Low cards
+12 3 4 5 6
Seen, they raise the running count. Remaining, they help the dealer more than you.
What card counting is actually doing
A fresh shoe is balanced. As cards come out, that balance tilts. Remove a lot of 5s and 6s and the remaining cards are richer in tens and aces: more player blackjacks, more dealer busts on some stiffs, and insurance that is no longer a sucker bet. Remove a lot of tens and aces and the opposite is true.
Hi-Lo is a simple way to keep that tilt in your head. Every low card you see adds 1. Every high card subtracts 1. The running count is that sum since the shuffle. Because a +6 with four decks left is not the same as a +6 with one deck left, you convert to a true count: running count divided by decks remaining.
A high true count does not make the next hand a winner. It makes the remaining shoe a slightly better game than the 0.5% house edge of basic strategy. You still lose hands. You still need the chart. The edge only shows up if you bet more in the good shoes and less in the bad ones, over a large number of hands.
Hi-Lo values
This is the same tagging our counting trainer uses. Count every card you can see, including the dealer's upcard and the cards that bust. Face cards count as 10s: J, Q, and K are all -1.
Neutral
07 8 9
No change. Keep the count still and wait for the next card.
High cards
-110 J Q K A
Seen, they lower the running count. Remaining, they help you: more blackjacks, more dealer busts on some spots.
Running count and true count
The trainer asks for both after each hand. Running count is required. True count is optional in the drill, but it is the number you actually use.
- Running count
- Start at 0 after the shuffle. Add or subtract as each card appears. A shoe that has dumped low cards sits at a plus count. A shoe that has dumped tens and aces sits at a minus.
- Decks remaining
- True count is running count divided by decks still in the shoe. Two decks left and a running +8 is a true +4. Four decks left and the same +8 is a true +2. Our trainer shows decks left to one decimal.
- Rounding
- The trainer grades true count to the nearest half-deck: 1, 1.5, 2, and so on. If fewer than a quarter of a deck remains, it treats the running count as the true count rather than dividing by a tiny number.
What a high count actually changes
Most of the gain is in how much you bet, not in rewriting the chart. The play changes are a thin layer on top of basic strategy.
- Bet more at a plus true count
- The remaining shoe is better for you. That is the whole point. Betting the same unit at true +4 as at true -2 gives the extra advantage back. Betting systems that ignore the count are not this.
- Insurance
- For a basic-strategy player, insurance is a no. In Hi-Lo, it becomes the right bet around a true count of +3 on a multi-deck game: the remaining ten-density finally supports the 2 to 1 payout. Even money on your blackjack is the same side bet.
- A few chart cells
- Indexes flip a handful of close plays. Insurance at true +3 is first. Standing 16 versus 10 at 0 is next, and only if the table does not offer surrender. The deviations guide lists them against this chart. They are small next to betting with the count.
Where counting does not work
The math needs a shoe that is not reset after every hand, and rules that still pay 3 to 2.
- Continuous shuffle and most online tables
- If used cards go back in and get shuffled, the remaining composition never tilts. A random online shoe that reshuffles every hand is the same problem. Our trainer keeps a four-deck shoe in play so the count can move.
- 6 to 5 blackjack
- A worse payout can swallow the small edge counting is trying to find. Learn on a 3 to 2, stand-on-17 game, which is what we teach.
- Without basic strategy
- Play errors of a few percent dwarf a counting edge of a fraction of a percent. Count after the chart is boring, not instead of it.
How to count a round
Do this slowly at first. The counting trainer deals a hand, then asks you for the running count and, if you want the extra drill, the true count.
Start at zero after the shuffle
A new shoe is balanced. Our trainer reshuffles when about a quarter of the four-deck shoe is left, the same idea as a cut card.
Tag every card you can see
Your cards, the dealer upcard, hits, doubles, splits, and busts. Hole cards count once they are turned. J, Q, and K are all -1. Do not skip the card that busted you.
