Many books and movies are devoted to this strategy; even the movie “21: Blackjack” is dedicated to this topic. So what does it represent?
A very simple card counting concept is that if there are more high cards than low cards in the deck of cards used for the game, you gain more advantage over the casino.
In this case, you can have a positive advantage over the casino in the long run. Usually the player’s advantage is 2% or more. Conversely, if the deck has a majority of low cards, the casino’s advantage increases. By applying this strategy, you should increase your bet size when you have an advantage and decrease it when the casino has the advantage.
The basic card counting strategy works as follows:
Cards numbered 2-6 have a value of +1.
Face cards, ace and 10 have a value of zero.
Cards 7, 8 and 9 have a value of 0.
Thus, the bet should be higher as the amount increases. In addition, you need to divide the total amount by a multiple of the remaining decks. Blackjack is usually played with 6-8 decks of cards. Divide the total amount by four if there are four decks of cards left. Doing this section will give you what is called the “true score” which shows your current advantage or disadvantage. If there are few cards left and you keep a positive total, you will have the largest advantage.
Each point reduces the house’s odds by about 0.5%. Thus, when the true score is two or more, the player has a significant advantage.
It is worth noting that if you count cards, the basic strategy changes slightly. Basic strategy recommends that you draw if your cards are worth 15 and the dealer’s cards are worth 10. However, if the count shows that the deck has a majority of the higher cards, you should bet.
The ace counting method determines the card counting strategy. The ace is crucial to the game because without it you cannot play blackjack, which pays 3:2.
When you play video blackjack, card counting is meaningless because all cards are randomly generated. This means that each game uses a new virtual deck of cards. Card counting can be used to some extent to gain an advantage over the casino in live blackjack, whether at a land-based or online casino.