High Low Method Blackjack
- The count may be +5, but often the sequence is Low card, High card, Low, Low, High, High, Low, Low, High, etc. The dealer has the same probability to get the high cards. It is even more complicated when one considers that there are several blackjack players at the table. The cards, Low and High, will be distributed randomly among them.
- High cards – tens, Jacks, Queens, Kings and Aces – are good for the player and low cards – 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 are bad for the player. By keeping a ratio of good cards to bad cards the player can make an assessment of whether the cards still to be played will benefit or hurt them.
- The basic premise of blackjack card counting assumes that high cards—especially tens and aces—are a benefit to the player, while lower cards are an advantage to the dealer. When the count indicates a high presence of aces and tens in the deck, the player will have a greater chance of hitting a blackjack or winning when doubling.
The High-Low was first introduced in 1963 by Harvey Dubner 1. It has since been discussed by just about all the major blackjack writers. In my opinion, the best introductory treatment is in Professional Blackjack by Stanford Wong, and the most detailed coverage is in Blackjack Attack by Don Schlesinger. You obviously understand that a deck rich in high cards favors the player and a deck rich in low cards favors the dealer. Although your method is the crudest form of card counting it is still card counting. Nevada casinos have the legal right to do what they did. In the future, I would recommend being more discrete.
This strategy is one of the most common cards counting methods, also is one of the easiest to learn. Created by Harvey Dubner, this is a good plan for intermediate blackjack card counters, and if you can do the simplest calculations, then you will be able to use it to enhance your success.
When using the Hi Lo card counting strategy, every card value within the deck is appointed a number. For example, each of the cards between 2 and six is assigned the numbered score of +1. These are commonly referred to as low cards. 10 valued cards which include 10, Jacks, Queens, Kings, and Aces are appointed the numbered score of -1. These are commonly referred to as high cards. The middle card values of seven, eight and nine are given a score of zero. As cards are being dealt out, a player who counts card should do the math according to every card. If a string of cards is being dealt as this for example 10, J, 3, 5, Q then the player determines the worth will be a total of -1.
You must start the count when the deck gets shuffled, and the first card gets dealt. If you miss any cards and lose count, you reduce your chances of winning. The larger the quantity becomes as you count cards, the additional large cards stay within the deck. If the count is into the negatives, then this implies that a lot of the ten value cards and Aces have already been dealt and lots of small cards stay within the deck. Counting cards hi lo system is a fantastic system for new card counters and could be an excellent way to ease yourself in the world of card counting and improve your probabilities of winning at blackjack.
The Hi Lo Card Counting Method
There are several card counting systems available. However, the easiest of those is the High Low card counting system developed by Harvey Dubner. The primary active card counting system was written by Edward Thorp in his book Beat the Dealer. The Hi Lo card counting strategy is known as a simplified version of Thorp’s system. It is handily the friendliest of all systems and also the one beginners have to learn first.
The Basics
All blackjack card counting methods are based on the premise that some cards are additionally advantageous to the player (and therefore disadvantageous to the house) than other cards. A card counter keeps a mental record of the kind of cards that already have been dealt so that they can tell if the remaining cards within the shoe or deck are good for them or not. If the rest is mostly favorable, the card counter can increase wagers; otherwise, they will wager less.
Card Counting Methods
Card counting strategies vary in complexity. The more advanced a system is, the additionally accurate it is and the more profitable. Sadly, they are additionally harder to play. As a result of the scoring is more sophisticated, the card counter is more apt to make mistakes. A small one is enough to set off the entire count. In other words, perfect play is necessary. The Hi Lo card counting system is thought of as a single level counting system. As we will show you later on, it is very easy and straightforward to use. It is the most efficient for the beginner among all counting systems.
The Hi Lo Card Counting System
To count with the High Low card counting, you begin with zero and then count every card as per the following:
Card worth 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 are +1. The 7, 8, nine are 0 and the 10; Ace are -1.
The low cards from 2 to 6 are counted as positive. The middle cards are neutral or zero. The high cards from ten to Ace are counted negative. Your goal is to get as high as possible positive score. The higher the score, it will be better for you as a player. It means that there are additional high cards left in the deck or shoe. With a preponderance of high cards, you will get dealt better cards, the dealer busts more often, and you get additional blackjacks.
Practicing the Hi Low Card Counting Method
Practice the High Low card counting with one deck. Deal one card at a single time. Below is an example of cards and therefore the equivalent count. You should keep in mind that you start with zero.
For example 7, 3, 9, Q, A, 5 equals 0, +1, 0, -1, -2, +1
When you go through the entire deck of cards, you always have to end with zero. The other numbers mean that there is a mistake in your count. This is the Hi Low card counting system. Master this count before attempting the other, additionally advanced systems.
How to Use the Method
This segment will teach you how to count cards using the Hi Lo card counting system. The reason for why the player who can count cards correctly is feared by the casinos is obvious. It puts the chances for the player. The house edge in the game will be destroyed once the shoe is full of high cards. The likelihood for the remainder of the shoe can remain with the player to win additional bets than the dealer due to the very fact that he will wave off hitting a card on a possible to bust hand. The dealer should hit any hand below a soft seventeen (an Ace and a six). Moreover, a rich shoe in face cards suggests that the dealer has a higher probability of busting their hand.
