Card Counting in Multiple Blackjack Decks
It's been said that card counting is an outdated Blackjack strategy. Not only do most casinos avail of several decks, but online the hands are almost always shuffled every time, rendering the technique useless. But the fact is that card counting is still possible with several decks in play.
Of course it should be emphasized that whenever possible, you should go for a single deck Blackjack game. It can be difficult to find one, but you should exert some effort to look for it. Only when it is unavailable should you opt to play in multiple deck games.
That being said, the Blackjack strategy for card counting with multiple decks is a little different from the usual approach. Because most casinos utilize six decks, that is the example that will be given here. Due to the large number of cards in play, the focus will be on the tens. It is possible to assign values to the rest of the deck but that will only lead to confusion, especially for new players.
Based on the odds, playing Blackjack against four players will likely mean four tens will be dealt or come into play. If that is the case, the count would be zero. If only three are used, it would be +1. This is indicative that the other card will be in the next hand.
The reverse is true; if more than four cards are in a round, you assign a negative number (i.e., if five tens appear, the value would be -1, because there would be less tens in the succeeding hand). Using this Blackjack strategy it becomes easy for a player to know how many of these valuable cards are still there.
When using this Blackjack card counting strategy for multiple decks, you need to keep an eye on the total count and the running count to avoid confusion. Check on the discarded decks. Assume that half of the six decks have been used, and your card count is a positive six, you should divide that value by the number of decks remaining. In this case the result would be 2, telling you that there are 18 tens left.
All of this may sound confusing at first, and for a newbie it can be. The success of the technique, as with all Blackjack strategies, rests in how often you practice. Get yourself six decks of cards, and try card counting. You might make some mistakes at first, but with constant practice you'll be able to get the hang of it.
Blackjack card counting, let alone in multiple decks, is no easy task, but the profits can be substantial. If you are serious about upgrading your game and improving your skills, learning this strategy is essential.
