A Leaner’s Guide to Counting Cards
Posted in Blackjack on 02/12/2011 02:21 pm by Cristina
What makes black-jack far more interesting than a lot of other similar games is the reality that it provides a mix of chance with elements of skill and decision-making. Plus, the aura of "card counting" that lets a gambler turn the odds of a game in his favor, makes the game a lot more alluring.
What is card counting?: When a gambler says he’s counting cards, does that mean he’s truly retaining track of every single card bet? And do you have to be numerically suave to be a successful card counter? The answer to both questions is "No".
Really, you aren’t counting and memorizing particular cards. Rather, you might be retaining track of particular cards, or all cards as the case may possibly be, as they leave the chemin de fer deck (dealt) to formulate a single ratio number that indicates the makeup of the remaining deck. That you are assigning a heuristic stage score to every card in the deck and then tracking the value score, which is called the "count".
Card counting is based around the premiss that superior cards are great for the gambler although low cards are great for the croupier. There may be no one technique for card counting – various techniques assign diverse stage values to various cards.
The Hi-Low Count: This is one of the most typical systems. According to the Hi-Lo program, the cards numbered two via six are counted as plusone and all 10s (which include 10s, J’s, queens and K’s) and aces are counted as minusone. The cards 7, eight, and nine are assigned a count of zero.
The preceding explanation of the Hi-Lo technique exemplifies a "level 1" counting system. You will find other counting programs, named "level two" systems, that assign plus2 and -2 counts to certain cards. On the face of it, this program seems to provide additional accuracy. Nonetheless, specialists agree that this further accuracy is offset by the greater difficulty of preserving depend and the increased likelihood of creating a mistake.
The "K-O" Technique: The "K-O" Method follows an out of balance counting system. The points are the exact same as the High-Lo process, with the addition of 7’s also being counted as plus1. A common out of balance counting process is designed to eliminate the need to take into account the effect that a number of decks have on the stage count. This many deck issue, by the way, demands a method of division – some thing that most gamblers have difficulty with. The "K-O" count was made well-known by the book "Knock-Out Blackjack" by Ken Fuchs and Olaf Vancura.
Although it may possibly seem to be a humungous task to learn how to track cards, the returns, in terms of time spent, are well worth the effort. It is a recognized fact that effective card counting gives an "unfair benefit," so to say, to the chemin de fer player. There is practically no known defense against card counting.
Caution: Except do keep in mind, that although card counting is not against the law in any state or country, gambling dens have the right to prohibit card counters from their establishments. So don’t be a clear counter of cards!