Card Counting – 21 the Movie

The movie 21 told the story of the MIT card counting team. 21 followed a new recruit to the MIT blackjack team who studied at MIT during the week, and gambled in the Las Vegas casinos on weekends. The movie showed how the students learned the Hi Lo Card Counting system to win. Were you inspired by the movie to learn card counting? Would you like to know how to counts cards?

The real MIT team and the actors in 21 used the Hi Lo Card Counting system. All card counting systems rely on statistics to provide a player with the advantage over the house. When there is a greater chance of getting high card from the shoe, the player gains the advantage. The casino must hit below 17 and has a greater of going bust if there is a high percentage of ten cards in the shoe. Card counting seeks to capitalize on this fact by keep a simple history of the cards played. If you know the cards played, you know what cards have not been played, and the percentage of high cards in the shoe.

When a card counter realizes the odds are in his favor, he increases his wager. The idea is to bet more when you have the edge and over time beat the casino with the statistical advantage. When the odds are not in his favor, a card counter wagers the table minimum and continues to count.

The history of the game is tracked by keeping the running count. You begin a running count at zero when the cards are shuffled and placed into the shoe. For each card played, you add a corresponding point value to the running count. For the Hi Lo Card Counting system, the point values ​​are below.

card face value of 2 through 6 = -1 point
card face value of 7 through 9 = 0 points
card face value ten through king, and the ace cards = +1 point.

By memorizing this simple point system and keeping the running count as you play, you will know there are more high cards left in the shoe when you have a positive number running count. You have a greater chance of drawing a ten card the higher the running count goes.

With the Hi Lo Card Counting system used in 21, you must convert the running count to a true count. You calculate the true count by dividing the running count by the number of decks left in the shoe. The true count is what you use determine when you adjust your wager. How do you determine how many decks are in the shoe? You estimate the number of decks in the discard pile and subtract that number from the number of decks in play.

Your wager depends on the true count. At zero or below you bet the table minimum. At a true count of plus one, you may wager twice the table minimum. At a true count of plus two, you may wager 4 times the minimum. At plus three you may wager five or ten times the minimum. But, casinos spot card counters by watching when they raise their bets. The casino pit boss will count a game as a suspected card counter plays. If the pit boss sees the player changing bets with the count, the casino will assume you are a counter.

This is the reason the Card Counting MIT students played in teams. In a team, one member sits a table and counts, wagering only the minimum. When the count goes positive, a signal is given to the big money player who then comes to gamble at that same table. The big money player only makes large bets, and is only playing when the count is positive. The casinos found it difficult to identify any members of the teams as counters since they didn't alter their wagers.

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Source by Daniel K. Smith