How does "card counting" work?

Question

How does "card counting" work?

Answer 1

I am presuming you are talking about card counting in Blackjack, like they showed in the movie, 21.

Counting cards is not all that complex, in fact it is actually quite simple. The idea is that after some hands have been played out of a new shoe, and there are more high cards than low cards left in the deck it is to the advantage of th eplayer.  

The most comon system is the Hi-Lo count. Start a new shoe with a count of Zero. Assign a value of +1 to 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7, and -1 to tens and aces. Everything else is 0, or neutral. As the cards are played, add or subtract these counts to get the running count. A positive total indicates the deck is rich in tens and aces. Calculate the true count by dividing the running count by the number of decks left to be played. The higher the number the better the odds will favor the player.

However, appying this information is a different subject. You must understand the blackjack rule variations and practice money management. You must play perfect basic strategy and know how, when and what amount to bet!

Here is a link that explains it all.

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

And the movie 21 was great, but it is a fictionalized, dramatized version of an incident that happened many years ago, before the rules of the game were changed to prevent it!

Good Luck!

Answer 2

theres a fixed amount of cards in each and by keeping track of whats been used you can figure out whats left in the deck or what other players have in there hands giving you an unfair advantage

Answer 3

Keeping track of what cards have been played or used in a game, narrows the field of possibilities on what is left, which can give you an advantage. It is NOT an unfair advantage, any more than you playing a higher card to win a play is unfair. It is simply taking advantage of your ability to play the best possible hand.