Blackjack System

No matter how you use the information we provide you in this system, you will improve your blackjack play. We are going to teach you a card counting system that is so simple anyone who can add 1+1 can do it, which will give you an advantage over the casino when you play blackjack.

In designing this program, we assume that you have some experience with the game of blackjack, and that you are familiar with the terms used, like double down or soft 17. If these are new to you, almost all casinos give out basic blackjack information which will help, or you can go to our rules page and print out the basic rules (This is on our home page under rules).

Before you can profit from this system, you need to know a few fundamental things about the game of blackjack. Like all casino games, results at blackjack are based on laws of probability. Unlike any other casino game, however, the player has complete control over how much those odds are in the casinos favor, and by skilled application of a count system, can actually turn the odds in the players favor. Despite the hype of some promoters, no other casino game actually has odds in the player's favor, nor can any other game ever be beat statistically in the long run. (Except in some unusual situations with high-jackpot slot machines)

The way the average person plays blackjack, the casino typically has a 4%-6% edge over the player (which are the worst odds of any major table game). Without a count system, but playing blackjack as well as possible, a player can improve the odds to where the casino only has about a one-half percent edge over the player. The only way to actually turn the odds in the player's favor, however, is to employ some form of count system.

Our goal with this system is to teach you some simple rules which will allow you to immediately improve your blackjack play (and improve your winnings), then introduce you to a very simple but remarkably successful count system, which you will be able to start using the first time you sit down at blackjack. Anything you learn from this system will improve your winnings, and we are confident you will see dramatic results if you carefully study all the techniques presented in this system.

First, let's dispel some myths about blackjack, casinos, and card counting: Myth #1 - Hardly anyone that you see playing blackjack knows how to count cards, and most players really don't have a clue about how to play blackjack well. In all our thousands of sessions of playing blackjack all over the world, we have come across only a handful of players who appeared to actually be using some form of count system. Consequently, you don't have to try very hard to avoid detection in the casinos. True, if you announce to the pit boss that you are counting cards, they will throw you out. Or, if you get carried away in varying your bet (see below), you run some risk, especially if you're playing quarters or hundreds. But you can play a count system forever at most casinos' $5 tables without being bothered.

This blackjack system works. We have proven it with over 20 years of successful playing. Don't let other players (or the dealer) at the table try and talk you out of this style of play. Most of them have no clue how to play blackjack successfully, or what the odds really are, and are operating from ignorance or superstition. Stick with the program.

Myth #2 - One typical theory is that the guy at 'third base' makes all the difference. It does not matter what the guy at third base does, in the long run, as sometimes he'll help you by doing stupid things, and sometimes he'll hurt you. Likewise, there is technically no such thing as a 'hot' or 'cold' dealer, it's all just a matter of probabilities. On the other hand, most casinos (especially in Vegas or Reno) have plenty of blackjack tables, and there is no reason to stay at a table where your luck (or the surrounding players) are bad. Get up and leave. If you think a table is unlucky, it's more likely to affect your concentration, and cause you to play badly, and so it really is better to leave.

Myth #3 - You can't count cards on 4 or 6 or 8 decks. It is no harder to count 6 decks than 1 deck. But, it does require some more concentration, mainly because if you lose count in a single deck, you are off for just a couple of hands. If you lose count on 8 decks, it will be a long time before you can regain your advantage.

First, let's talk about blackjack rules. Many people think the rules for blackjack are the same everywhere, but that's not true at all. The main differences are in 3 areas:

1) What can you double down on? This is by far the most important question. The way blackjack works, the average hand is a loser. In fact, you typically lose about 60% of the blackjack hands you play. The only way to make up for this is on the 'specials' that the rules allow, which are doubling down, splitting pairs, and blackjack. Since almost everyone pays 1.5 to 1 on blackjack and allows splitting of pairs, doubling down is the big variable. Several years ago, there were many casinos who only allowed doubling down on 10's and 11's, and sometimes 9's. Nowadays, most major casinos will let you double down on anything. Do not play at casinos which won't allow you to double down on anything. It affects your winning percentage a lot.

2) Does the dealer hit or stand on soft 17? It is much better for the player if they stand on soft 17. Please note that it is advantageous for the casino to hit soft 17. What that means is you, as a player, should always hit soft 17. No exceptions.

3) Can you double down after you split a pair? If you split 8's and get a 3 on one, can you double down on that 11? Many casinos allow this, and it is quite advantageous. Look for it.

