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Another technique for reducing the house advantage is card counting, which give players a chance to beating the casino. The hose advantage on blackjack is given as an average
(normally 5.6%) because frequent random card shuffling means that the house advantage constantly changes throughout the game.
There are times in a game when the player has an advantage. This arises if more high cards (those with a face value of ten) remain in the shoe than low value cards. When this occurs the dealer is at a disadvantage, due to the rules that determine when he or she must take further cards. Players can stand on any score but the dealer must hit (take another card) on 16 or lower. Therefore the dealer has a much greater chance of busting if there are plenty of tens left in the shoe. Spotting when this happens is the basis for card counting. The player can the make increased bets knowing that the casino has little chance of winning.
Accomplished card counters can have an advantage of between one and 1.5% over the casino if card counting is combined with the basic strategy.Card counting techniques work by assigning a value to each card. As the cards are dealt, players keep a running count and when a certain level is reached, bets are increased. There are numerous methods that can be used but the simplest ones are often best.
Becoming and accomplished card counter takes a lot of practice and complete concentration. Learning to count several cards or whole hands at once improves the speed. It is best to practice at home until the techniques have been mastered. In the example of card counting shown below, a running count is kept as the cards are dealt. Aces and cards with face value of 10 are counted as minus one. Cards with a value of two to six inclusive are counted as plus one. When the count is positive, the player begins to increase his bets.
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10 = -1
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2 = +1
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J = -1
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3 = +1
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Q = -1
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4 = +1
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K = -1
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5 = +1
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A = -1
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6 = +1
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Using the card count technique effectively is only half the battle, however. Although card counting is not illegal, casinos do everything in their power to deter card counters. Players in land casinos suspected of card counting are usually asked to leave.
Land casinos also try to combat card counters by 'burning cards' (dealing a few cards unseen into the discard pile), adding more decks to the shoe, shuffling the cards frequently, and using shuffling machines.
A classic sign of card counting in action is a player making much higher bets in the second half of the shoe.
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