Dear Mark: What is the easiest card-counting system there is for blackjack? Daniel P.

Card counting, Daniel, is not restricted to any one method. There are plenty of systems available, but there is a tradeoff between ease of use and theoretical power. The more complex the system, the harder it is to use. The central idea is simply that a deck rich in high cards favors the player and a deck rich in low cards favors the dealer. Therefore, the goal of any worthwhile counting system is to track the changing imbalance of big to little cards in the diminishing deck. When that ratio favors the counting player, he or she bets more money; when it favors the dealer, the counter bets less.

The crudest and probably easiest form of card counting is eyeballing the game, that is, when you see a lot of big cards played you decrease your bet, with small cards you increase it. It is still a form of counting in the eyes of some in casino management that just recently got Yours Truly backed off a game.

The next simplest would probably be the ace/five count; it requires that you count only the aces and fives, and it’s preferably used on a multiple-deck game. You increase your bets from one to three units when there are more aces than fives still in the deck. It doesn’t give you the biggest edge, only around a half of one percent, but supplementing it with perfect basic strategy, you’re at least playing in the black against the house.

One of the easier and more popular card counting systems for the game of blackjack is a one level count, a.k.a. the Hi-Lo system. The Hi-Lo system consists of assigning a point value of +1, 0, or –1 to every card dealt. Cards numbered 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 get +1; 7, 8, 9 cards are counted as 0; and Aces and 10-point cards are assigned a value of -1. You keep a running total and vary your bets, from one hand to the next, guided by the constantly updated imbalance figure, which predicts whether the next hand will favor you or favor the dealer.

Any bookstore would carry books on the subject of card counting, but your best bet is to check at the Gamblers Book Shop (gamblersbooks.com or 800-522-1777). The Gamblers Book Shop probably has every book written and software program created on the subject, meritoriously described in their FREE catalog.

Final recommendation: Even with a theoretical advantage varying from 0.5% to1.5%, you shouldn’t quit your day job!

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