Casino Gambling CAN be Profitable ...For Advanced Blackjack Strategy Players

In the game of Blackjack, once you have mastered the basic Blackjack strategies for hitting, standing, splitting pairs and doubling down, the best way to further increase your odds of winning is to learn the advanced Blackjack strategy called "card counting" strategy.

It's not impossibly difficult, but it does require practice.

What is Card Counting?

At its simplest, Thorpe's advanced Blackjack strategy method counted ten value cards and Aces as "positive" and cards 2 - 6 as "negative." Cards 7 - 9 were considered "neutral", having neither a positive or negative count. The theory presented was that if the net count in the remaining deck was positive, you increased your bets. If the net count was negative, you bet the minimum.

The resulting uproar in the gambling industry resulted in several rules changes that greatly diminished the card counter's advantage. For example, casinos no longer deal to the end of the deck and for the most part now use multiple deck shoes with frequent shuffles.

In recent years, however, it is once again possible to find double deck and in some cases single deck games in the casinos. This hasd up the door slightly again for the expert card counter who is able to use this advanced Blackjack strategy and effectively mask his playing skills.

Is Card Counting Illegal?

They have mounted a public relations campaign over many years, with well-publicized examples of expelling card counters, to the point where much of the general public believes that card counting is illegal, or at the best cheating. Where they are permitted, casinos will eject a player who uses this advanced Blackjack strategy (or ban card counters altogether).

However, this is all marketing hype by the casinos. The bottom line is that card counting - or any other advanced Blackjack strategy - is neither illegal nor is it a form of cheating. The card counter simply observes the cards that are dealt and which are visible to everyone else at the table and adjusts his playing strategy if he feels the remaining cards to be dealt are in his favor.

This is no more cheating than a poker player who observes the other player's hands and adjusts his playing strategy accordingly.

This is why casinos have not been successful in lobbying for laws banning the advanced Blackjack strategy of card counting or in winning court cases against card counters. However, in most locations the casino is permitted to refuse service to anyone for any reason and this is how they ban card counters - or any other advanced Blackjack strategy player that they catch - from playing or expel them for the casino.

The house certainly does not want the business of gamblers who stand a better chance of winning than the average customer! They know there is no advanced Blackjack strategy as effective as card counting.

The Basic Concept Behind Card Counting

While the cards are dealt randomly, the chance of a card being dealt is dependent on the cards already dealt. This is because once a card has been dealt, it will not be dealt again (until the cards are shuffled, of course!) and that has an affect on the likelihood of certain hands being dealt.

For example, if 50% of all face cards have been dealt, that doesn't mean you won't get a face card on your next hit, but certainly makes it only half as likely. This likelihood, or non-likelihood of certain cards being dealt is the entire basis of a card counting advanced Blackjack strategy.

There are three basic reasons why a higher percentage of face card and Aces in the deck are better for you, the player:

1. You are paid a 50% bonus (3 to 2) when a blackjack is dealt, and lose only your original wager if the dealer receives blackjack. The odds that you will receive a blackjack are greater when there are more face cards and Aces in the deck.
2. You can double down on a low or soft hand, and your odds of doing well are best when you are dealt a high card.
3. You can stand at any time, whereas the dealer must hit to 17 or bust. A bust is more likely when there are more high-value cards in the deck.

Easy, right? Perhaps in concept, but in order to keep a running total in a fast paced game, play your own hand, handle chips, all the while trying not to look like you're counting, requires a lightening quick mind and hundreds of hours of practice. After all, if this advanced Blackjack strategy were easy, everyone would be doing it!

And bear in mind that even an advanced Blackjack strategy such as card counting does not give you the ability to predict the next card you will be dealt. What is does is indicate if the remainder of the deck contains more cards that are favorable for you or favorable for the dealer. This information is used to decide when to increase your bets.

Always remember that even when the remainder of the deck is extremely favorable to you, the cards have no memory or logic of their own and you may still get dealt the few remaining unfavorable cards.

What the advanced Blackjack strategy of card counting can do is tilt the odds from being slightly against you to being slightly in your favor. Playing perfect basic Blackjack strategy alone reduces the house edge to about one percent. When you add card counting to basic strategy, you can obtain about a one percent edge against the house over time.

This means that in the long run, with this advanced Blackjack strategy you can win slightly against the house instead of losing slightly. And with a favorable count that lasts for many hands, you can win big.

This is the romantic allure of Blackjack card counting!

Once more note: Only use card counting when playing in a single or double deck game. With multi-deck shoes, there are simply too many cards for the running count to be very meaningful. It may give you a very general and vague idea of the remainder of the decks, but since most casinos don't deal much more than two thirds of the cards, it's nearly impossible to get a meaningful running count.

Also, do not ever attempt card counting - or any other advanced Blackjack stragegy - at online casinos, as they shuffle cards between every hand, so card counting is useless.

The Basic Card Counting Technique

With the Running High/Low count, it is not necessary to keep track of every card dealt, as commonly believed. While this would be ideal, it is beyond the ability of most people, including most expert card counters. Instead, the Running High/Low count keeps a running total of whether the count is plus or minus by assigning a plus one, a minus one, or a zero value to the cards. You then simply add the card values as they are dealt to the running total to give you an indication of whether the remaining cards in the deck are favorable or unfavorable.

