How to Count a Single Hand Blackjack deck

Busting Vegas is not easy and certainly not a sure thing. But counting cards does significantly improve your odds of winning. This article will explain how to begin counting a single deck of cards in blackjack.

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• You will need to be extremely quick, extremely clever and very determined - this is not an easy skill to pick up. It's all about math - adding and subtracting, very quickly. You need all of these things in order to be successful.

The Count

1. Learn the value of the cards. When you are counting, the value of each card changes. Here is an extremely powerful system for valuing the cards. There are many ways to do it, but this is one of the best.2- +13- +1 4- +25- +26- +27- +18- 09- -110 (and face cards)- -2A- 0Memorize this. Know it extremely well and quickly.

2. Practice your counting skills. When you are counting cards, there is nothing more important than being able to count the cards accurately. You need to know how to do this perfectly. This means sitting at home (or the office) and flipping through the deck while counting (based on the numerical value system listed above). Literally flip through the cards and keep a running count as you go. At first, do it slowly and make sure it's accurate. As you get better at it, increase your speed until you can go through a whole deck in about 30 seconds. Then you've really got it.

3. Keep a side count of aces. Since you are counting one deck, we know that at the beginning there are four aces. When you are counting, keep a side count of aces going the entire time. It is best to do this with your hand, but not in the open, so keep your hand below the table so no one can see you.The more aces in the deck, the better your chances are of getting a blackjack (which is where the real winning begins). So when there are more aces than there should be (in terms of averages), the count of the deck is slightly higher than your running count says it is. The opposite is also true.

4. Make your bets. Remember that since we are basically adding points for lower cards and subtracting for higher cards, when our count is positive, that means there are more face cards left in the deck than smaller cards. This calls for a bigger bet. Again, however, the opposite is also true. This is why keeping an extremely accurate running count of the deck is of the utmost importance.

5. Play correctly. To do this, you should learn basic strategy. Basic strategy is a computer-tested model explaining the best decision the player can make for every hand they might have. The basic strategy chart shows that for every possible hand you could begin with, what decision you should make for every possible card that the dealer is showing. There are a lot of permutations, many of which are obvious. But some are different than you would think they are and it is important to know all of these decisions.

Tips & Warnings

• Remember, the hardest part about counting is not getting caught. You need to do all of this stuff without tipping off anybody to the fact that you might be doing it. It is the pit bosses and dealers jobs to try to catch counters, so know that you are being watched as you attempt to break the house.
• Getting kicked out is not the worst thing. But screwing around with casino security is.
• If you get kicked out (barred), it's ok. Just get up from the table, take you chips (hopefully winnings) and move on with your life. No point is arguing with the pit boss or anyone else.
• Don't play in bad blackjack games. Look for games where the rules are tailored to lessen the house's edge. Things you should look for are blackjack paying 3 to 2 over 6 to 5 and allowing for double-downs on as many hands as possible.

[rogerhart]

on 3/26/2009 It appears that something has been left out. I have no idea what "2- 13- 1 4- 25- 26- 27- 18- 09- -110 (and face cards)- -2A- 0" means. It may mean add 1 for 2s, 3s and 7s, add 2 for 4s, 5s and 6s, subtract -1 for 9s, 10s and all face cards, count nothing for 8s and aces. Is that what you mean?