In the s and s, as computing power grew, more advanced and harder card counting systems came into favor. Many card counters agree, however, that a simpler and less advantageous system that can be played flawlessly for hours earns an overall higher return than a more complex system prone to user error.

In the s Ken Uston was the first to write about a tactic of card counting he called the Big Player Team. The book was based on his experiences working as a "big player" BP on Al Francesco 's teams. In big-player blackjack teams a number of card counters, called "spotters", are dispatched to tables around a casino, where their responsibility is to keep track of the count and signal to the big player when the count indicates a player advantage.

The big player then joins the game at that table, placing maximum bets at a player advantage. When the spotter indicates that the count has dropped, they again signal the BP to leave the table.

By jumping from table to table as called in by spotters, BP avoids all play at a disadvantage. In addition, since BP's play appears random and irrational, they avoid detection by the casinos.

The spotters, who are doing the actual counting, are not themselves changing their bet size or strategy, so they are relatively inconspicuous. With this style of play, a number of blackjack teams have cleared millions of dollars through the years.

Well-known blackjack teams with documented earnings in the millions include those run by Al Francesco, Ken Uston, Tommy Hyland, various groups from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology MIT , and, most recently, a team called "The Greeks". Ken Uston wrote about blackjack team play in Million Dollar Blackjack ISBN , although many of the experiences he represents as his own in his books actually happened to other players, especially Bill Erb, a BP Uston worked with on Al Francesco's team.

Ben Mezrich also covers team play in his book Bringing Down The House ISBN , which describes how MIT students used it with great success. See also the Canadian movie The Last Casino and the American movie 21 , which was based on Mezrich's book.

The publication of Ken Uston's books and of his landmark lawsuits against the casinos, both stimulated the growth of blackjack teams Hyland's team and the first MIT team were formed in Atlantic City shortly after the publication of Million Dollar Blackjack and increased casino awareness of the methods of blackjack teams, making it more difficult for such teams to operate.

Hyland and Francesco soon switched to a form of shuffle tracking called "Ace sequencing". Also referred to as "cutting to the Ace", this technique involves various methods designed to spot the bottom card during a shuffle ideally an Ace and expertly cut the deck and play future hands to force the player to receive the Ace.

This made it more difficult for casinos to detect when team members were playing with an advantage. In , members of the Hyland team were arrested for ace sequencing and blackjack team play at Casino Windsor in Windsor, Ontario , Canada.

It was documented in court that Nevada casinos with ownership stakes in the Windsor casino were instrumental in the decision to prosecute team members on cheating charges. However, the judge ruled that the players' conduct was not cheating, but merely the use of intelligent strategy.

Automatic shuffling machines ASMs or batch shufflers , that randomly shuffle decks, interfere with the shuffle tracking variation of card counting by hiding the shuffle. Continuous shuffling machines CSMs , that partially shuffle used cards back into the "shoe" after every hand, interfere with card counting.

CSMs result in shallow penetration number of seen cards , reducing the effectiveness of card counting. Contents move to sidebar hide. Article Talk.

Read Edit View history. Tools Tools. What links here Related changes Upload file Special pages Permanent link Page information Cite this page Get shortened URL Download QR code Wikidata item. Download as PDF Printable version. Blackjack strategy used to determine advantage in upcoming hands.

For the film, see The Card Counter. This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources in this section. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. June Learn how and when to remove this template message.

This article includes a list of general references , but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations.

May Learn how and when to remove this template message. Main article: Shuffling machine. Archived from the original on 15 November Retrieved 3 November The theory of blackjack: the compleat card counter's guide to the casino game of 21 6th ed.

Las Vegas, Nev. ISBN Mathematics in Popular Culture: Essays on Appearances in Film, Fiction, Games, Television and Other Media. Archived from the original on 4 February Retrieved 26 August Archived from the original on 17 July Retrieved 10 July Archived from the original on 11 March Retrieved 20 March Archived from the original on 10 March Retrieved 10 March The Archer Method of Winning at Henry Regnery Company.

