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Card counting is one of the best skills a blackjack player can learn. While playing perfect basic strategy can lower the house edge to 0.5%, card counting makes it possible to even out the odds and even tip them in your favor. But first you have to learn how to count cards.

Card counting is a skill that players use to determine whether the remaining deck is rich in high card or in low cards. If it is rich in high cards you have a better chance at hitting 21, so you would raise the amount of your bet. Conversely, if the remaining deck is rich in low cards you will want to lower your bets as it means there are not a lot of high cards left to make up 21.

Learning this count cards takes time and patience. Because this is a skill that casinos frown on, you can get kicked out of and possibly barred from playing if you are caught. To avoid getting caught you must practice this skill until you are completely confident that you can count silently in your head with no outward appearance of what you are doing.

The easiest way to teach yourself to count is to start by learning one of the simplest systems: the Hi-Lo system. This is an easy system to learn and to use. And when you are just starting out learning this skill you need it to be simple so that you can master it to the point of being confident in your skill.

The first thing you need to learn is the value break down of the Hi-Lo system. The values assigned to cards is the core of any counting system.

- Card 2 through 6 are low cards and are worth +1

- Cards 7 through 9 are neutral and are worth 0

- 10 Cards, Face Cards and Aces are high cards and are worth -1

The way the system works is that you add up the values of the cards as they are played and discarded. If the total goes into the positives, such as +3, it means that a fair amount of low cards have been played and the remaining cards to be played are high cards-good for blackjack. This is when you would increase your bet. If your total turns negative it means that a fair amount of 10s, Face Cards and/or Aces have been played and it is time to reduce the amount of your bets.

To begin learning this skill, start with a single deck. Shuffle it and then count your way through it. Count slowly if you need to-this is only practice. When you are through the deck you should have a total of 0. This is because there is an equal number of +1 cards and -1 cards. If you arrive at 0 you have done it correctly.

You will need to keep practicing with a single deck until you can run through the cards quickly and in your head. This means not stopping to try to calculate the addition. You need to be able to see a card and immediately add it to the total running in your head.

Once you can run through the deck continuously and quickly in your head, turn the TV or some music on. Casinos are filled with lights and sounds-things to grab your attention and distract you. You need to be able to count accurately and quickly in your head amidst all those distractions. So create some distractions and practice with those.

This skill is about focus-focusing on the cards in front and around you. You need to train yourself to block out the distractions so that you can have an accurate running total in your head and not give yourself away to the casino staff.

Once you are able to run through a deck with distractions, and maintain an accurate and quiet total it is time to go to the next step. Add a second deck. Shuffle them all together and start running through those cards. You will still have to end in 0. And you will still have to do this quietly in your head. Once you have that down add the distractions back in.

Once you are able to count through two decks accurately in your head you should have the confidence to give your skill a try in a casino.

But if you become uncomfortable while trying your skill out at a blackjack table in a casino, stop and just revert back to playing with only basic strategy. You do not want to get caught and thrown out of the casino the first time you try counting.

Above all, be patient with yourself while you are learning. Remember that this is a skill. And like any skill, it requires time, patience and practice to improve it.

Getting started learning to count is the first step to adding this skill to your blackjack strategy arsenal. Once you learn it and begin using it with basic strategy, you might be surprised just how much better your odds improve.

If you are looking for other card counting systems to try, more strategy pointers or just more about blackjack itself, http://www.blackjackhero.com is a well-rounded resource on the game and also features a blog.

By using computer trials, it has been proved mathematically that certain cards are favourable to the player and others are favourable to the dealer.

Depending upon what cards have been played, you can determine what cards are left, and this influences how the player should play his hand.

For example, if more cards are left that favour the player, the player now has an advantage and can raise the bet size to capitalize on his advantage.

Card counting in blackjack helps the player make choices that give him an edge.

Card counting should be studied by anyone wanting to make long-term profits as it gives the player an edge over the casino.

Two Card Counting Myths

Let’s first dispel two common myths on card counting.

1. Card counters do not memorize every card that they have seen dealt out of a deck or shoe.

2. Card counting also does not allow a player to foresee with certainty what card will be dealt out the deck next. It is simply a probability theory that will put the

odds in your favour over the long term. Short-term results can of course vary.

Card Counting Logic

So how does a blackjack player actually card count? Many different techniques have been researched and are practiced to keep track of the cards played from a

deck. Here we are going to use a very simple but effective one.

Before you start to count, you need to know blackjack basic strategy. ALL card counting systems are based on it, and it provides the best way to play following

on from the hands that have already been dealt. It’s easy to learn, and is soon committed to memory.

For those who don’t want to rely on memory, pre printed charts are available.

Basic strategy lets you play at just under even odds with the casino, but card counting takes the advantage one step further and allows you to have the edge in

your favour

The method below is easy to learn, and with some practice, you will be ready to play with the odds in your favour.

You can if you wish then move on to other more complicated strategies that may increase your edge further, but this is a perfect introduction.

The Lazy Way to Count Cards

Lazy card counting is as easy as it sounds. It doesn’t take a lot of concentration or calculations, and makes very few demands on your memory.

In blackjack, a deck rich in face cards is an advantage to the player.

