However, the card counting system is a bit difficult at which a player has to keep note of different point values as well as keeping track of the Running Count (RC) and True Count (TC).

The card counting system is one of the best systems available and it has a correlation of 0.92 without the Ace and correlation of 0.99 with the Ace count. The card counting system is very accurate and the point values used include -2, -1, 0, +1 and +2. The only major difference is that the common neutral cards – 7 and 9 are assigned a point value.

The point values are distributed as follows:

Face Card 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 T A
Point Value +1 +1 +2 +2 +2 +1 0 -1 -2 0

Betting Correlation (BC) = 0.92
Playing Efficiency (PE) = 0.67
Insurance Correlation (IC) = 0.84

The system is a bit complicated due to its wide range of point values. The Initial Running Count (IRC) starts from 0 and its ending count after all cards are dealt should be 0. In order to make the system more effective, a player should do a separate count of the Aces.

Thus, when keeping track of the Running Count, you would need to convert the RC to True Count (TC). The TC is derived by dividing the Running Count (RC) by the Number of remaining decks.

When the count is high this would indicate that many low cards have been played on the table and the shoe deck is now high card rich. The ideal of the system is to bet low when you have a low count and bet high when you have a high count.

The system takes note of the Ace and it is assigned with a point value of -1 and it also considers the numbers of decks used in the variation. Hence, to effectively make use of the Easy Red 7 Count, a player would have to know the number of decks used in the variation.
The system has an 80% potential gain and it is a system that can easily be adopted by new players as it only keeps track of the running count to depict when the shoe deck is high card or low card rich.

Aces and tens are assigned a negative point value of -1 while low cards have a positive point value of +1. In this system, the Red 7 is assigned a positive point value +1 while the black 7 is neutral. The neutral cards are Black 7, 8 and 9.
The Point values of the THE EASY RED 7 COUNT are as follows

Face Card 2 3 4 5 6 Red7 Black7 8 9 T A
Point Value +1 +1 +1 +1 +1 +1 0 0 0 -1 -1

The major difference with the Easy Red 7 Count and other unbalanced card counting systems is that its initial Running Count (IRC) varies according the decks used in the variation. The IRC is determined by multiplying -2 with the number of decks.

No. Of Decks 1 2 6 8
IRC -2 -4 -12 -16

Hence, when the deck is reshuffled, if playing a variation of 8 decks, your IRC should be -16 and you proceed to keep track of the IRC as cards are dealt on the table. Thus a high negative IRC indicates that more high cards have been dealt leaving the deck low card rich. However, which negative IRC in a variation of 8 Deck would indicate an 80% success of low cards remaining in the shoe deck? For instance, a negative IRC of -32 would be clear to the player that the deck is now low card rich at which you can reduce your bet size because the player is more likely to bust than the house. On the other hand, if the IRC is 0 this would indicate that the shoe deck is now high card rich at which you can increase your bet size and the dealer is more likely to bust in such situations.

The unbalanced card counting techniques is the fundamental/gateway to learn how to count cards during game play. The unbalanced card counting systems are the easiest to learn as they focus mainly on the running count and point values.

The unbalanced counting systems take note of the Running Count (RC) and the point values to determine whether the shoe deck is high card or low card rich. Let’s take a look at two unbalanced card counting systems – the KO Card Count ands the Zen II Count

KO Card Count also known as the Knock-out Card count is a popular unbalanced card counting systems that is well suitable for beginners. Unlike other card counting systems that exclude the 7, the KO count includes the 7 in the RC.

One thing you need to understand is that with the unbalanced card counting system, no conversion of the Running Count (RC) to True Count (TC) is required.

The point values of the KO Count are as follows;

2         3          4          5          6          7          8          9          10         A

+1      +1        +1         +1      +1      +1            0         0           -1         -1

From the above, we can see that the only point values we need to remember is the +1 and -1. The cards 8 and 9 cause no effect to the RC and are known as the neutral cards.

