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, if not more so. 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 statistically proven to work when played correctly. However, the casinos are experts at keeping their edge so the odds are stacked heavily in their favour. You may or may not have heard of card counting. If you do you will know that the casinos want you to stop trying to card count and to let it go.
Card counting is a fascinating subject – here is how it starts.
The dealer shuffles a deck of cards – these cards are the ‘discarded cards’ – the deck is being shuffled from the top down. When a card is taken from the deck the card counter knows that the deck is rich in low cards and that high cards are in abundance.
When rich in low cards, the deck has a tendency to be balanced and the shoe (toss) is inclined in the player’s favour. When cards are taken from the deck a card counter can active a series of rules which will ‘push up’ the odds in the player’s favour. The player therefore encourages the dealer to ‘deal’ more cards (remember we are trying to beat the house edge not card counting).
The game of blackjack is not exclusively based on the art of card counting. Sure, if you are a card counter you can guess when the deck is rich in high cards and when it is rich in low cards. But card counting is not aRS tech. If you can’t fundraise ( divert money to marketing ) then you are out of the game.
The movie ’21’ immortalises the MIT team who achieved incredible results with card counting. The movie ( credited to Oliver Stone and Martin Scorsese) also highlighted the period when the MIT team were at their wins and what they did with their winnings.
Both scenarios ( card counting and playing at a casino with auditors ) have shown that card counting is possible. But, you can beat the house edge withEThen you can’t play in the first place.
Do you remember the old saying ‘don’t count cards’? Most people related to counting cards as a science, with few exceptions, ended up confused and broke. Card counting simply is not a science; it’s a skill that we honed over years of playing blackjack, roulette and baccarat.
The house edge in Pokerlounge99, roulette and baccarat is simply set by the quantity of decks used and the enforced minimum bet. This applies to any casino game whether online or offline.
Online casinos can offer the same rules apply to blackjack and baccarat as their land based counterparts. For instance; many online casinos offer the American rules (often called ‘ punched out’ rules) which are less favorable to the player. The greater the number of decks used in the American version of the game, the greater the house edge.
‘Punch out’ rules, when the dealer draws a new card for the player, are more favorable for the player. These rules don’t apply to all casinos, however, they are gospel, and they are the rules that few casinos offer.
If you understand the house edge on any casino game, you know that you must sufficient funds to survive a run of bad cards. When the shoe starts to go cold, you know you are vulnerable to further losses.
The concept is simple. You must make a small profit every time you oppose the casino. The complex issue is how to determine when a run of cards is likely.
Your best odds come when the casino has a relative advantage over the player. The higher the house edge, the more money the casino makes from your gambling. Conversely the smaller the house edge, the more money the player puts at risk.
To figure this out, you need to bet more when you have the edge and bet less when you don’t. Simple mathematics. This is the crux of the issue.
To increase your advantage use the Rule of 13 Cards. In the casino, the dealer hits on any card number when there is a soft 13 cards. Simply don’t hit when there is a 14, 15, or 16.
Why don’t we go back to the fundamentals? Remember, we are looking for the mathematically correct mean valued by a standard deck of cards. We also must ensure that our probability of getting a high card number is increased when the deck is rich in face cards.
Add the cards for both the dealer and the player in regardless of the numbers.