Card Counting: Introduction.

The basic aim of card counting is to study the cards that have already been dealt in an attempt to vary your bets according to the cards that remain in the pack; a pack of cards that has high value cards which have yet to be dealt is beneficial for the player.

The majority of card counting systems begin from the number 0. This means that from the moment that the first card is dealt then the count is 0. Depending on the system of card counting which is being used the count is going to fluctuate after each card has been dealt. You should study both the cards that are dealt to you and the cards that are dealt to the players and croupier.

At the point at which the remaining pack of un-dealt cards has a high value, then the player will have several advantages:

1. The croupier will go bust more often
2. Players will make more blackjacks
3. Players will receive better value cards and will be playing with a stronger hand.

At the point at which the cards remaining have a high value, the card counter will wager with higher amounts because the mathematical advantage is higher.

Card counting does not end there, even if you wager more and win more; you should remain vigilant and continue to count the cards. If the value of the remaining cards falls, becoming neutral (0) or negative (-) then you will need to wager less because the casino will have the advantage.

What is the recommended card counting technique?
This depends on your knowledge of the game. In general, for beginners, it is recommended that you start with the simplest card counting technique, for two reasons:

1. You need to practice as you play, if you make it too obvious, by not being very proficient, then you risk being caught and removed from the casino's premises.
2. It will be easier to learn the fundamentals of card counting techniques and then build on that knowledge from a firm foundational understanding.

The HI/LO Count or the Plus/Minus (incidentally, this is the technique used in the film 21) or the KO count. We will also present to you the Hi/Opt technique, this is harder to master, but recommended nonetheless if you play blackjack with one or two packs.

The majority of card counting techniques use positive counting. When the count is positive, this means that there has been more of the lower value cards dealt and that the remaining pack contains a greater percentage of higher value cards.

An explanation of how to master the above techniques will appear in subsequent articles, which you will be able to access from links at the bottom of this page, once they have been created for www.online-casinos.co.uk.

Anecdote:
Certain individuals who have mastered the card counting techniques place their chips in a certain manner at the table in order to follow the number of the count, other players will use their feet (this is our personal recommendation as you can keep the evidence hidden under the table, and thus make it less likely that you will be caught out).

In the film 21 they present a method which was used by students of MIT who put together a team of cards counters in order to maximise the returns from the card counting technique. There is evidence that there are such teams which exist in the United States, UK and France...a good location to begin team would be the up and coming area of Macau in China, it is being hailed as the Las Vegas of the East, so opportunities abound!

Card Counting: Introduction. Card Counting: History. Card Counting:Is it Illegal? Card Counting: How is it Detected by Casinos? Card Counting: The MIT Team. Card Counting: An Informal Technique Card Counting: The Hi/Lo Technique Card Counting: The KO Tecnique Card Counting: Hi/Opt I & II Technique Card Counting: The True Count