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Card Counting
Card counting is a Blackjack strategy many gamblers attempt to employ to gain an edge over the house. The idea of card counting was glamorized in the movie Rainman, where Dustin Hoffman played an idiot savant who was a counting genius. Tom Cruise, playing Hoffman’s shady younger brother, took him to a Vegas casino and made a killing in the space of a few hours at the Blackjack table. Though this card counting concept seems attractive, in reality effective card counting takes practice and dedication. It is possible to use card counting to gain an advantage in land-based casinos as long as you take the time to develop a system that works.
Taking into account the intricacies of card counting, it is safe to say that it’s not for everyone. Some gamblers attempt to make a career from counting cards. It is more feasible, however, to practice card counting regularly, and then employ your skills on an occasional trip to Vegas, making the vacation worth more than the cost of the hotel stay and travel expenses. One good reason not to go for a career in card counting is the countermeasures casinos have in place to protect against card counters. Many casinos will keep an eye out for those who appear to be counting cards at the Blackjack table, and will then either suggest the counter play a game other than Blackjack, or that they leave the casino. The quality of security camera systems in casinos is also a factor in tracking card counters, as casinos will share information about suspected counters among themselves.
However, card counting can still be a useful and fun strategy for the Vegas vacationer. The techniques of card counting are particularly effective in single-deck games, but it is also possible to employ a card counting system for “shoe” games (multi-deck games where the cards are fed through a plastic “shoe” - usually consisting of four to eight decks). The main theory behind card counting is the ability to distinguish between high value rich decks, which are good for the player, and low value rich decks, which are good for the dealer. This is because of the strict rules a dealer must abide by (hit on sixteen and stand on seventeen). An abundance of small cards increases the likelihood that the dealer’s hand will win, while higher cards will likely bust the dealer.
Card counting systems, rather than actually remembering each and every card dealt during a game, are based on systems of assigned points. The most common system is Hi/Lo, which assigns a value of +1 to small cards and -1 to tens and aces. In this manner you can approximate whether the remaining cards are tipped in favor of the player or the dealer. A positive count means the deck is rich in high cards, while a negative count means that many small cards remain. The Hi/Lo system is the easiest to maintain but does not take into account the number of decks that must be divided in order to find the true value. Another card counting system is the “true count” system, which is more complicated to keep track of but automatically factors the number of decks involved in a game.
There have been a few famous card counters. One such figure is Ken Uston, whose card counting exploits and subsequent court battles with casinos were highly publicized and even featured on the hard news program 60 Minutes. Others who have been successful at card counting were not so visible in the media, but managed to make decent livings through supplemental venues. For example, Edward Thorp, author of the classic card counting guide Beat the Dealer, runs a successful fund. You don’t have to be famous, though, to be a successful card counter. All you need is a good knowledge of the game and as much practice as possible, and you too can beat the dealer and win at Blackjack!
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