Card Counting and Blackjack.

A subject which is often discussed in casinos, with regards to blackjack, is the act of card counting or pack counting. Many people pose the same question when it comes to card counting- should it be criminalised?

Card counting is defined as "the process by which it is possible to take an advantage, over the house, by studying the cards already played, in such a fashion that it is possible to create a fairly good idea of the cards which are still left to play".

There are many stories, widespread urban legends, about players who are gifted with a mathematical genius, an unsurpassable determination, who have brought down whole casinos.

Although card counting is a tactic that can be employed in a variety of different card games, it is most popularly used when playing blackjack. The original intention of card counting was to evaluate the number of high value cards in comparison to the number of low value cards that are still left to play, by studying the cards that have already been dealt.

The person who is card counting observes closely the cards which are being dealt at the table, between the different players and the croupier, the aim is to deduce which cards are left in the pack. Because it is extremely difficult to memorise exactly each card which has been dealt so far, the majority of players divide the pack of cards into two different categories- cards of high value and cards of low value.

The advantages of the player, in the majority of cases, is that he is not truly under the influence of the croupier about when to hit or miss, he is thus free to decide his actions in each instance of play. Therefore, when the player has a hand of 16, it is up to him to resolve the dilemma- keep the hand (16 is good, but it is not great), or ask for an extra card and try to get closer to 21, in spite of the risk of going bust. The croupier how ever, is not allowed to stick until reaches 17 so he is obliged to ask for an extra card at 16. Although the player can not actually see the next card that will then be dealt, having counted the cards, he can tentatively guess the strength of the croupiers position by knowing the value of the card the croupier already has, plus by knowing the relationship of the yet to be dealt cards, in terms of the statistical likelihood of the card being a high value card or a low value card.

The possible usage of the card counting technique represents a significant danger to the casino and a number of methods have been created in order to counteract the technique and to establish when it is being used.

Many casinos have tried to counter the card counting technique by giving the croupiers extra packs of cards, thus making it harder to make a reasonable, statistical, estimation of the value of the cards left. The more cards which are being dealt, then the less significant the results of the card counting technique are until the packs are mostly dealt. More cards also makes it easier to lose track of the counting as there will be a longer time period in which to become distracted.

It goes without saying that before a person takes the card counting technique to a casino that they become extremely proficient at the skill, and also that they learn to play the rules of the actual game by playing it classically first before beginning to practice card counting. Once a person has mastered the basics of the card counting technique then they can move on to more complicated variations than the 1, 0, and -1 type, and construct more complex formulas, possibly splitting the cards into 4 categories, rather than 2, such as super-high value cards, high value cards, low value cards and super-low value cards, you can go further and further the better you become at the technique, and your chances of winning will be practically certain.

So, should card counting be criminalised? Well, it depends on which side of the fence you are, the casino would say it was unfair as they would not be able to win any money, but the punter would say it was fair because then they can gain an advantage. If the house is allowed to make its own gambling advantage, then why not the player? Beat the house at its own game, why not? Apart from the fact that the casinos will go bankrupt and then where will you play? Why would you go on holiday to Las Vegas if the casinos were not there?