Archived from the original on 20 January Archived from the original on 28 March Archived from the original on 5 March Archived from the original on 27 December Retrieved 1 April Archived from the original on 2 April Archived from the original on 2 March Nelson; Loeb, Robert A.

Blackjack and the law 1st ed. Oakland, CA: RGE Pub. STATE, GAMING CONTROL BOARD, P. Google Scholar. Archived from the original on 29 June Retrieved 27 October On the other hand, neither card counting nor is illegal under Nevada law. Resorts International Hotel, Inc.

doi : The New York Times. Archived from the original on 13 May Retrieved 20 May Archived from the original on 26 August Blackjack Blueprint: How to Play Like a Pro Huntington Press.

Archived from the original on 8 June Retrieved 15 June Archived PDF from the original on 18 November Retrieved 22 March Casino-ology 2: New Strategies for Managing Casino Games. Exhibit CAA: beyond counting 1st ed. Las Vegas, NV: South Side Advantage Press, LLC. The card counter's guide to casino surveillance.

Archived from the original on 15 January Archived PDF from the original on 8 November Retrieved 19 November The Law for Gamblers: A Legal Guide to the Casino Environment.

Casino-ology: The Art of Managing Casino Games. Nelson 27 June Archived from the original on 10 July Retrieved 17 November Archived PDF from the original on 22 April Retrieved 18 November Archived PDF from the original on 27 August Archived from the original on 19 November Archived from the original on 25 October Retrieved 9 March Blackjack Review Network.

Archived from the original on 14 November Retrieved 16 June Axelrad, Josh Repeat until Rich: A Professional Card Counter's Chronicle of the Blackjack Wars. New York: Penguin Press.

Griffin, Peter The Theory of Blackjack: The Complete Card Counter's Guide 4th ed. Las Vegas: Huntington Press. Eddie Olsen 18 April The Philadelphia Inquirer.

Rose, I. Blackjack and the Law 1st ed. Oakland, CA: RGE Publishers. Schlesinger, Donald Blackjack Attack: playing the pros' way 3rd ed. Las Vegas: RGE Publishing. Snyder, Arnold The Big Book of Blackjack 1st ed.

New York: Cardoza Publishing. Thorp, Edward O. Beat the Dealer: A Winning Strategy for the Game of Twenty-One. New York: Vintage Books. Walker, Katarina The Pro's Guide to Spanish 21 and Australian Pontoon.

New York: Maven Press. Zender, Bill Advantage Play for the Casino Executive. OCLC Glossary of blackjack terms Card counting Shuffle track Hole carding. Chinese Blackjack Spanish 21 Super Fun 21 Double Attack Blackjack Double Exposure Blackjack Elimination Blackjack Pontoon Malaysian Pontoon Power blackjack Edge sorting.

Blackjack Forum Blackjack Hall of Fame Al Francesco Peter A. Griffin Thomas Hyland Zeljko Ranogajec Arnold Snyder Edward O. Thorp Ken Uston Stanford Wong Steven L. Heston Mike Aponte Max Rubin Blair Hull Lawrence Revere James Grosjean Richard W.

Munchkin Don Schlesinger Darryl Purpose. Gambling terminology. Casino List Online casino Cardroom Racino Riverboat casino. Gambling mathematics Mathematics of bookmaking Poker probability. Advantage gambling Card counting Dice control Asian handicap Due Column betting Labouchère system Martingale.

Angola Nigeria South Africa. Cambodia China Hong Kong Macau India Japan Pakistan Philippines Manila Russia Singapore Taiwan Thailand Turkey Vietnam. Estonia France Italy Norway Russia Turkey Ukraine United Kingdom. Mexico United States Canada Quebec Ontario BC Western Canada Atlantic Canada.

Australia New Zealand. Casino game Game of chance Game of skill List of bets. Gaming law Problem gambling. Category Commons Wiktionary WikiProject. Categories : Blackjack Gambling terminology.

Reset the running count every time the dealer shuffles the deck. Calculate your true count by dividing the running count by the decks. Casinos typically use multiple decks to try and prevent card counters from gaining an advantage over the house.

This means the player does not yet have the advantage. This ensures that you aren't just counting the number of high cards—you're also considering the concentration of these cards compared to the low card concentration.

