Card Counting Online Live Blackjack
- Online Live Casino Blackjack Card Counting
- Card Counting Online Live Casino
- Card Counting Online Live Blackjack
The low deck penetration in online blackjack games is why card counting doesn’t work at virtual tables. Some Live Dealer Casinos Allow More Deck Penetration Many online casinos offer live dealer blackjack, which features a human dealer and real cards.
- Online Blackjack Card Counting – Is It Possible? There are numerous stories and legends about blackjack card counters who’ve experienced major success in land-based casinos. This being the case, some online blackjack players wonder if it’s possible for them to duplicate these feats in the online version of the game.
- Live Blackjack is resistant to card counting Many live blackjack games are played with eight decks of cards, and the shoe is changed with circa four decks of cards having been dealt. With many blackjack tables, there is auto shuffling to ensure that a new shoe is available for every had dealt.
- Live blackjack casino – if the card counting works! Card counting is the most powerful weapon in live blackjack. Here the players generally are experienced with the card counting process which is as fast as keeping a count with each card they pick. Generally the cards are assigned value according to the Hi-Lo method.
If you’re an avid live blackjack casino player, at some point or another, have wondered about the concept of card-counting. You will find that many casino guides online, promote card counting as the all-elusive salvation to all your live blackjack woes.
Card counting has been hyped up so much in Hollywood movies, that plenty of blackjack players are looking to learn the art of card counting.
In essence, card counting is the tracking of cards that are dealt out in Live Blackjack, in a bid to determine the odds or predict cards that have not yet been dealt out. Sounds complicated? Well, it is, but does it work?
Read on to learn more about card-counting in Blackjack.
What is card-counting in live Blackjack?
Card counting is a unique technique that lets blackjack players know when there is an advantage shift in their favour. When they know that this is occurring, they increase their bets substantially. On the other hand, when there’s a shift in the dealer’s favour, the player will make a bet on a smaller scale or no bets at all.
Players who are known to card-count lower the house edge by varying the bets they place. In general, it has been proven that high-value cards such as Aces and face cards are more beneficial to the player than to the dealer, while the low-value cards are more advantageous to the dealer.
Now that you understand how it works, we need to explain why card counting is not recommended. For starters, if you are trying to card-count at a brick-and-mortar casino and they notice, you are going to get banned. Your picture will be paraded around at other casinos as well. Casinos, in general, have 0 tolerance towards card counting in Blackjack.
Secondly, card counting when playing at the best Canadian online casino sites doesn’t work for several reasons. If you are playing the generic table game version of Blackjack without the live dealer, then a hand is automatically generated by the software. Since it is generated after each round, the software picks cards from fresh decks of cards each time. Since casinos use Random Number Generators, there is no way to card-count when playing a table game version of Blackjack.
You can try to card-count, but it’s not even worth trying as it will prove fruitless. If anything, we recommend using your bankroll wisely and adopting a Blackjack strategy to help you make the right decisions, especially if you are starting out at the game of Blackjack.
Why live casinos are protected against card counting
How does card counting apply when you throw it in a live casino setting. The best live casino sites are transparent when it comes to card-shuffling. You will see shufflers ambling at the table shuffling openly on the camera.
You know when cards are being reshuffled. However, because reshuffling is done before all the cards in the shoe have been dealt out, it’s impossible to card count. Additionally, live casinos don’t reveal how many decks of cards they have in the shoe, so card counting in this case will be not only mind-numbingly boring and mentally exhausting, but also a pointless exercise.
You need to be aware the card counting takes a lot of training and it’s so mentally exhausting, that it is easy to make a mistake, making you lose focus on your blackjack strategy.
Even if you had to take up card counting as a side hobby, it requires stealth and patience for a minuscule profit and the risks that come with it are supremely high. If anything, we suggest you put your energy into a great blackjack betting strategy and to learn the rules of Blackjack properly to make the best possible decisions. You can further look at our Blackjack Strategy Chart here.
To sum it up, here are the reasons why card counting doesn’t work:
Live Blackjack is resistant to card counting
Many live blackjack games are played with eight decks of cards, and the shoe is changed with circa four decks of cards having been dealt. With many blackjack tables, there is auto shuffling to ensure that a new shoe is available for every had dealt.
Software keeps count
The live casino software is so sophisticated these days that it monitors and keeps count as the game is played out. Additionally, players who attempt to card-count are easily spotted and stopped if they appear to be taking advantage of the casino.
Players playing badly
Since there will be different types of blackjack players sitting at the table, you can expect a mixed blend of both experienced and inexperienced players at the table. The experienced players will be applying advanced techniques, while beginners will be fumbling throughout their gaming session. Since you will not be able to know who the good and bad players at the table are, this will have an impact on any potential card counting that you might aspire to the executive.
Dealers have no way of knowing
Don’t assume that the croupier knows something that you don’t. Croupiers see the cards at the same time you do, so there is no way for them to know when a winning hand is coming up. Croupiers won’t even get to see the card facing down until once the players have revealed their hand.
In conclusion
Having a basic blackjack strategy and managing your bankrollshould be your main priority when playing at a live casino. Even if you somehow succeed in card counting, the wins are so small that it’s simply not worth it. The risks, on the other hand, are humongous.
Once you get caught, you will likely be banned. If you are playing online and the casino notices your card counting, you will be disconnected from the table with very little fuss. We can reassure you that the players who are indeed winning at Blackjack aren’t doing this by card counting, but rather by making the right decisions and knowing when to hit or stand.
