Count Cards, Beat Blackjack!

Blackjack is famous for having one of the best odds favorable to the player in the casino.

But what most, especially those who are not avid casino players do not know is that blackjack is more notorious for being a 'beatable' game, meaning it is possible to devise a way to ensure constant advantage over the casino.

In fact, one can raise the odds of 0.5% favoring the casino to approximately 1% favoring the player given he or she plays with the winning strategy that is card counting.

There is no other game in the world where it is possible have an advantage over the casino other than blackjack.

Card counting is basically a strategy in blackjack wherein a player tracks the ratio of high value cards (aces, tens and face cards) to low cards to determine his or her probability advantage.

Since it is the objective of the game to get as close to twenty-one as possible without going beyond, it will be advantageous to the player to have a deck with a high proportion of high cards to low cards.

So when the deck in such a state, when high value cards outnumber the lower ones, it is the best time to raise the pot.

But how would one know if the deck is at its prime for raising a bet?

This is where card counting comes in.

Contrary to popular belief, one doesn't need to be a genius to practice the technique of counting cards. There is no need for card memorization and tracking of specific cards as card counting is all about evaluating cards that come up with the use of a point system.

There are many variants of card counting but the Hi-Lo system is the most popular and the easiest to grasp as it is designed for use by blackjack beginners and casual players.

The Hi-Lo system's simplicity lies in the fact that one only needs to know what 1 + 1 is to master the card counting system.

So how does the Hi-Lo system work?

First, one should learn and remember the point system of Hi-Lo for each card.

For cards with face value 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 the count is 1. For cards 7, 8, and 9 the count is zero while the count for tens, jacks, queens, kings and aces is negative 1. If all the cards are added according to their Hi-Lo points, it will all sum up to zero, a proof of the Hi-Lo system's balance.

The count begins at zero when one starts playing a new session of blackjack. For every card that is dealt, a point of 1 or 0 or -1 is added to the score depending on the cards that come up.

When the count is high, which is +2 and above, one should take advantage and raise the bet as the low value cards have already been played and the deck now has high percentage of coming up with high value cards which is very, very good for any blackjack player.

However, if the card count is either zero or negative, one should play conservatively and bet in lesser amounts as the casino has the advantage in these instances.

Although it does not give absolute winnings in every session as blackjack is still a gambling game no matter the strategy one uses, the card counting system gives considerable advantage to players by teaching them to discern in certain instances whether one has the advantage over the casino or vice-versa.