For instance, one the deck has been reshuffled and the dealer deals a K and Q, this would reduce our RC to -2 and when two more cards are dealt – 10 and 5 the RC is -3. Therefore, if the RC is negative, this would indicate that more high cards have been dealt on the table and the deck is low card rich.

The Zen II Card Counting is similar to the regular Zen Count the only difference between the two is that the unbalanced Zen 11 count assigns a positive to 3 cards.

Unbalanced Zen II Card Point Values

2         3          4          5          6          7          8          9          10        A

+1      +2        +2         +2       +2      +1          0         0           -2         -1

Now, comparing the Zen II count and the KO Count, we find out that there are more point values you need to remember when using the Zen II count. The Zen II count assigns a point value of +1 to 2 and 7, +2 to 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 and -2 to 10 and -1 to A.

The Unbalanced Zen II requires more practice in order for you to master the system and it gives out better results than compared to the KO Card Count system.

On the other hand, the unbalanced card counting systems do not need to need conversion of the Running Count (RC) to True Count (TC). However, both levels of card counting deliver similar results but the balanced card counting systems tends top give out other indications such as when to take insurance, when to surrender  and the possibilities of getting a blackjack.

In balanced card counting systems, the True Count (TC) is derived by Dividing the Runing Count (RC) over the number of decks used in the variation.

True Count (TC) = Running Count / Number of Decks In Use

Not only does the balanced Card counting system make use of the True Count (TC), it also makes use of the Betting Correlation, Insurance Correlation and many others. Therefore, depending on the balanced system you employ.

We will look at two balance card-counting systems – The Hi-Lo Card Count and the Revere Point Card Count

The Hi-Lo Card Count assigns the following point values

2         3          4          5          6          7          8          9          10         A

+1      +1        +1         +1      +1         0           0         0           -1         -1

Here we can see that the Hi-Lo card count is similar to the unbalanced KO Card count. The major difference is that it eliminates the 7 from the count at which it is assigned a neutral value causing no effect to the running count. The Hi-Lo Card count converts the Running Count (RC) to True Count (TC) by dividing the RC over the number of decks used in that particular variation.

Therefore, the Hi-lo card count is a step ahead for beginners who need to take the unbalanced card counting techniques to another level.

The Revere Point Card Count is a balanced card counting system that is more complex than compared to the Hi-Lo card count. However, its results are better and the user has a greater chance of winning a larger portion during game play.

The point values are as follows

2         3          4          5          6          7          8          9          10        A

+1      +2        +2        +2       +2      +1            0          0          -2         -2

The Revere Point card count assigns a point value of -2 to all high cards and a point value of +1 and +2 to low cards. The 7 is included in the running count and the neutral cards are 8 and 9. During game play, other players tend to use a side count for the Aces at which if a certain number of aces have been dealt on the board, the player is able to depict whether the dealer is holding a blackjack or not at which s/he can decide to take insurance.

In this guide, you will learn

- The importance of card counting

- Comparison between unbalanced and balanced card counting systems

The importance of card counting

Card counting systems can determine whether the shoe deck is high card or low card rich.  However, when using card counting systems, the player has to be quick in calculating as will as keeping track of the Running Count (RC) or true Count (TC). You certainly need to have a good memory of keeping numbers but that does not mean card counting is for mathematicians.

Anyone is able to master various card counting techniques and it requires frequent practice for you to get a winning edge.

One thing you need to keep in mind is the Running Count (RC) during game play. The initial running count usually starts from 0 depending on the system employed just after the shoe deck has been reshuffled. Its value increases or decreases depending on the cards being dealt on the table. Low cards increases the Running Count because they are assigned a positive value while high cards decrease the Running Count due to the fact that they are assigned a negative value.

