Card Counting in Blackjack

Card counting in blackjack is frowned upon by casinos who understand that their mathematical edge is overturned by successful exponents of the strategy. When the casinos designed their casino games they made sure that they would always win in the long term. This was achieved by not giving the true odds to the player. E.g. you have the zero number on a roulette wheel and even with optimal strategy in Blackjack used the expectation for the player is still a small loss in the long term.

This is very clever by the casinos you may say but the players have a counter strategy. Card counting is utilised by increasing the bets to large amounts when there are lots of high cards remaining in the shoe used by the dealer. The players keep a running count of how many low cards compared to high cards remaining in the deck and then when the count is in their favour they increase their bets. When done correctly, this puts the mathematical edge into the players favour. Casinos obviously hate this strategy because in the long term they are the losers.

In all blackjack games and indeed any casino games if you, the player, are deemed to be unprofitable for the casino (i.e. you win) you can be barred from the games. It is difficult to disguise the counting as it is obvious at what point your bet increases and a pit boss may be watching and keeping count also to spot any would be card counting players before they start to win. At any time you can be asked to leave or simply told you may no longer play blackjack. The casinos are under no obligation to allow you to continue playing; they are a business after all.

What is paradoxical about the casinos and their approach to card counting is that in America, and indeed some casinos in the UK, you can buy books teaching you how to card count from the casino merchandise shops. There was a high profile court case where a player was banned from playing at a casino and funds were seized because the casino said the card counting was cheating. The casino was forced to pay back the money taken from the player when it was discovered that he had bought the Blackjack strategy book from the casino shop!

There are instances when card counting helps the casinos win. In the short term, casinos can profit from a card counter because the actual edge for card counters is minimal, around 1%. Increasing the bets by a large amounts means real losses can be large if the dealer continues to hit nice cards. Any poker players reading this article knows that occasionally opponents hit the miracle one card to win. When the odds are only 1% in the players favour it is easy to see the casinos can still hurt you despite you playing a perfect Blackjack card counting strategy.

The casinos also profit from card counters making errors. Players must be able to play the standard optimal blackjack strategy, keep the count then utilise the right bets when conditions allow. They must maintain the count and be able to reduce their bets when conditions are no longer in their favour, when the count returns to normal levels. This requires discipline. If you add the emotional aspects of either winning or losing large amounts during this time card counting is not easy and not suited to everyone. This is why casinos watch a card counter and once it is decided that they are able to utilise the strategy correctly to win, only then do the casinos look to stop you playing.

If you do decide to count cards, follow the advice to the movie “21” and do plenty of practise sessions at home. Money can be made, but the casinos will probably ban you if you win too much.

By Malcolm Clarke