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The Card Counting Revolution

24 October 2024

CINDY: Okay, we said we’d do it and now we are going to do it. Let’s talk about card counting.

ABBY: Considering that neither one of us was really successful at it, this makes total sense to me.

CINDY: We know how it is done; why it works and how the casinos feel about it.

ABBY: I guess that’s enough to make us experts.

CINDY: Probably. We are like the fat coach who really understands the game but just doesn’t have the physical stamina to be a player. But he can sure coach the team.

ABBY: What makes blackjack an interesting game is that with each deal the future is more or less predictable.

CINDY: If you have one deck and all four aces come out on the first round, guess what? There will be no blackjacks until the shuffle takes place. What happens now will affect the future. No aces, no blackjacks. No aces come out in the first round? The blackjacks are more possible since no aces have yet come out.

ABBY: And that is the basic underlying idea behind card counting. You want a method to understand what cards have come out. So, you know what cards are left to come out.

CINDY: Sounds simple.

ABBY: The idea is simple. The execution of the idea is not so simple. If you have a six-deck game and all those cards, how do you know what’s been played and what hasn’t been played? No brain could actually keep track of six decks worth of cards unless that brain belongs to Rainman.

CINDY: Won’t happen. There is only one Rainman. So, over the years experts started to create new blackjack card-counting systems. These could be used against those multiple-deck shoe games. And they worked for those players who could learn how to do it and do it in the casinos. Doing it in the casinos usually stops everyone except the truly motivated players.

ABBY: In the casino you have the pit boss eyeing the game and that can cause even the bravest player to get rattled. That is what actually stopped me. Playing blackjack and counting cards? Where’s the fun in that?

CINDY: How do you do it?

ABBY: There are many card counting systems out there but the most used and most successful for most card counters is called the “high/low” system.

CINDY: You take the lower valued cards 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 and give them each a value of +1. You take the high cards and give them the -1 designation. You will have the 10, jack, queen, king, and ace with minus one values. The 7, 8, 9 cards have no value in this system.

ABBY: As the cards are dealt you keep track of the totals. So, if a 6, 8 and 9 came out, then the count is +2. The next hand could have a king, jack and that makes the count even again.

CINDY: At some point the count could be high enough that the player will have the edge over the house, meaning the high cards are waiting to come out, and at this point he or she makes a bigger than normal bet. This is to take advantage of a player edge at the game. Sounds simple, right?

ABBY: Anything but simple. That’s for sure. With noise in the casino, with the floor person studying you, you have to have nerves of steal to keep going. I salute those who can do this, I really do.

CINDY: And that my friends is card counting.

ABBY: Short and sweet.
Royal Flushes

Abby Royal is a lawyer and Cindy Royal is a school administrator. Together, they are the Royal Flushes. The sisters play weekly or bi-weekly in such venues as Atlantic City, Las Vegas, Pennsylvania and Indian casinos throughout the country. They also enjoy the casinos on cruise ships. They know their stuff and have some great stories about their exploits.
Royal Flushes
Abby Royal is a lawyer and Cindy Royal is a school administrator. Together, they are the Royal Flushes. The sisters play weekly or bi-weekly in such venues as Atlantic City, Las Vegas, Pennsylvania and Indian casinos throughout the country. They also enjoy the casinos on cruise ships. They know their stuff and have some great stories about their exploits.