Hi Low Card Counting | Counting Cards BlackJack

Are you looking to master the game of black jack by doing some hi lo card counting? Then you have come to the right place as we are going to discuss 5 tips on how to master hi lo card counting. Card counting is difficult and requires lots of practice before you can do it without taking much time. Once you have learned the 5 tips, ensure that you practice, practice, practice because that’s the only way you are going to perfect your skill.

#1. Learn the Basics of Hi Lo Card Counting

One of the first things you have to do is learn the counting values of the cards. This is one of the most important things in regards to hi lo card counting is learning the counts of each of the cards. The hi cards, or 10, J, Q, K, A, are counted as -1. The middle or neutral cards, 7, 8, 9, are counted as 0 and then the lo cards, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 are counted as +1. Once you learn the values of each card you need to learn how to keep a running tally in your head. Here’s an example on how to count.

Continue practicing your running total, until you can do it for a whole deck. This is important as it will help you be able to keep the running total in your head quickly. Once you are able to keep the running total, quickly and accurately, then you can move onto the next step of converting to the true count. The true count is what you are going to base your bet on. It is based on the running total, the total number of decks and then looking at what is already discarded.

#2. Learning to Master Distractions

Another tip that you should learn to do is learn how to master any and all distractions that will come at you while trying to count cards. If you go to any casino, there will be lots of distractions – people, music, lights, etc. It will be hard to count cards in a busy place without some practice as you might quickly lose focus and lose count. Therefore once you master the rules and counting in the quiet, add lots of distraction to your own house and practice counting with everything going on. Play some loud music right behind you, have some friends come over and talk to you, have your wife and kids come up and ask you questions or just sit at the table and talk to you loudly. Try to include as many distractions as you can at once so you can practice your counting until you are able to do it all correctly with all the many distractions.

#3. Master the Betting Skills

Now that you can count with distractions, you will need to learn how to bet using your hi lo counting skills. If you can’t bet properly and win money, there’s not much use in learning how to count! Once you have learned to get the true count, you need to decide what your betting spread is. Your betting spread is based on your positive true counts and can be $5 each betting unit. Here’s a chart to help you out:

If you know your betting price is $5 per unit, then if your true count ends up being +4, you are going to bid $15 since that would be 3 betting units. While you can bid higher than 5 betting units, the higher you go, the more likely you will get caught for counting cards. So it is recommended to stick to just 5 betting units.

#4. Read, Read & Read Some More

While we have covered a lot in this article, we really have just covered the basics. There are a lot of great books out there that talk about hi lo card counting and how to bet, etc. The more you read, the more you will learn and become a better card counter. Reading and learning is almost as important as practicing. Read the customer reviews on the books first to make sure that they are going to be helpful.

#5. Visualize the count

Even though you have mastered counting cards with all the distractions, you still might mess up and lose count. Therefore, instead of keeping it in your head, try to keep the count on your fingers or something tangible that you can see so you don’t lose count. You obviously can’t write it down but try to figure out a way to visualize it. Put a picture of +1 in your head and then change it when you get a new number. Don’t visualize that number as a spot on the table though or people might think you are weird for staring at the table! But keep the running number in your mind or on your fingers and keep it there like it’s stuck like glue.

In Summary…

These are just five tips to help you master hi lo card counting. One theme that is repeated throughout all of them is PRACTICE. You can’t master any of these tips without practice and more practice. It’s very important so you can keep the count in your head with all the distractions and not draw attention to yourself by counting out loud or being slow, etc. It is said that you should have at least 20-30 hours of practicing the hi lo counting with and without distractions until you will be ready to try it out in an actual casino.

Word to the wise: the counting technique will not be helpful for online gambling, just in person. Continue practicing and then you will be ready to go to the casino and place some bets to win some cash!

Print these 5 tips to master your hi lo card counting technique

Do you know how to win in blackjack? Have you heard of hi-lo card counting? It’s just one of the strategies to win at blackjack. There are other strategies and counting methods but the hi-lo counting method is one of the easier ones to learn but it still requires work. In this article, we will discuss what card counting is, what is hi-lo card counting, how to do hi-lo card counting and then there will be some book suggestions if you want to learn more about hi-lo card counting. This guide is as simple as it gets, folks!

