Watch any movie that involves card counting and the process is generally portrayed as some sort of incredible mental mind magic. The depiction will often involve some or other smart person staring intently, performing unexplained mental acrobatics, then, like magic, they will suddenly win their hand. They will continue to win, again and again, until getting kicked out of the casino.
This is all good and well as far as movies are concerned, but it doesn’t really help the average person understand what card counting really is. We are, of course, not explaining the process here as some sort of encouragement that readers learn how to do it. But what we are doing is explaining how it works, in real terms, so that the layman can understand what it involves.
It Isn’t As Hard As Is Portrayed
Again, we aren’t by any means suggesting that anyone attempt card counting. If you do, and attempt to use the technique at a casino, we guarantee you will be kicked out, banned, and potentially even fined a great deal of money. But with that being said, let’s be real about an important aspect of the technique.
Card counting doesn’t require any sort of mental genius in order to learn. Most can learn how to do it, and put the techniques into practice. It isn’t easy, of course, but can be learned with a bit of practice.
It Works With Blackjack
Card counting essentially works best with single deck Blackjack. Blackjack is one of the most popular games in the world, offered everywhere from brick and mortar casinos, to online casino singapore. It also happens to have amongst the most generous odds in any casino game.
If combining perfect strategy with card counting techniques, breaking even can be turned into big wins across the board. Though, despite what you see in the movies, it won’t happen instantly. It takes time, patience, and a great deal of focus. Although anyone could theoretically learn how to do it, it would still take immense dedication to learn how to do it right.
How It Works
A common misconception is that in order to count cards the entire deck must be memorised, and ticked off mentally as each card is played. This isn’t the case. Instead, a card counter keeps track of key groups of cards in the deck, such as the face cards. Once the cards have been played, the counter knows that they are no longer in the single deck, and adjusts play strategy accordingly.
If playing with perfect strategy, and keeping track of which cards are played, a roughly 1% advantage can be squeezed out. It doesn’t sound like much, but will help in certain specific moments where that 1% can be turned into a massive win.
The most commonly used card counting technique is referred to as High-Low, and was famously depicted in the film 21. The movie doesn’t do a good job of depicting how long it takes for the High-Low technique to turn a profit, but does explain the technique relatively well.