Different Card Counting Systems
Card Counting Systems > Ace-Five
A card counting system assigns a point score to each rank of card (e.g., 1 point for 2–6, 0 points for 7–9 and −1 point for 10–A). When a card is exposed, a counter adds the score of that card to a running total, the 'count'. A card counter uses this count to make betting and playing decisions according to a table which they have learned. One of most popular card counting systems is the “hi-lo system”. This relatively simple system allows a player to track the cards, and change his betting patterns to take advantage of counts that were in his favor. Blackjack is different from most casino games, in that the past play can affect future play. On Friday credit-card payment systems went down for major businesses scattered across the U.S. Business Insider reports: Fiserv, one of the leading payments providers in the US, told Insider, 'A widespread internet service provider outage has impacted multiple businesses today.'
If you’re interested in learning how to card count, but aren’t sure you want to learn a complex system right away, the Ace-Five Count might be right for you. It’s also perfect for casual players that want to cut into the house edge and have the possibility of ending up slightly ahead of the casino, but aren’t worried about playing blackjack for a living or squeezing out as big an advantage as possible. It also has the advantage of being very unlikely to out you as a card counter, since you won’t be playing at a huge advantage, and you won’t be adjusting your play very much.
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The Ace-Five Count earns its name because it only considers aces and fives. This greatly simplifies the process for the player, who doesn’t have to track the majority of the cards in the deck. This works because aces are the best card in the deck for the player, while fives are the worst. Aces mean that the player is more likely to make a 3-2 paying blackjack, while fives turn the normally bad dealer hands (12-16) into hands the dealer can stay on.
Since there are an equal number of aces and fives in the shoe to start, no weighting or other adjustments are necessary. The player only needs to add one to the count (+1) each time a five comes out of the shoe, and subtract one (-1) each time an ace comes out of the shoe. When the count is positive, the remaining shoe is generally good for the player, while a negative shoe is bad for the player.
There have been a number of counts over the years based on this system, so coming up with a truly unique Ace-Five Count is nearly impossible these days. With that in mind, the following betting system to go along with the Ace-Five Count has been derived from several sources, including works by The Wizard of Odds and Paul L. Shaffer.
When you sit down at the start of the shoe, start your count at 0, and make a small bet you are comfortable with (most people will start with the table’s minimum bet). If the count is +2, double your bet. If the count gets to +3 or higher, double your bet again, but do it only after a win; this will help make it less obvious that you’re doubling due to the count, rather than trying to ride a “hot streak.”
The amount of times you continue doubling after this point is completely up to the individual player. There are two forces working in opposition when you add a bigger spread and continue to double your bets. On the positive side, you increase your advantage over the house, since you’ll be wagering a lot more money when you know the deck is in your favor. However, you are also putting a lot of money at risk with only a small edge, meaning that your variance will be much, much greater. In addition, large spreads may increase the chances of getting caught card counting.
By using a system such as this one, you will likely hold an edge against the casino under most rules, but the edge will be small – less than 1%. That said, that’s enough that in the long run, you can expect to come out ahead of the casino, and make you feel like you’re playing a game that you have control over, rather than the house. It’s also a great way to get started with card counting before advancing to more complex systems, such as the Hi-Lo Count.
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Introduction
Let me say loud and clear that card counting is hard and is not as rewarding as television and the movies make it out to be. If it were an easy way to make money, then everyone would be doing it.
If you do not know the basic strategy, trying to count cards is highly ill-advised. Experienced card counters still play by the basic strategy the great majority of the time.There can be no short cut around learning the basic strategy, those who attempt card counting without a firm foundation in the basic strategy are making a big mistake.
To be a successful counter you have to be able to countdown a deck fast and memorize large tables of numbers as well as make it look like you're just a casual player.Furthermore, with today's rules, a realistic advantage the counter will have is only 0.5% to 1.5%. You will not win money slowly and gradually but your bankroll will go up and down like a roller coaster in the short run. Only in the long run, over hundreds of hours of playing, can you count on winning.
The underlying principle behind card counting is that a deck rich in tens and aces is good for the player, a deck rich in small cards is good for the dealer. When the counter knows the odds are in his favor, he will bet more, and adjust his playing strategy to stand, double, and split in some plays where basic strategy says to stand. All the options the player has at his disposal favor the player even more when the deck is ten and ace rich. Here is a list and a brief reason why.
Standing: The player may stand on stiff totals of 12 to 16, and the dealer may not. In ten-rich shoes, hitting stiff hands becomes more dangerous, favoring the more conservative player strategy.
Insurance: On average, when the dealer has an ace up, the remaining cards in blackjack will be 30.87% tens (based on a six-deck game), making insurance a bad bet. However, if the probability gets above 33.33%, it becomes a good bet. Counters know when the remaining cards are ten-rich, and make powerful insurance bets at those times.