Bet the true count minus 1 betting unit. This means you should bet 3 betting units. Raise your bets with the rise of the true count. When the running count is positive after any given round, there are more large cards than small within the undealt cards.

Increase your bet size to take advantage of these odds. Decrease your bets with the decrease of the true count. When the running count is negative, there are more small cards than high within the undealt cards.

This puts you at a disadvantage, so decrease your bet size and don't raise. Method 2. Count using the Omega II system. The 9 card is valued at -1, face cards and 10s are valued at -2, and 8 and Aces are 0. Positive counts mean that more low cards are in the dealer's deck, while negative counts are indicative of more higher cards in the deck.

Although Aces are valued at 0, it's still recommended to keep a separate count of the Aces in play. When the deck is rich with Aces, you still have a better chance of the dealer giving you a blackjack and should raise your bets accordingly.

Employ the Wong Halves card counting strategy. All 8s are 0, 9 is valued at If you're having a hard time counting with fractions, double each value for a simplified strategy.

Count using the Victor Advanced Point Count. Using this system, Ace and 8 are valued as 0. Like the Omega II system, keeping a separate count of Aces is not required, but recommended. With a bit of practice, each card's value will become second-nature.

Method 3. Select a Spotter to keep count of the deck at a specific table. As the Spotter, always bet the minimum and focus on keeping count of the cards. When the true count is high and the odds are in your favor, signal your team manager or the Gorilla. As a Spotter, use subtle signals to avoid detection, such as positioning your foot under the table in a specific way.

As a rule, your Big Player should be able to bet 8 times or more the size of the each Spotters' bet. Choose a Back-Spotter to watch the tables from afar.

Back-Spotters are particularly helpful in crowded casinos where there is little table room. As a Back Spotter, you can be more liberal with your signals such as hand motions since you won't standout as easily, but still exercise caution.

Select the least talented poker player as the Gorilla. The Gorilla should be the person that doesn't have the skill or desire to count. As the Gorilla, you move between tables and bet the maximum wager when the tables are hot.

If you have a boisterous friend that likes to throw their money around, they're a great choice for the Gorilla. Keep your bets consistently high and don't be afraid to act aggressive and loud. Choose the most skilled player for the Big Player.

As the Big Player, your job is to play with the same wagers as the Gorilla but in a more skillful way that takes attention off the team.

When Spotters or Back-Spotters find a hot table, they will signal you to come and play. If the table puts you at a big advantage, consistently bet high amounts. But if you're only at a slight advantage, spread your bets and increase them as your advantage the true count rises.

Remember that the Big Player should be able to bet 8 times or more the bet of each Spotter you have playing. wikiHow Staff Editor Staff Answer. We're glad this was helpful. Thank you for your feedback.

If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. Support wikiHow Yes No. Not Helpful 4 Helpful For most people, it takes about hours of practice at home and an additional hours of casino practice to get really good at it.

Not Helpful 4 Helpful 5. Not Helpful 3 Helpful 8. Include your email address to get a message when this question is answered.

Try not to stay at the same table for too long. Thanks Helpful 4 Not Helpful 0. Bet minimally — tripling your bet abruptly will flag you as a counter, making it likely that the dealer will shuffle the deck and ruin your count.

Thanks Helpful 3 Not Helpful 1. Don't draw attention to yourself — chat with the dealer and try to dress like a tourist. Thanks Helpful 2 Not Helpful 1. Submit a Tip All tip submissions are carefully reviewed before being published.

Card counting isn't illegal, but it can lose casinos money, and they have the right to kick you out if they suspect you partaking in the practice. Thanks Helpful 13 Not Helpful 4. You Might Also Like. How to. Complete Game Instructions for Casino Cassino. When Should You Double Down in Blackjack?

How to Play Irish Poker Traditional and Drinking Game. About This Article.

The biggest myth in casino gaming is that card counting is illegal. It's not, but casinos don't like it. You're on the casino's private property Counting cards is a technique used to improve the house edge and even overcome it in blackjack. It is easier to learn than it may first Duration

Video