If your main goal is to play with an advantage, there are more positive and legal ways to do so, without blackjack card counting.
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If you are relatively new to live blackjack, you may have heard about card counting. If you are an experienced blackjack player you already know about this technique. But on this guide we cover both the basics of card counting and some more advanced stuff like types of blackjack card counting.
This guide can here to help you understand exactly what card counting is, and whether you should count cards when you play live blackjack.
What is Card Counting?
Lets start by answering some basic and frequently asked questions on this subject.
What is Card Counting?
Card counting is a card game strategy used primarily in by blackjack players to determine whether the next hand is likely to give an advantage to the player or to the dealer.
There is nothing illegal in Card counting under as long as there is no use of external card counting device or person assists the player in counting cards. However, land based casinos don’t like players counting cards and might remove you from their premises if they suspect you are.
It all comes down to practice and how good you are in counting. You can read more on our guide to find exactly how you can count cards.
The truth is that you can’t really count cards when you play online. There are many reasons for that but the main ones are: Number of decks, shoe penetration, auto shuffling.
Blackjack Card Counting explained in simple terms
During a game of blackjack using a single deck of cards the house edge is virtually zero. This ensures that if you follow a strict strategy and are careful you can win and break even in the long term.
With card counting in blackjack, what you are actually doing is keeping track of the cards that have appeared. Then you wait for the right moment and place a large bet to win big. When you repeat this every few rounds you end up with profit.
Sounds amazing right?
The MIT team have made a fortune with that strategy. But this was years ago when card counting was something relatively new for everyone, players and casinos.
Too good to be true…
The truth is that in our days, blackjack counting and shuffle card is much more difficult and live blackjack counting is not possible.
Why live blackjack card counting is not possible
Here are some of the reasons why you can’t count cards when you play live blackjack:
- Live casinos are using software monitoring and can detect counting patterns from players.
- live blackjack tables are usually using 6 or 8 deck cards and have 50% shoe penetration. This makes it very hard to keep counting.
- You need players to be playing with strategy in order to succeed with card counting (This is why the MIT team was playing in groups on the tables)
The alternative way to blackjack counting
Ok, you might be able to count cards succesfully when you play balckajck with live dealers online, but you can still do somthing to increase your chances of winning.
What?
Play with blackjack strategy
If you use some basic blackjack charts and play with blackjack basic strategy, you can reduce the casino house edge and get an RTP of 99.5%.
Counting Cards Techniques
If you are still up for trying card counting at your local casino or online the main card counting technique is known as Hi-Lo. This is the classic card counting system. It was originally invented by Harvey Dubner in 1963. This is how you can implement it:
- Assign a tag of (+1) to every 2- 6 ranked cards and a tag of (–1) to every 10-A.
- Start your count after the shuffle and add the tags to each card that is pulled from the deck.
- When the running count is positive after any round, the undealt cards are richer in large cards; you should increase your bet size.
- When the running count is negative after any round, the undealt cards are richer in small cards; you should decrease your bet size.
- When the total count is low then players are advised to bet low, when there is a high count of cards then a higher bet is placed.
The MIT Blackjack Team
Since we metioned the MIT team in the article let’s have a look at the story behind his tem and what they have achived with card counting for a good 2 decades!
Teams come and go. Some leave a lasting legacy while others are forgotten pretty fast but the legacy of MIT Blackjack Team endures.
This team was comprised of a group of students and former students of, among others, Harvard School of Business, Harvard University, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Online Live Casino Blackjack Card Counting
The team is known to have used card counting techniques and more complex methods to beat land based casinos at blackjack worldwide.
This team enjoyed tremendous success from 1979 through the initial years of the 21st century.
The story of the MIT team
It is well documented that 6 MIT students trained themselves card counting in 1979.
Strong-minded to put their newly discovered expertise to work, the group of 6 traveled to Atlantic City during the spring of 1979 to win their riches.
After working together as one team in spring, the group members went their separate ways when most of them graduated from college in May. After this, some of the original group members never gambled again.
Two members, Jonathan and Massar, nonetheless, maintained an enthusiastic interest in card counting and chose to make Cambridge, MA, home to MIT, their permanent residence.
How did the group form
In November 1979, a proficient blackjack player contacted Massar. His intention was to convince Massar to form a new group to travel to Atlantic City. The mission of the new team was to take advantage of the New Jersey Casino Control Commission’s ruling.
The commission had held that it was illegal for Casinos in New Jersey to ban card counters in general. According to the commission, casinos could only ban individual players.
The new group (consisting of four players and an investor who invested $5000) traveled to Atlantic City in December 1979.
The group played continuously through May 1980 and multiplied the $5000 capital four folds.
The MIT Blackjack Team played on and off after 1980, but interest faded as casino regulations, weakened management focus, and player fatigue, caused the group to lose key players and eventually stop playing.
Card Counting Online Live Casino
A network of Blackjack card counters
In its entire course, The MIT Blackjack Team ran more than 20 partnerships for a decade, 1979 to 1989. At least 70 players played on the team on certain capacity (either as key players, card counters, or as support staff) over the team’s course.
Card Counting Online Live Blackjack
Surprisingly, every partnership was profitable during the entire course. With all expenses paid, the partnerships enjoyed returns ranging from 4 to over 300 percent per year.