Although card counting with electronic devices is not allowed, it is legal to count cards with your head. However, if a player using card count is too successful, the casino might not let such a player play blackjack. Generally, most casinos do not allow their players to use the technique while playing.

Some casinos put counters off by removing some cards and dealing it from up to 8 packs. Blackjack is one of the most popular casino card games among players in Australia. As a player looking to outsmart the casino and get $300 free chip no deposit bonus codes, one of the best ways to do that is to get involved in a card count bet.

History of Card Counting

Edward O. Thorp is an American mathematical genius known as the father of card counting. He released a book in 1962 titled "Beat the Dealer". In the book, he outlined the playing and betting strategies that players can use for optimal play. However, the casinos also took some countermeasures.

Thorp also called his book the Ten-count System when he devised the counting system used to beat the casino game. He aimed the book at single-deck betting with cash; it took work to learn, hence it was only practical for highly skilled players. The technique was difficult to apply in the actual casino conditions. He then recommended that an estimate of 0.1 or 0.2 would be okay.

Andy Bloch, one of the most successful players in the world, released a card counting DVD. At MIT, he formed a part of a blackjack team where he recorded himself and released the instructional DVD based on card count. The title of the DVD is "Beating Blackjack". Later in 2005, he was featured in a documentary on Blackjack by David Layton, known as "The Hot Shoe".

The documentary sees the card counters get interviewed based on their actions. During the compilation of the documentary, David Layton went ahead to gamble with money using the knowledge gained. He gambled $5,000; the money was a case study as it was part of the documentary budget. Besides you can find interesting information that What We Do In The Shadows hit the jackpot with an inspired casino road trip.

Ways to Start Counting Cards

Although counting cards is simple, it takes a long time to master. Card counting is not illegal in various countries, and it involves using a system to monitor the ratio of the cards from low to high for winning. It is to the player's advantage when ten-value cards and more Aces remain in the shoe when playing blackjack.

Card counting is a strategy in blackjack. It helps to determine who amongst the player or dealer is advantageous on the next hand. When you practice card count on your own, it is advisable to start with a deck. Counting through it might seem challenging for the first few trials; however, practice makes perfect, and you can begin having big wins.

When you have mastered card counting with one deck of cards, you can try increasing it to two cards at once. It is vital to deal with it like a regular blackjack hand. After a lot of practice, you will begin to pick up the various combinations and patterns, and card counting will become easier.

One of the most straightforward card counting techniques is the Hi-Lo card counting technique. The simple techniques are more conspicuous; hence it works quickly without suspicion during the bet.

True Count

Another technique to consider is to balance the remaining cards in the deck. For precise counting, get closer to the bottom of the deck. It is best for you to divide your count by the number of the total decks remaining. Dividing your count will give you more of a true count and help you in winning. The true count works as follows:

• When you have a running count of +6

• There should be an estimate of at most two decks remaining

• You can then divide the six by two, which will then leave you with a balance of +3

The technique is very accurate, not illegal, and it will enable you to decipher whether or not the deck is profitable.

Omega II

Omega II is also a card counting technique suitable for intermediate card counters. The method is at a complex multi-level where count cards are one point while others are two points. For example, in this technique, cards such as 2, 3, and 7 have a value of +1, and the low cards are marked as +2.

This card counting technique is highly accurate and efficient for winning. The card counter uses this strategy to get a large advantage. It is a balanced technique, meaning the player can start counting at 0 after dealing with the first card. However, if your count does not begin and end at 0, you have lost track of the actual count during the play.

High-Lo Technique

As mentioned above, the High-Lo technique is a straightforward counting cards technique, and it is not illegal. In this counting cards technique, there is an establishment of the ratio of the high-value cards to the low-value cards in the deck. The high-value cards in this technique will increase the chance of a blackjack dealing and a hand that totals a value of 20.

This strategy is suitable for beginners and intermediate card counters. It informs you of whether the deck is balanced or unbalanced. A deck with most of its cards being high-value cards is suitable for the players because it increases the chances of the dealer's hand-busting.

Red Seven

Blackjack beginners can use this counting cards technique based on the principle of high vs low cards. In this Red Seven card counting technique, the high cards are often marked as -1 while the low-value cards are +1. However, the neutrals 8's and 9's are marked as 0.

A specialty of this technique is the importance of the role of colour in the 7's, which brought about the name Red Seven. If the seven is black, it is considered neutral; however, if it is red, it is +1 and of low value.

Back-Counting / Wonging

It is also a popular technique used in counting cards. The strategy is by John Ferguson after Stanford Wong when he published some books on blackjack. This technique involves the counters observing the tables and counting the decks like in the true count technique.

However, it is advisable for the player to only move into the game once they have a card in their favour. When counters are careful and move into the game strategically, there is a reduced risk of losing. It is also easy to detect when the player enters "mid-shoe", and it is no longer acceptable in casinos.

What makes this counting cards technique advantageous is that it is not required for the player to play every hand counted.

Knock Out

The Knockout technique is a counting cards technique known as the K-O. It is suitable for beginners, and it is an unbalanced system because its final count is not equal to a 0. Although the technique is less accurate, it is easy to memorise and use when playing in the casino. In this technique, the Aces, Jacks, 10's, Queens and King are all assigned a value of -1.

For example, the cards from 2 to 7 are all assigned +1, and the 8's and 9's in this technique are marked 0.

Counter Measures to Card Counting by Casino

For players that make use of the Hi-Lo counting cards technique, the introduction of more decks will render the method redundant.

There are recognition cameras put in place at the casinos to identify a previous cheater at the gambling location. These cameras can also recognise the faces of all the individuals entering the casino. For security measures, the casino may ask any known card counter to leave the premises before making it to the blackjack table.

Card Counting (Inhouse)

Casinos now have a way of doing card counting with their computers. In a situation where a player ups their card in a strategic way when the deck is hot, the player will be suspected of card counting. The blackjack card counter players will not be able to play as they will ask them to leave the premises.

The Cutting Card

The casino introduced the cutting card so that the card counting players cannot play the whole deck all through with card count cheating.

Conclusion

As long as you are not making use of an electronic device to count cards during your casino card games, you are not doing anything illegal. It is completely legal to do so in your head, however, most casinos do not like it. Some of the methods counters use in counting cards while gambling are Wonging and High-Lo techniques.