The best way to count cards imo.

[Thunder]

I'm going to have to disagree now with all the people who have said counting cards 1 by 1 is an acceptable method. Yeah it might work but to really be a good card counter I think one has to train his or herself to be able to get the count by scanning the table with one glance when all the cards are out.

If you can do this, it will help your game in the long run because you will be able to get your drink from the waitress, talk with the pitboss and other players and appear totally at ease instead of giving off the classic cc signal where they catch you moving your eyes or head as you count. In addition, no dealer will be too fast for you. Finally, I think it will allow you to do more advanced moves that will boost your EV. Granted this is quite hard, but it's really worth training yourself to do imo.

 

[kewljason]

I'm going to have to disagree now with all the people who have said counting cards 1 by 1 is an acceptable method. Yeah it might work but to really be a good card counter I think one has to train his or herself to be able to get the count by scanning the table with one glance when all the cards are out.

If you can do this, it will help your game in the long run because you will be able to get your drink from the waitress, talk with the pitboss and other players and appear totally at ease instead of giving off the classic cc signal where they catch you moving your eyes or head as you count. In addition, no dealer will be too fast for you. Finally, I think it will allow you to do more advanced moves that will boost your EV. Granted this is quite hard, but it's really worth training yourself to do imo.

I am going to disagree with you. mainly just to be disagreeable. :laugh:
Seriously, I am only partly disagreeing with you. I do believe scanning the table is the best method. It's quick. You don't have to turn your head as each card is dealt and you have the extra benefit of being able to walk by a table, glance and pick up the count for possible wong in, as well as keep track of a secondary nearby table for possible quick exit from your table/entrance to that potentially more beneficial game.

The part I am going to disagree with is the training. I trained myself to count using what you describe as the 1 x 1 approach. I never trained canceling out several cards, nor scanning a table. Somewhere along the line, as you progress, your brain just shift into that automatically.

 

[Dyepaintball12]

Does anyone on here think 1x1 is the best method? I thought the common belief (and what I do also) is to wait for the cards to be dealt so pairs cancel out.

 

[aslan]

Does anyone on here think 1x1 is the best method? I thought the common belief (and what I do also) is to wait for the cards to be dealt so pairs cancel out.

I count in pairs (during the second go around) looking all the while for ways to shortcut with cancels. There are almost always two smalls cards in a hand to cancel two high cards in another hand. And mostly you find zero value hands, that is, a large card and a small card. And yes, you get so much into it that you can sometimes "see" the count with a sweeping glance. I have been talking with the pit boss while glancing down for the quick count. No one would guess you just counted the entire table in a glance after the deal.

 

[zengrifter]

Granted this is quite hard, but it's really worth training yourself to do imo.

Its not hard. Its easy like speed reading. It just takes special practice. zg

 

[darco77]

I trained myself to count using what you describe as the 1 x 1 approach. I never trained canceling out several cards, nor scanning a table. Somewhere along the line, as you progress, your brain just shift into that automatically.

Same here. I trained in the same manner that kewljason describes above, and the whole scanning thing came natural over time. My gravitation toward pitch games has forced me to react very quickly, especially on a dealer natural with ten up.

So to address the initial subject, the "best way" to count might only apply to the initial learning process. Work in the field will make/break the player.

 

[HockeXpert]

I'm going to have to disagree now with all the people who have said counting cards 1 by 1 is an acceptable method. Yeah it might work but to really be a good card counter I think one has to train his or herself to be able to get the count by scanning the table with one glance when all the cards are out.

Very much agreed that 1x1 counting is for beginners and impractical for pitch games especially using a higher level count. Anyone betting black+ staring at the table is asking for an invitation to leave.

 

[Midwestern]

as a newbie, ive found that training most effective counting 1 at a time.
at the tables, canceling seems to work the best.

 

[Eye of the Tiger]

Scanning the table and canceling works best for me. One quick scan can do the trick for me.

 

[Smoke8]

Scanning the table and canceling works best for me. One quick scan can do the trick for me.

I learned with the 1 X 1 method and striving to count a single deck down in 20 seconds with no errors. Then I turned 2 cards at a time, then 3 card sets. I finally started practicing while watching TV, with 2 and sometimes 3 cards left out of the deck and guessing what value cards had been left out once I counted the deck down. I eventually moved to 2 Decks. Now, while setting at my favorite store I wait until the dealer begins the second round and quickly scan the table while talking to other players and the dealer. I think the brain just gets used to your developed habit or routine and it becomes second nature.

 

[yesiamred]

Its not hard. Its easy like speed reading. It just takes special practice. zg

To me this is the easiest part...remembering tons and tons of index numbers and converting to true count takes alot more practice, oh, and then add in double counting along with side count of aces...that is why I love my beer! lol

 

[blackjack avenger]

Lead Ups

"lead ups" a learning term where one builds skills toward a final task. The skills can be very different then the final task, gymnastics is a good example or children learning to count on their fingers.

counting lead ups?:
count down 1 deck single card, 30 sec. with no errors, perhaps 10 times?
count down 1 deck two card combos 15 to 20 sec. with no errors, perhaps 10 times?
count down 1 deck three card combos 10 to 20 sec. with no errors, perhaps 10 times?
Lay cards on a table in simulated play and scan table in 1 to 3 sec. with no errors perhaps 10 times?

speciality drills:
repeat all the above with +20 and -20 at the beginning of the deck
Do all above while holding a conversation

Finally simulated play with a friend dealing or you dealing yourself.

Now ask yourself would someone doing all the above be better prepared then someone who counts by single or two cards and then enters a casino?

Which would potentially be scanning a table sooner? The one who practices it or the one who waits for it to happen?

Practice makes perfect?
Nothing beats experience?

The best way to count in a casino?
Probably scan when approaching a table with cards out and the dealer paying out wins.
& if the hands are being played 2 and 3 card combos as the dealer plays each hand out.

 

[Meistro]

It's best just to play one hand one on one vs the dealer and there both methods are practically the same.

 

[shadroch]

Over time, its become so automatic that I actually had to think about how I do it.

 

[FLASH1296]

I line up behind Thunder on this issue.

When I am practicing just to warm-up and keep sharp, I randomly grab from 2 to 5 cards at a time.

The "scanning" method is simple with any Level One count but harder for Level 2 or 3.

As I play I mostly scan, but it is largely dependent on the dealer's speed and how many betting spots are covered, and on my level of fatigue.

 

[BOND]

Good Point

Thunder raises a good point that is overlooked in most blackjack books: the mechanics of counting.

Scanning is by far the best method, especially when one is simultaneously backcounting 2 tables at the same time.

 

[Harry1941]

I like counting one card at a time and playing alone with the dealer. I use the chips to count. White chips = +1, red chips = -1

Harry

 

[tribute]

Over time, its become so automatic that I actually had to think about how I do it.

That's a lot of time at the tables!

 

[FLASH1296]

Harry1941,

If you think that the pit fails to find it laughable that you use your chips to count cards you are sadly mistaken.

Almost as transparent is advertising (via your screen name) what may be your birth year as 1941 .

 

[kewljason]

Harry1941,


Almost as transparent is advertising (via your screen name) what may be your birth year as 1941 .

Well why not? his complete birth date is in his profile. :laugh: