Counting Cards In Blackjack: A Winning Strategy You Can Count On

The first thing that pops into your mind when you first hear about counting cards is probably, “Isn’t this cheating?” The answer? Not even close.

Yes, it’s true that a casino will kick you out if they catch you winning too much and suspect you’re counting cards (when you play online casino table games, that isn’t the case, which is why lots of card counters opt to test the waters online, first). It’s also true that, at least in the olden days, casino players suspected of counting cards would be taken out back to have their kneecaps taken care of (and we don’t mean a gentle massage, for the record).

But is card counting illegal? According to the law, no (assuming you aren’t being aided by a mechanical device).

The basics of card counting

When you play real money online casino games, whether at an instant play casino or at one with downloadable software, you can employ card counting to help you rack up more wins. And believe it or not, it’s actually really easy to win real money at online casino gaming sites using a card counting method.

But before we talk about how to count cards and how it relates to online casino betting, you need to understand the basics of blackjack.

Simply put, blackjack is a game of facts. Here’s what the player and the dealer always know:

1) How many cards are in a shoe
2) How many cards are left in a shoe as each card is dealt
3) How many of every single cards are left in a shoe—meaning how many Aces, face cards, tens, nines, and so on are left.

Now, you don’t even have to think of #1. All real money casinos post information about the game. For games with decks, you’ll know how many decks of cards are in play. In blackjack, there’s single-deck, 6-deck, and 8-deck. And the casino will tell you how many decks you’re dealing with right off the bat.

Number 2 is also relatively easy to keep track of. Since you know how many decks are in play before any cards are dealt (you’ll need to start with a new shoe), you can essentially count down as the cards drop (415 cards left, 414 cards left, 413 cards left, and so on).

Easy enough right? Well, it gets a bit trickier when #3 comes into play. Since you know there are four of every card value in a deck, you automatically know that there are 32 Aces, 32 Kings, and so on in every shoe.

But counting down from 32 for 13 different cards is incredibly difficult. And that’s true even if you’re a card counting genius with an IQ that’s off the charts. That’s why card-counting systems have simplified things.

The +/- system

Instead of making you count down each card that hits the felt for 13 different values, each card value is assigned one of three point values—plus 1, zero, or minus 1.

Some card counting systems are more complex than others, but most work the same way. In the most basic one (which beginners should start with), you’ll find the following point values. Card 2 through 6 are assigned +1. Tens and face cards are assigned -1. And 7, 8, 9, and Ace are assigned 0.

With a fresh shoe, you start at zero. You then add one, subtract one, or do nothing, depending on what card is dealt.

If you’ve got a high count, it means that a lot of low cards are out of the deck. So you’ve got a better chance of hitting a high card. With that in mind, you should bet more. With a low count, the opposite is true, so bet less.

Easy enough, right? Well, there’s one more thing. Remember point #1? You need to know how many cards are in a shoe? That’s important information, too. As you keep track of your count, you’ll need to count down from 52 as well. Every time you get to zero, that means one deck of cards is no longer in the deck.

This information is important because every time a deck is gone, you need to reset your count. You do so by dividing your current count by the number of decks that are left in the shoe. So, if you’ve counted 104 cards that have left the shoe, you know two decks are missing. That means six decks are left (assuming you’re playing with an 8-deck shoe). You then take your count and divide it by six. For example, if your count is +12, you’ reset your count to +2 (12 divided by 2).

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