Card counting drills you can try almost anywhere

While the basic blackjack strategy card is easy to find. Memorizing it could take you some time. What’s more, the savviest blackjack players would tell you that basic blackjack strategy alone is not enough to turn pro. Indeed, the hi-low count strategy is also essential to learn. But it’s not easy to keep a running count unless you practice a lot and practice some more. As you know, practice makes perfect, and it also applies to card counting. So, in the below paragraphs, you’ll find some easy card counting exercises. This way, you can work on your memory in the hope of one day becoming a profitable blackjack player if that’s your goal.

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Microgaming Quickfire Blackjack - Card counting

Card counting through a deck of cards

While a fairly basic exercise, counting through a deck of cards could help you get used to the cards’ value, and as your memory improves, you can speed up the paste at which you reveal cards. Holding the running count is vital for becoming a profitable blackjack player. It should come second nature to know that 2 to 6 cards mean +1. 7 and 9 value cards equal 0. And 10 value face cards and aces means deducting 1 to the running count. As you practice this exercise, your goal should be to count through a deck under 25 seconds. And, of course, be accurate too.

You can increase the complexity of this exercise by…

As your skill improves, you can also increase the number of decks you’ll count through. Alternatively, you could also take a few cards out of the deck. Then, practice holding the running count. Once all the cards are on the table. Well, you could try guessing the value of the 1 or 2 cards you’ve previously discarded. When you get this right, you’re ready for the next drill.

Simulate a live game before card countimg

Ok, so you can hold the running count of a deck when revealing only 1 card at the time. Well done, now it’s time to step it up. As you may know, heads-up blackjack games are not that common unless you play Evolution’s Infinite blackjack, which is only available in online casinos.
So, if your goal is to become profitable, you’ll want to play more than 1 variation of blackjack. Hence, the importance of practicing holding the count as multiple cards hit the table. Naturally, you can deal yourself some cards.

What you want to achieve with this drill before moving onto the next one

To put it simply, your goal is to cancel hands with 0 value automatically. It would be best if you also looked to improve the speed you added 2 negative hands and 2 positive hands. After each round, recalculate the running count by revisiting the card 1 by 1.

You can also ask a friend to deal 3+ hands for this exercise. This way, you’ll get more familiar with holding the count of up to 7 hands + dealer. At the end of this exercise, you should be able to keep the count accurately of around 100 hands per hour. After that, you could use blackjack practice software that’ll not only keep the count for you but quiz you in the end. And will deal cards faster than any other friend would. Yet, blackjack practice programs cost money. So, think about using the free technique mentioned above first.

Card counting – Step out of your comfort zone

Keeping the running count and the true count in the comfort of your home is far easier than in a real casino. So before you visit a land-based venue, why not load up a live blackjack game in an online casino. Then practice holding the count as a professional dealer, and real money players make their move. Online blackjack games will always be faster than offline ones, especially those with no side bets. So they are a vital part of becoming a profitable blackjack player because you can watch the action unfold without putting money on the table.

And when you’re ready, you can deposit and even, in some cases, take advantage of a casino bonus to give you more chances at building a bankroll. So there you have it, our top tips to become profitable playing blackjack online and offline.

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Sonya Blackjack