Hi Lo counting cards in blackjack
Harvey Dubner is commonly referred to as the creator of the High/Low system. Stanford Wong also made a significant contribution. It is one of the simplest systems in operation today. The effectiveness of High / Low is quite controversial, so experienced players try not to use it in practice.
There is a risk, if you use the system for a long time within the walls of one institution, specialists can very quickly figure out the player and blacklist him. The High/Low method is suitable for beginners. This will help you understand the principles of card counting and significantly increase the chance of winning. However, even absolute knowledge of the system will not allow you to multiply the amount with which a person enters the game. It is about a certain percentage of the total amount of money involved on the table.
Basic principles of the method
The system is based on assigning each card in the deck numerical values equal to -1, 0, +1. The second name of the method: minus / plus. From ten to ace cards are denoted as -1, from six to two +1, and any other cards are called 0. With further counting, it turns out that the total sum of all values of fifty-two game cards will be equal to zero.
If we translate this into the gameplay, it turns out that you need to add up the values of the cards that go into the chipper. These include cards cut by the dealer. The larger this number, the more cards from tens to pictures remain in the shoe. The chances of getting an attractive combination for the player are greatly increased.
Optimal conditions are created for the continuation of the game, based on the basic strategy. In other words, if the number of counts increases to +5, it is worth increasing the bet. Shortly before the end of the shoe, if the sum of the count is negative, it is advisable to lower the bet. If there are several players at the same table, it is worth skipping a certain number of moves until the number becomes optimal. Example: in the process of distribution, three, eight, queen, ace, jack, one more ace came out. The total is -3.
It is necessary to pay attention to the number of not played cards. The +5 count is more impressive when there are more than fifty cards to play. One such tactic is the common definition of "true score". Based on it, the number of counts must be divided by the number of decks that remain in the shoe. A positive number even after this operation means that the bet should be increased. Often a similar situation occurs when the cards in the shoe run out.
This refers to the execution of the entire gameplay according to this basic strategy, in compliance with each of the described recommendations. If you do everything exactly according to the regulations and vary the rates depending on the situation, the advantages of the casino when playing blackjack for a certain amount of interest go to the side of the player.
But not always the account will be effective. Some online casinos shuffle the cards with each new hand. Then any calculations will become meaningless. The second case - the dealer, when putting a card into the shoe with a cut card, separates much more than a third of all cards. The "true count" system will rarely have a positive value. The third case - dealers take down a certain number of cards "blindly" into the chipper. This method is rarely used. However, some establishments use it when a player is suspected of card counting.Mike Collins is the creator of the CasinosInCanada project and a passionate iGaming analyst who writes guides, casino reviews, and investigations into unfair gambling practices.
