How do you count cards ??

Question

i have read what everyone says , sorta... they explain very bad and was wondering if any1 could explain in a very simple way.. very simple.. i would love to learn and very keen.. im 17 and have ALOT of time on my hands - personal reasons - and think this would be a great thing to learn. thanks alot

Answer 1

When you're talking "counting cards," that is almost always in regards to blackjack.  So, before we can dive into any lessons on counting cards, you must understand the basics of a deck of cards and the game of blackjack.  First the cards:

There are 52 cards in all, divided into 4 suits:

Clubs, Diamonds, Hearts, and Spades

Each suit is made up of 13 cards, 2 through ace.  

I won't explain how the cards are dealt in blackjack, how many players can play, etc.  Let's pretend that it's just you against the dealer.  Your essentially placing a wager before seeing two cards that says in effect: I bet this amount of money that I can get closer to 21 than you without going over.  Remember, each of you start with 2 cards.  You get to see ONE of the dealers cards.  The cards are totaled like this:

2 through 9 equal the value of the card

10, J, Q, and K value 10 each

Ace (A) can equal either 1 or 11

Starting hands:

2 and 9 total 11 (a GREAT starting hand)

4 and 7 also totals 11

A 5 totals EITHER 6 (5 plus ONE) or 16 (5 plus ELEVEN)

Strategy:

Starting hands of 11 or less means that you CANNOT go over 21 back "taking a card."  Even if you get an ace (one or eleven), by making it a one you only have 12 points at most.  

You see the dealer's up card.  That's your only clue as to what to do with your cards.  If the dealer is showing a 2 that means that his/her starting hand can be between 4 (2 showing and 2 down) all the way to 13 (using the ace an eleven).  NOTE: The dealer cannot use the ace as a one UNLESS using it as an eleven would make him go over 21.  

So, you're looking at his one card and trying to imagine what he has.  If he is showing a Q then you might figure him for a 20 (not good for you!).  Remember, there are 16 tens in the deck (4 tens, jacks, queens, and kings).  That's more than the four 2's through 9's and aces in there!  It's with "the tens" that counting comes into play.

For example: Let's say that half the deck had been dealt and you had been counting the 10's and you knew that 15 of the 16 had already been played then you look to see the dealer is showing a K up.  That's the last 10!  You know it!  He CAN'T have 20, right?  That's powerful information!

Consider this example:  When the first card is dealt, you have a 16 in 52 chance of receiving a 10.  That's ALMOST a 31 percent chance.  Depending on how rapidly or slowly 10's are coming out, your percentage chance is increasing or decreasing from 31 percent.  Let's say that the first four cards (your two cards and the dealer's two cards) are all NOT tens.  That means that the NEXT card off the deck has a 16 in 48 chance or 33 percent chance of being a ten.  

Many blackjack players just look at their cards.  They total 13.  They say, "I need another card."  They have NO IDEA if there are lots of tens left (which will make them go over 21--AKA "bust" them) or if there's hardly any.  

That's all counting cards is!  It's keeping track of the tens and the total number of cards, to figure out the percentage chances for the coming cards.  It's about giving you more information on which to base decisions.  You have 12 or 13 and there are NO tens and only ONE 9 left that means there is ONE card in the entire deck that can bust you!  One card!  Take the risk!  See, counting cards doesn't guarantee you anything!  Even if there's only a 1 percent chance that you'll bust, you can still bust.  And if there's a 60 percent chance that you'll get that ten that you need, it can still be a 2.  But when you KNOW the card counts and can bet more when the deck is "favorable" to you and bet less when it's not then over the long haul those percentages in theory weigh in your favor.

I would strongly suggest that you rent or NETFLIX the movie 21.  It's all about a group of MIT grads that took card counting to the extremes in an effort to take Vegas for large somes of money.  (By the way ... they were better card counters than you or I will ever be and they still LOST money at times and some say they about broke even for the entier time they did it.)  In other words, card counting increases your chances of winning, but guarantees you NOTHING.

And the casinos are on the lookout for card counters and they won't let you come back.  

Answer 2

Good articles:

http://www.10-best-online-casinos.eu/bla...

Answer 3

cards?

what cards?

