10 General Blackjack Card Counting Tips

We’ll start off by listing the tips themselves. You can scroll down to find more details about each piece of advice.

• Always take time to review and choose the right card-counting system
• Start with small stakes
• Don’t expect to win every round
• Master the Hi-Lo Strategy
• Practice maintaining the true count
• Increase bets when the count is +2 or better
• Consider all of the cards currently on the table
• Hide your ability to count cards
• Be discreet while increasing the stake
• Keep it fun and have realistic expectations

Remember that even the best advice won’t make you a master overnight. Practice makes perfect, so take all the time you need to fully understand our card counting tips and how they relate to your overall strategy.

1. Always take time to review and choose the right card-counting system

For beginners, the KO and Hi-Lo systems are great since they are a bit less complex. As players gain more confidence and can master these systems, they can start to use more advanced systems for better results.

2. Start with small stakes

When learning how to count cards, it is better to avoid unnecessary risks. Only wager a small amount when playing. If you need suggestions for low-stakes live baccarat tables, check out this article.

3. Don’t expect to win every round

Card counting doesn’t necessarily increase the number of rounds you win. Instead, increases your profits by raising the stakes in rounds where you have an advantage. Conversely, disadvantageous rounds are played with minimum stakes.

4. Master the Hi-Lo Strategy

With this, cards that have a value between 2 and 6 will be counted as 1. Cards between 7 and 9 have no value. Cards worth ten have -1 and aces also have a value of -1. Start with 0 and count the values to determine the possibility of the next card being high or low.

5. Practice maintaining the true count

The so-called true card count takes the values you get by counting and divides them by the number of decks in the shoe. This is the real information that tells you whether you have an advantage over the dealer or not.

6. Using the Hi-Lo strategy, increase bets when the count is +2 or better

The higher the count, the bigger your advantage in the current round. When the value is a high number, this means that more high-valued cards are left in the deck, which is a good thing for the player because you’re more likely to get hands with value of 20 or more.

7. Consider all of the cards currently on the table

For example, if a player’s and is a Jack and a 4, the values are -1 and +1, which will cancel each other out. While counting, you can simply skip these two cards and make things easier for yourself. Counting cards is all about keeping up with the tally and being able to do so with speed and accuracy.

8. Hide the ability to count cards

Many card counters are known for playing the game for hours on end with no breaks. It is important to blend in, so act like a tourist or a general beginner when taking a seat at the table. Otherwise, you’ll probably be removed from the premises quite quickly.

9. Be discreet while increasing the stake

Most live dealers are trained to shuffle the deck when there is a suspicious increase of betting at the table. Only increase bets in small increments and at random to avoid suspicion.

10. Keep it fun and have realistic expectations

Even though card counting can improve the chances of winning, there is never a guarantee. In fact, even professional card counters only ever achieve a 1% advantage over the house. You’ll need a lot of time, effort, and a sizable bankroll to truly take advantage of card counting in blackjack.

Other Advice and Things to Remember

The advice we covered should help put you on the right track towards blackjack mastery. However, we need to point out a few other things that are important to any blackjack player.

• The efficacy of counting cards in online blackjack is dubious at best. The reasoning is simple – most live blackjack tables shuffle way too often. You can read more about this topic in this article written by Richard Marcus, an experienced pro gambler and former cheater.
• Counting cards without employing a basic blackjack strategy is pointless. Click here for our guide to basic blackjack strategy charts and more.
• The Hi-lo counting system is all you need to get started. We’re not saying it’s the best system for card counting, but it’s one of the easiest and it’s great for getting familiar with the basics such as keeping a running count.
• Mastering a game as complex as blackjack will take a lot of dedication. Check out this guide to becoming a master if you need some more long-term direction.

In Conclusion

These tips will not make any player a professional blackjack player, but they do provide a baseline for getting started with card counting. With a bit of practice and some knowledge, any player can successfully count cards and enjoy more winning hands.

Read Also:

• How to Hide Card Counting – For advanced players, hiding the fact that they’re counting becomes even more important than the count itself. Read this guide to find out some common techniques.
• Card Counting for Baccarat – Counting cards is technically possible in any card game, baccarat included. Check out this guide to see some tips, though we should point out that baccarat counting is not nearly as effective as in twenty-one.
• General blackjack playing tips and tricks – Some additional advice and pointers for mastering blackjack – especially while playing at live dealer tables.
• Blackjack Reddit and Internet tips – A large collection of blackjack tips and advice collected from all corners of the web. Includes forums, guides, books, and more.
•  Live casino software – A list of helpful apps and programs for online gambling, including apps that can help you practice card counting.

Top Casinos to Play Blackjack Live

Looking for a good home to put your blackjack skills to use? Here are some examples of the top online casinos to play blackjack live! While your mileage with card counting at live tables may vary, you can find great games and bonuses either way.