For a new player, the game of blackjack seems difficult. They might even think that beating blackjack is near to impossible. And, it is a game of pure luck. But, that is not true at all. There are techniques to enhance your winning chances in this game. A simple plus minus count can assist you with that.
Now, you might be thinking if it is that simple and the casino might know it all. Still, why are they continuing with this game? And the answer to that is, not all players put enough effort into learning this skill. As it requires both times to learn and practice too. And, not everyone puts that.
The value assigned to cards
There is a count number for each card. All cards are in either of the three categories. Those are zero, plus1 and minus one. The count plus 1 is for cards twos, threes, fours, fives, and sixes. Similarly, minus 1 is for cards, tens, jacks, queens, kings, and aces. And the remaining cards sevens, eights, and nines hold zero counts. Therefore they are of no use. Keep in mind those counts. These are a must in beating blackjack.
How do plus-minus counts work?
Let us take an example to understand the working of this technique. Now if you see, let’s say, a jack, a queen, a three, a four, a six, and an eight on the table. Now with a jack, the count is minus one. With the queen, we have another negative one. And takes the total count to minus two. Next is three and adds plus one to the count. Further, a four and a six take the total count to plus one. Lastly, we have an eight, which is zero. Therefore the final count remains plus one. Likewise, you can do the next counts. This is the basic counting technique for beating blackjack.
Bet while using a plus-minus count
Once you know all of the counts as per each card. The next step is to learn when to bet. You must bet when the count is positive. In fact, it was large at that time. Because those are in your favor. But, if the count is either zero or minus one, you must bet small. Just like one unit of bet. In beating blackjack, you must understand the timing and amount you bet. If the count favors you, bet two to three units. And, in other cases, as I said earlier, just one unit. It will give you an edge against the house.
Practice is must
You might be thinking now that it is extremely easy. All you have to do is count the numbers. But, you are wrong here. There are certain variations that take place during the game. Beating blackjack requires improvisation too. Let’s say, you get three tens, an ace, three fours, and two twos in the first hand. And, if you are playing with one deck. You will get a maximum of three hands. Now, the final count after calculating is plus one. Therefore you can bet on it with more than one unit.
Now in the next hand, you need to start counting from the point you left at the first hand. Yes, that is a plus one. So, this is all you need to do with one deck. But, keep in mind without practice, this technique has zero results.
True count conversion
Above we discussed the single-deck game. Now, what if you are playing a shoe game with multiple decks? Here you need the true count conversion in beating blackjack. The base count is the same as before. However, we need to do some fixing in the running count. First look for the number of decks the house is using. After the first hand, count the remaining decks in the game. And, divide the running count by the number of decks remaining.
For instance, if the running count is 18. And, the remaining decks are 3. Then divide 18 by 3. Hence, the true count is 6. This needs to be done before placing the bet.
Conclusion
All in all, the easier it looks, the tougher it is. So, do not go for real money unless you are practicing this skill for beating blackjack. There are many books regarding this. Few people try to get into it. If you are on this page, you already have an edge over other players.
So, have fun playing this game with such skills. Wish you luck. Hope this will help you win.
