Blackjack

How to Improve the Card Counting

Christian — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 19:45:34 +0000

Card counting can be improved through constant practice. This practice requires your fair amount of concentration. You will have to learn how to observe the cards and you must do this as they are dealt in order to keep the right track of the running total. This way you will adjust the wager in the right way. The basic technique when it comes to improving your practice is to try and keep track of every single track in order to find out the exact number of the card values that will remain available. This is not likely to be beyond your average capabilities. Ever card counting is based on the estimation of the card values that have already been dealt because this estimation is a genuine indication of all the cards that remain in order to be dealt on the deck.

The next step for you to follow when practicing the card counting is to try and keep the right count. In order to do this, you will have to note what cards are being dealt and keep the total in mind. You can do this by taking a closer look at the chart below and note the value of every single card in order to keep the running total.

CARD: K 6 9 4 6 5 4 7 Q
VALUE: -1 +1 0 +1 +1 +1 +1 0 -1
TOTAL: -1 0 0 +1 +2 +3 +4 +4 +3

Keeping the running total in your mind is one of the most effective training methods because you will also learn how to control your behavior when playing in a real casino. The dealers are professionals who can easily tell who is counting cards and who not. Therefore, you must avoid sending the wrong signals that can make the dealer become aware that you are a genuine card counter. Another training method is to try and observe the value of every single card as this card is played because you will become able to notice the total value as the cards are collected by the player. The chart below can show you how to do this.

Player 1 K 9 -1
Player 2 6 5 7 +3
Player 3 2 J 4 8 +1
Player 4 A 3 4 +1
Dealer Q 8 -2
TOTAL: +2

By using this training technique, you will become more able to focus on a wider range of things that can distract your attention when not controlled in the right way. For instance, you can learn how to play the role of the leisure player in order to avoid the dealer’s detection. Counting cards at a time can be difficult to learn but you should make an effort and learn this because it will be extremely useful when trying to avoid the dealer’s attention and detection.

MIT Blackjack Counting

Christian — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 19:44:07 +0000

The MIT Blackjack Team is the most famous team of blackjack players. These players were students coming from the top schools in USA. They were very educated and used some of the best known techniques in order to win at the real blackjack tables. Techniques such as shuffle tracking, hole carding and card counting were used by them in order to beat the dealers. Every member of this team has managed to practice the card counting over the years and increase the odds in the blackjack game. The group lasted for almost 3 decades.

At the beginning, the card counting was illegal and every player who was caught in the act was banned from the casino. But in 1979, a law was given out stating that the casinos were prevented from taking any sort of action against the players who were caught when counting the cards. Therefore, the card counting developed as a viable solution that could increase the odds when playing blackjack. This was also the moment when this team started up the whole adventure and become famous in the history of this popular game. The group was started by an individual known as Dave. He managed to gather three more persons in order to form the travel team that went to Atlantis City in order to try out the card counting systems. But the initial team had little success and this fact discouraged them.

Dave was left aside and one of the members went to see another person who was known for his success with the game – Bill Kaplan, a famous team leader who agreed to help the group and point out what the members were doing wrong. He also advised the group about the best card counting strategies to be used in order to win against the real casinos. Kaplan told them that every game situation must be dealt with by using a strategy that is adapted to it.

The new mentor managed to motivate and teach the whole team and its members started to have success. Under his supervision and management, the team started to earn the initial investment back and it also started to recruit more players for this game. However, their success was a short-lived one because there were plenty of casinos that were keen on maintaining the old rules and banned the team from entering their space. But this team remained the living proof that the card counting systems are successful when used in the right way and adapted to particular circumstances.

Wizard Ace Five Count

Christian — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 12:53:36 +0000

The Wizard of Oz is an easy counting system that can be used in the six- and the eight- deck game. The card counting starts at 0 – every ace will count at -1 while every 5 counts as the +1. When using this counting system, you will have to bet just one unit when your count is negative or 0. When your count is a positive one, you will have to bet just two units – for instance, four units at +2 and six units at +3. This strategy is to be used in the six deck game as soon as the dealer stands on the soft 17. The late surrender will be allowed – the player will be allowed to re-split the aces. This strategy yields the small advantage of 0,22% but it can become quite profitable.

The whole system has the big advantage of being easy to learn and implement. Start by establishing what your maximum and minimum bets will be. Keep in mind that the maximum bets will be 32, 16 or 8 times your minimum bet. The maximum can also be any power of 2 – you can use every bet spread you want. Right at the beginning of every shoe, you will have to start with the count of zero and with the minimum bet. Next, you will have to add 1 to your count for each five you observe. You will have to subtract 1 from your count for every ace you observe. Remember that, if your count is equal or greater than 2, you will need to double the last bet you have made up to the maximum bet. If your count is equal or less than 1, you will have to make the minimum bet and use the basic strategy in order to make all your playing decisions.

