So start with a “count” of zero and subtract or add one (or zero) as you see cards played. The total for all 52 cards in a deck is zero. In the simplest card-counting system, aces and 10-valued cards are assigned a value of negative-one, low-valued cards are assigned positive-one, and 7s, 8s, and 9s are assigned a value of zero. Cards valued 7, 8, or 9 don’t have as much of an effect on winning or losing as low- and high-valued cards do. The more low-valued cards that remain in a deck, yet to be dealt, the more likely it is that you will lose the next hand. Which means your next card will take you over 21 and you’ll lose. Because there are so many 10-valued cards in the deck, if you get dealt a low-valued card, the likelihood is that your other card will bring your total into the low teens. Low-valued cards-2s, 3s, 4s, 5s, and 6s-are not favorable for you. The more aces and 10-valued cards that remain in a deck, yet to be dealt, the more likely it is that you will win the next hand. This method, called “counting cards,” is far easier than you might guess.Ĭounting can be as simple as tracking cards in three categories: those that are favorable for you, those that are unfavorable, and those that don’t have much effect on the likelihood that a hand will either win or lose.Īces and 10-valued cards are favorable for you because they get you quickly up to (or close to) 21. By keeping track of how many high-valued and how many low-valued cards have been played, you can predict the likelihood of the next hand being a winner. If, for example, there are more 10-valued cards than small-valued cards left to be dealt, you’re more likely to get a winning hand. In most casino games, roulette for example, every separate wager has the same probability of winning or losing. The Rules of Blackjack Enable You to Increase Your Wager in Favorable Situations And splitting the two 8s into two separate, eight-valued hands … wow! Not only do you get to turn one bad hand into two good ones, you get to increase your bet. In doing so, you also must double your wager. However, when you have two cards that are the same-e.g., two 8s or two jacks-most casinos allow you to split them into two separate hands. With a value of 16, this hand is most unfavorable. A hand totaling eight is favorable for you. What about a hand that totals, say, eight? More than half of the cards you might draw next are either aces or 10-valued, any of which would give you a strong hand. Only a 2, 3, 4, or 5 prevents you from going over 21 and losing immediately. If the dealer has a strong hand-say she has a face card showing-you’ll probably lose if you stand. Which situations are favorable, or not, in blackjack?Ĭonsider getting dealt a hand that totals 16. Increasing Your Bet in Favorable Situations The casino-the dealer-also gets two cards, and must stand (stop drawing cards) or draw (request more cards) based on a set of rules. Players get dealt two cards and can choose to take more. The goal of the game is to accumulate cards that total as close to 21 as possible without going over. The value of each card is either the number on the card, or 10 for face cards, or one or 11 for an ace. Both can turn the odds in blackjack in your favor.įirst, a quick primer on blackjack, the game is played using one or more 52-card decks. You can also make decisions based on information you gather as you play. Unlike in other casino games, as a blackjack player you can increase your bet in favorable situations. When it comes to the card game blackjack, however, there are some solid bits of mathematics that can help a player turn the tables on the gambling establishment. Unlike in other casino games, as a blackjack player you can increase your bet in favorable situations Although there are many books and websites that purport to teach you how to sidestep the odds of almost every casino game, many are misguided at best and rubbish at worst. There are sound mathematical reasons for a casino’s winning ways. Let’s wonder a bit about the casino game of blackjack.Ī glance at the grandeur of a typical casino in, say, Las Vegas or Monte Carlo tells you that most people lose money when they gamble. The mathematical underpinnings of blackjack are both interesting and not immediately obvious.
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