The card values are: two, three, four, five, and six cards are counted as +1. Tens, face cards and Aces are counted as -1. Sevens, eights and nines are counted as zero. Thus, low cards add to the running total and high cards subtract from it.

A 52-card deck of cards has a total count of zero, because there are 20 low cards with a value of -1, 20 high cards with a value of +1, and 12 middle cards with a value of zero. As the cards are dealt, the running count will thus go from zero to positive or negative based on which cards have been played.

If the running total is positive: more low cards have been dealt, the remaining cards in the deck are richer in high cards and you should increase your bets. The greater the positive value, the greater you should increase your bet.

If the running count is negative: more high cards have been dealt, the remaining cards in the deck are richer in low cards and you should drop back to the minimum bet. If the count becomes very negative and there are still many cards to be dealt, consider leaving the game.

And that, in a nutshell, is the advanced Blackjack strategy called card counting! You now know the concepts behind the best advanced Blackjack strategy. But it is only the foundation. In order to effectively count and take advantage of the count, you must learn how to count the cards dealt on the table at a glance, how to vary your bet based on the count, and how to vary your basic strategy based on the count.

Techniques for Practicing the Running Count

First, take a deck of cards and turn them over one at a time, while counting and keeping the running count in your head. You will be slow at first but your speed will increase with practice.

How fast do you have to be? Expert advanced Blackjack strategy card counters will tell you that to effectively count in an actual casino game with six or seven players, you must practice until you can accurately count all 52 cards as you turn them over in 30 seconds or less! That sounds nearly impossible, but in actuality it is well within the ability of most people with average intelligence - if you practice enough!

You should also practice counting backwards to help with the minus count. You don't need a deck to practice this. Simply start at 20 and count backwards by twos (e.g. 20, 18, 16, etc). Then start at 19 and count backwards by twos for the odd numbers (e.g. 19, 17, 15, etc.). Practice this daily until you can immediately count backwards quickly starting from any number.

inally, you'll need to practice counting as Blackjack hands are dealt. Pretend you are the dealer and deal six or seven Blackjack hands in front of you, counting each hand and keeping the running count. Do this until you can quickly and accurately determine the running count after each round of six or seven hands is dealt.

This is much more difficult than counting the cards by turning them over one by one, but it is the way you must count in an actual casino game. Remember what we said earlier: an advanced Blackjack strategy require work!

How to Vary Your Bets With the Count

The problem with this method is it practically screams to the pit boss that you're a card counter and almost guarantees you'll be asked to leave the game.

Instead, you'll need to use a more subtle betting method. What you want to do is increase your bet moderately when the cards turn in your favor and then increase each subsequent bet so long as you are winning. Since many people use this sort of a progressive betting system, you are less likely to be tagged as a card counter.

Here's an example. If the minimum bet is $5, bet the minimum until the card count turns favorable with, say, a plus five or higher. Then bet $10. If you win, bet $20. If you win again, bet $30. Keep upping your bet by $10 so long as the deck is favorable.

If you lose a hand, but the count is still favorable, decrease your bet by $10 and keep it at that level if you continue to lose, so long as the count remains favorable. When you win a hand, increase your bet $10 and follow the same routine. When the count turns unfavorable with a negative count, drop back to the minimum $5 bet.

This way, you'll be taking advantage of a favorable count with larger bets, but will do so in a way that is less like to identify you as an advanced Blackjack strategy card counter.

Advanced Blackjack Strategy Changes Based on the Count

There are dozens of adjustments that theoretically can increase your odds slightly, but memorizing them all on top of keeping a running count is simply too difficult for most people. You will do almost as well with the following few basic strategy changes.

When the count is +8 or higher:

• Stand on 12 against a two or three
• Double 8 or 9 against a 5 or 6 or lower
• Stand 15 and 16 against anything
• Double 10 against anything except an Ace
• Split 10's against a 5 or 6

Avoiding Detection as a Card Counter

• Do not increase your bet on the next hand by more than two or three times at the most, no matter how favorable the count becomes.
• Do not stare intently at each card dealt to each player, as you tally the running count. This is a dead giveaway. Instead, look casually around the table, engage in small talk with other players and the dealer, and generally smile and look like you're relaxed and having a good time. Your ability to do this is directly dependent on how much you're practiced counting at home!
• Order an occasional drink. Casinos know that most card counters avoid alcohol so as not to interfere with their concentration. So, simply order a drink the first time the cocktail waitress comes around and then let it sit in front of you and occasionally sip it slowly. A normal person can drink one mixed drink an hour without interfering with their mental processes and no one will notice that you aren't drinking faster than that.
• Tip the dealer when you are winning. Card counters are notoriously bad tippers, so if you tip the dealers moderately so long as you are winning, they will be pleased with your success rather than suspecting you of card counting.

But sometimes all your efforts will fail and you will be tagged as a card counter by casino personnel and asked to leave. It's then important to exit gracefully and not draw additional unwanted attention to yourself. Simply ask lightheartedly if they are serious and if they are, leave quietly so that you won't be remembered long. It's simply an occupational hazard of being an advanced Blackjack strategy player.