Keep a running total
Plus for 2 through 6, nothing for 7 through 9, minus for tens and aces. The number can go negative. That is information too: bet small.
Divide by decks remaining
Glance at the remaining shoe, estimate decks left, and divide. In the trainer the decks-left figure is shown; in a casino you estimate from the discard tray. That true count is what insurance and bet size use.
What counting is for
- Knowing when the remaining shoe is better or worse than average.
- Betting more at a high true count and less at a low one.
- Taking insurance when the remaining ten-density finally pays.
- Flipping a few close basic-strategy cells once the chart is automatic.
What counting is not
- A way to beat every session, or a prediction of the next card.
- A substitute for basic strategy. The chart is still the base play.
- A betting progression. Martingale ignores the remaining cards. Counting does not.
- Legal advice or a guarantee a casino will let you play. Using your brain is not a crime in most places; a casino can still ask you to leave.
Basic strategy versus counting
Counting sits on top of the same 3 to 2, stand-on-17 game. It does not rewrite the first four guides. It changes when you bet more, and a few close decisions.
House edge
Basic strategy onlyAbout 0.5% against you on our rules if you follow the chart.
With a Hi-Lo true countThe remaining shoe can be better or worse than that. A high true count can flip the edge; a low one makes it worse. You only keep the gain if you bet with it.
Insurance
Basic strategy onlyNever. The 2 to 1 payout is not enough.
With a Hi-Lo true countTake it around true +3 on a multi-deck game. That is the single most valuable play change.
Hard 16 vs 10
Basic strategy onlySurrender if allowed, otherwise hit.
With a Hi-Lo true countAt a true count of 0 or higher, standing is the usual Hi-Lo deviation when surrender is not available. The chart is still the default when the count is negative.
Bet size
Basic strategy onlyA unit you can stand to lose. The cards do not change it.
With a Hi-Lo true countSmaller at negative and near-zero true counts, larger at high plus counts. The count is the reason to vary the bet, not a losing streak.
Card counting FAQ
Is card counting illegal?
Using your memory at a table is not a crime in most U.S. jurisdictions. Casinos are private businesses and can ask you to stop playing. Devices and team methods are a different legal question. This page is about keeping Hi-Lo in your head.
Does counting work online?
Usually not, if the game shuffles after every hand or uses a continuous shuffle. The remaining composition never tilts. Our counting trainer keeps a four-deck shoe in play so you can practice the skill. Live-dealer shoes with a cut card are the environment the math is built for.
Do I need to count every card perfectly?
Small errors add up, but the first skill is a reliable running count. The trainer grades the running count after each hand and lets you add true count when you are ready. Get running count boring before you worry about indexes.
What is the difference between running count and true count?
Running count is the raw Hi-Lo sum since the shuffle. True count divides that by decks remaining so a +6 in a full shoe is not treated like a +6 with one deck left. Bet size and insurance use the true count. The trainer rounds it to the nearest half.
Will counting make me a winning player?
It can produce a small long-run edge on a 3 to 2 shoe game if your basic strategy is clean and you bet more at high true counts. Variance is still large. A weekend of plus counts does not prove anything. A 6 to 5 table or a continuous shuffle can erase the project.
Should I learn a fancier count than Hi-Lo?
Not first. Hi-Lo is what casinos, books, and our trainer use because it is accurate enough and simple enough to keep in play. Other systems add extra tags. They do not help until this one is automatic.
How does the counting trainer grade me?
It deals a hand on the same four-deck, stand-on-17, 3 to 2 rules as the rest of the site, then asks for the running count of every card seen so far. True count is optional. It reshuffles when about a quarter of the shoe remains.
Count by playing hands, not by staring at values
The tags take a minute to learn. Keeping them through a round takes practice. The counting trainer deals the same 3 to 2, stand-on-17, four-deck game, then asks for your running count and true count.