According to the card counting systems being used, some cards do not affect the Running Count at which they are known to be neutral. Therefore, if the running count has a positive value, this means that more low cards have been played at which it would indicate that the deck and the reverse is true. Therefore, if the shoe deck is low card rich, there are greater chances that the dealer will not bust and the player is able to adjust his or her bet units. On the other hand, if the shoe deck is high card rich, this would indicate that the dealer is more likely to bust and players are able to get blackjack.

Comparison between unbalanced and balanced card counting systems

Before you think of learning how to count cards, you need to understand the various card counting systems available. The systems are grouped in two categories – the unbalanced card counting systems and the balanced card counting systems. The major difference between the two is that the unbalanced counting systems make use of the Running Count (RC) while the balanced counting systems make use of the True Count (TC) derived by dividing the Running Count (RC) over the number of decks used in the variation. Other factors included in the Balanced card counting techniques include Betting correlation (BC), Playing efficiency (PE) and Insurance correlation (IC).

The unbalanced card counting systems are very easy to learn as they only use the RC to determine whether the deck is high card rich or low card rich. However, unbalanced counting systems are not as accurate as the balanced counting systems.

Long back, I always thought that blackjack was a game of chance and never took it serious. Having read so many journals related to blackjack, it was very hard to convince myself that the game was more strategic and similar to poker. The moment I took blackjack to higher levels, realizing that players can team up to beat the dealer that’s when I figured out that blackjack is a profitable game that requires math and skill.

The effects of position advantage

To many people, it may sound funny that a player is able to get position advantage in blackjack. The last man to act on the table is in control of the game and the key to outplay the dealer. I suppose, many blackjack players take any sit on the table and commence game play without taking note of the player position advantage.

The major question is, ‘how does the last man get the position advantage’

Guess what, three of my friends and I were chased from the casino room for suspected card counting. It is obvious, we were counting the cards but they could not prove it?

One think you need to know is that no matter how good you are in counting cards, if you are not the last man to act on the table you will not get a good return on your investment. The return on investment might be satisfactory but not as good if you were the last man to act on the table.

For example, suppose you are a card counter and the last man to act on the table is a novice player, s/he can call cards that were meant to be used by the dealer to bust, but instead s/he has used these and busts.

On the other hand, if a card counter is the last man to act, s/he will know exactly the cards remaining in the shoe deck at which if it is high card rich s/he will ‘Stand’ rather than’ Hit’ and chances of the dealer’s hand ‘Bust’ are high. Therefore, if the other players are card counters, they can also rely on the last man at which their game play becomes more profitable. Thus, card counting becomes more profitable when playing with other card counters.

For instance, when players are counting cards, determining the deck as high card rich, all players will opt to “stand’ and the final betting decision is controlled by the last man.

However, in a casino room, the dealer is told to pay more attention to the last man’s betting action because card counters always like the last sit. Thereby suspecting any card counting techniques, you are thrown out of the casino room.

But with online blackjack, you can certainly make use of card counting systems to your advantage and get a good return on your investment.

Understanding the card counting principle

Card counting is a technique that is used to determine if the shoe deck is high card rich or low card rich. There are several card counting systems available and each system assigns a point value to each card and as the cards are played on the table, the count value gradually increase and decreases.

Generally, all card counting systems make use of the Running Count (RC) that is used to determine the cards in the shoe deck whether they are high card rich or low card rich. Usually, low cards are assigned a positive value while high cards are assigned a negative value. The middle cards – 7, 8, 9 are assigned a neutral value – 0 at which they do not cause any effect to the Running Count (RC).

Generally, the idea of card counting is to keep track of the Running Count (RC). When low cards are dealt on the table, the RC increases and when high cards are dealt on the table, the RC reduces. Thus, when the RC is in the positive range, this would indicate that there are more low cards that have been dealt on the table, the deck is high card rich, and the reverse is true.

