In blackjack, there are several different ways to count cards. Card counting helps to reduce, if not eliminate the edge the house has on the players. Of the variety of blackjack card counting methods, the Hi-Lo method of card counting is the easiest to grasp. Generally speaking, when the deck contains higher cards, the players have the advantage. When the shoe is rich in low cards, the house has the edge. Consequently, players should bet more when the deck possesses an abundance of high cards, while lowering their bets when the shoe contains low cards.
As cards are dealt out to the players and the dealers either on the initial deal or via a hit, we monitor or count the cards as they are revealed. To monitor the blackjack shoe using the hi-lo card counting method, we give cards two through six the value of plus one. Face cards and aces are assigned the value of minus one in the hi-lo card count. Cards such as sevens, eights, and nines are ignored for hi-lo card counting purposes. From these rules, we can deduce that the shoe favors the player when the count is positive and favors the house when the count is negative when using the hi-lo card counting system.
For example, we can walk through a series of cards to monitor the card count using the high-lo card counting method. In parenthesis, you will see the value of the card in the hi-lo card count, with running totals listed after:
Ace of Spades (-1) -1
Queen of Diamonds (-1) -2
Nine of Clubs (no change) -2
Seven of Clubs (no change) -2
Two of Spades (+1) -1
Ten of Spades (-1) -2
Jack of Hearts (-1) -3
Jack of Hearts (-1) -4
Ace of Clubs (-1) -5
Two of Diamonds (+1) -4
Three of Clubs (+1) -3
Four of Spades (+1) -2
After these twelve cards have been dealt, the hi-lo count is minus two, which means the house has the advantage based on the card count. Thus, we want to keep our betting to the table minimum. Continuing on, we see twelve more cards. The count continues as we see more of the shoe.
Six of Diamonds (+1) -1
Eight of Spades (no change) -1
Four of Hearts (+1) even
Five of Hearts (+1) +1
Ace of Clubs (-1) even
Two of Diamonds (+1) +1
Two of Clubs (+1) +2
Eight of Diamonds (no change) +2
Nine of Clubs (no change) +2
Ten of Spades (-1) +1
Three of Spades (+1) +2
Three of Clubs (+1) +3
The hi-lo card count is now positive. Because the count is positive, the player has the edge and can begin upping the value of their bets as long as the count stays positive.