Any blackjack system, and even more importantly count system, must be tailored to the set of rules you are playing under. Since you will see many variations on the rules, the system we describe will not work optimally under all variations. We have designed this system to work under the best set of rules, which are available at most major casinos, most cruise ships, and many smaller casinos. You can still play this system under other rules, it just won't give you as high a winning percentage. The rules we have designed for are:

1) Double down on any two cards, including after you split
2) Dealer stands on soft 17
3) Split pairs up to 4 times

OK, let's start with some basics. If you've played blackjack very much, you've faced the following situations dozens of times. These are our list of the 10 worst mistakes many blackjack players make, and how much it costs you to do this. For every $100 you bet,

Play Cost
Standing with a 16 against a dealer's Ace $15
Standing with a 14 against a dealer's 7 $15
Always hit when a dealer has 7 or higher
Not doubling down on an 11 against a dealer's 9 $ 7
Always double on an 11 except against an A!
Not doubling down on a 10 against a dealer's 8 $ 9
Always double a 10, except against 10 or A
Taking insurance, ever $ 8
It doesn't matter if you have a blackjack or not, unless you're counting cards, never take insurance. It's a guaranteed 8% loss in the long run.
Not doubling down on a 9 against a dealer's 6 $12
Standing with a 12 against a dealer's 2 $ 4
Not drawing with a soft 17 against any dealer card$10
Always, Always, Always draw to soft 17
Not splitting a pair of 8's against a 7 $50!
Always split 8's

And, our award for the dumbest play ever, which I still see almost every time I play somewhere: Standing on a soft 13, 14, 15, or 16! $20

If you get nothing else from this system, learn the 10 plays above. It will pay off hundreds of dollars to you every year.

There are actually a total of 360 different combinations of hands in the game of blackjack, between what the dealer has showing and what the player has total. Fortunately, the play you need to make in most of these is pretty obvious, and most hands are covered by the following guideline:

1) The easiest way to figure out what to do in most situations is to assume the dealer has a 10 card down, and use the plan that if the dealer has to draw, you don't want to risk busting, but if the dealer may not have to draw, then you need to get a 17 or higher. This leads to the following very simple chart:

You                 Dealer
Over Hard 16	Anything           	Stand
12-16		2 through 6		Stand
12-16		7 through A		Hit
11		Anything		         Double
8 or less	         Anything		         Hit

If you always play just these rules, you will be a better blackjack player than about 90% of the people out there, including many who really think they know what they are doing.

Then all you really have to learn is what to do with 9, 10, pairs, and soft combinations.

In its simplest form, the main reason the house wins and most players don't is because the house is forced to draw cards, and most player's don't draw when they should.

The correct strategy for all blackjack hands is in the following table:

	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	A
17+	Always stand on hard 17 and above
16	S	S	S	S	S	H	H	H	H	H
15	S	S	S	S	S	H	H	H	H	H
14	S	S	S	S	S	H	H	H	H	H
13	S	S	S	S	S	H	H	H	H	H
12	H	H	S	S	S	H	H	H	H	H
11	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	H
10	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	H	H
9	H	D	D	D	D	H	H	H	H	H
8	Always hit 8 and less
A8/9	Always Stand on A8 and A9
A7	D	D	D	D	D	S	S	H	H	H
A6	H	D	D	D	D	H	H	H	H	H
A5	H	H	D	D	D	H	H	H	H	H
A4	H	H	D	D	D	H	H	H	H	H
A3	H	H	H	D	D	H	H	H	H	H
A2	H	H	H	D	D	H	H	H	H	H
9+9	Sp	Sp	Sp	Sp	Sp	S	Sp	Sp	S	S
8+8	Always Split 8's
7+7	Sp	Sp	Sp	Sp	Sp	Sp	S	S	S	S
6+6	H	Sp	Sp	Sp	Sp	S	S	S	S	S
5+5	Always play 5's as a 10, above
4+4	Play 4's as an 8, above
3+3	H	Sp	Sp	Sp	Sp	Sp	H	H	H	H
2+2	H	Sp	Sp	Sp	Sp	Sp	H	H	H	H
A+A	Always Split Ace's
10's	Never Split 10's

Simply playing consistently by the above rules will bring your level of blackjack play up from giving the house a 5% advantage to about a one-half percent advantage. The only way to push the odds in your favor is by counting cards, and we're now going to teach you how to do this. The premise is very simple; there are plus cards, minus cards, and neutral cards, as follows:

2,3,4,5, and 6 are +1
7,8,9 are 0
10,J,Q,K, and A are -1

That's all there is to it. When the dealer shuffles the deck and starts dealing, the count is 0. As you see cards come out, you either add or subtract one from your count as each card is dealt. This gives you the running count. For example, if there are 4 players at the table, and they are dealt the following hands, then the count is:

Player 1       6, 5      Count is now +2
                         Add 1 for the 6 and 1 for the 5
Player 2       4, 10     Count is still +2
                         Add 1 for the 4 and subtract 1 for the 10
Player 3       7, K      Count is now +1
                         The 7 is 0, but subtract 1 for the K
Player 4       A, 3      Count is still +1
                         Subtract one for the A and add 1 for the 3
Player 5       8, 6      Count is +2
                         Ignore the 8, but add 1 for the 6
Dealer         9         Count is still +2
                         Ignore the 9

In this fashion, continue adding and subtracting for all the cards in the first deal. At the end of the deal, you will have some total, for example +2 or -5. That's all there is to card counting.

