How to Count Cards in 21
opposed to six or eight deck games. In single and double deck games I like to count aces out separately,
which gives me an advantage. In this situation I will count 3, 4, 5 and 6 as +1 and 10, Jack, Queen and
King as -1. I just keep my left hand underneath the table and count the number of aces that come out on
my fingers. If a low number of aces have come out than I will know that the situation is more favorable.
The running total of all of the cards is called the “running count.” However, a running count of
+10 with four decks remaining is a much different situation than a running count of +10 with one deck
remaining. Why? Because the concentration of high value cards is much higher with a plus 10 when
there’s only one deck left as opposed to four. Therefore, we need to figure out a way to account for this.
The way that we do this is by utilizing what is called a “true count.” To find the true count all you have to
do is divide the running count by the number of decks remaining. So if the running count is +12 and there
are three decks remaining than the true count is +4 (12/3 = 4). I am telling you the math involved in learning how to count cards is a piece of cake.
