Card counters operate under the (correct) assumption that even perfect blackjack strategy is a losing proposition. That’s because basic strategy gives no indication of the likelihood of a dealer or player bust. Basic strategy requires you to hedge your bets in certain playing situations, meaning you are just as likely to win as to lose.
If you don't want to do it all yourself, you can learn how to count cards using simulation software, taking online or in-person training courses or even by hiring a personal trainer. I'm here to tell you to not count cards at blackjack. If you can count the whole deck in 25 seconds then you're ready to try the strategy in an actual game. It will help a lot if you can also memorize the combination of two cards that cancel out each other like a 10 and a 6 whose total count is zero and can be eliminated from the count. If you can quickly identify these pairs, your time will improve. Deck Penetration: If you’re considering counting cards online, this one is the killer. Many online casinos employ continuous shuffle machines. Those make card counting ineffective. But for online live dealer blackjack games that don’t use a “CSM,” they will have the dealer shuffle in the middle of the shoe. While you can try to count cards, casinos can also try to make the conditions for card counters difficult or impossible. For instance, a suspicious casino may start shuffling their cards more often to lower the deck penetration, thus making counting much less effective.
Keeping a running count improves on basic blackjack strategy by indicating when you can deviate from that strategy and still have a decent chance of winning. If you know there are more small cards than large ones, you can safely take hits on those pesky 15 and 16 point hands and improve your chances of beating the dealer. You can use a running count to know when to increase your bet size to maximize your profits, and when to decrease your bets to protect yourself from potential losses.
These changes in the bet size are known as a “betting spread,” a tool used by counters to increase profits and decrease losses without drawing the attention of the casino. Ideally, you can make small changes to your bets without the casino figuring out that you’re a card counter and (politely) asking you to leave.
Betting Spreads and Positive Expectation
The name of the game in card counting is turning blackjack into a positive expectation game. Peter Griffin’s book “The Theory of Blackjack” worked out some numbers pertinent to card counters. Using standard Las Vegas rules and a basic High-Low card counting system, a player’s advantage with perfect strategy when the count is zero is -0.56%. According to Griffin, each increase by 1 of the running count improves the player’s advantage by +0.5%. Naturally, every decrease by 1 of the count reduces the player’s advantage by 0.5%.
Editor’s Picks for Best Online Blackjack in 2020
Benefits
Play
Multiple blackjack games
Publicly traded company
Multi award winner
100% up to kr1,000 + 100 Spins
Live Dealer Blackjack
24/7 Live Support
Trusted since 2007
200% up to $2,000 + 100 Spins
Online and mobile blackjack
Great for U.S. based players
New and fresh
250% up to $2,500 + 50 Spins
Classic & progressive blackjack
Weekly blackjack tournaments
Great for U.S. based players
Exclusive400% UP TO $4,000
Positive Count and Percentages
We know that, statistically, a standard Vegas game of blackjack will only offer certain counts some of the time. Positive expectation only happens with a +2 count, which will only happen about 8% of the time. Truth be told, a positive count can only be expected about 18% of the time you’re playing–that’s why it is important to spread your bets, even if you’re keeping a running count and playing according to basic strategy.
What’s the Best Bet Spread?
People much smarter than you and me have determined that a bet spread between 1 and 5 units is the best way to avoid undue attention from the casino. By this reckoning, you should bet 1 unit for a +1 count, all neutral counts, and all negative counts. A +2 count means 2 units, a +3 count means 3 units, a +4 count means 4 units, and anything over +4 means you bet 5 units. Going over 5 units is likely to attract unwanted casino heat.
Using this system and perfect blackjack strategy, you can expect a positive return of about 0.14%. You’re not going to get rich with small wins under this system, but it will turn a negative expectation game into a positive one.
Larger Bet Spreads
The only way to increase your expectation is to use a 1-10 unit bet spread, which is sure to get you kicked out of any casino eventually. Still, as long as you can get away with a 1-10 unit spread, you can play with an edge of about 0.57%, or about three and a half times greater than with a 1-5 unit spread.
