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card counting

Card Counting in Blackjack

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Card Counting Info graphicYou saw the movie “21” and maybe even read the book “Beat the Dealer”. If so, we bet you tried card counting and already have experienced the level of difficulty in card counting. It is a true skill one can master if practiced regularly. Card counting in Blackjack is today’s topic. For more information on Blackjack basics and tips, browse our blog.

Math as the Basis  

The “father” of card counting is Edward Thorp, a mathematician, an author, a hedge fund manager. He is the brain behind the popular technique of card counting in Blackjack, primarily. And with a good reason. As we stated several times before in many of our blog posts, gambling demands skills and techniques as much as it relies on pure luck.

Edward Thorp was thinking much about the house edge vs. the player’s edge, and he came to an interesting conclusion. Namely, he calculated that the player’s edge increases if a single 2 is removed from the deck of 52 cards.

What is Card Counting?

Card counting is nothing more (and nothing less!) than predicting the odds of to which extent the next card to be dealt favors either the dealer or the player. Players who count cards do this by keeping track of high-and-low-value cards. Consequently, when a player assesses that the next card to be dealt favors his or her hand, a player increases the bet. In case the assessment favors the dealer’s hand, a player can opt out, for example.

Assigning Values to Cards

The first thing a player should do is assign values to cards. Cards 2 to 6 get assigned value of 1. Cards 7 to 9 have zero as assigned value. The 10s and 11 have assigned value of -1. Next, every time the card comes out of the shoe, a player needs to either add 1, subtract 1 or do nothing depending on card that comes out.

The Running Count

Secondly, players should keep score of each card, and every round until the next shuffling. This is called “The Running Count”. Cards with lower values always favor the dealer. On the other hand, high value cards increase the player’s odds.

The True Count

The Running Count applies to every deck. However, in order to apply it to every deck, a player needs to divide the running count by the number of remaining decks. This is called “True Count”. For example, if the Running Count is 10, and there are 5 decks remaining, the True Count is 2 (10 ÷ 5). This means that the player’s edge increases by half percent.

The Edge and the Bets

If you have read carefully the text so far, you could conclude logically that the higher the True Count is, the bigger the player’s edge. You will mostly see the 6 deck Blackjack game. In this game, each point in True Count increases the player’s edge by 0.5%.

Upon shuffle, the Running Count is 0, and dealer’s edge is 0.5%. The odds become even when the True Count reaches +1, and so forth. What does it mean for the bets you should place?

Generally speaking, card counting is not a betting system. However, there are some widely accepted rules to what a player should do with his or her bets when applying card counting. So, here they are:

You should bet your base amount if a True Count is +1 or less.

Betting 2x the base amount is recommended when True Count is +2 or +3. When the True Count is +4 or +5, your bet should be 3x the base amount. If the True Count comes to +6 or +7, betting 4x the base amount is recommended. A player should bet 5x the base amount when the True Count reaches +8 or exceeds it.

Do you count cards? Share your experience with us.

Blackjack betting rules

Blackjack Cards Value and Betting Rules

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For winning money at multiple-deck blackjack, bet variation is much more important than strategy variation“. – Stanford Wong

Beating the dealer’s hand is what Blackjack is all about. While doings so, the player needs to keep two things in mind: not going over 21 when the dealer does and push for the total that exceeds the dealer’s total. It may sound easier than it is. However, before you put yourself out there and aim big at the bet safe casino, you should know the basics, such as Blackjack cards value and betting rules.

Blackjack Cards Value

Blackjack is very straightforward when it comes to cards. Basically, what you see face up is what you get. Suits have no particular or unique value. As all picture cards, we value them as 10s. Regardless of the fact whether it is a king or a dame, for example, the value of that card will always be 10.

It is a bit different with aces. An ace card we count as either 1 or 11. Usually, an ace has the value of 11. The only situation when we value an ace as 1 is when we do not wish to exceed the total of 21 per hand.

A hand containing an ace that counts as 1 is called a „hard hand“. Contrary, a hand containing an ace that counts as 11 is called a „soft hand“. Interestingly, the same value of hands can be played differently. For example, a soft 13 can consist of A-2, while a hard 13 can consist of 10-3. It is important to learn the value of cards and how to differentiate the soft and hard hands because of the various strategies you can apply.

Nevertheless, as Stanford Wong pointed out at the beginning of this text, sometimes, bet variation is more important than the strategy. Therefore, let us explore some of the betting rules, for starters.

Betting Rules

The maximum number of players in Blackjack is 7. In order to be able to play, the player needs to buy a chip from the dealer. Chips have different values, showing the difference in bets. Players also need to note the minimum betting amount that is clearly stated on the table. Sometimes, casinos allow the players to play more than one hand per round. If this happens, the player should wager double the table minimum per hand.

Upon the dealing of the cards, the player needs to decide on the next move, respecting some of the standard rules.

Specific Betting Rules in Blackjack

“Hitting Rule“ refers to the situation when a player wants another card from the dealer. He or she should tap the table slightly with a finger behind his or her cards.

“Standing Rule“ implies that a player is content with the cards and shows his decision to stand with his or her cards by waving a hand over the cards, palm down. Alternatively, a player can tuck the cards under his or her chips in the betting box, to show satisfaction with the cards.

“Pair Splitting Rule“ is quite convenient when a player holds two same cards and wants to split them. That way, a player starts playing two separate hands and drawing as many cards as needed to each hand. Naturally, once you split the cards, it is a requirement to make another bet, equal to the original one. You can place the chip next to the original chip-bet on that hand. Now, the important thing to understand here with the splitting rule is that when you split aces, you can usually draw just one card to each ace.

“Doubling Down Rule“ provides the opportunity to double the initial bet in return for receiving only 1 draw card. Casinos usually allow doubling down for less than the original wager. However, it is debatable whether this is a good move.

“Surrender Rule“ is a tricky one. It allows for the player to surrender the first two card hand, right after the dealer has confirmed that he is not in a possession of a Blackjack. The surrender rule is applicable until the player has not drawn a card. When players wish to surrender they simply say: “Surrender“ or they draw an imaginary line left to right across the betting table.

What is your betting style in Blackjack?