There is a big misconception that Card Counting is memorizing how many of each type of card has been played and with this knowledge you adjust your wagering as you know what cards will be played.

Card counting isn't about memorizing which cards have been played but keeping a running count based on values assinged to certain cards. The running count will direct you to when you should be increasing or decreasing your wagers.

By using card counting in conjunction with perfect basic strategy you can actually turn the house edge into a players edge. This fact was proven by the MIT Blackjack Card Counting team that won millions of dollars from Las Vegas casino's over a very short period.

When the deck is not in the players favour the wagers should be kept to a minimum and you should expec to lose about 1%. When the deck is in your favour you will increase your wager and should expect to win about 1%. By employing this strategy you will loose less money when the deck favours the casino and win more money when the deck favours you.

As cards are played the odds of the deck(s)also change and it changes at a different rate depending on what cards are being played. This chart shows the percentage change that each card has on the deck(s) odds.

Blackjack Card Counting Odds

Percentage Change In Odds When Cards Are Discarded
5 Card	+.64
4 Card	+.52
6 Card	+.45
3 Card	+.44
2 Card	+.37
7 Card	+.30
8 Card	.00
10 Card	-.53
A Card	-.49
9 Card	-.13

The ten valued card is the most important card in the Blackjack deck and knowing if the deck contains more or less ten valued cards is the basis of Card Counting.

The simplist card counting method uses the ten valued cards (16 in all) and the 3 to 6 valued cards (16 in all). How this system works is that everytime a ten valued card is played you subtract one (-1) to your count and when a 3 through 6 card is played you add one (+1) to your count. What this means is that when the count is positive there are more 10 valued cards in the deck and the odds are in your favour. Conversly when the count is negative there are few ten valued cards in the deck and the odds are not in your favour.

Some system include the Ace as a ten valued card as it is the next most important card after the ten valued cards. To off set the addition of 4 more cards to the ten valued cards these systems add the 2 cards to the 3 through 6 group.

More advanced system will have you tracking the 7, 8 and 9s as well. While these systems yeild more profit than their more basic cousins they are more advanced systems and should be used by only those who have already shown proficency with the more basic systems.

Card counting isn't illegal but since casino's are private property they do have the right to ask you to play a different game, leave the casino and even bar you from returning to their casino if they suspect you of counting cards. Casino's spend a lot of money on defeating card counters from special training, to expensive cameras and Continuous shuffle machine that keep all the cards in play thus eliminating traditional card counting techniques. If card counting didn't work do you think the casino's would spend so much money on preventing it?

To learn some Card Counting techinques visit our Blackjack Systems page.