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Lesson
4: Card Counting - How To Do It
By
now you've chosen a counting system
that you want to learn and even
though it may be different than
the Hi / Lo Count which I'm going
to discuss here, the methods used
to learn it are the same. Just make
adjustments where appropriate and
you'll do fine, but if you are confused
or don't understand something, then
e-mail me.
The
Hi / Lo counting system assigns
a "point" value to each type of
card in a deck. The first step in
card counting is to memorize those
values. Here they are
| Card |
Point
Value |
| 2 |
+1 |
| 3 |
+1 |
| 4 |
+1 |
| 5 |
+1 |
| 6 |
+1 |
| 7 |
0 |
| 8 |
0 |
| 9 |
0 |
| 10 |
-1 |
| J |
-1 |
| Q |
-1 |
| K |
-1 |
| A |
-1 |
A
bit of simple math will show you that
there are, in a complete deck, an
equal number of "plus"-valued cards
and "minus"-valued cards. This is
called a "balanced" count and since
all cards are valued either 1 or 0,
this is also a "single-level" count.
The
Power of Card Counting
The
Hi / Lo count recognizes that the
cards 2 through 6 are of greatest
value to the dealer, since these
cards turn the dealer's "stiff"
hands (12 - 16) which s/he must
hit into good hands. For example,
a 5 turns a dealer's 12-16 into
17-21, consequently it is the most
important card for a dealer. On
the other hand, an Ace is most important
to a player, since it's the key
component to a "blackjack" which
pays 3 to 2. So, as "little" cards
are played, they are no longer available
to the dealer and since there are
an equal number of plus- and minus-valued
cards in the deck, a "plus" count
tells us that there are a higher
proportion of tens and aces left
in the unplayed portion of the deck.
This situation is favorable for
the player since the chances for
a blackjack have increased and doubling
or splitting situations stand a
better chance of receiving a high
card.
Of
course, a dealer has the same chance
of receiving high cards as you.
But remember that the dealer does
not receive 3 to 2 for a blackjack,
may not double or split and must
hit 16 or less. Also, as you will
learn in a later lesson, knowing
the proportion of 10-valued cards
in the decks gives you the knowledge
to make profitable insurance bets.
Learning
The Point Values
This
is the only exercise you will ever
need to learn the point values of
your counting system. It's the one
I use when I'm switching counts
for a single-deck game or back again
to the one I use for multi-deck
games. Just take a deck of cards
and begin turning them over one
at a time and recite the point value
of each card. If a card is a plus-value,
I don't say "Plus 1"; I just say
"one", because it implies "plus"
anyway. If a card is a minus-value,
I say "M 1", not "minus 1" because
it saves a syllable. For the "neutral"
or zero-value cards, I say nothing
-- they are completely ignored for
counting purposes with the Hi /
Lo system.
So,
how does this look? Here's a quick
example
| Ace |
(M-one) |
| 9 |
|
| 5 |
(One) |
| 6 |
(One) |
| 7 |
|
| King |
(M-one) |
| 2 |
(One) |
| 10 |
(M-one) |
Notice
that I'm not keeping track of the
cards, but merely stating the point
value of each. You must practice this
until you have the point values firmly
implanted in your mind but don't worry,
it won't take long.
Single-Card
Countdown
If
you feel you know the point values
of each card in your system of choice
by heart, you may now begin to count
down a single deck. Simply remove
any three cards without looking
at them (to check your accuracy)
and set them aside. Now turn over
cards one at a time and keep a running
total of their values. Remember
your old algebra classes? If you
add +1 to -1 the result is 0. That
applies here, so keep it in mind
as you go through the deck.
Here's
an example:
| 1st
card |
Ace |
The
count: M-one |
| 2nd |
King |
M-two |
| 3rd |
10 |
M-three |
| 4th |
6 |
M-two
(make sure you know why) |
| 5th |
Queen |
M-three |
| 6th |
5 |
M-two |
| 7th |
3 |
M-one |
| 8th |
6 |
Even
(I don't use "zero") |
| 9th |
4 |
One
(again, no "plus") |
Got
it? Good. You're not very fast yet,
are you? Well, don't worry about that;
we'll work on speed later. When you've
completed the deck, the count should
be off by the value of the three cards
we set aside in the beginning. Look
at those cards, check your accuracy,
shuffle and begin again. Get into
the habit of removing three cards
every time you do any counting exercises
since they will keep you from fooling
yourself when you make a mistake.
For
now the key is accuracy; keep at
this until you can go through a
deck three or four times in a row
without mistakes. What you have
learned here is called the "running
count". Next time we'll work on
speeding up your ability to count;
can you believe I'll have you zipping
through a deck in less than 20 seconds?
The babes really love that at parties...
Homework
Continue
testing yourself on basic strategy
by doing the Basic Strategy Reconstruction
and Basic Strategy Decisions exercises.
You won't win if you can't play
proper basic strategy.
Begin
learning the point values of your
chosen system and when you know
them by heart -- and only then --
start doing single-card countdowns
of one deck.
See
you here next time. Practice!
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