Advanced Blackjack Tactics - Master of Casinos

Card Counting

For experienced blackjack players, card counting is an effective way to gain an advantage over the house. The most common strategy is known as the Hi-Lo system. This is where you assign specific values to each card in the deck (+1, 0 or -1) to keep track of the running count. Cards ranging between 2-6 are worth +1, 7-9 are 0 and 10-Ace are -1. Ultimately, the higher the running count, the more likely you will win. Therefore, you should increase your bet.

However, with online play, there are obstacles designed to counteract card counting. Firstly, most live blackjack tables are multiple-deck games, slightly complicating things. To begin, you’ll need to calculate the running count as normal. Then, however, you’ll have to ‘normalise’ the count by dividing the running count by the number of unplayed decks in the shoe. With this, you’ll get what’s known as the true count, which will help you understand if you’re at an advantage or not.

The other potential stumbling block is the placement of the cut card. In most brick-and-mortar casinos, dealers traditionally place the cut card behind roughly 80% of the deck. However, in most live blackjack games, the dealer usually places it after approximately 40% of the cards. Unfortunately, this means you get to see fewer cards before a reshuffle, reducing the ‘deck penetration’ and your edge.

The Martingale System

The Martingale is a negative progression system, where you double your bets after any loss. The whole idea behind it is that when you do win, you’ll recover all of your previous losses. Remember, though, losing streaks can quickly lead to significant losses. Therefore, it’s advisable to start with an affordable stake.

The Paroli System

The Paroli is a progressive betting system. Here, you double your bet after any win, instead of when you lose. It’s designed to help you take advantage of any winning streak you encounter. Still, with losing streaks, it’s harder to recover your losses as quickly compared to if you were using the Martingale.

The 1-3-2-6 Betting System

This is a unit-based system that requires you to bet specific amounts in sequence. Start off betting your desired stake and only progress to the next step if you win. For example, with a ₹1,000 stake, you would bet ₹1,000 on the first hand, ₹3,000 on the second, ₹2,000 on the third and ₹6,000 on the fourth. The key here though, is to remember to reset the system to the initial value any time you lose.

The Fibonacci System

Based on the famous mathematical sequence, the Fibonacci system is similar to the Martingale but is less aggressive. Here, you select your starting unit and follow the Fibonacci system, increasing units each time you lose – 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21 and so on. If you win, you continue to bet using the number you are currently on.