Tips on blackjack card counting systems and how to count cards 

    It is well known to the professional blackjack players that to win big at blackjack tables in a casino, one must have card counting skill.

    Why blackjack is such an attractive game to professional gamblers is that the expectation of blackjack game fluctuates wildly and often in the favor of players. Expectation represents the return of investing a bet. For example, expectation of 1.5% means that if you bet $100, you are expecting to win $1.5, on the other hand, expectation of -1.0% means that if you bet $100, you are expecting to loss $1.

    The more favorable cards, such as 9, 10, and ace, have been dealt from the shoe (the box containing the cards to be dealt), the lower the expectation. And the more unfavorable cards, such as 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7, have been dealt from the shoe, the higher the expectation. Therefore, if a player keeps track of the cards being dealt from the shoe, he or she will know the expectation and bet accordingly.

    There are many card counting systems exist today. A good card counting system must be simple and accurate. If it is not simple, then it is very hard for a player to master it and to utilize it at a blackjack table. On the other hand, if it is not accurate, then it will cause the player make a wrong bet, and therefore result in higher risk and money loss. The following are 10 of the best card count systems.

Card count systems:

    Three of the above card count systems, AceSpade, Y-Easy-I and Y-Easy-II, are introduced here by AceSpade Software. The scientific foundation for these three systems are based on the "Card Expectation Value" table generated by AceSpade’s Blackjack Pro software and from extensive experiment. The other seven of the above card count systems are existing well known systems. They are selected here due to their accuracy and simplicity.

Step 1. Keep running count.

Running count is the total count value of all cards dealt. For example, when a new shoe starts, if you see player-a has [5, 5, 9], Player-b has [10, 10], and the Dealer has [8, 9], then the running count for Hi-Lo count system is (1+1+0) + (-1 –1) + (0 + 0) = 0, and the running count for AceSpade count system is (1.5+1.5+0) + (-1 –1) + (0+0) = 1.

Step 2. Convert running count to true count.

True count = Running count / Number of decks remaining.

For example, if the running count is 8 and the there are about 4 decks of cards remain in the shoe, the true count will be 8 / 4 = 2.

For AceSpade count system the true count is the same as the running count. Therefore Step 2 is not needed for AceSpade count system.

Step 3. Estimate expectation.

Estimated expectation (%) = True count x "scale" + "base".

The value of "base" depends on how many decks remain in the shoe: (note: to increase accuracy, you may use the value of "base" in the "Expectation Value" table generated by AceSpade’s Blackjack Pro software for different casino rules.)

The value of "scale" is 0.5 for all the above count system except AceSpade count system.

The value of "scale" for AceSpade count system depends on the number of decks remain in the shoe:

For example, if you use the Hi-Lo count system, and the true count is 4 and the number of decks remain are 2, then the estimated expectation is 4 x 0.5 – 0.3 = 1.7%.

For another example, if you use AceSpade count system, and the running count is 8 and the number of decks remain are 2, then the estimated expectation is 8 x 0.3 – 0.3 = 2.1%.

Some useful tips.

Tip 1: Select a count system you like. For simplicity, we recommend Hi-Lo count, Y-Easy-I and Y-Easy-II. For accuracy, we recommend AceSpade and Wong’s Halves.

Tip 2: When the running count is negative, don’t worry about Step 2 and Step 3, just bet the minimum or take a break.

Tip 3: When the estimated expectation is positive, make a bet in proportional to it. If you are conservative, use Kelly criterion: "bet a percentage of your total bankroll that corresponds exactly to the per cent advantage you have at any time." If you are aggressive, you may bet twice Kelly or more. For example, if the estimated expectation is 1%, you may bet 2% of your total bankroll.

Tip 4: Having sufficient practice home before going to casinos. AceSpade’s Blackjack Pro software is a very good tool for practicing card counting. It accurately computes the real expectation and displays the result each round before the players place their bets, so that you can compare your estimated expectation with the real one computed by the computer. It also uses the above 10 counting systems to estimate expectation and shows their errors, so that you know how accurate these counting systems are at any particular time. If your estimated expectation is close to the real expectation computed by the computer most of time, you have become an expert card counter.

Tip 5: When you go to casinos, try to find a good blackjack game. A blackjack game is good if 1) Doubling on any two cards is allowed; 2) Surrender is allowed; 3) Dealer draws to soft 17; 4) Shoe penetration is deep.

Tip 6: Gambling is a high risk business, don’t gamble any money you can not afford to lose.

If you have any comments or questions, please e-mail us at the following address: sales@acespade.com. We appreciate your feedback and reserve the right to publish them.

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