BLACKJACK CARD COUNTING TUTORIAL

You have learned Basic Strategy and you know Money Management and proper Bankrolling. Now it's time to learn the meat and potatoes.

Blackjack Card Counting is the most difficult part and requires lots of practice. (Alternatively, learn about The Wiz, and save time and stress in learning to count.)

Card Counting by definition is the act of assigning a value to each card and tracking the cards dealt to determine the value of the remaining cards in the deck(s).

When counting cards there are many different counting methods or strategies. www.qfit.com lists 23 different strategies, some relatively easy and some relatively difficult. They also list the relative ease in learning these counts.

www.qfit.com is a friend of learn-winning-blackjack.com and offers many great tools for both novice and pro card counters. It is well worth your time to investigate their great tools.

The counting strategy you will learn is one of the easiest to learn and one of the easiest to use in the casino. Why not learn the best, you may ask? Well, this is the count that I've been using since 1978. I've made millions of dollars using this system.

But the main reasons are that it's easy to count and implement…

Why use a counting strategy that is difficult to learn and even more difficult to use? The answer is that you shouldn't. The more difficult it is to learn and use the more mistakes you'll make. The more mistakes you make the less money you earn…

Yes, there is a definite advantage to using a system that is easy to use. Less mistakes equals more money. Always…

You can learn this count strategy and use it in a shorter time compared to other more difficult counting strategies…

…and it works better than most other count strategies in multiple deck games…

and since multiple deck games are where you will likely play the most in your card counting career this is the one you should use.

Why play mostly multiple deck games? The main reason is that you will attract less attention than in a one or two deck game. The whole concept of Card Counting is to stay one step ahead of the casinos and keep from getting barred.

Your only possible income from Blackjack if you get barred… is writing a book about getting barred and in my personal opinion who wants to read a book by someone that is saying he's an expert but apparently screwed up to the point that he can't ply his trade anymore. Apparently this “expert” isn't an expert or he'd still be playing.

A side note you should consider: Learning a more sophisticated counting strategy would, in most cases, not give you a significantly larger advantage to compensate for the difficulty in learning, the extra time to learn and, most importantly the added difficulty in implementing it. So again, the old rule comes into play… K I S S or keep it simple stupid. The easiest way is usually the best way.

The count you will learn is the HI-LO. It's relatively easy to learn and use in the casino…

In this count the assigned value for each card is Aces, Kings, Queens, Jacks and 10's are valued at minus(-1) Twos,Threes, Fours, Fives and Sixes are valued at plus(+1) and Sevens, Eights and Nines have a value of Zero(0)

Example: The cards dealt are 8,10,A,A,5,5,3,2,7,9,J,Q,!0,!0 So the count would be what? OK, let's see. 8=0, 10=-1, A=-1, A= -1, 5=+1, 5= +1, 3= +1, 2= +1, 7= 0,9= 0, J= -1, Q= -1, 10= -1, 10= -1 so the count is -3

The result of this method is called the Running Count. Simply put, the Running Count is the result of every card that has been counted. A minus Running Count is bad and a plus Running Count is usually good. More on this later.

Here's a little tip. When you count down one deck, after all cards have been dealt the count is Zero.

You can practice counting by turning over the cards one at a time and counting the deck down. You need to be able to count one deck perfectly in under thirty seconds.

This is where most books and courses leave it. We'll take practice a step further. When you have gotten the count perfect… in under thirty seconds. Have a friend deal to you from a shoe while counting, when finished count the cards to the stopping point to determine if you are correct.

While your friend deals you should also make bets based on the count, this will not only give you confidence in your counting abilities but show you that all of this practice has given you a winning method of play. This will be a great confidence booster.

If that's not convenient go to a nearby casino and stand behind the table and count down the shoe…

There are two problems with going to the casino and learning…

You will have no way of knowing if you counted correctly and…

You may be tempted to play with real money before you are ready. DON'T!...

Before you start to make bets while you are counting with your friend there is one more thing to learn. This is probably the most important lesson in Blackjack Card Counting.

Your next lesson is how to get the True Count. You now know how to count cards. But how do you use this information to determine how to bet?

Let's figure it out. The Running Count is the sum of all cards that have counted. A negative or minus count will always be bad for the player and good for the house.

Why? Because all minus counts favor the house. Minus counts mean that there are more small cards left in the deck than normal. Small cards mean that there will be less Blackjacks. When the player gets Blackjack he is paid 3 to 2. The dealers Blackjack, however, is paid at even money.

It also means that there will be more small cards left when the dealer must draw to get a good hand and less chance of him breaking.

It also means that when the player Doubles Down he is less likely to get a good card. All good reasons to keep your bet small in a minus count.

The Running Count produces different levels of good and even levels of “not so good”

Take a wild guess as to which +6 count would be better to raise your bet with. OK, it's a 6 deck game and the Running Count is +6, there are 4 decks left in the shoe, or the Running Count is +6 and there are 2 decks left in the shoe.

Let's do the math. The answer that we are looking for is called the True Count.

How do we arrive at the True Count. OK, the True Count is found by dividing the Running Count by the remaining decks. This gives you the actual count or True Count…

Armed with this information we can now determine which +6 count is better. Divide 4 decks into +6 and you get +1.5

Now divide +6 by 2 decks and you get +3

Now it becomes obvious which +6 count is better. Higher is always better than lower.

When finding the true count it is important to know that the closer you are able to estimate the remaining decks the better you will do.

I break down the decks into quarters. So if I estimate that there are 2 ¼ decks left that is what I use to divide into the count. This method will be more difficult than rounding off to 2 decks or 2 ½ decks but will provide more accuracy.

In order to find the True Count you need to be able to estimate the remaining cards in the deck with a good degree of accuracy.

There is only one answer to this problem. Practice, then when you think you have it cold practice some more.

Don't stop practicing when you begin playing for real. As a matter of fact you should practice every day, especially if you are going to the casino that day.

This can get tricky at times. Having two counts in your head, the Running Count and the True Count plus juggling your Basic Strategy and bet size can be a very daunting task…

It is very easy to lose the Running Count and/or the True Count. When this happens, and it will, go back to your small bet and wait for the shuffle to start again.

You may lose a couple of betting opportunities, but it's better to not make a big bet if you're not sure of the count. Always err on the side of caution.

Never try to guess the count. Card Counting is based on fact not guessing.

Remember to treat your Blackjack career as a business. Prepare for each casino trip, follow the rules, use proper bankrolling and proper betting. Never play when tired or distracted. Take time off, get a life, rest and enjoy life. If you don't, you will burn yourself out.

The next chapter will deal with the many tips that will keep you from getting barred and random thoughts that will be of interest to you.