Doubling: Usually, when the player doubles he wants a ten. In ten-rich shoes, the player makes better double downs, getting closer to 21.
Blackjack: Both player and dealer will see more blackjacks, but the player gets paid 3 to 2, and the dealer does not.
Surrender: The alternative to surrendering is much worse in ten-rich shoes. If the alternative is hitting, the player is more likely to bust. If the player would otherwise stand, due to the high count, the dealer is still more likely to get a 10. While the counter will surrender more in high counts, the savings will be greater.
Splits: The player is usually splitting high cards and/or off of a weak dealer card. Either way, a ten-rich shoe helps the player get higher totals, and increases the probability of the dealer busting.
I'm working on an in-depth study of how these effects break down. The contribution to each factor depends on the rules, deck penetration, and bet spread. However, based on average conditions in a six-deck shoe, my initial results break down the benefits of counting as follows.
Easiest Card Counting Systems
Why Card Counting Works
| Player Option | Portion of Benefit |
|---|---|
| Stand | 40% |
| Insurance | 34% |
| Double | 9% |
| Blackjack | 7% |
| Surrender | 6% |
| Split | 4% |
The probability for insurance was taken from Don Schlesinger's 'Illustrious 18' list, as found in Blackjack Attack. The rest of the breakdown is mine.
To gauge the richness of the deck in good cards, the player will keep track of the cards the are already played. Strategies vary, but all assign a point value to each card. For example, the hi-lo count assigns a value of +1 to 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6, and -1 to tens and aces. Everything else is 0, or neutral. At the beginning of a deck or shoe, the count is 0. Then the counter constantly adds and subtracts from the count, according to the cards played. This running total is called the 'running count.' A positive count means that a disproportional number of small cards have already been played, which means that the deck is rich in large cards. To determine the 'true count,' divide the running count by the number of decks left to be played, or in some strategies, the number of half decks. This will tell you the relative richness of the deck in good cards.
The true count is used in two ways, to determine how much to bet and how to play your hand. Unless it is obvious, every situation has a line in which you should play one way if the count is above the line and another if below. For example, a 12 against a 6 may dictate that you stand if the true count is -1 or greater and hit if the true count is less than -1. The counter will also bet more when the true count is high, meaning the deck is rich in good cards.
A problem arises when it comes to treating aces. The player should bet more when the deck is rich in aces since they add to the probability of getting a blackjack. However, when it comes to playing your hand, the number of aces left is not nearly as important as the number of tens, so it is desirable, but not necessary, to distinguish between tens and aces. Some card counting strategies keep a side count of aces. In the Hi-Opt I and Revere Plus/Minus aces are counted separately and only considered when making the wager. This is a more accurate and powerful way to play than assigning a negative value to aces and not keeping a side count, as some strategies do. Yet, many people feel that for the beginner it is too confusing to keep two counts. A player is more likely to make mistakes keeping two counts and that costs money. The efficiency of a strategy that does not keep a side count of aces is only modestly less, but you likely will gain more from fewer mistakes made. Different experts fall in various places in the spectrum in terms of what to recommend for the beginner. The Zen Count takes the middle ground and gives aces a value of -1 and tens -2. Personally, I have tried both and would recommend against a count that requires a side count of aces to a person ready to take up card counting. The Uston Advanced Plus/Minus is a good strategy that does not involve an ace side count and can be found in the book Million Dollar Blackjack. How well you know a counting strategy is much more important than which strategy you know.
Legally speaking, the player may play blackjack any way he wants without cheating or using a computer, and the casinos may do anything from making conditions unfavorable to barring, in an effort to stop anyone who they deem has an advantage over the game. Much of the challenge of card counting is avoiding suspicion that you are anything but a normal non-counting player. The most obvious indication that somebody is counting is that they make a substantial increase in bet size after a lot of small cards leave the table. Although the greater the factor by which you can increase your bet the greater your odds of winning, more than doubling your last bet is a fast way to arouse 'heat'from the dealer and pit boss. Usually when casinos employees realize you are counting, they will either shuffle the cards whenever you increase your bet, essentially removing any advantage, or ask you to leave.
This is only scraping the surface of the subject of card counting. I suggest the following pages of mine.
Practice
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Internal Links
- Blackjack main page.
- Hi-Lo Count.
- The Ace-Five Count, possibly the easiest way to count cards.
- Book review section, for suggestions on good blackjack books.
External Resources
- Blackjackinfo - A complete course covering everything from basic strategy to card counting
- BJ21 - By Stanford Wong; A membership based community covering all aspects of card counting.