Become a Card Counter

9 May 2020

By John Marchel

Blackjack is different from all other card games that the casinos offer. It’s called a game of “dependent events.”

The cards remaining in a deck are dependent on which ones have been played or already removed from that deck previously. That will help tell the player the deck has lots of good cards (high cards) remaining or lots of bad cards (low cards that will help the dealer). Blackjack is one game that involves a deal of skill.

In fact, the skill factor is so great that if a player used the correct strategies and card counting, he/she can beat the casino the majority of the time. The casinos know this, that is why they can ask you to stop playing if they think you are a card counter. And various courts have ruled that they have the right to do that.

With a level-one count you do not have to spend a lot of time or money to learn a system. You can spend most of your time practicing instead of trying to understand and mastering a multi-level count.

One problem with counting cards is speed. You must keep the count even against a very fast dealer. You might find yourself mental fatigued after only a few hours at the table with a complicated multi-level count. You may start to make mistakes or lose you count frequently. The concentration needed may not allow you to support the small talk with other players, raising casino suspicions that you are a card counter. All these things must be taken into account when choosing a counting system.

The multi-level systems plus multi-parameters added, such as side counts of aces, deuces, eights and so forth can lead to a very powerful and winning system. In computer simulations it has been found that these counts outperform simple systems thus allowing the player to greatly improve his/her winning amounts. In the end, it’s making a few mistakes or accuracy of your count, it’s your call.


BET YOU DIDN'T KNOW

• Monte Carlo’s casino name comes from the surrounding mountains (Monte) and prince Charles II (Carlo) the ruler of Monaco at the time of its building.

• The name Pai Gow is Chinese for “makes nine” which represents the lowest hand that one can make.

• The candles on slot machines (the glass tubes on top of the machines) come in different colors to distinguish the coin denomination needed to play. The colors are almost standard throughout the gaming industry: .01¢ = White; .05¢ = Red; .25¢ = Yellow; .50¢ = Gold; $1 = Blue; $5 = Purple

• The world’s most famous horse race, the Derby, was first run at Surrey England in 1780. It was the idea of the 12th Lord Derby.

• In San Francisco during the California gold rush (mid-1800s) a self-appointed vigilante, Curtis Greeves, offered to cure habitual gamblers by plunging their hands into a bucket of red-hot coals he carried from saloon to saloon. He did get one taker, who painfully lost the use of his right hand.

• In June 1976 Robert Pittman won a seat on the city council of Show Low, Arizona. He had tied the mayor, David Foil, during the election. A deck of cards was then used to determine the winner. This method was based on a re-enactment of how the town got its original name. Pittman won after drawing a deuce of clubs.\

• Sports betting can be found in 67 different countries around the world. Some are concededly small like Benin, in West Africa; others like the UK have enjoyed betting on sporting events for many years.

• In the 1830s, it’s be estimated that over 1500 professional gamblers made their living on the riverboats between New Orleans and Louisville.