Blackjack card counting systems require a lot of practice in order for you to get a winning edge. If you are new to blackjack card counting then this guide will be of great help.
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.
