Black Jack Card Counting

If you like card games, then one of the first games you will want to play when you enter any casino is of course black jack. Some time or the other, you must have noticed that some player got way too lucky or defied the odds and won, maybe even won a few times in a row. You might have also seen someone who was so confident and happy in a situation where other people would be devastated because the chances of winning are one in a million, and he actually wins! You must have been skeptical, you think that he is cheating or using some kind of technique, right? Well, in most cases like these you are probably right.

The method used to know the probability of a card to be a certain number is called card counting. black jack Card counting can be used in any card game, it is not confined to blackjack alone. However, card counting is used more when playing blackjack than any other card game. Some movies have been based on card counting; one such movie was called “21”. Although they all use the concept of card counting, movies tend to be exaggerating about the luck of card counters.

You must be very anxious to learn how to count cards, be happy because the concept of card counting and the techniques are not as complicated as you think. First you will need to know that the probability of winning a game using card counting is not absolute; card counters win, on average, forty four percent of all the hands played. That gives them a big advantage. The more hands in black jack, the more the chance of probability being more accurate. You cannot start learning black jack card counting if you do not already know the blackjack basic strategy.

Black Jack basic strategy is a set of odds you will always encounter when playing blackjack. It tells you whether you have to hit or stand, and in most cases, you will beat the dealer and win. Learning basic strategy from a book is not enough by itself; you will not be able to memorize all the actions you have to take in all cases. What would really help you is practicing. As you have heard, practice makes perfect, in blackjack that is true. As you practice more and more, you will be applying basic strategy intuitively and without even waiting to think about it.

There are many methods used to count cards, the easiest is the add 1 or subtract 1 method. When a high card comes up, all you do is subtract 1, and when a low card comes up, you add 1 to the count. The higher the count, the greater the chance of high cards showing up. High cards are good for players and low cards are good for dealers. So when the count is high, it is in favor of the player.

That was one way of card counting, but there are many more complicated ways of card counting and if you master all of them, you will have more chance of winning. Some casinos, like the MGM Grand, propagate that card counting is illegal in the United States, but it is perfectly legal. So do not worry and be sure to focus on the cards and ignore all the noises in casinos.