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| Blackjack and Card Counting |
What is card counting?
Card Counting is a strategy used by some players to gain an advantage over the house. It is done by keeping track of each high and low card that has come out of the deck since the last shuffle.
The player is able to gain a probability advantage by determining if the next card is more likely to be high or low.
The more high cards that are in the deck, the more chance there is of the player getting Blackjack which pay better. The more low cards in the deck, the better it is for the dealer as Blackjack is likely.
The player is able to manipulate the odds in their favour when card counting as they can change their stakes according to the chances of them winning.
Card Counting Systems
The plus minus strategy is probably the simplest card counting out there. It gives positive and negative values to all of the cards and a tally is kept of the total score, which changes with each new card that is dealt.
If the card counter decides to use just +1 and -1 then it is not going to be as accurate as the score can only change by one each time, but is easier to keep track of. In more advanced versions bigger values are assigned to some cards making the edge favour the card counter further, but it is more difficult to keep track of.
Card Counting Edge
If players use a sensible Blackjack strategy (see our Blackjack Strategy Guide), most casinos have a house edge of less than 0.50%.
When card counting the player can actually benefit from a 1% advantage in their favour. The amount of edge will of course depend on the skills of the card counter, but a highly skilled card counter in operation can be very profitable.
Card Counting Rules
Although card counting is not illegal, it is prohibited by casinos. Players who are under suspicion of card counting are usually banned from casinos immediately, and may have their information shared with other casinos. |
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