Counting cards is a blackjack strategy that helps players gain an edge over the house. It involves keeping track of all the cards that have been dealt and calculating a running or true count of how many high-value cards remain in the shoe. By using this information, the player can adjust their betting strategy accordingly and increase their chances of winning. Card counting requires a lot of practice, so it’s important to play a few rounds in an online casino before taking your skills to the real world.
Card counting works best with a single deck of cards. The more decks in the shoe, the more difficult it becomes to keep up with the count. This is why casinos take steps to prevent card counters by limiting the number of decks in their games or restricting certain player actions, such as re-splitting pairs or letting dealers hit on soft 17.
There are dozens of different card counting systems that can be used in blackjack. These include balanced and unbalanced formats, as well as single-level and multi-level methods. Regardless of which card counting system you choose, the most important thing is to stay accurate and maintain a positive count throughout the shoe. Increasing your bet size when the count is negative and decreasing it when it’s positive will help you maximize your winnings.
In addition to adjusting your betting strategy, most card counting systems also include additional strategic plays that can be incorporated into your game plan. These are called deviations or index plays and can be added to your basic strategy chart to help you make the right decisions when playing a hand. Generally speaking, you want to increase your bet by one unit for each point that the count goes up. However, it’s crucial to remember that the more you bet, the more eyes will be on you in the casino.
It’s important to note that, even with the proper betting strategy, card counting won’t make you a millionaire. It will, however, improve your odds of winning by turning blackjack into a positive expectation game. In addition to learning the card counting strategy, it’s also important to master basic blackjack playing strategy.
Although it’s not illegal to count cards in blackjack, casinos aren’t big fans of advantage players and will often ask you to leave or may even trespass you if they catch you doing it. For this reason, it’s important to be discreet when using card counting in an online casino. Some professional players even use make-up and different disguises to camouflage their count and avoid detection. Lastly, it’s important to remember that you will need to be discreet when playing blackjack in a land-based casino as well. Some casinos have been known to have shady practices and hire people to watch players for suspicious activity. If you get caught, the casino may keep your image on file and blacklist you from their premises.