Counting Cards In Black Jack



Black Jack (21)

Black Jack is the most popular banking game in the American casinos to this date. The game is most famous in the gambling capital of the world, Las Vegas.

The players of the game play against the dealer or the house who is given the upper hand advantage unless the players are 'counting cards'.

In the initial stages of Black Jack, the players are to place their bets and proceed with the following stages. The round is over when the player or dealer loses their bet, then the round is over and the cycle continues.

The goal of the players are to add the values of the two cards that are initially dealt to a him/her in hopes of summing a number of 21 or closer than the dealer. If the cards are not close enough, the player has the option of hitting (being dealt an additional card) or surrendering (giving up a hand and receiving half the bet). A player has the option of doubling down, which gives them the opportunity of doubling their bet under the condition of receiving only one more card. A player also has the option of splitting which literally means their playing to hands at once. If a player's cards exceed 21, then he/she has 'bust' and has lost the round.

The game is played with 6-8 decks of standard 52-playing cards in a dealer's shoe. Numbered cards are played as their given value and paint cards (jack, queen, king,) count as 10. The aces can be valued at 1 or 11 according to the added value of a player's cards.

Some people make a living playing these games at high stakes.

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The Math

The MIT Black Jack team took the casinos down for millions once they founded the method of card counting.

Today, there are multiple ways to count cards. The most common way to count cards though is the Hi-Lo system, which requires very simple math.

The Hi-Low System involves a point value of +1, 0, or -1 to every card dealt to the players. Each card is assigned a specific value in the Hi Lo System. Aces and 10-valued cards are assigned a value of -1. Cards 7, 8, 9 each count are 0, and cards 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 each count as +1. When the count is 24 or higher, that means the cards the dealer deals are more likely to be faced cards or aces. On the other hand, when the count is under 24 that means that the cards that are dealt are more often than not going to be numbered cards.



Works Cited

"Learn to count cards in Blackjack with the card counting tutor." Learn to count cards in Blackjack with the card counting tutor. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Jan. 2010. <http://www.countingedge.com/>.

"Hi lo, Hi-Lo System in Blackjack." Learn to count cards in Blackjack with the card counting tutor. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Jan. 2010. <http://www.countingedge.com/hilo.php>.

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