Now, there are many levels of complexity that one can apply to count systems. The most sophisticated systems will have you change the way you play each hand depending on the count at the moment, and require massive amounts of memorization. We find these systems very difficult to master, and hard to apply in the distracting environment of a casino. After all, it is nice if you can occasionally talk to your neighbor or order a drink without completely screwing up your blackjack system. Consequently, we have reduced this system to a very easy to apply set of rules which gives you a great advantage over the house without a lot of complexity.

The reason a count system works is simple. If you have a plus count, that means more little cards (2-6) have come out of the deck than big cards (10's and A's), and therefore there are more big cards left in the deck. This is advantageous to the player primarily because the dealer is more likely to bust when there are big cards in the deck than when there are little cards, because the dealer has to draw. It is also advantageous because the player will get more blackjacks on a plus deck, which pays the player 1.5 to 1, versus only losing 1 to 1 when the dealer gets a blackjack.

Likewise, if the count is minus, then there are more little cards left in the deck than big cards, and it is more likely that the dealer will draw that 5 to go with her 16.

So, what is the best way to take advantage of this? Simple, just bet more when the count is in your favor (positive), and bet less when the count is against you (negative). Now, as we mentioned above, if you're betting a lot and varying your bet a lot, that is a tip off to some casinos that you might be counting, and so some caution should be employed. Also, even with a count of +10 (which is quite high), you can still lose, so some money management is in order.

A few words about money management. As we said before, you lose about 60% of blackjack hands, and make it up on the double downs and blackjacks. Consequently, it should be obvious that if you sit down at a $5 table with only $20, it's a lot more likely that you will go broke before you make any money, unless you get off to a quick hot streak (which never happens to me), because you don't have enough capital to cover a brief losing streak. You have to sit down with enough money to weather the losing streaks, if you expect to be able to win consistently. When you sit down to play a session, you should never have less than 10 times your basic bet, and 20 times is much safer. This will give you enough cushion to weather losing streaks and negative decks, and be able to profit on the positive decks.

A good, sound betting strategy is as follows: Note: I give this strategy in terms of units. A unit could be $5, $10, or $100, depending on your level of play and how much bankroll you have available.

                    Amount of bet
Negative decks      1 unit
0 deck to +2        2 units
+2 to +5            3 units
over +5             4 units

Next, let's talk about multiple decks. Prevailing wisdom is that you can't count 6 deck shoes, and that's why the casinos use them. Nothing could be farther from the truth, and the reason is simple: All you do is keep adding or subtracting 1 for each card you see. It doesn't matter how many decks you are playing, as long as the decks being dealt are full, honest, decks, you will always begin and end at a count of 0 (if they dealt all the way to the bottom of the deck!)

What does matter on a multiple deck game, though, is a concept called 'true count'. If you are playing a one deck game, and the first 4 cards out are small cards, you have a count of plus 4, that's a fairly positive deck. If you are playing 4 decks, however, and the first 4 cards out are small, the effect of that is not nearly as great, because there are 4 times as many cards in the deck. Consequently, at any time, the 'true' count is the running total you are keeping in your head, divided by the number of decks left in the shoe.

Now, in many count systems, where you are varying your play based on the count, keeping a true count is a very complex process. In this system, however, since you only use the count to bet, it is much simpler, since you only need to know approximately what the true count is. Your only concerns are is the true count positive, less than 2, between 2 and 5, or over 5 (very rare). Even if you are only approximately right, it's close enough to make this system work.

I bring up the concept of true count only because if you run out to the first casino you come to and sit down at an 8 deck shoe (some casinos play this), and after the first hand the count is +12, don't bet it all on the next hand. You have to realize that the true count is only +12/8, or about +1, so go easy. If you're half way through the 8 decks and still have a plus 12 count, now the true count is +12/4, or about +3, and that's a little more exciting.

True count is a somewhat confusing concept, but sometimes you have no option except to play shoes, so you do need a basic understanding in order to be successful on a 4 to 8 deck shoe. Much better than trying to divide out true counts is to find a single or double deck game, and not have to do such complex math. Now, although most of the blackjack being dealt in Vegas (and almost all of it elsewhere) is from shoes, you can find many single and double deck games in Vegas, if you take the time to look.

