Blackjack has a lot to do with probability and is known to be the only casino game in which the player has a definite advantage over the dealer. However, you need to know the basic strategies before you can take full advantage of this fact. And with so many sophisticated card counting systems available, learning blackjack basic strategies is not a given. However, you can find a lot of articles on counting cards, and keyboard programs that will teach you the basics of card counting without using much terminology.
Basic Card Counting Loophole
The basis of card counting systems is the fact that the casino must hit the house total of 17 or higher, known as the house edge, in order to beat the player. Card counting seeks to capitalize on this fact by keep a running count of the cards remaining in the deck and making a simple comparison among the values of the cards as they approach the point of hitting. This process is best explained in an article of its own, and further explained in general terms here.
Before you continue on with the article, you’ll need to be up to date on your Blackjack bankroll requirements. If you’re just starting out, you should refrain from counting cards until you have built a bit of experience into your own personal system. And as you get used to the idea of card counting, you’ll want to come up with a blackjack betting strategy to use when you’re either playing live, or in the middle of a tournament game.
Simple Card Counting Explanation
As we learned in my previous article, shops give their worst fare away for free in the casino. It’s the same concept with card counting systems. ‘Free’ cards are cards that help casinos fit their decks into place. Once you learn how to count cards, these cards become valuable.
Blackjack games are known to have a house edge, which is the advantage the casino has over the players. When card counting, you are choosing cards that help you beat this edge. Cards that benefit the player are known as high cards, and those that benefit the dealer are known as low cards.
You only want to play low cards, of course, but even if you bust, you still have a good chance of coming out ahead by not having played high cards. Card counting is a bit of a tricky business, because if you’re good at it, you could beat the casino even on your high cards, but even if you’re not that good, card counting can help you get a better high card (which is the best way to win) and a better low card (which is also a best way to beat the dealer), so you shouldn’t automatically discount it.
If you know you’re good at card counting and want to make it into your blackjack game, you’re going to have to do some serious homework and read a lot of material on the subject. The best way to start is to get a pack of cards in a random order and deal them out to yourself. Don’t look at the dealer’s cards, or even attempt to look at the other players cards, only deal the cards out and concentrate on the table.
Once you’ve summed up your cards, you may be able to split them into 2 separate hands – one for playing and one for remembering. This means that you have about a third of the cards dealt out while about a third of the cards remain in the deck – about 1/3 of the deck is now low cards and 2/3 high cards.
ISE, IS TOO
If the cards are dealt out, some people automatically grab aces and some people automatically grab kings. This is a simple mistake to avoid Automatic Card Counting mistakes by not understanding the counting.
If the cards were dealt out in a clockwise motion, the same Ace and King would have the same value as any other card in the deck. If you’re relying on a particular card (A, K, Q, J, 10) to make up a hand, that hand is already beaten by another card.
Making up hands is the heart of every counting system and playing mistakes in counting systems is the heart of mistakes in card counting.
