Hey guys, we know that many of you are into blackjack. We have a lot of blackjack experience and today we are going to share some card counting tips with you!
Card counting in blackjack is used to give the player an advantage over the casino but it is not cheating. Card counting is not illegal, just frowned upon. You can indeed use this tactic, but you will have to learn to be careful.
Do you think that card counting requires some kind of super strength or special qualities from a person? No, actually anyone can learn to count cards with a little practice. Look down below to finally learn how to count cards in blackjack!
Master the strategy first
You can’t be effective if you don’t know basic blackjack strategy. Yeah, you can just count cards, but that won’t lead you to victory. Learn to walk before you start running!
It is necessary to have practice in the casino if you plan to count cards in the casino. There are a bunch of other factors to consider. For example, you need to hide from other players the fact that you are worried.
When you play blackjack with a well-practiced strategy, you get a house edge relative to 0. It’s no secret that casino games lean more towards the casino than the players, so 0 is a pretty good start!
Familiarize yourself with the concept of card counting
The Hi-Lo strategy is a general card counting strategy. It is the most popular due to good final results and ease of learning. The player gives high cards a certain value (-1) and low cards a certain value (+1). When he sums them up, they become the control quantity. The more relaxed you are, the less your brain will want to explode, so think of card counting as something nice and easy.
“Why does card counting even work?” You should be able to answer this question for yourself. It works because high cards (10s) improve your odds of hitting blackjack, which pays out 3 to 2. It also increases the dealer’s chance of busting. Low cards are bad for the player but good for the dealer.
If the ratio of high cards to low cards is higher than normal, meaning there are still many high cards in play, you can bet big to increase the amount you can win when circumstances are favorable. The number in your head will help you decide whether to bet, when to bet, and how much to bet.
A deck with a positive number (a number greater than zero) is good. The higher the number, the higher you need to raise your bet. The higher the number, the more high cards remain in the game!
Learn values
In order to keep track of the ratio of high to low cards while playing blackjack, you will need to assign a value to your cards. Start at 0 and so on for each card, adding their value to your tally.
- Value 1 sticks to cards 2-6
- Cards 7-9 have no value
- Value -1 sticks to cards 10
- Value -1 sticks to Aces
Learn how to bet correctly
Raise your bets when the counter is positive, i.e. +2 and above. The higher the number, the more you have to bet. But keep in mind that if you bet too much, you can increase the temperature in the casino. If you want to increase your bet by one for each point, then that’s okay. If you do it more sharply, surprised eyes will stare at you.
Did you know that dealers are trained to shuffle the deck if there is an inexplicable raise of the bet? Yeah, it’s true, for this reason, play at low speeds and don’t focus too much on some moments in the game. As we said in the introduction to this article, card counting is not illegal, but it is frowned upon. If the casino’s suspicions of you are too high, you may be asked to leave the casino and never return.
Count accurately and faster
Card counting must be accurate and fast. If you look at J and 4, your thought process shouldn’t look like “-1 and +1 = 0”, it should look like “0”. When you have a low card and a high card in front of you, they should instantly compensate each other. With this in mind, it will be much easier for you to count cards.
Test yourself
Grab a full deck of joker cards and track the cards as best as you can. You should end up with a 0 if you counted the cards correctly. Don’t be surprised if you end up with different numbers at first.
Start timing. Set yourself the goal of going through the entire deck in less than 25 seconds.
Take a card and then place it face down. Start counting with a deck of cards and see if your card is in the right place.
Add some distractions
Great if you can count cards alone in the comfort of your own home with the door locked and curtains drawn. But how to do it in a noisy casino? You have to be prepared for the fact that there are hundreds of distractions happening at the same time in the casino.
We advise you to start, let’s say, by turning on the TV and then the radio. Add dogs and a few children to this noise, and you will be at the level of any casino. Not to mention that you will have several pairs of eyes looking at you, but you will be ready for this, right?
Do you feel that noisy casino halls are not for you? Then try playing online blackjack at one of the licensed online casinos! In some of the online casinos you can also play live blackjack with a real dealer and opponents. Among the best licensed websites we highlight N1Bet, Jackpot City, Pin Up and Uptown Aces.