Blackjack Systems

Some people may look down at card counters, but they really shouldn’t. If you have the chance to turn the odds slightly in your favour, why shouldn’t you be able to take it? After all, most people know that before they play almost any gambling game, the house has an edge. Several blackjack card-counting systems have been developed to assist in giving you advantage. Card counting is not an easy skill to master, and it can take years. Once mastered, though, you will be able to sit far more comfortably at a blackjack table. In this article, we’ll look at five of the most popular blackjack systems you can utilise when playing blackjack.

Hi-Lo System

The Hi-Lo System is regarded as the most popular system for beginners, since it is the easiest to learn. Well – truth be told – none of them are very easy to learn, but this one is the most promising for beginners. It involves adding a 1 or -1 tag to each of the cards. After a passage of play, you should then be able to “guestimate” just what kinds of cards are left in the deck, and place higher or lower bets, accordingly. Many people have said that the Hi-Lo System, although popular, is actually the least efficient of these 5 strategies.

KO System

Known as the Knock-Out System, the KO System utilises -1 for 10s and aces, whilst 2s through 7s are valued as -1 cards. 8-9s are considered 0s. By using this system, players will be able to avoid converting a true count into a running count, which is rather useful, especially for any player who isn’t exactly “mathematically gifted”. Although not as easy as the Hi-Lo System, the KO system is more accurate.

Omega II System

Although it sounds astronomical, the Omega II System is actually a very difficult card counting system to learn. Cards valued at 2s, 3s, and 7s are valued at +1, whilst 4s, 5s and 6s are valued at +2. All nines are worth -1, whilst 10s are worth -2. Players must get used to using a side count, as well as the main count with this system. It is extremely difficult to process all of that at once, so it is best used by experienced blackjack players, and ones which some knowledge of the other card counting strategies.

Red Seven Count

In some ways, the Red Seven Count actually resembles the Knock-Out System. This blackjack system requires players to make all Aces and 10 values -1, whilst +1 values are given to 2s, 3s, 4s, 5s and 6s. Curiously enough, 7s come in two counts. Red 7s count as +1, whilst black 7s count as zeros. Many users of this system have tried to simplify it by using 0.5 values for all 7s, but it doesn’t work as well. The system is reliable, if you can master it, but it won’t be easy.

Zen Count

The Zen Count System is another popular blackjack card counting strategy. This one is again, rather fiddly to use and messy to master. Players need to count aces as -1, 10s as -2, whilst 2s, 3s and 7s are all valued at +1. 4s, 5s and 6s are therefore valued at 2s. Like the Omega II and Red Seven Count, the Zen Count is a blackjack system best used by players with a lot of experience in card counting.

The main problem with card counting isn’t the moral values behind it. It is the difficult of learning each system. Before you can attempt to learn these, you must have a good grasp of how card counting cards. For the best results, we’d recommend starting with the Hi-Lo System and working upwards from there.