However, card counting systems are grouped in two categories – Unbalanced card counting systems and balanced card counting systems. The difference between the two is that the unbalanced card counting systems make use of the RC while the balanced card counting system makes use of the True Count (TC) that is derived by dividing the Running Count (RC) over the numbers of card decks used in the variation. Depending on the counting system being used, the RC starts of at 0 or with a negative point value as soon as the deck is re-shuffled.

If you are new to card counting, the easiest system to start with is the unbalanced level card counting systems. After you have mastered this level then you can proceed to the advanced system that is the balanced card counting systems.

The Balanced card counting systems also include Betting correlation (BC), Playing efficiency (PE) and Insurance correlation (IC). These betting options will be discussed later in the article titled ‘The Unbalanced Card Counting Systems’.

Online blackjack can be a way of investing your money. When played properly, blackjack can certainly give you a good return on your investment. Playing online bankroll for money requires two things – discipline and bankroll management.

In this guide, you will learn the following

- Selecting the best profitable variation

- Bet sizing

- Bankroll management

- Profitable betting options

Selecting the best profitable variation

Before you think of playing online blackjack for money, you certainly need to select a suitable variation that suits your style of play. There are several online blackjack variations available and each of these can be tried out by making use of a blackjack trainer. The blackjack trainer will help you to evaluate and compare each variation with another so as to select the best of choice.

Thus, if you need to make a good return on your investment, you would need to select the best variation. For instance, some variations do not allow re-splits or to split on Aces while other variations do not offer betting options such as surrender.

Therefore, in order for you to play a profitable game, you certainly need to select a variation that allows you to re-split, and surrender. For example, if you are certain that the dealer’s hand is more likely to beat your hand, you can opt to surrender and lose only half.

Bet sizing

Bet sizing plays an important role when playing online blackjack for money. The more you win, the more the bet size increases at which you get to receive a good return on your investment. For instance, after every two or three consecutive wins, your bet size should increase gradually by 1 or more units.

On the other hand, if you have a huge bankroll, small bets would not add a marginal profit to your investment. For example, if you have a bankroll or $100, your bet size can be $2/$4. Another important factor you need to consider is that your bet size should not be too big because it can easily deplete your bankroll quickly.

Another effective strategy that works hand in hand with bet sizing is card counting. If you are good at using card counting systems, when the deck is high card rich, you can increase your bet size due to the fact that the dealer is more likely to bust and the reverse is true, when the deck is low card rich, the player would have to reduce his/her bet size because s/he is more likely to bust.

Bankroll management

As a blackjack player, you need to know when to stop. Certainly, you need to setup your profit targets as well as your stop loss.  For example, if you have a bankroll of $100, you need to determine the amount of profit you are willing to get as well as the amount of money you are willing to lose. Therefore, you can anticipate getting a profit of $30 or losing $30 at which your range will be +/- $30. If the range has been achieved, it’s best to leave the table and come back the following day.

Profitable betting options

If you are new to online blackjack, you need to know the profitable betting options to use. If you are not good at card counting, it’s not wise to make use of the double down option at which it can cause severe damage to your bankroll. In addition, avoid splitting your hand or taking insurance, these options are done by professional players.

The only betting options you should consider are ‘Hit’, ‘Stand’ and ‘Surrender’.

In this guide, I will list some of the popular variations available in casinos.

European Blackjack

The European blackjack variation is a popular variation available at many online casino rooms and it is known as often known as the regular blackjack. The variation has a house edge advantage of 0.39% and its rules are as follows;

- 2 decks

- Dealer stands on soft 17

- Double on 9, 10 and 11

- Players not allowed to re-split

- Players cannot opt to surrender or take insurance

Atlantic City Blackjack

Another popular variation is the Atlantic City Blackjack that has a house edge advantage of 0.49%. This variation is popular with casino rooms powered by Cryptologic. However, is slightly similar to the European blackjack and one major difference is that it has a high house edge due to the number of decks used.

