Professional Gambling 201 - How to Win at Black Jack II

The Count

This article is a follow-up for advanced players. The author recommends that even experienced players familiarize themselves with the concepts laid out in the preceding article, Professional Gambling 101.

Blackjack is unique among all casino games. Unlike every other game available, which are based either on specific probabilities or player skill (competitive poker), Blackjack is the only game with a "history". It is an integral part of the game that the cards dealt in previous hands are gone, and only a portion of those available at the beginning of a round remain.

If a player can somehow harness that component of the game, and turn it to his or her advantage, then - and only then - can the player actually shift the odds into a favorable position.

But keeping track of which cards have come and gone is incredibly difficult. There are 52 cards in a standard deck, and they come out fast. It pushes human capability right to the limit just to stay aware of where all of them are. If you're playing in a casino, then you're looking at a minimum of six decks in a shoe. Unless you're a savant, the feat of counting that many cards while playing is an utter impossibility.

Effective counting, when combined with Basic Strategy, can yield huge gains. If you know what's coming, you can adjust your bet accordingly, and take the house for all its worth. If you know the odds of busting are high, because there are a large number of high-value cards remaining in shoe, then you can adapt. The house can't, and so the house will bust much more frequently. All a player has to do is not lose.

And that's just for starters. A highly skilled counter can count on an increased frequency of getting Blackjack, and so increase his or her winnings even more. Likewise, doubling down carries an increased potency. On a bet that has already been increased in reaction to the 'weight' of a shoe, that can be especially devastating.

But how can one bridge the gap between potentiality and actuality? How does a person keep an accurate count, with so many cards?