Blackjack | Card Counting
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Card counting is a skill that can be learned and by serious practice, make a player a very dangerous person for the casino. The danger to the casino is that by counting the cards you can play at times when the edge is in your favor instead of the house. This counting scheme has been written about for well over 15 years and many people have learned to do it so they can beat the game of Blackjack. A person can teach themselves from books or pay to take a class on card counting. The Internet search shows several card counting sites that explain in great detail. This article is just an overview and will not make you an expert card counter.
The theory of Blackjack card counting is that when the deck or the shoe is rich in face cards, tens and aces: the player has an edge over the house and should bet more as the edge will give a better chance to win. Counting the cards gives this and when the mix is right, the player increases the bet to a larger amount. Since all of the cards are exposed at the end of the hand or during the hand, the counter can with practice deduct the face cards, aces and tens from the starting amount. The starting total will depend on whether the deal is from a shoe or single deck. Most casino shoes in current use will hold at least six decks of cards. So you can figure for yourself that there are 6×52 = 312 cards in the shoe. Since each deck has a total of twenty face cards, tens and aces, a six-deck shoe will have 120 of these cards. When these cards approach a high percentage of those left in the shoe, the shoe will favor the player. At this point, the player will increase the bet size and double own on any ten or eleven.
If the deck favors the house, the player will play modest bets and wait for the shoe to become favorable again. Any person wanting to learn card counting can do this easily by just checking out any of the card counting websites. Some offer classes and most offer a course you can buy. After that it takes hours of practice to become an accurate counter.
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