Dream casino instant play. Since casinos have implemented rules and strategies to counteract card counting, the easy to beat blackjack tables have disappeared. Casinos are now instituting a 6:5 blackjack payout rule, for instance, that automatically makes the game not worth the time it takes to count cards and develop a bet spread. Perfect blackjack strategy is often as good as you can get at today’s blackjack tables, since even the most aggressive counting and bet spreading gives you only about a .5% edge.
Related News
Aug 2015
If you are after a quick round of Blackjack online,online-casino-new-zealandmust definitely be your choice. But what can you do in these games and which techniques are better avoided? Is it worth counting the cards for example?
What is counting cards about?
Counting cards is a technique to have an edge over the dealer at Blackjack, one of the most popular casino games online. It helps at anticipating which cards could appear next and at choosing the personal strategy.
How it works
Basically, players have to keep their eyes open all the time. Every card that goes out of the game or is in a player's hand should somehow be memorised. Missing out on a card can be fatal for your chances.
A popular strategy
Also players in New Zealand have tried this strategy for success. Some have succeeded indeed, others got lost a bit. Vgt red screen videos feb 2018. There is a risk of getting the count wrong, or just not to have all the information required. Is ignition casino legit.
An interesting technique, but not always fool-proof
Information may be tough to obtain
Is it a new technique?
No, not at all. First attempts at counting cards go back to at least 60 years ago. Back then, the first computers became available, which could assist the calculation of probabilities around the outcome of Blackjack games.
Some of the tips that would have made it into gambling literature in the 1960s is not accurate any longer though. Online casinos in particular have ammended the framework of Blackjack games to minimize the effectiveness of card counting.
A game of cat and mouse
Gamblers are always keen to try and be one step ahead of the casino operators. The former should always try to keep their scoops for free. After all, casino operators are very quick at patching up gaps in their defences.
Use alternative techniques and strategies
The rules of Blackjack offer you other possibilities to mitigate the risks while you take on the dealer. One is the insurance which you can buy extra to be safe against the dealer's potentially winning Blackjack hand.
Can You Count Cards Online Instantly
Insurance against Blackjack by the dealer
Split your hand for further chances
Split your hand
Once you have a couple of equally valued cards in your hand, you can split your hand for an extra bet. This gives you the chance to play on with two hands and effectively an extra chance to win.
What if card counters get caught?
The prime rule about card counting is not to get caught at all. Or not to particpate in any card counting activities of course. Honestly, there are enough other strategic options available to cover or mitigate all risks in the game.
How to try and hide away
If you decide on using card counting as part of your strategic play, you will soon show signs of stereotypic play. Certain pictures will lead to certain decisions, which will obviously show to the casino through the software.
Can You Count Cards Online Printable
Ideally you try to mix up your strategies a bit. Make sure you do not always react stereotypically. In the worst case, you will get thrown out of the online casino, just like you would get thrown out of a land-based casino.
So, how big is the effect of counting cards?
To be honest, in online casinos, the effect is almost completely negated by the casinos' measures. There are too many decks in play for you to be able to obtain all the information to really be able to use it.
For example, in a game with six decks, you would have to observe 24 cards of one kinds across the entire game. Chances are high that you would only get to see small fractions of these 24 cards.
Can You Count Cards Online Game
Counting cards online has hardly any effect
Rather stick to the options given in the rules
Also, the technique can really only be used in live casino games when you play online. But even there, online casinos tend to shuffle the decks way more frequently to really be on the safe side against the advantage players.
Can You Count Cards Online
Is Blackjack still worth playing?
Of course it is! And you can even try to follow the cards on the table a bit. You just should not see it as a viable option to put one over the casino. Rather see it as mental training.
Can You Count Cards online, free
Being able to memorize large amounts of data or entire strings of numbers and characters can be helpful elsewhere maybe. If you are still a student, a well trained short-term memory can sometimes be really handy for exams.
Can You Count Cards Online
For the small effect you can have, the effort is too big in online Blackjack though. Better invest the time into learning to play according to your temperament and you will have lots of fun playing against the casino.