Blackjack Card Counting

KO Card Counting Strategy Explained

The KO card counting system, aka the Knock-Out card count, is a system in which, once you have counted down an entire deck of cards, you will NOT end up with a count of 0.

The KO technique, adds one extra card to the Hi-Lo count, the 7, has a +1 value.  By using this system you will end up with a count of positive 4 if you counted down a full deck of cards, because there are 4 sevens within every deck. The imbalance of this card counting system is created to deliberately avoid the need to make true count conversions. The following chart shows each cards value, in the KO count:

It is considered too mentally taxing for the majority of blackjack players to constantly be converting back and fourth between the actual count and running count. The KO card counting system was designed to make card counting slightly easier on the player.

 

Hi-Lo Card Counting Strategy Explained

The Hi-Lo card counting technique is simple to learn. Any player, who can add 1 and 2 together, is worthy of mastering the Hi-Lo counting system. Firstly, you'll need to learn the respective value for each card in a deck which is stated below;

As you can see, there are separate groups of card values. The 20 small cards (2-6) are counted as plus 1 as they are played. The 12 middle cards (7-9) are considered neutral cards and do not change the count as they are played. The 20 big cards (10-Ace) are counted as minus 1 as they are played. This system is considered to be balanced because, if you counted down every single card in a 52 card deck, you would end up with a count of 0.

The Hi-Lo card counting system is similar to a game of tug-of-war, where each different card is changing the count one way or the other. It's an ongoing battle between the high cards and the low cards to control the card count. Essentially the smaller the cards played, the higher your odds of winning are. So when smaller cards are in the deck, you have better chances of being dealt a blackjack, the dealer busting, or getting strong starting hands.

When you first start using an online blackjack table, its played using a new full shoe of cards, the count at the table starts at 0. From the initial 0 count, you will be adding 1, subtracting 1, or adding 0, for every single card that is dealt. If you accidentally miss cards that are dealt and your count gets off, you can shift your odds of winning without your knowledge.

 

Hi-Opt I Card Counting Strategy Explained

The Hi-Opt I count isn't overly complicated but it does take more focus when playing online. This system is also based on adding and subtracting the number 1, so only simple mathematics is used. To use this card counting system you'll again need to learn the respective value for each card in a deck. Make sure you review this chart several times to avoid confusing the values with those of other counting systems as they are quite similar and players can get confused when actually putting the technique into practice.

If you look above you can see, there are separate groups of card values. All 2's in the deck carry a value of 0 in this system and don't change the count once they are played. The 16 other small cards (3-6) are counted as plus 1 when played. The 12 middle valued cards (7-9) are considered neutral cards and do not change the count when they are played. The 16 big cards (10-King), excluding Aces, are counted as minus 1 as once they have been played.

There are separate rule variations for tracking Aces in the Hi-Opt I counting system. The system doesn't keep track of Aces in the card count however there are still changes in comparison to the basic strategy that need to be made depending on how many aces have been played. Many players use external things such as chips, fingers, or feet, to keep track of how many aces have been played, so it’s up to you which method you decide you feel most relaxed using.

 

Hi-Opt II Card Counting Strategy Explained

The Hi-Opt II count is a more complicated technique of card counting and takes an extreme amount of concentration when playing at an online blackjack table. This system is based on counting, but incorporates more than just the values of 0 or 1. With Hi-Opt II, certain cards have a value of 2. If you are easily distracted whilst playing online blackjack, it would be in your best interest not to even attempt to use this system.

The most complicated element of the Hi-Opt II system is that the cards have a larger range of values which in turn make it a lot more difficult to keep track of each card value and harder to keep an accurate count during an actual blackjack game. The only way to master this strategy is to memorize this chart inside and out to avoid confusing the values with those of other counting systems – which is a common mistake.

As you can see, there are separate groups of card values. All 2's, 3's, 6's, and 7s are in the deck and carry a value of +1 when they are played. All 4's and 5's in the deck carry a value of +2 when they are played and all 8's and 9's carry a neutral value of 0. All of the 16 higher cards, with the exception of the Aces, carry a value of -2.

The Hi-Opt II system shows that Aces have a neutral 0 count, but this isn't entirely true. Aces aren't actually counted in your count but there are several variations and changes to your basic strategy you'll need to make, depending on how many aces have been dealt. Instead of keeping track of aces in the card count, it is advised as before that you use external things such as chips, fingers, or feet, to track aces, so whichever of those suits you I would use.

The Hi-Opt II card counting technique is considered to be a balanced card counting system because if you count through an entire deck of 52 playing cards, you should end up with a count of 0, otherwise something has gone wrong somewhere down the line in which case you should go back and read through the strategy again and perfect your strategy.