Technical HI-LOW (Hi-LO) card counting
The Hi-Lo was created by Harvey Dubner in 1963 and was later refined by Julian Braun and Stanford Wong. This is the system of counting cards in blackjack the simplest and best known: it is especially shown in the film Las Vegas 21 system as the plus / minus.
General principle of counting cards
The principle of counting cards is to assign values (1, 0 or -1) to each card dealt to players, including the donor, and add or subtract to determine if the remaining cards in the deck are for the benefit of player or the casino.
This is a balanced system of counting
The Hi-Lo is an example of a balanced card counting. It y ‘as much as a -1 in the game, so a count of 52 cards giving 0 to the end. A good card counter has a deck of 52 cards in under 25 seconds and can reach 15 seconds. Tip: Distribute the cards in pairs to reduce your time.
Values of the cards in the Hi-Lo
Aces and logs (equivalent to 10 cards in blackjack) are set to -1 in this system. Maps 7, 8, 9 to 0, the cards 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 each account for 1.
| Map | Value |
|---|---|
| 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 | Count 1 |
| 7, 8, 9 | Count 0 |
| 10, J, Q, K, A | Count -1 |
Practical example:
- After shuffling, counting starts at zero.
- The dealer deals the cards following sequence: 5, 7 aces, 6, 3, 8, Jack.
- Each card comes out, the count is adjusted as follows: 1 for 5, 0 for 7, -1 for As, 1 for 6, 1 for 3, 0 for 8, -1 the Jack.
- Is being counted: 1 + 0-1 + 1 + 1 + 0-1 = 1
- The final count after the sequence of cards dealt above is one .
The true account
To determine the true account / real / true count , which is essential to take into account the number of decks used in blackjack, divide the total by the number of decks remaining to play to weight advantage.
What’s true in? Vary his bets …
When the cards are dealt, the player continues to count mentally the cards are played and determines whether to rely more or not. Plus the total, the higher the ratio of cards to distribute (10 points and As), the greater part turns to the player’s advantage: it then increases its implementation . And vice versa, when the account is low, the counter is minimum bets.
- Here are the differences made by the true account.
Indices: the basic strategy is modified according to the account
When you count cards, you play by following the basic strategy . It is modified according to the true counts is what we call evidence .
- Example: Card counters are taking out insurance only when the true count is +3 or more.