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Card Counting in Blackjack for the Best Odds
Most people are familiar with the card game of twenty-one, otherwise known as Blackjack. Blackjack is one of the most popular casino games in the world. It takes more than a lucky streak to improve your odds of winning this game. Using basic Blackjack strategy can decrease the house edge to around 1%, one of the lowest figures you’re going to find in any casino game out there. Scientists and mathematicians have developed a method known as “card counting” that can be used to further decrease the house edge, and sometimes even turn it in the player’s favor.
What is Card Counting in the Game of Blackjack?
Card counting may sound complex, but you don’t have to be a mathematician to use this strategic method. Most card counting systems have been simplified to the point where almost anyone can learn how to use them. When a Blackjack player counts cards, he has the advantage of being able to make strategic decisions based only on the cards that are left in the deck. How does that change basic Blackjack strategy? It doesn’t, really. Counting cards just gives players the opportunity to bet high when they think think the odds are good, and low when they are pretty sure the odds are in the dealer’s favor. Team Play Blackjack card counting takes this basic strategy to a much higher level of sophistication.
The most basic card counting techniques involve assigning point values to cards based on their number value. For example, someone using the method called “Hi-Lo Count” would assign:
- 1 point for cards 2-6
- 0 points for cards 7-9 and
- 1 point for any card equal to 10.
As these point values go up or down, players can decide whether to raise or lower their bets.
Casinos Reactions to Blackjack Card Counting
Although most people think of card counting as something that’s frowned upon, there is really nothing illegal about counting cards in a game of Blackjack. While you may be impolitely escorted from a casino if the dealer notices you counting, courts have ruled that card counting is a completely acceptable method of strategy.
Since the widespread introduction of card counting to casino players all over the world, casinos have taken new measures to swing the odds in their favor. Most casinos now play Blackjack with multiple decks, which makes it more difficult for card-counting players to make sound strategic decisions. Often, dealers shuffle the decks more frequently, which means that card counters have to reset their totals to zero each time. Despite these changes, card counting is still a winning system if a player uses it correctly and inconspicuously.
From basic strategy to card counting, the way players play Blackjack has evolved quite a bit over time. Using the latest card counting techniques can help all Blackjack players perfect their game.
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