Blackjack Card Counting: How It Works – the Complete Guide

Published
04/28/2025

Contrary to popular belief, card counting does not allow players to memorize all the cards in one or more decks that are dealt or remain in the dealer's shoe. You don't have to be like Dustin Hoffman in the movie "Rain Man," who can memorize all the cards in all the decks by value and suit that were dealt during a long gaming session.

Instead, card counting is used to determine the cards remaining in the dealer's shoe so that you can identify an upcoming hand in which you, as a player, have a greater chance of winning than you would normally have.

A good card counter knows basic blackjack strategies and, more importantly, knows exactly when to raise or lower their bets to maximize the advantage of the cards still in play at non UK gambling sites.

 

Why Do Blackjack Players Count Cards at Non GamStop Casinos?

Aside from the obvious reason of increasing your odds against a non GamStop casino or dealer, blackjack is an ideal casino game for this purpose. Of all casino games, blackjack has the lowest house edge, and players' bankrolls tend to last the longest, on average. However, even if you make the right move on every possible hand and know all the tricks and strategies, the house will win sooner or later — discover Kings Chip Casino now to put your skills to the test.

This is where card counting comes in, allowing experienced players to profit over longer periods of time. Simply put, blackjack is an ideal casino game for card counting because previously dealt cards influence future outcomes, and knowing which cards remain in the shoe makes all the difference.

 

A Brief History of Card Counting in Blackjack

It all began when mathematician Edward Thorpe discovered that a game of blackjack is unlike any other casino game. It happened in the 1960s when Thorpe discovered that in blackjack, unlike most card games, previously dealt hands significantly influence the outcome of future events, thus giving players the opportunity to predict whether they will have the upper hand.

Of course, Thorpe wasn't the first to notice this phenomenon, but the mathematician was the one who invented a simple method to use this mathematical oddity to our advantage. 

Back then, most non GamStop casinos used one or two decks of 52 cards for a blackjack game, and counting cards using Thorp's system was incredibly effective, especially in a single-deck blackjack game. Today, non GamStop casinos use six or eight decks of cards, which makes card counting difficult but not completely impossible.

 

How Do You Count Cards in Blackjack?

As mentioned above, you don't have to be a genius to count cards in blackjack. There are several strategies with varying levels of difficulty, but beginners can easily use the basic card counting strategy. There are also more complex counting mechanisms that offer greater accuracy and precision, but may be mentally demanding and unsuitable for blackjack beginners.

Our goal is to enable even the freshest blackjack beginners to count cards in any environment in order to increase their bets at the right moment and limit losses during a losing streak, which will happen sooner or later in any blackjack game.

 

Blackjack High Low Card Numbers Learning

This beginner-friendly card counting system is the easiest way to improve your odds in a blackjack game. The Hi-Lo Blackjack system is sometimes referred to as a "balanced counting strategy" because the total value of the cards in a single deck is zero.

The key tasks of the Hi-Lo system are to determine your running count and true count during a blackjack session. Here's how it works.

  • Mentally divide all 52 playing cards into three groups: high cards, low cards and neutral cards.
  • The high cards are 10, Jack, Queen, King, and Ace. These cards have a value of -1 in the counting system.
  • The neutral cards are 7, 8, and 9. They are assigned the value 0.
  • The low cards are 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6. These cards have a value of +1.
  • By adding or subtracting these numbers, you create a constantly changing running count.

 

What Is a Running Count in Blackjack?

When you begin a single-card blackjack game, you start with a total value of zero. Each time a card is dealt, you subtract or add that card's value to your running count, as described above.

For example, if a dealer deals an ace, a seven, a ten, and a 2, your current running count is -1. You subtract -1 for the ace, another -1 for the ten, add +1 for the 2, and 0 for the seven, for a total of -1.

In another case, when a deck is running low and the running count is +6, this signals that the deck in the shoe contains many high-value cards (tens, jacks, queens, kings, and aces), and this is when you can hit hard and raise your bets because the remaining high-value cards increase your odds against the dealer.

We advise you to start cautiously with low bets and slowly increase your bets as the game progresses, depending on the true value.

 

What Is a True Count in Blackjack at Non GamStop Casinos?

The true count is an essential counting mechanism in multi-deck blackjack games. You can calculate your true count by dividing the running count described above by the number of decks still uncovered. This is a necessary adjustment due to the larger number of cards available, typically 6 or 8 decks of 52 cards.

In this example, we'll assume a running count of +10. In a single-deck blackjack game, this is a clear case, and a player should place the highest possible bet, as the cards remaining in the dealer's shoe tilt the house edge in the player's favor.

But let's say that in a blackjack game with eight decks and 416 cards in the shoe, you have a running count of +10, and only three decks have been dealt at this point. This means there are five more decks in the shoe, and you must divide your running count (+10) by the number of remaining decks (5), resulting in a true count of only +2.

It is obvious that the true count gives us a more accurate assessment of our chances against the non GamStop casino, and we should apply it to our betting strategy.

 

Placing Blackjack Bets with Real Count

The best way to prolong your bankroll vitality at the non GamStop casinos is to start small bets, and as the game progresses and you gain insight into the true number, start making placid larger and larger bets when the house edge begins to tip in your favor.