What is card counting?

Card counting is used in blackjack strategy whereby one tracks the ratio of high cards to low cards still in the deck. A deck containing high cards is advantageous to a player since he or she is more likely to receive a blackjack. Since a blackjack pays out at 3 to 2, raising the size of your bet knowing that a blackjack is more likely gives you a long-term mathematical advantage. There are other issues that add to the mathematical edge. Firstly doubling down becomes more profitable when there are a lot of high cards left in the deck, and also the dealer has a greater chance of busting a stiff hand when the deck is full of high cards.

How hard is card counting?

You need to sharpen your concentration power skills for card counting. You also need the self-discipline to sit down and master the actual skills involved before trying to count cards in a casino. Most casinos ban card counters from playing blackjack and so it has to be done very subtly.Counting cards does not mean keeping track of every card that's been played. A card counting system will give a value to certain cards, usually +1 or -1, which you have to remember, and this total will help you raise or lower your blackjack bets.

An easy card counting system

The Wizard of Odds, Michael Shackleford, developed an easy card counting system called the ‘Wizard's ace five count’. The count starts at 0, and every ace counts a -1 and every five counts as a +1. You'll bet one unit when the count is 0 or negative. When the count is positive, you'll bet two units times the amount of the count, so two units at +1, four units at +2, six units at +3 and so on.

This strategy is most effective in a six-deck game where the dealer stands on a soft 17, late surrender is allowed, and the player is allowed to re-split aces. The strategy yields a small advantage of only 0.22%.