All you need to do with this method is observe the cards coming out of the deck. For example, if you are playing a multiple deck, and after a few hands, you

observe that very few face cards or aces were played, then you have a situation where the next hand will probably be good for you the player, and you should

increase your bet accordingly.

The Key: Look for Extremes

The key to success with this method to is to always look for extremes. The absence or predominance of exposed high cards is easily noticeable by any player.

You will often play several hands where the mix of face cards and low value cards are relatively even.

As soon as you see an absence of exposed high value cards, you should increase your bet. This is because the odds of a face card being dealt are now also

increased which favours you the player, and you should bet accordingly.

It’s simple but effective in putting the odds in your favour and is perfect introduction to card counting.

To learn more blackjack strategies and maximise your winnings visit our site: http://www.Blackjack-Card-Counting-Strategies.com

No, counting cards is not illegal, but it is heavily frowned upon. In fact, there should be a good movie coming out with Kate Bosworth and Kevin Spacey called, “21.” It’s a group of M.I.T. students who setup a card counting team. I read the book called, “Bringing Down the House.” It was a very good book and these students had a great system. Unfortunately, I believe this movie will induce people to gamble more.

Do you remember the poker craze? Well, it’s still going on. However, it’s not as strong as it was when Chris Moneymaker won the World Series of Poker. After the movie comes out, I believe people will try to learn how to count cards, in order to win at blackjack. However, they will find this will be a losing battle. I know this from experience because I was a card counter. I was betting up to $5,000 a hand at blackjack. That is, until I went bankrupt.

Counting cards is based on a positive and negative system. This means for every 10, Jack, Queen, King and Ace, you would count them as negative one (-1). Cards like two, three, four, five and six, you would count them as positive one (+1). Cards, such as seven, eight and nine are considered neutral, so you wouldn’t count these cards. Anyways, all you had to do was count the cards as they came out. For example, if a King came out, you would count that as negative one (-1). If a four came out, you would count that as positive one (+1). Then, you would add all the numbers. The goal was to have a really high number. Once, you get a really high number then you’re supposed to bet big.

Anyways, there are a lot of flaws in this system, which I explain in my book. However, whether you buy this book or not, I just wanted to let you know that blackjack is a losing battle. Even though, you can count cards or not.

Oliver Galang is the author of “Card Counting-The Real Truth in Blackjack,” which is currently #4 on Amazon.com under “card counting.” He’s also the creator of [http://www.AskOliverAnything.com] He’s one of the most brilliant minds in America.

Blackjack is one of the few games where you can get an edge over the casino.

This is something you can learn and profit from quickly and easily.

Before you learn to card count however, you need to be familiar with blackjack basic strategy, the system that all card-counting strategies are based upon.

Here we will introduce you to why card counting works and dispel some common myths.

Card Counting Myths

Before we begin lets dispel two common myths about card counting:

1. Card counters do not memorize every card they have seen dealt out of a deck or shoe, and card counting does NOT need to be complicated.

In fact, simple systems can be very effective. It is the logic the system is based upon, NOT its complexity that makes a system successful.

2. Card counting also does not allow a player to foresee with certainty what card will be dealt out the deck next.

Card counting is simply a probability theory NOT a predictive theory.

While it puts the odds in your favor longer term, short-term losing periods occur for ALL players, so be prepared!

1. Why card counting works

Players who use correct blackjack strategy with a card counting system can beat the casinos edge.

The reason for this is simple. Low cards favor the dealer in blackjack, and high cards favor the player.

Low cards favor the dealer because they help him make winning totals on his hands when he is stiff, (has a 12, 13, 14, 15, or 16 total on his first two cards).

2. Card Counting Your Advantage over the Dealer

In casino blackjack, you can stand on your stiffs if you want to, but the dealer cannot. He has no choice to make but you do, and herein is your advantage.

Rules of the game require that he hit his stiffs no matter how rich the deck is in high cards that will bust him.

It is the fact that you have choices and he does not, which can give you the edge in blackjack.

3. Card Counting Increasing The Odds Of Hitting a Blackjack

The high cards favor the player not only because they may bust the dealer when he hits his stiffs, but because the 10s and Aces create blackjacks.

Although blackjacks are of course, evenly distributed between the dealer and the player, the important fact is that the player is paid more (3:2) when he gets a blackjack.

4. You Don’t Need To Count All the Cards

In card counting, you do not have to count the numbers of each of the individual card values in order to know when you have an advantage over the casino.

You only need to know when the deck is rich or poor in high cards i.e the cards favorable to the player.

5. Card Counting – You Have To Act On Your Advantage!

Card counting by itself can reveal when you have an advantage, but to maximize your profits you need to vary your bet size up when you have an advantage and down when you don’t.

For card counting, to be effective you need to ACT and capitalize on the situations that are favorable to you.

6. Card Counting Technique Learn It In 5 Minutes!

So how does a blackjack player actually card count?

There are many different techniques; some are difficult to master, while some are easier to learn.

In fact, you can learn a simple effective card counting method in just 5 minutes!

To find out more on how to play blackjack and maximise your winnings visit our site: http://www.Blackjack-Card-Counting-Strategies.com