If you enjoy playing blackjack, you may want to know whether card counting is still effective today. Many changes have taken place in recent years due to advances in technology.
Some of these changes include the use of facial recognition and shuffle machines. This may cause doubts as to whether card counting is still effective. Expert card counters say it is as viable as it was 10 years ago and can still offer you a slight advantage. Blackjack is one of the only games where you can get an advantage as a player.
Why is it still effective?
Card counting can provide you with a small statistical edge. What you must do is to keep a running tally based on the face value of any cards the dealer pulls from the deck. This enables you to track the ratio of high-value to low-value cards that remain in the deck. If the deck is full of tens and aces, this is good for you, and if it is full of small cards, this is good for the dealer.
With more high-value cards left in the deck, you will increase your bets. More low-value cards indicate a dealer advantage, so you will place smaller bets. This strategy allows you to shift the house edge from the casino to yourself over time.
You can also count cards in online blackjack, although it’s very tricky because the casinos use software to shuffle the cards each time a new hand is dealt.
A benefit of using card counting is that you don’t rely on your emotions or intuition. As long as you can survive for long enough, you will eventually make some profit.
Is card counting cheating?
There is no federal or state law against card counting, as it isn’t technically cheating. You can play blackjack in any way you want if you don’t use card-counting software. An indication that you could be card counting is if your bet size increases substantially after many small cards leave the table. It can be a challenge to avoid suspicion as casinos have surveillance tech to help identify suspicious betting patterns.
If they suspect you are card counting, they can ban you. However, with many more casinos and locations to play at, it is possible for you to find blackjack games where you can count cards, even if you’re blacklisted at some venues. Some casinos will let card counting slide because they know that most card counters end up losing over the long run because they lack discipline and get bored and distracted.
Some of the challenges
Card counting is difficult
If you want to master card counting, you need discipline and practice. It can be difficult to keep a running tally despite distractions. Card counting is hard – if it were an easy way to make money, more people would be doing it. To be successful, you must memorize large numbers of tables, be able to count down a deck fast, and make it look as though you’re a casual player.
If you’re trying to count cards while playing online blackjack using a casino app, you need to stay alert to your phone security. You don’t want to become vulnerable to online scams when using your mobile phone to play blackjack.
Frequent shuffling
With the use of a shuffling machine, the cards are fed back into the shoe, and the machine redistributes them randomly throughout the decks. This makes it harder to keep an accurate count. However, as most players don’t count cards, frequent shuffling can also interrupt the flow of the game and make the game slower.
Casinos must decide on the trade-off between a higher pace and the risk that a few players may have an advantage occasionally. These machines are also expensive, so casinos may opt not to use them.
A small advantage
There is money in side hustles like becoming an affiliate marketer or reselling vintage goods, but it’s much harder to make money from card counting in blackjack, as your advantage is so small. You must play thousands of hands if you want to make a profit. You can experience long losing streaks, so you need capital if you want to withstand the swings.