The blackjack basic strategy and the strategy table are the starting points of all advanced blackjack strategies like card counting. Forget about card counting if you do not memorize the basic strategy perfectly.
You can only advance to the next level once you know the basic strategy perfectly. You can win at blackjack with card counting. Dominate the count well enough and you will have better odds.
The principle of card counting
The idea that stands behind card counting is that a deck full of 10s and aces is in favour of the shooter, while a deck with relatively many small cards is favourable to the dealer. So you should increase your bet when the deck is favourable to you and, correspondingly, reduce it if it is in favour of the casino.
Why this is so?
A deck which is rich in tens increases the likelihood that the dealer covers his hand, while the player can stop in time. On the other hand, the donor will gain quite rarely when the deck contains many small cards. You can count the cards and find out if the cover shows a preponderance of either 10s or small cards. In other words, you can adapt your strategy to the situation.
On the other hand, the donors are to pull a soft 17. It is often a bad idea to go for a stiff hand at 10.6 if the tens dominate. This gives the card counter an advantage over the casino.
On the other hand, a deck which contains many aces increases the opportunities for blackjack - a player who has a blackjack pays 3:2, while the donor with a blackjack collects more than his bet. Therefore, a deck full of aces is more favourable for the player rather than for the dealer.
How to count the cards
Fortunately, you do not have to keep every single card that has been played in a 6-deck game in your mind. It would be sensational if you could do that. You would be a genius or perhaps a madman, which is more likely.
Various strategies are issued, according to different point values of the cards. Each system has its pros and cons. Generally, a simple system is recommended. This results in fewer mistakes in the end and mistakes are expensive if you count cards.
The running counts
Each card is assigned a specific value and the card counter must simply add the values of the given cards. This is known as the running count. This plus / minus strategy – also known as high / low strategy – has been issued based on the following values of the cards:
2, 3, 4, 5, 6 = 1
7, 8, 9 = 0
10, B, D, K, Ace = -1
Here is an example to explain the principle of the running counts:
Only an ace is given. Thus, the counting starts at -1. This is followed by a 6 and we add 1 so that we come back to zero. Then a 3 and we add another point. The running count is now +1. Then a 4 and the running count is +2 ... and so on.
If the count is in the plus, it means that many small cards have been dropped, which is in the player’s benefit. According to the rules of probability, a player should increase the bet if the number increases towards the end of a deck.
If he doesn’t, he has a so-called "unbalanced counting blackjack strategy.' It is advisable to go one step further and get to a balanced card counting system.
Balanced vs. unbalanced card counting strategies
Sticking to the example in Part 1, let us imagine that the first card dealt is a 6-deck carriage. Such a count would be less accurate than a census, considering the high number of remaining cards in the stack. Some would call this “a variance factor,” while some would call it good or bad luck.
Another example: Let us say that your running count is 5 on the first hand after the mixing of a single deck. It makes more sense than if you added the same value at the first hand in a 6-deck game.
The uncertainty factor is more important when the deck is reduced. Card counters often want to rely on luck. Therefore, you have to adjust the strategy, so that you take this factor into account, too. You should use a method that takes the number of remaining decks into consideration. A count for each remaining deck is also called the “True Count.”