- 8 decks

- Dealer stands on soft 17

- Double on any first two cards

- Players can split once and double after split

- Players cannot opt to surrender or take insurance

Multi-Hand Blackjack

Multi-Hand Blackjack is popular with casino rooms powered by Microgaming. The variation has a house edge advantage of 0.63%, which is the highest of all blackjack variations and offers 5 bet options.

- 5 decks

- Dealer Stands on soft 17

- Double on 9, 10 and 11

- No Split after doubling

- Players cannot opt to surrender or take insurance

Vegas Strip Blackjack

This variation makes use of 4 decks and has a house edge advantage of 0.34%.

- 4 decks

- Dealer stands on soft 17

- Double on any first two cards

- Players can split max of 3 hands and double after split

- Players cannot opt to surrender or take insurance

Vegas Downtown Blackjack

Vegas Downtown Blackjack and Vegas Strip Blackjack are similar and make use of the same rule. The only difference is that Vegas Downtown Blackjack makes use of 2 decks while Vegas Strip Blackjack uses 4 decks.

Single Deck Blackjack

Single Deck Blackjack is  a variation that is very difficult to find in a casino room. This variation gives an added advantage to card counters and this is one of the main reasons why it is not popular in major online casino rooms.

- 1 Deck

- Dealer stands on soft 17

- Double on first two cards

- Players allowed to split once

- Players cannot opt to surrender or take insurance

In this guide, you will learn the following

- The fundamental strategy

- The effects of bet sizing

- Card counting techniques

The Fundamental Strategy

If you new to online blackjack, you certainly need to master the fundamental strategy in order to get a winning edge. The fundamental strategy is based on the technique of how to play during the proceeds of the game. Your betting action is of paramount importance, you should know when to hit, split, double, take insurance, surrender and stand according to the situation on the table.

The fundamental strategy focuses mainly on the dealer’s face-up card and your hand value. The common betting actions you need to put in mind are Hit, Double and Stand.

According to the dealer’s face-up card, you should know when to hit, double or Stand. For instance, if the dealer’s face up card shows a value bellow 5 there are greater chances that the dealer is more likely to bust or easily Stand at soft 17. Hence, if the dealer’s face up card shows a value lower or equal to 5, given that your hand value (first two card) is between 14 to 16 you should automatically stand. If the hand value is less than 14 then you should only hit once and stand. However, if your hand value is lower than 11 or 10 then automatically double down disregard to whether the double down card is of low value because there are chances that the dealer will bust.

Therefore, the fundamental strategy is that if the dealers face up card is high or equal to 10 the dealer is likely to beat your hand especially when your hand value is below 18. On the other hand, the player is most likely to win if the dealer’s face up card is lower than 5.

The Effects of Bet Sizing

As soon as you grasp the fundamental strategy, you now need to know the effects of bet sizing during game play. Bet sizing is a technique that can easily build your bankroll effectively depending on the way you play. For instance, whenever you win, you should increase your bet size at which your return on investment can be achieved easily. For example, if you started with a bet size of $50 and you win consecutively then the next bet should have a bet size of $60 that is an increase of $10 to the bet.

If you are good at card counting then bet sizing can be effective and very profitable.

Card counting techniques

Card counting is an effective strategy that determines whether the shoe deck is high card rich or low card rich. By determining the shoe deck, a player is able to know when the dealer is most likely to bust. For Instance, a deck that is high card rich would indicate that the dealer is most likely to bust at which the player is able to increase his or her bet size by a very big margin. On the other hand, a deck that is low card rich would indicate that the dealer is less likely to bust.

There are several card counting techniques available and these are categorized as the unbalanced level and balanced level card counting techniques. Unbalanced card counting does not make use of the True Count (TC) while the Balanced Card counting technique takes the True Count (TC) into consideration.

Conclusion

Therefore, the effective winning strategies include knowing the fundamental technique, bet sizing, and card counting. However, card counting can be very complicated for beginners but the other two can certainly give you a winning edge.