The Wizard of Oz card counting was designed in order to be the most effective strategy on the eight- or six- deck game. The specialists recommend you to play only on the games that have liberal strip rules. Such games are quite easy to find in real casinos even if the minimum bet is more likely to be higher that it is required by this strategy. These Strip rules are the following ones.
• 4-8 game decks.
• Blackjack game pays 3 to 2.
• The dealer will stand on the soft 17.
• You will have to double your bet after the split is allowed.
• The late surrender is allowed.
• The re-splitting aces are allowed.
• 75%+ game penetration.

KO Blackjack Strategy

Christian — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 12:51:44 +0000

There are two main counting systems – the unbalanced system and the balanced one. The balanced system deals with the card counting down the entire deck. In this case, you will end up with the count of 0. In the unbalanced system, you won’t end up with the count 0 when counting the entire deck. One of the most known unbalanced card counting is the so-called KO. This system will require you to count down the entire deck of cards but you will not end up with the count 0. This strategy will add the extra small card – the 7-to the Hi-Lo count. This card will be added as the +1 value. By using the KO system, you will end up with the positive card count 4 once you have counted down the deck of cards. There are 4 sevens in your deck card and this unbalanced card counting was created in order to avoid the constant need to try and make some true count conversions. Here is the chart to be used in this card counting system – the chart will show you the value of every card.

2, 3, 4 , 5, 6, 7 Count +1
8, 9 Count 0
10, J, Q, K, A Count -1

The whole system was especially designed in order to make things simpler for the player. It can be quite difficult for the player to keep converting the values back and forth, especially if he plays in a real casino. The real casinos are likely to be crowded and full of distractions that can prevent the player from counting the cards in the right manner. If you are wondering whether this system is to be used or not, you can think of the amount of money you are willing to bet. The system is easy to play with but you will have to pay attention to your own skill level and particular game in order to decide which card counting system is going to work best in your case. When using the KO card counting, you will also sacrifice a little bit of accuracy but you will sacrifice this for the ease of use and play with. You will also have to keep the running total throughout your entire game and know where to begin your card counting. You will have to use the so-called Initial Running Count in order to determine the exact number where your card counting will start on. So, if you are playing with just 1 deck of cards, you will have to start at zero. But KO system will not start at 0 in an automatic mode. You will have to refer back in order to take into account the IRC for your own situation.

Hi Opt I

Christian — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 12:49:07 +0000

This card counting system is the version of the Hi-Opt system and it was designed in order to be used by the more advanced blackjack players. Its features are similar to those found in the case of the Hi-Lo system but there are some extra rules as well. The card value changes and this is the main reason why this system is a very accurate one. Hi-Opt I is also known as the Einstein Count. So, if you are planning to become a very serious and advanced blackjack player, you will have to use this card counting system because it is mathematically advanced – it can provide you with a larger edge for your game especially when compared to the previous counting systems. It is not a very complicated system but you will have to focus more at your game table. The whole system is based on constantly subtracting and adding the number 1 – you will have to use a very simple math. But you will have to learn all the respective values for these cards in order to know how to count them. Therefore, making sure that you have revised the following chart several times before playing is the best thing you can do in order to be successful when using this card counting system and avoid the confusion between the card values of this system. You must not confuse them with the card values from other card counting systems. Here is the necessary chart.

2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 J Q K A
0 +1 +1 +1 +1 0 0 0 -1 -1 -1 -1 0

You can see that the card values are separated in groups. The 2’s in a card deck will carry the value of 0 and they will not change your card counting when you play them. The other small cards 3-6 will be counted as the plus one value as you play them. The middle cards 7-9 will be considered neutral and they will not change your card counting as you play them. But the big cards 10-King – excluding the Aces – will have to be counted as a minus 1 value as you play them. There are some separate rules when it comes to tracking the Aces in this card counting system. This system was not designed to keep the track of all the Aces in the game but you will have to adapt to some changes to the basic strategy – these changes are to be made by paying attention to the amount of Aces that have already been played. Many players are more likely to use some external things such as feet or fingers in order to keep the right track of the amount of Aces that have already been played. This method is one of the simplest ones but it is also a quite powerful tool against your dealer. It can help you boost the genuine probability of making the long-term profits from your casino games. So remember that keeping the running count by using this system is based on assigning the card values that have already been listed above.