Card Counting System in Blackjack

You may think that card counting in blackjack is very difficult to learn. The good thing is you don't have to be very genius to do it. The one thing that you need to learn card counting is the ability to count up to plus/minus 12 or something like that by ones.

The first card counting system in blackjack was created in 1962 by Professor Edward Thorp. Roger Baldwin's principles as a mathematician were the basis for the creation of the blackjack card counting. Thorp identifies that the Five is the most influential card within a deck that will make the situation favorable for a blackjack player.

When the deck of card has less Fives in it compared to other card values, the situation is very advantageous to the blackjack player. Through this logic, a very simple card counting strategy was established. The blackjack player will just have to keep track whether the Fives are still plenty or scarce. The card counting system of "Five Count" by Thorp is based on this logic. And in later time, the card counting system was improved where Tens are already included and the name was changed into "Ten Count" system.

Since that time, there had been lots of card counting in blackjack that were developed. Ideally, when a card counting system is more complicated, the blackjack player will have more advantage over the casino once that system is mastered.

Yet, the difference in advantage between the various card counting systems is often very small that there are many blackjack players that prefer to master the easier systems of card counting over getting an extra advantage with complicated systems.

Among the many card counting systems in blackjack, the High/Low Point Count is by far the easiest and also effective system to learn. In reality, there are several card counting strategies out there and two of the greatest systems are the Hi-Opt I and Advanced Plus/Minus systems.

The Hi-Opt I card counting system is known as the most powerful and effective system in blackjack. The Advanced Plus/Minus card counting system has some similarities with the High/Low system but the difference is that it adds fractional values to particular cards while the other is using integer values.

The primary reason why card counting in blackjack was created is give players the advantage over the casino. When the deck has a shortage of the Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven, and Eight, the player is on the advantage. On the opposite, if the deck has a shortage of the Nine, Ten, and Ace, the player is on the disadvantageous situation.

If you, as a blackjack player, can tell if the deck is still full of Nines, Tens, and Aces, that will enable you to bet stronger because you are confident that the deck is on your favor. You must bet more when the deck is favorable and change your basic blackjack strategy to benefit the better odds.