Counting Cards - The trick behind Twenty One

Yes, the movie portrays people who count cards as super geniuses, but believe it or not, you don’t need to be one to count cards. Here is an easy explanation as to how to legally cheat at blackjack.

Do not try this in casinos. Modern technology makes it impossible to count cards without being spotted.

The trick doesn’t include memorizing individual cards; instead you remember a total for the whole time you play.

Unlike the movie 21, you can still loose by counting cards, but the method is based on probability and which cards are going to come next. Therefore the chances of loosing are greatly increased when you count.

To make the trick less obvious, and thus easier to get away with (in the past) you need one person to stay at a table and count the cards. They have to count for the WHOLE pack to find out if it’s in the dealers favor or if it’s in the players favor.

We are going to look at:
     - Counting
           How to
           Converting the count
           When to bet big
     - Team play
           Spotters
           Big betters
           Signaling

Counting
Counting the cards is quite easy, the cards 2-6 are given a value of +1, the cards 7-9 are ignored and the cards 10 through ace are given a value of -1. This is the Hi-Lo system, a simple system used in 21. There are more complex systems to use, but this still works well.

2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Jack Queen King Ace
+1 +1 +1 +1 +1 0 0 0 -1 -1 -1 -1 -1

So, you count the cards totals, i.e. if there are three 3s and four 10s, the total is _-1.
You need to be able to go through a whole deck of cards and keep the count in less than 30 seconds.

Converting the count
You just learnt how to keep the running count, now you need to convert that into the true count. You do this by dividing the running count by the number of remaining decks that are in the shoe (the place where the cards are kept). So, if the shoe has 6 decks, you divide the running score by five.

When to bet bigger
So, the deck is in your favour when the count is big. E.g. if the count is +15, it means 15 low cards have just come out and there is a very high chance the next card will be valued at 10.

Teams
Teams work better than individuals, they look less obvious. 21 was based on the true story of a Blackjack team who travelled the world winning big money.
A team needs two essential groups of people, spotters and the guys who bet big.

Spotters
The original team eventually had around twenty spotters whose jobs are to sit at a table and find out its count. If it is high, they signal to the big betters to bet at that table. The spotters never bet high and always bet minimum to not look suspicious.

Big betters
These guys hang around and wait for the signals from the spotters, then go to that table and bet. However, the spotter has to tell the big better the count at that point, so they use code words (the cards which Ben has to learn in 21 were their code words) to tell them without alerting the dealer. Once the Better knows it, he keeps the count on his own and plays until the table looses its high number and becomes a negative count.

Signaling
As a team, you have to signal between each other without being found out. To make it harder, you can’t be seen working together, or they know something is up.
In 21, they came up with all the signs. As a spotter you need to tell the big better when to come to a table, when to leave a table (if the count goes down) or when to get out quick.

The count also has to be given to the big better, so they use keywords to exchange the count.

Thank you very much for your attention and I hope you can now watch the film 21 and understand what they are really up to. The true story of the MIT team is very interesting and I first heard of them when they visited Macau and were paid millions to leave. Remember, don’t try this as modern technology makes it almost impossible and you will probably be backroomed (when the take you into a back room and “talk” to you, then ask you to leave).

By: sgeour
Published: 05/30/08

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2 Posted Comments:

Oh!

@ 5:58 am 08/24/08 by Ed

Wow, i watched this movie and didnt realise it was actually true. I'm glad you opened my eyes its an interesting article.

Reply to this Comment

Oh!

@ 5:58 am 08/24/08 by Ed

Wow, i watched this movie and didnt realise it was actually true. I'm glad you opened my eyes its an interesting article.

Reply to this Comment

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