Firstly, every beginner that has recently started learning the Basic Blackjack Strategy must understand that card counting is hard and has nothing to do with the image all the popular movies give it. Card counting is really not that easy, otherwise everyone would be using it and casinos would have lost the edge.

So the first thing you do before turning to the Card Counting method is make sure you know the basic strategy by heart. Unless you haven’t yet mastered the basics, do not even try to turn to the harder level of gaining edge at the game.

To be a successful card counter you must not only be able to memorize large patterns of numbers and count the dealt cards quickly, but also not to show you are counting cards. Moreover, you should realize the truth that tells that card counters’ edge is only 1% higher that the edge of a common gambler. The advantage the card counting gives is can only be seen after long hours of playing. Thus, if you are playing for fun and do not expect to spend all day at one table, you can forget about card counting.

The foundation of card counting

What card counting tells an experienced player is the edge the player has and the amount of money that should be bet. This can be illustrated by the fact that the deck which comprises mostly tens is good for the player (as he is more likely to be dealt a blackjack and the dealer’s more likely to bust as he has to draw till 17) and the deck reach in small cards is good for the dealer (with lots of small cards the dealer’s less likely to bust).

In order to see the percent of tens and small cards in the left deck, the player tracks all the dealt cards. He keeps a count of them by adding or subtracting 1 to his side count regarding the rank of the dealt card.

So cards from 3 to 7 are counted as +1, all the tens and Aces are counted as -1, and all the rest cards have a value of 0.

This count is called a “running count”, and it starts from 0. A positive count means that the deck is rich in tens, and a negative means that the deck is rich in small cards. In order to find the “true count” the player has to divide the result of the running count by the number of decks in the shoe.

Some counting strategies also advice to keep a separate count on Aces as they increase the probability of receiving a blackjack. However, it may be too difficult for a beginner to keep a separate extra count of Aces.

All in all

To conclude, we must say, that every player has the right to play any way he wishes unless he is cheating or using any electronic devices, and the casino may do practically anything (from making the game unbearable to even banning the player) in order to stop/prevent the player from counting cards. So your number one aim as a card counter is to make yourself look like a regular player that didn’t even think about counting cards. Therefore, you should not make too high and thus obvious bets when the count favors you. When the casino’s pit bosses realize you are card counting, they will either shuffle the cards more frequently or even ask you to leave the casino.