Popular Blackjack Counting Systems You Should Know

Blackjack is one of the most popular casino games across the world. Most of the professional gamblers choose to play blackjack over other casino games because it relies more on skill and strategy than pure luck. The secret to winning blackjack, as many players would agree, is to know the art of counting cards. Here are some counting systems that blackjack players use.

Source

How to Count Cards in Blackjack

The blackjack card counting techniques that are given below work equally well for offline and online versions of blackjack. In case you are new to online casinos and blackjack, in particular, click here to find out more. To practice counting cards, you don't need to be part of a game. Deal yourself cards at random and use the different systems to understand how the counting works and pick the one with which you are most comfortable.

1. Thorp's Ten Count

This method is the simplest way to count cards in blackjack, which is valid only if the dealer deals a single deck of cards. Here, you assign a value of +4 to all number cards and the ace and -9 to all face cards. Then, the higher the sum of the cards you have, the higher the bet you should place. As a beginner, you can start with this method of the K-O method described later.

2. The Hi-Lo Counting System

Here, assign a value of +1 to the cards 2 to 6, -1 to the face cards and the tens, and 0 to the remaining cards (i.e., sevens, eights, and nines). Find the sum of your cards. If it is positive, it means the dealer has not given the high-value cards yet. Note that if there are multiple decks, you must divide the final running sum by the number of decks.

3. The Red Seven Count System

This method is quite similar to the Hi-Lo system. You assign +1 to the cards 2 to 6, -1 to the face cards and the tens, and 0 to the eights, and nines. If you get a red seven (hearts or diamonds), add +1 to your count; if you get a black seven (clubs or spades), add 0 to your count. The higher your sum, the higher your bet.

As a beginner, use this system if there is only one deck. If there are multiple decks, the counting becomes more complicated because you should add an appropriate starting count. A rule of thumb is that your starting is the negative of the number of decks in play multiplied by two.

4. The Knock-Out (K-O) System

Very few players prefer the knock-out system of counting because it is not as reliable as the other methods, but it is easy to do. The cards 2-7 have a value of +1, eights and nines have a value of 0, and the remaining cards have a value of -1. If the total of your cards is +2, you should place a bet but hold back otherwise.

The K-O system is said to be "unbalanced" because the total of the values across all 52 cards is +4 and not zero (unlike the Hi-Lo system).

Conclusion

Some people and casinos consider card counting as an illegal way to win blackjack, but in most places, you are allowed to use this method. Ultimately, you need to be able to do the math quickly in your head to succeed at counting cards.

A final word of caution: If you play against a continuous shuffling machine (CSM), it shuffles the deck after every hand, making blackjack card counting quite challenging. If not, you have a significant edge over your opponents if you master the skill of counting cards.