Money Management

To play to win you first need a bankroll. This is a predetermined amount which you have allocated for playing blackjack. A bankroll in the order of 200 times your maximum unit size is usually recommended. For example, if you are going to place $5 bets then your initial bankroll should be $4,000 assuming a bet spread of 1-4 ( a 1 to 4 bet spread indicates the smallest unit size to be played would be 1 unit and the largest unit size would be 4 units. ). Never bet more that 5% of your total bankroll at any one given session. This will ensure that you will not lose a large portion of your bankroll if you have a few losing sessions.

Your bankroll has to be large enough to withstand some losing sessions. Blackjack can have many fluctuations. The bankroll can be up one moment and then down the next. The player when card counting is at an advantage however the player can and will still lose at times. One of the most common illusions is that when the true count is high, favorable for the player, the player will always win. You do have a greater chance of winning than losing however you may lose in that session. Overall you will be on top.

When playing Blackjack the player should have a nominated bet spread. This will include the number of units the player will bet when the true count is negative and positive. Generally, when the count is negative the bet would be 1 unit ( or the smallest bet size you are using ). When the true count is between 0 and 1, bet 2 units. When the true count is between 1 – 2, bet  3 units etc. In a multi-deck game a bet spread of 1 to 8 units is quite common. Having a larger bet spread can attract “heat” from the casino. Pit bosses become suspicious if you vary your bets a great extent. In a single deck game a bet spread of 1 to 4 is acceptable.

It is also recommended that you never decrease your bet after the last hand is played before the deck is shuffled. This also has a habit of attracting heat.

Smart Players

Smart players should:

• Pick a casino that has the smallest house advantage. This will allow them to increase the number of times they win and decrease your profits.
• Won’t try to cheat.
• If they feel uncomfortable at the table, they will leave.
• Play with a designated amount of money. If they lose that quota they will leave and go home.
• Know when it is time to leave.
• Play within the limits of their finance
• They are always comfortable with the amount they bet.
• Disguise exactly how much money they have won but always display their losses.
• Never talk about Card Counting or Basic Strategy at the casino. If they do they know they may be asked to leave.

For Card Counters:

• Master Basic Strategy so that their play is automatic and instantaneous. This will allow them to put all their efforts into card counting and camouflage.
• Play with a designated amount of money as well as a defined bet spread.
• Choose a bet spread that they feel comfortable playing with.
• Learn to be emotionless with winning or losing.
• If appropriate, then take on an act (camouflage) that is appropriate for their bet size and spread.

If they are going to the casino just to play Basic Strategy then they won’t need an act. If they are Card Counting and have a large bet spread then they will probably need to adopt some kind of act or invent a superstition e.g. “I never win between 6:30pm and 7:00pm” or “I’ve always got to play with my wedding ring off when playing. It gives me good luck” etc.

Read about BlackJack Card counting

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Each time the deck is shuffled the Running Count starts at 0. If the first card is dealt is an Ace the running count is decreased by 1 because the Ace’s count value in the High-Low system is -1. The running count is now -1. If the next card drawn is a 10, the 10 has a count value of -1. The running count gets decreased by 1 and the new running count total is now -2. When the 2 is drawn, a positive value of 1 is added to the existing running count because the 2 card has a count value of +1. This gives a new running total of -1. As each card is draw from the shoe the count point value of that card is added to, or subtracted from, the running count. This progression keeps going until the deck needs to be reshuffled. A counting system is referred to as a “balanced count” if after the whole deck has been dealt the running count returned to 0.

The running count is updated every time a card is drawn from the shoe. The more decks that are being played, the greater the tendency for the count to go very negative or very positive. It is imperative that the running count be remembered between individual Blackjack games and until the deck is to be reshuffled. When the deck is shuffled and play stopped, the running count is returned to 0. However, the running count is not used for any play decisions, the true count mentioned below is.

True Count

All of a player’s decisions, when card counting, are based upon the true count. The true count is derived by dividing the running count by the estimated number of remaining decks in the shoe. The resultant figure will determine how much advantage a player has. When the true count is positive the player has an advantage over the casino. Conversely, when the true count is negative the casino has a greater advantage over the player. For every true count increment the player increases his advantage by roughly 0.5%. Therefore, if you are playing at a casino with a house edge of 0.5% then when the true count is +1 the player is roughly playing even with the casino, that is 0% advantage for the player or casino. When the true count is greater than 1 the player has the advantage over the house.

In order to accurately determine the true count one needs to know the number of decks remaining in the shoe. The easiest way to try estimating this is by looking at the discarded cards. Determine approximately how many decks have been played since the last shuffle. Subtract this number from the overall number of decks that have been played. The number of decks remaining can be rounded to the nearest half deck for conversion purposes. The true count value is the running count divided by this value.

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The way it works is one counts the cards are dealt i.e. J(-1) ,8 (0), 2 (+1) will give you your count value of 0 which is a neutral count giving the edge to neither the casino nor the player, the basics of the system work as follows the higher your positive count the better your odds are of winning the next blackjack hand and the lower “-” the more chance you have of losing the next hand. The percentages are marginal but so is the house win percentage if one plays by basic blackjack strategy.

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Other factors that come into play are the number of cards dealt from the shoe as well as the number of decks used. The less cards left to go in the shoe with the highest positive count is your most favorable opportunity and is the time to increase your bets to gain that extra edge over the house. The same goes for the number of decks used look for single deck blackjack as there are less cards and look for dealers who cut the deck thick enabling you to see more cards to base your play on.

Professional card counters will tend to sit at 3rd base (the last position on the table) giving him the opportunity to see all the cards that have been dealt and have the last play. This is a very easy counting system combined with good basic strategy play and lots of practice you can get great results.

You can practice counting cards by going through a deck card by card and keeping track of your count total while gradually increasing your speed, you can also stand at the back of a table and observe a blackjack game in progress to see how refined your skills are. Remember what makes a good card-counter is practice, practice, practice and more practice. Try honing your card-counting skills playing online in the comfort of your home on your computer online games can be played for free and even though the cards are probably shuffled each hand it could give you the needed edge and practice.

Many Casino’s now have automatic shufflers otherwise known as continuous shuffles like the popular one2six shufflers, these machines render card counting obsolete as obviously if the cards are constantly shuffled your High – Low card count would be rendered useless.

The blackjack hi lo card count systems mentioned are similar if not the same as so flamboyantly shown in the movie 21 where 5 MIT students count cards and make loads of money, 4 of the count team were playing the table’s minimum and counting cards when there was a high or favorable count they would signal to the big player who would then join their table and make big bets exploiting the odds of the Casino in their favor. While the theory may be correct to an extent the movie exploits the wins as being the norm, this is not the case, card counters do not win every session and loose often it’s the overall win they are after.

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