Answer 4

uhm i would say try it out at home on your own, but dont get into it big time expecting to win thousands cuz it just wont happen

it is a fun thing to learn and get the hang of but you could lose big if you try it

Answer 5

I normally will count card while playing blackjack with friends. Every simple counting, 2,3,4,5 is -1point, 10,J<Q&K is 1point, other is 0 point.If you get positive point, mean the chances of getting small card is high. However, this is not applicable on casino because they are using many sets of poker.

Answer 6

This is a bit too complex to answer in a box this small, lol.

Here is a link to some information on how to count cards. It also provides a lot of other advice aobut blackjack, too.

http://www.thedoverpro.com/blackjack.htm

Good luck at the tables!

Answer 7

Watch these youtube videos on card counting.

http://www.youtube.com/results?search_qu...

Answer 8

1...2...3...4...5....6...7..8..ect.

Answer 9

The reason your getting broad answers is because there are so many intricacies you need to learn to do it efficiently and properly that in order to explain it somebody would need to write you a 30 page article, and even then, it would probably be oversimplified. I'm going to fit as many links and as much information here as i can to set you up, but i STRONGLY recommend you go buy a big book from the "puzzles and games" section of your local bookstore on the subject to learn properly.

Basically you can beat blackjack because cards are removed from the game in one hand and cannot be played in the next hands until the shuffle. Some cards when removed have the effect of making the house edge larger, some make it smaller. Card counting systems separate those types of cards into two categories respectfully and assign positive and negative points to one and the other. As the cards are dealt from the deck or shoe, the you can "count" them by adding together the point values that are assigned to each type of card yielding what is called the "RUNNING COUNT" (RC) then if the system requires it which most systems do, you divide the running count by the number of decks left undealt which will give you the "TRUE COUNT" (TC) or the value of the cards removed per deck of cards left undealt. The TC is the number that all playing and betting decisions are based off of. You need to know the exhisting house edge to be able to guess at what TC the house edge is gone and the edge lies with the player, only computer simulation can tell, or you can buy a book that has already figured it out for you. You can use this tool to calulate house edges http://wizardofodds.com/blackjack/house-...

Once you have determined that you have an advantage over the house (which will only be about 20-30% of all hands you whitness) you can begine placing bets. To actually be sure you experience the edge you are working for, you need to play a perfect game strategy which is known as "BASIC PLAYING STRATEGY" playing strategy varies by rules and other variables so you need to know the strategy for the game you are playing, it is ABSOLUTELY MANDATORY that you play every hand ideally, any slacking off will result in playing errors, and too many playing errors will throw the house edge right back to the casino. You can see the correct playign strategy for a given set of rules here http://www.blackjackinfo.com/bjbse.php you can also practice and learn it here http://www.hitorstand.net though this strategy is only for one set of rules which may or may not be the rules you are playing against.

Ontop of basic playing strategy it is in your best interest to modify playing strategy based on the TC Each play of the 150+ possible to be dealt to you has a hypothetical TC where a new play becomes the more valuable option to make, fortunately some (most) numbers are so high that you will never see them in real world play, or negetive where you also wont even be near the table when it happens. This means that you only need memorise "STRATEGY DEVIATIONS" for 20-maybe 30 hands at most. Each play will have its own unique number assigned to it and a new play that is more valuable, i couldnt list them for you because they are different for each counting systems and even different rule sets. But for each play you will need to memorise the number assigned and the different play theat becomes the better option. (Buy a book)

In the end you wont become a millionair counting cards,  maybe a thousandair, or a tens of  thousandair.  Its is very fun and challenging, i view it for me as a hobby that keeps my mind occupied, and in the end wont cost me anythign at all and will actually make me some extra money. As you get better and better, you will develope new and more intricate strategys to make more and more money making it almost an art form. Also, it is not guaranteed that you will make money counting cards, the odds are in your favor, but at any time it is always possible that you coudl run out of money because of an unlucky streak, even after playing tens of thousands of hands there still may be a 10% chance that you run out of money. Just like sometimes peopel walkingot a casinos and hit a million dollar progressive jackpot sometimes you will walk in and drop 10 grand in an hour because the dealer got 7 blackjacks in one shoe, its extremely unlikely but it is totaly possible.

Now go buy a book and learn and practice untill your 21 (or 18) depending on where you live, it will take several months to get evertthign down 100% so you best startt now, good luck