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Strategy – Counting Cards the Hi-Lo Way
Blackjack
Strategy – Counting Cards the Hi-Lo Way
There are many great games to play in the casino, but it
is the card games that provide the greatest excitement, and the greatest
opportunity for the smart player to tip the odds in their favor. While slot players have to rely on chance
alone, smart blackjack players can use their math skills, and their savvy, to
count cards and win big jackpots.
Every blackjack player knows that counting cards can help
improve his or her chances of winning and tip the odds in their favor. There are many strategies for counting cards,
but few have proven to be as consistently effective as the Hi-Lo system.
The
Hi-Lo system for counting cards is one of the easiest to learn, and one of the
simplest methods. With the Hi-Lo system,
each card is assigned one of three possible point values - +1, 0 or –1. In the Hi-Lo system, Aces, tens and face
cards are worth –1, the 7, 8 and 9 card count as 0, and the 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6
cards each have a value of +1.
Therefore,
a run consisting of:
2 3
4 5 6
7 8 9
10 A would be represented as:
+1
+1 +1 +1 +1 0
0 0 -1
-1
If
the first player is dealt a hand with a 4 and a 9 (+1, 0), the second player is
dealt a six and a ten (-1, +1) player three is given an eight and a two (0, +1)
and the dealer is showing an Ace (-1), the running count would equal +1.
With
the Hi-Lo card counting method, the player needs to simply add and subtract in
increments of one to keep a running count of the deck. The savvy player will take the “third base”
(3rd seat at the table) position in order to have a clear view of
all the cards as they are dealt. Hi-Lo
may be a simple strategy, but it can be remarkably effective.
Like
every strategy, of course, the Hi-Lo card counting system takes some time to
master. The smart player will want to
practice a lot on his or her own before heading off to the casino to play with
real money.
Fortunately,
there are lots of great places to play blackjack for free on the internet, and
these internet casinos can be great places to get some playing time, have some
fun, and try out your favorite card counting strategy. Card counting is definitely a learned skill,
but it is one that is within the abilities of almost every player. Card counting simply takes some basic math
skills, and some smart betting strategy, and the Hi-Lo system is one of the
simplest and most effective of all card counting strategies.
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