Learning to count at Blackjack

I am comfortable with basic strategy and ready to learn to count. Can you guys help with some suggestions on the easiest method to learn. I understand that the easiest is probably not the best, but we all have to start somewhere.

Quote: timberjim

I am comfortable with basic strategy and ready to learn to count. Can you guys help with some suggestions on the easiest method to learn. I understand that the easiest is probably not the best, but we all have to start somewhere.

Just get a deck of cards, shuffle, then flip them over. If you are using hi-lo when you get to the last card your count should be -1, 0, or 1 and you should know if the last card is high, medium, or low.

That is how I practice.

Quote: timberjim

I am comfortable with basic strategy and ready to learn to count. Can you guys help with some suggestions on the easiest method to learn. I understand that the easiest is probably not the best, but we all have to start somewhere.

KO is an unbalanced count that some say is almost as powerful as Hi-Lo. It's easy to learn and because it's unbalanced there is no true count conversion. Hi-Lo is a balanced count requiring a true count conversion which makes it tougher to learn. It is quite powerful when you add indices, so I suggest you start there. Both strategies are good, but in my opinion Hi-Lo is the way to go. After you learn it you can gradually add the index plays. If you're not happy with it by all means try KO.

I use Zen which I'm used to but due to the difficulty in learning and implementing it I cannot recommend it for a beginner.

Thanks for the help. I have a couple of months before the next trip to start to learn.

Finally a topic I'm good at =)

I like Hi-Lo because it's relatively simple and is kind of a beginner course for a more powerful Hi-Opt 1 or Hi-Opt 2.

2-6 is assigned a value of +1, 7-9 is 0, and tens, face and ace are -1. Like AZ stated, begin by simply taking 1 card face down out of the deck, then flipping through the rest of the deck counting as you go along. If you end at 0, the face down card should be a 7-9, if it's -1 it should be 2-6 and so on. At this point it doesn't matter if it takes you 2 minutes to do one deck, just go for accuracy. You're just building up the ability to keep the count in your head, and especially the recognition of the cards as a +/- value instead of the pip value.

Once you're confident in your abilities (i.e. 2-6 automatically looks like a +1 without thinking about it), start working on your speed. Some will say speed doesn't matter, but if you've played a lot I'm sure you can recall a dealer that dealt lickety-split. Being able to count fast will never be a hinderance. I like to hold the deck face up and riffle through them with my thumb (as if you were simply counting to ensure a full deck before a game). This will make your brain work faster to keep up, since the act of flipping takes too much time. In addition to the riffle, I use canceling. If I see a 4, I don't count it as +1. I wait until I see either another +1 card and count it as +2, or until I see a - card and don't count it at all. I find it alot easier to add and subtract even numbers only as opposed to all the numbers, and if it cancels then I in effect don't have to count at all.

Once you have the speed and accuracy part down, just add in more challenge. Take out 2 cards, 4 cards, 7 cards, and see how you do. Add a deck, add 4 decks, go to the dollar store and buy 20 decks and count em down as one giant shoe lol. It seems kind of daunting, but assuming you count down a deck 4 times a day (should take about 10-15 minutes when you start, takes about 1 minute once you're kind of good), you'll have mastered the first part (recognizing cards as +/-) within a week. The speed part will come as well, it just depends on how bad you want it. It's not really some huge commitment you have to make, if you just spend 10 minutes a day for the next 1-2 months you have, you should be quite proficient by the time your trip rolls around. And the good thing, it's like riding a bike. Once you figure it out it comes natural, and once you know it you can't forget it, even if months pass between usages.

I'm no Mensan, and I can only assume my IQ lands in at least triple digits, but I can bang out a deck in 11.6 seconds and a full 8 deck shoe in 2:37. I missed the title of Fastest Counter in US Game Protection by .54 seconds, and compared to the forum, I'm quite a dummy. It's not 'space-time continuum' hard, it's just hard as a tyke thinks tieing his shoe is hard. A minimum of effort and mild practice makes it second nature.

Quote: Face

. I missed the title of Fastest Counter in US Game Protection by .54 seconds.

I would like to hear more about this Face. Did you enter a competition or time yourself against the fastest time? I've just never heard of this.

Quote: clarkacal

I would like to hear more about this Face. Did you enter a competition or time yourself against the fastest time? I've just never heard of this.

I did make a thread at the time, but it was once of my first posts and was probably overlooked. The World Gaming Protection Conference was held at The M last February (hence my review). It's basically a bunch of US and a few Asian and Aussie casino protection personnel getting together and discussing a number of issues in the world of game protection. Big name cheaters, the new scams that have come out, where technology is heading, etc. Since counting is one of our biggest tools to catch counters, they established a contest and invited all casinos to send their best representative to see how they stacked up. They have a big trophy and a prize (iPad this year) and hosted it at...what was it, 32? The bar in The M with 100 beers anyway, and it was all free.

Our site had a competition to win the honor of going to that competition, which I won easily. I got the free trip to Vegas, free 4 days at The M, free catered lunches, free $1,000 dinners paid by the vendors, and about $220 from my work to spend on gambl....I mean, travel expenses. It was a real treat. So yeah, that's how it came about. In the name of integrity, I did bomb right out of The M competition. The honorary time keeper was Mike Aponte (one of the MIT guys the '21' movie was based on) and he screwed me over. I went first and the rules weren't totally clear. I counted and yelled out -2! and he just looked at me a second and asked '-2?' and I said yeah, and he asks which one? meaning is that what my count was or that was what had been taken out. And that threw me off, it went back and forth twice, and at that point I forgot which (I count fast, no one said anything about remembering the count after a debate =P). So I had to then guess which pile was -2 and guessed wrong. It was -2 but I chose the wrong pile, basically. So for the sake of integrity, the 11.6 I posted was my qualifying round time, and 11.06 was the time that won the big contest. Hard to bitch, though, what with the bonanza of free experiences I gained through the ordeal. I hear tell they're going to do it again next year, and after 4 months of not touching cards I picked 'em up last week and still banged out a mid-12 sec. Redemption shall be had. =)

I have not tried to count cards yet, learning basic strategy has been task enough, but that has been going pretty good and one day soon I'll start the counting. Certainly you almost have to be a fool not to employ it at least minimally, walking away from a shoe that blew out most of its aces right off the bat for example. Time to use the bathroom!

But I was planning to start with the Ace/Five count and see how I do with that first. Any opinions on that?

Quote: odiousgambit

But I was planning to start with the Ace/Five count and see how I do with that first. Any opinions on that?

Heard of it here, but nowhere else. From what I gather, it's sort of training wheels to something better. Personally I like to start from the hardest form of anything and work my way backwards until I find something reasonable, thereby saving time wasted on something below my skill level. I'd advise you to do the same. Just my opinion.

You want to start and be serious forget all the post above not that they are wrong but there is a better source. Go to BJ21.com look up gamemaster and you will have all the tools you need to start and also alot of free stuff to read.

I will also add that its not how well you count, but how well you manage your bankroll, and time. All three points are crucial to successful play. One of the better excercises I learned was to play the game Win X before losing Y where X=Y+1. Start with 4-3, then 5-4, and 6-5. Keep your Wong in/out, and time limits. End the game at shuffle, Wong, or completion of the 3 levels regardless of score. The one rule variant here is you cannot bet more than Y units.
GL & GG