Card counting is part of what makes blackjack unique, in that it is the only real way a player can claim an advantage over the casino without breaking the law and cheating. Here we take a look at what cared counting is, when it was “invented” and whether it remains relevant in the modern world of blackjack and specifically USA online blackjack.
What is card counting?
Card counting is a method a player uses to keep track of the rough formation of the deck by following what cards have already been dealt. In general, high cards in the deck help the player, whilst low cards in the deck are less advantageous. By knowing how many high value cards remain to be dealt the player can ascertain whether they are more or less likely to win any given hand and alter their bets accordingly. When the deck is favorable, they will stake big and when it is against them they will stake small or not at all.
When was it first formulated?
Dr. Edward O. Thorp is considered by many to have been the first person to espouse card counting in his classic 1962 book Beat The Dealer. That said, there are known to be several professional and semi-professional players using similar systems in the 1950s and perhaps the most famous four men in blackjack history, known as the Four Horsemen, published Playing Blackjack to Win in 1957.
That book was more focused on Basic Strategy but also touched on card counting and ultimately the wonder of card counting cannot be fairly attributed to any one single person, although it almost certainly began in the 1950s in America.
How does it work?
Blackjack is unique among casino games in that what has gone before has an impact on what will happen next. In slots or roulette – or indeed any other online of offline casino game – keeping track of previous spins is pointless. However, in blackjack this is not the case.
High cards are proven to help the player, making it easier to hit blackjack, making doubling more successful and, most crucially of all, making the dealer more likely to bust when they are forced to hit on 12 to 16.
There are countless variations of card counting but what they all have at their core is keeping track of the relative numbers of high cards and low cards that remain in the deck and using this count to alter how the player approaches the game.
Can you use card counting to play USA online blackjack?
Card counting remains legal but the casinos have, over the years, introduced a range of measures to offset it. When it comes to playing USA online blackjack, the benefits of card counting are minimal, with almost all real money online casinos effectively shuffling the pack after every hand, thus ensuring that all cards are in play on every hand.
USA Online Blackjack