Blackjack is one of the few games where you can get an edge over the casino. This is something you can learn and profit from quickly and easily. Before you learn to card count however, you need to be familiar with blackjack basic strategy, the system that all card-counting strategies are based upon. Here we will introduce you to why card counting works and dispel some common myths. Card Counting Myths Before we begin lets dispel two common myths about card counting: 1. Card counters do not memorize every card they have seen dealt out of a deck or shoe, and card counting does NOT need to be complicated. In fact, simple systems can be very effective. It is the logic the system is based upon, NOT its complexity that makes a system successful. 2. Card counting also does not allow a player to foresee with certainty what card will be dealt out the deck next. Card counting is simply a probability theory NOT a predictive theory. While it puts the odds in your favor longer term, short-term losing periods occur for ALL players, so be prepared! 1. Why card counting works Players who use correct blackjack strategy with a card counting system can beat the casinos edge. The reason for this is simple. Low cards favor the dealer in blackjack, and high cards favor the player. Low cards favor the dealer because they help him make winning totals on his hands when he is stiff, (has a 12, 13, 14, 15, or 16 total on his first two cards). 2. Card Counting Your Advantage over the Dealer In casino blackjack, you can stand on your stiffs if you want to, but the dealer cannot. He has no choice to make but you do, and herein is your advantage. Rules of the game require that he hit his stiffs no matter how rich the deck is in high cards that will bust him. It is the fact that you have choices and he does not, which can give you the edge in blackjack. 3. Card Counting Increasing The Odds Of Hitting a Blackjack The high cards favor the player not only because they may bust the dealer when he hits his stiffs, but because the 10s and Aces create blackjacks. Although blackjacks are of course, evenly distributed between the dealer and the player, the important fact is that the player is paid more (3:2) when he gets a blackjack. 4. You Don't Need To Count All the Cards In card counting, you do not have to count the numbers of each of the individual card values in order to know when you have an advantage over the casino. You only need to know when the deck is rich or poor in high cards i.e the cards favorable to the player. 5. Card Counting - You Have To Act On Your Advantage! Card counting by itself can reveal when you have an advantage, but to maximize your profits you need to vary your bet size up when you have an advantage and down when you don't. For card counting, to be effective you need to ACT and capitalize on the situations that are favorable to you. 6. Card Counting Technique Learn It In 5 Minutes! So how does a blackjack player actually card count? There are many different techniques; some are difficult to master, while some are easier to learn. In fact, you can learn a simple effective card counting method in just 5 minutes! |