The idea behind this strategy is to count the shoe down by keeping track of the cards at the moment the dealer shows them. If you know how many high cards are in a shoe containing six decks and also how many cards are under without counting the Aces. Once few low cards remain, and the majority of the cards within the shoe are high cards, the shoe favors the player. Once this situation is present, the player increases the size of his bets. The simplest and the most well-liked technique of card counting is the Hi Lo card counting strategy which will be described in every detail here.
High Low Method Blackjack Game
Firstly and most importantly you have to know the values that are being assigned to each card. You will have to memorize them to be a good card counter.
High Cards
These are the ten value cards, or in other words between 10 and King, including the Ace, these are given the value of -1. As a player, you would want the deck to contain more of these high cards near the end of the deck. This is because they make a higher chance for the dealer to go bust. It also gives you a better probability of getting a 17 or more on your first cards including blackjack.
Low Cards
As we explained before, the low cards are those between and including 2 and 6, these are given the value of +1. These cards give an advantage to the player if the value of the hand is below 17. These cards give the edge to the house, and the chance of the dealer to bust is much smaller.
Neutral Cards
That leaves us with seven, eight and nine, which have no value, or in other words zero. The aim of these cards is to balance. It allows the deck to be filled with the same amount of low and high cards, so at the end of the shoe, the total count would be zero.
Now for the process of counting itself. Once you have the counting values of every card down, you will now begin to keep the so-called running count. The running count is the method of adding and subtracting the values of every card as they are being dealt. For instance, if the first five cards that are dealt out of the deck are Jack, 8, 2, King, Ace, the running count would be minus two. This might seem simple or tough to you, however, either way, practice makes perfect. The more you practice card counting and keeping track of the running count, the better you will become at it.
The running count, however, is not the ultimate step within the Hi Lo card counting technique. You also have to learn to transfer the running count into a true count of the deck. This will give you a much better determination of whether or not the shoe gives you the advantage. The way to confirm this count of the shoe is to divide the running count by the remaining cards left within the shoe. Casinos provide games starting from one deck of cards to eight decks of cards. Thus you will need to know the amount of decks that are used in the game you are taking part in. You will then even have to be able to estimate what number of cards or decks are left within the shoe.
The way to estimate this is often to look at the number of cards in the discard deck by the dealer. Let’s say you are taking part in a typical six deck shoe; your running count is at nine, and you see circa three decks in the discard pile. Take your running count of nine, divide it by the remaining quantity of decks or in this case three (6 deck shoe minus three discarded decks = three remaining decks), and you get a true count of three. To be additionally accurate, you could estimate to the closest half deck of cards remaining.
The last step is applying the skills you learned here to your gambling. You will gain your advantage against the casino by betting larger once the count is positive and smaller or the minimum once it is negative. The true count determines the range of your bet. What you will do is value every bet as it is based on the scale of your minimum bet. If you are betting on a $25 table, one unit is $25. You will increase the number of units based on the true count. Follow the table below for taking part in at a standard six deck table.
High Low Method Blackjack Free
Now that you know the basics of card counting you can use the Hi Lo counting method! As we declared earlier, practice makes perfect. You can also visit a number of our suggested online casinos to practice and test your counting skills while wagering real cash. While online casinos do not keep an actual shoe and therefore the card counting will not provide you with an advantage, it will still assist you to prepare for the live casinos by as well as all of the actions of putting bets, keeping the count, and knowing when exactly you would increase your bet.
Conclusion
As we stated earlier the Hi Lo counting strategy is one of the easiest methods to card count; it is also one of the most famous ones. We also explained that it works by assigning a value to each and every card, the values were one, zero and minus one. We explained that the low cards get 1 point, the high cards get minus one point and the neutral ones zero points.
For example if you get dealt a three and a nine (value of one), another player gets a ten and a five (value of zero), the other player gets a three and a seven (value of one) and the dealers dealt with himself an Ace (which has the value of a negative one) the running count will be a plus one, which is pretty good.
Basically all you have to do as a player who counts cards are subtract and add by one and keep the true count of the decks. We advise you to look at two or more counts and learn to figure out the combined count since it will be faster and at some point easier for you.
Also, a card counter which knows what he is doing will sit at the last position that the dealer gives cards to so that you can see better the cards that are being dealt. It may seem like an easy and simple method, however, if you use it correctly, you will be able to get great results.
Also to become good at card counting in blackjack it is crucial and even necessary to start practicing from home and to do it a lot. There are a lot of card counting tutors on the internet; you can just open a search engine and practice on the one you enjoy the most. They are free, and you do not have to download anything. This is a very good start for you if you want to practice without spending any actual real life money.
High Low Method Blackjack Rules
Just remember always to keep a running count and to use the hi lo counting system. When you master it, you can try more complex methods and strategies. When you finish the deck, the count always has to be at zero. You will know when you have mastered this strategy the moment you can go through an entire deck in between 30 seconds and a minute without making any mistakes. Our team at BlackjackCardCounting.net hopes that we helped you learn everything you need to know about the Hi Lo counting system and how to use it properly.