While many people believe that the ultimate game is a single deck game, I much prefer double deck. Sure, there are no better odds than getting a table to yourself against a dealer dealing from a single deck, but that is almost impossible in Vegas today. While many casinos have several tables of single deck (Harrah's, Circus, Excaliber, and many of the smaller strip casinos, to name just a few), the problem is that with even a modestly full table, often the dealer will only deal one hand before shuffling the deck. This gives you no advantage at all, because you need a positive count to bet in order to have an advantage.

The best bet for my money is a double deck game, even at a full table. You will normally get 3 or 4 deals per shuffle, plenty of opportunity to bet a lot on the plus decks, and not lose too much on the minus decks. And, you can keep a true count without a lot of math. In fact, just a running count is close enough on a double deck game to a true count to be very successful. Probably over 50% of the casinos in Vegas have a double deck game somewhere on the floor, you just need to look for them.

Once you have mastered the concepts we have presented so far, you will have an advantage over the house of about 1%. If you're interested in trying to improve those odds a little, then you will need to modify your playing strategy also, based on the count at the time. The easiest way to do this without getting into true count situations is the following simplified count table, which gives you the basic plays without requiring a lot of memorization above and beyond the basic table above.

What we do here is modify your play on some hands based only on whether the count is positive or negative. As you will see, most of the plays are the same as the basic table. Some of the boxes have two entries, however, and those work as follows: Use the first choice if the count is positive, and the second choice if the count is negative.

As an example, the 16 vs dealer's 10 box looks like this:

S | H

What this means is that, if you have a 16 and the dealer has a 10, you want to stand if the count is positive, and hit if the count is negative.

Likewise, the A7 vs dealer's 2 box looks like this:

D | S

This tells you to double if the count is positive, and stand if the count is negative.

We have had a number of requests to provide the true count chart that goes along with this system. So, as a special bonus, we are now including the following chart, which shows the actual true count at which you make each decision. If you're not familiar with count charts, this may seem a little confusing at first. But if you study it, it's not hard, and it will give you the best possible edge when playing blackjack.

Some words of caution: Don't start out trying to use this chart, it will just confuse you. Using a count system with blackjack is hard enough when you're beginning, and trying to remember all these numbers will only lead to making mistakes, and making mistakes will take away your advantage. Play the simplified system, above, for long enough to be comfortable with it, then gradually start adding in the count features on this table, row by row, until you're familiar with them all.

The way this chart works is that several of the squares have two colors and a number in them, like this example:

S | H -2

The way you read these squares is you do the first option if the count is greater than or equal to the indicated number, and you do the second option if it is less than the number. In the example above, you stand if the count is greater than or equal to -2, or you hit if it is less.

	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	A
17+	Always Stand on hard 17 and above
16	S	S	S	S	S	H	H	H	S | H 0	H
15	S	S	S	S	S	H	H	H	S | H 4	H
14	S | H -4	S	S	S	S	H	H	H	H	H
13	S | H -1	S | H -3	S | H -4	S	S	H	H	H	H	H
12	S | H +3	S | H +1	S | H 0	S | H -2	S | H -2	H	H	H	H	H
11	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D | H +2
10	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D | H -2	D | H +4	D | H +4
9	D | H +1	D | H -1	D | H -3	D	D	D | H +3	H	H	H	H
8	H	H	H	D | H +3	D | H +1	H	H	H	H	H
7	Always Hit 7 and less
A9	Always Stand on A9
A8	S	S	D | S +3	D | S +1	D | S +1	S	S	S	S	S
A7	D | S 0	D | S -3	D	D	D	S	S	H	H	S | H +2
A6	D | H +1	D	D	D	D	H	H	H	H	H
A5	H	D | H +3	D | H -4	D	D	H	H	H	H	H
A4	H	H	D | H -1	D	D	H	H	H	H	H
A3	H	H	D | H +2	D | H -2	D	H	H	H	H	H
A2	H	H	D | H +4	D | H 0	D | H -2	H	H	H	H	H
9+9	Sp	Sp	Sp	Sp	Sp	S	Sp	Sp	S	Sp | S +4
8+8	Always Split 8's
7+7	Sp	Sp	Sp	Sp	Sp	Sp	S	S	S	S
6+6	Sp | H +2	Sp	Sp	Sp	Sp	S	S	S	S	S
5+5	Always play 5's as a 10, above
4+4	H	H	Sp	Sp	Sp	H	H	H	H	H
3+3	H	Sp | H +3	Sp | H 0	Sp | H -3	Sp	Sp	H	H	H	H
2+2	H	Sp | H +3	Sp | H -1	Sp | H -3	Sp	Sp	H	H	H	H
A+A	Always Split Ace's
10's	Never Split 10's

This system was successfuly tested on Captain Cooks Casino

and on Golden Tiger Casino