We all know that the house always has an edge in any type of casino game. That applies to blackjack just as much as roulette pr similar. However, the skilled blackjack player has a weapon in their armoury which they can use to their advantage at the tables. That advantage is a mathematical one and goes by the term of card counting.
Card counting while playing blackjack is common knowledge these days. The casinos take a dim place in the economy of blackjack bonus as they know that the player is more likely to keep at least some of the winnings generated by the bonus paid to the player. Therefore with the invention of computer programs to assist in card counting the casinos were no longer able to avoid the bonus trap.
Card counting is a fascinating subject – there are many attempts to explain it with mathematical Computation and probability, but none can quite make the claim that it can be guaranteed mathematically. Card counting is really not something that any player can master without effort, some knowledge of probability and ordinary intelligence. There are players who have learned under the watchful eye of card counting as well as others who have had to directly radius themselves with it.
The most famous of all card counters were the MIT Blackjack Team who took the casinos by storm after creating and then marketing a card counting system called the Hi Lo Card Counting system. The system was designed in such a way that the user does not have to be an MIT graduate to understand it and it is applicable to both blackjack and baccarat.
The history of blackjack tells us that casinos began to discover new ways to stop card counters by tightening their rules. This is an example of casinos trying to protect their profits. Once dealers started to dealt two cards instead of one, the players were given the option of either single deck or double deck blackjack. Card counting then took on a whole new level as theEXPLOIT mall CopWatch.
EXPLOIT MANAGEMENT is the system that casinos implemented after realising that card counters would soon grow to make more profits than the casino itself. This is when they started to shuffle the deck and alter the cards in the deck, hence called the shuffle tracking. This meant that the deck could be pre-played and the cards replaced with new ones. Any card counter knows that this ALWAYS favours them. The casinos wanted card counters gone and replaced with people counting cards in the shoe.
200000 dollars were paid to people who outlined how to count cards, the fall of Wong was heralded as the beginning of the era of card counting in blackjack. Later this became accepted as the industry of card counting expanded and became an implement of the blackjack bonus system. People were then paid to go to Vegas and deal cards for the casinos, a practice that is still employed by the very large amount casino owners.
Card counting certain cards has the effect of making the player have a ‘tell’. Tells are defined as actions that a player x into, usually designed to send a message or advertise x as a player i.e. Good Poker Player compared to Bad Poker Player.
The tell can be used for both the positive and the negativeitious effect. Card counting machines were created to be able to tell the player whether the deck left more high cards (good) or low cards (bad). This is really the whole concept behind card counting. The more cards that enter the deck, the higher the proportion of high cards will follow, creating a positive expectation for the player. When the deck is rich in high cards, the player is guaranteed a profit. In addition, when the cards are rich in low cards, the player will also experience a profit.
The Hi Lo Card Counting method is one of the most popular methods utilised by card counters to gain a huge edge over the casino. If you know the deck you are playing (52 cards) then you can count cards for future reference. Each card counting system has different accounting for specific cards. One method is also known as the ‘K-O’ system. This is where for every card marked off, you add a mark that it’s the same card. The idea behind this method is that as soon as the card is over off, you add a mark equal to the original mark. The idea is that you keep adding until you reach the house number, and then you stop.
The ‘Naga303‘ system is one of the easiest methods of card counting, however it also presents the risk of an error. With this method, one can easily get ‘hit’ cards. This happens when you have a number of cards in your hand, but you don’t really have enough to actually do the counting. Once you have used the ‘K-O’ system to determine the number of cards in the deck, then you can add the marks you have.