What is Card Counting?

You might think card counting is illegal but it’s not. It’s a strategy that black jack players have been using to win at cards. It’s a method of counting which cards have been played to use to their advantage and it assists them in making better bets. The easiest way to count cards is to use the hi-lo card counting that will be discussed. There are other methods to count cards but this one is the best way to start.

What is Hi-Lo Card Counting?

When it comes to hi-lo card counting, there are a few different things that you will have to learn. You will have to learn which are the high cards, low cards, neutral cards and how to do a running count and true count. Once you learn what these different things are, you will have to practice before you can put this into practice at the Casino. Let’s start.

High, Low and Neutral Cards

There are three different “types” of cards when counting. They are high cards, low cards and neutral cards. The high cards are face cards and Ten, Jack, Queen, King, and Ace. When card counting, these high cards are counted as “minus one”. High cards are good for you. The low cards are two, three, four, five, and six. When you count these low cards, they should be counted as “plus one”. Low cards are good for the dealer. Then the rest of the cards; seven, eight, and nine are neutral cards and shouldn’t be counted at all.

Here’s the breakdown:

In order to practice, sit down and flip through the cards and count each one out loud until you can flip through and count each card in less than 25 seconds. For example:

Flipped over a King – say -1
Flipped over a Five – say +1
Flipped over a Seven – say 0

And so on…

“Running Count”

Once you have that under control and can figure out the count in less than 25 seconds, you can move onto figuring out a running count. A running count will add the values of each card throughout the entire decks.

Here’s an example of a hand and how to count it:

A running count is important as it keeps count for the entire deck. Practice counting cards and doing a running count until you can keep count and do it in less than 25 seconds.

True Count

The next step is to keep a true count. A true count will help you when you place your bets and tell you whether you have an advantage. How do you keep a true count? A true count is when you take the running count and divide it by the number of remaining card that need to be dealt. You have to guessimate how many cards have already been used and should have paid attention to how many decks are being used. For example, keeping with the same example as above, there is a running total of +2. There are 6 decks being used, and you notice that 1 deck has already been played. Therefore, all you have to do is take your running total of +2 and divide it by 5, so your total count will be +0.40. Since it is positive number, it means that you do have an advantage but it’s a small advantage.

Placing a Bet

You decide how much you are going to bet based on this true count, the base bet and how many decks are being played. If you’re at a $5 table that means your base bet is $5 and then you will multiply that based on a certain number of units depending on your true count. If your true count is between 0 and +1, then just place the minimum bet of $5 or 1 unit. If it’s +1, then you can bid two units. Two units would be a $10/bet and so on. Here’s a chart to help you understand this concept better:

Practice

As with everything, hi-lo card counting will get easier with more practice. Practice each step and then build them on top of each other. When you are able to be able to count the decks and get the running count and true count in less than 25 seconds, then you can move on by adding distractions to your practice. Distractions such as, loud music, people talking, etc will allow you to pretend you are in a casino setting as there is always something going on. Once you master that technique, carry on a conversation while you are counting cards, so you can see that you can talk and be “normal” while you count and not just sit and stare at the decks counting.

Books to Read on Card Counting

There are a couple of recommended books, if you want to learn more about card counting. Here are ones that you should read:

109 Critical Blackjack Statistics and Strategies by Curt Dillon
The Ultimate Edge by Mark Billings
Beat the Dealer: A Winning Strategy for the Game of Twenty-One by Edward O. Thorp
Professional Blackjack by Stanford Wong
Blackjack Attack: Playing the Pros’ Way by Don Schlesinger

Conclusion

Card counting is a way to win at blackjack. How you win at blackjack and how you count cards is up to you and how much you practice. High cards are good for you and low cards are good for the dealer. So it’s important to keep track of how many high and low cards have been played. This concept is called hi-lo card counting. You keep a running count by counting and adding the high/low number together and then you get a true count by taking that number and dividing it by how many cards are left to be dealt. The true count is then used to place your bet. All of this though, takes time to learn and you have to practice it so you can be consistent and accurate with your counting. It is recommended that you should practice at least 20 hours before using it in a casino.

5 Tips to Master Hi Lo Card Counting