A Guide to Blackjack Card Counting

A Guide to Blackjack Card Counting at US Casinos

Counting cards is something that has gone down in US casino folklore over the years. Many players have tried it over the years, with varying degrees of success. It’s probably most famously depicted in the hit movie, Rain Man. Here Dustin Hoffman’s character is depicted as a mathematical savant and can use these skills to count cards.

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What Is Card Counting?

Blackjack Card Counting Explained

The good news is that you don’t need to be a savant to count cards, you just need to be able to count and be willing to put the time and effort in to learn. We’re going to tell you everything that you need to know about counting cards and how you can get started with learning how to do it. 

There are a lot of misconceptions about counting cards. Many players think that it’s illegal to count cards. However, this isn’t the case. Counting cards isn’t illegal, it’s just looked down on by casinos. In fact, if you are caught doing it in a land-based casino in Vegas, Atlantic City, or anywhere else then you run the risk of being banned. It’s still a very important skill to learn though and can be very beneficial to players, especially in the modern world. 

We’re going to go over everything you need to know to become a skilled card counter. Just take a look at what we’re going to cover and what you can learn about card counting:

• Where can you count cards
• How to start counting cards
• Putting it into practice
• Does it work on its own
• Is it worth doing?

Where Can You Count Cards?

There are actually only two places where you can count cards. The first has already been mentioned. Land-based US casinos have Blackjack on offer to players, although as we said they do look out for people who are counting cards. This means that it can be risky to count cards when playing at a land-based casino. 

The second place that you can count cards is at a USA online casino. There are some things that you should be aware of when playing at US online casinos though. The first is that the software-based Blackjack games all use a sorting algorithm to shuffle the cards. This means that on each deal the cards will be shuffled again.

Because the cards won’t be discarded after every hand, it means that counting cards is useless. This doesn’t mean that you should give up on counting cards at a US online casino though. You can count cards when playing a US live dealer version of Blackjack. This is because it takes place using a live dealer. As such the cards are discarded after every hand and dealt out of a shoe. 

This gives players the opportunity to count cards when playing at a live dealer version of Blackjack. Because it’s not in a brick-and-mortar casino it’s also much harder to track, so the casino will be unable to ban you for counting cards. Now you know where you are able to count cards, it’s time to learn how to do it.

How to Start Counting Cards

The basics of card counting start when you understand that you don’t have to remember every card that has come out. This will come as a shock to a lot of people. When people think of counting cards they think that it means having a photographic memory. It’s actually much more like counting, hence the name counting cards. 

The first step that you need to do is understand that each card has a positive, neutral, and negative value. Depending on what the card is worth, depends on which one is in place. Your count begins when the cards are shuffled. Once this has happened it’s time to start keeping what is called a running count. Your running count always starts at zero after the shuffle has taken place.

If a card that has a value between two and six is dealt out, then this has a positive value. This means that you will add one to your running count. If the card has a value of between seven and nine is dealt out then this is neutral. This means that your running count stays the same. If a card worth ten or an Ace is dealt out then this has a negative value. This means that your running count decreases by one. 

Once the round has finished your running count will have a positive or negative value or in some cases a value of zero. If the count has a positive value it means that there are more cards worth ten still in the deck. This means you have a good chance of creating good hands.

After you, you can increase your bets for the next round. If the count has a negative value then it means there are more low-value cards still in the deck. This means it’s time to decrease your betting amount. A neutral value means you stay at the same betting level. 

While this is definitely a helpful bankroll management strategy, it doesn’t give you access to the full power of counting cards. 

Putting it Into Practice

In order to get the full benefit of counting cards, you will need to combine it with what’s called “basic Blackjack strategy”. This is essentially a strategy where you choose the best option on every single hand. It is devised through statistics and is so effective that it actually decreases the house edge if you use it correctly. 

When combined with counting cards you can give yourself a big advantage when playing Blackjack. This is why so many casinos don’t like players using it. It doesn’t end there though.

You can actually find Blackjack strategies that take into account the running count. This increases the effectiveness of counting cards to an even higher degree. If you want to truly get the full impact of card counting then this is the strategy that you will have to learn. 

It should be noted that this does take a lot of effort to learn effectively, so don’t be afraid to practice using free to play Blackjack games, or even with a deck of cards at home. Once you have mastered the strategy you will be able to begin playing for real money. 

Does it Work on Its Own?

Work is a subjective term. If you mean does counting cards increase your chances of walking away with a profit, then yes it definitely works. If you mean will it guarantee you will win, then no. There is no way to guarantee a win with any casino game. You can just increase your chances of winning. 

Counting cards will allow you to manage your bankroll to a much better level. It will also allow you to know what is, statistically, more likely to be dealt out next. Both of these will help you when it comes to walking away with a profit. 

Obviously, card counting works much better when combined with other strategies, but if you use it on its own it will improve your Blackjack skills. 

Is It Worth Doing?

If you play Blackjack regularly and are serious about playing, then yes it’s definitely worth doing. Counting cards will improve your skills and make you a better player. However, if you very rarely play then perhaps it isn’t worth your time. 

Becoming good at counting cards will take a fair bit of time, so if you don’t play very often this might not be the technique for you to learn. But, as already mentioned, if you’re a regular player then this is something you should definitely learn to do. Just remember, if you’re playing at an online casino you can only use it for live dealer versions of the game. It won’t work for purely software-based versions. 

Counting Cards FAQ