand, is an absolute certaint - until the deck is shuffled. If two aces came out when the cards are first dealt, it doesn't guarantee the aces will not come out as players hit their hands—but it makes it 50% less likely. This is the basis for card counting.
Card counting does not guarantee winning but it can be applied to decrease the house edge and increase the likelihood of you winning. |
