how to count cards

How to Count Cards

Normally, the house as the advantage. This is due in large part to the fact that the house is the last to play. All players have an opportunity to bust before the house. This statistical advantage means that while any individual hand can be won or lost, over time the house will win more than it loses.

Basic strategy is a defined play based on the odds of wining a hand. By playing basic strategy, the house advantage is kept to a statistical minimum. Playing without the strategy means the house edge is even higher.

However, there are times within a game where a player has a statistically advantage. Any time there are more ten cards in the shoe than low cards the player as the edge. The house must hit below 17 and a ten card will cause the house to bust.

Card Counting seeks to recognize when there are more ten cards in the shoe. There is a known number of ten and low cards in any deck. By remembering what cards have been played from that deck, you know what remains in the shoe. No system requires to you to remember every card played. Instead you keep a running count and add or subtract values from it based on the cards played.

A Card Counter increases his wager when he recognizes there are more ten cards in the shoe. He will wager more to win more. Thus, by betting more when he has the advantage and betting less when the house as the advantage he can actually gain a mathematical edge over the house. That means over time the card counter will win more than he loses.

How to Count Cards

The wizard Ace Five is a simple count. THe players is only required to counts aces and fives. Five is the most advantageous card for the house.

The running count begins at zero. Five cards count as plus one. Ace cards are minus one. When the deck is suffled, the count reset to zero.

The wager in Wizard Ace Five can become very large. For any positive running count, you wager 2 time the running count units. A unit is the table minimum. Here is a chart.



Wizard Ace Five is a simple recreational system. It doesn't yield much an edge, and to take advantage of the edge it has, you must bet very large.

But it is easy to count, and therefore makes a good introductory system. If you play wizard ace five and really enjoy counting, then you should move to a more advanced system.

How to Count Cards

The red seven is comparable to the KO Count in difficulty and edge. It is regarded as an easy system to learn. It does sacrifice some edge in exchange for eases of play.

You must keep a running a count while playing. But the running count does not start at zero. It starts a -2 time the number of decks. This is called the Initial Running Count. Return to the Initial Running Count when shuffling.





For every card played, you add or subtract a value from the running count. The card values are


Notice the 7 of diamonds or hearts is -1 while the 7 or clubs or spades is +1.

There are two basic wagers, the low wager is the table minimum. The high wager is 5 to 10 times the low wager. You bet the low wager at zero or below. You bet the high wager above zero.

You can choose to stagger the wagers based on the positive count, much like the wizard ace five. In that case, bet the count times 2 times the table minimum.

How to Count Cards

The Hi Lo System is one of the oldest and best systems. Todays most complex system don't offer much more advantage than hi lo.

The hi lo is a balanced count. The running count starts at zero. If you were to count through an entire deck, you would end at zero.

The card values are



All balanced systems require you to convert the running count into a true count. This is done by dividing the running count by the number of decks in the shoe. You determine how many decks are in the shoe by estimating how many decks are in the discard pile. Subtract the discarded decks from the total number of decks in the shoe.

The wager is below.

How to Count Cards

* Play basic strategy. Basic strategy is based in mathematics. The odds of winning any hand have been calculated, and basic strategy tells you what play is the statistically best play. You must play basic strategy at all times (Note: some advanced system recommend altering the strategy based on the card count).

* Count the cards as they are played. You must successfully track all discarded cards to gain knowledge of what remains in the shoe.

* You must increase your wager when you have the edge. Otherwise, the house will eventually win. You have to sieze the advantage when you have it. You must also have a large enough bankroll to withstand a prolonged losing streak.

Most card counting systems combine steps 2 and 3. Each system recommends different wagers. Simplified counts like the wizard ace five require very large wagers. More complex counts require smaller wagers or even tiered wagers.

All systems assume you are going to be doing step one.

There are many card counting systems available. Three very popular systems are discussed below.