Recently a new method of determining the probability of a higher than normal percentage of high cards being dealt is being promoted by writers of blackjack books.

This method of counting is based on the assumption that cards tend to "cluster" in certain parts of a multiple deck shoe, and that standard methods of shuffling the cards at the conclusion of a shoe can be "tracked" by the player so that he can determine which portions of the next shoe will be rich in player-friendly cards. This counting method consists of the following steps:

1. Begin observing the flow of cards at the start of a new shoe, while mentally dividing the shoe into sections equal to one deck.

2. Count the number of aces and ten-point cards that are dealt from each section of the shoe, with the objective being to ascertain if any portion of the shoe is rich in high cards.

3. Rate each section as being rich or poor, and note how cards are Placed in the discard box.

4. At the conclusion of the shoe (assuming that at least 75 percent of the shoe was dealt), watch how the dealer shuffles the new shoe. Keep track of where the clusters of high cards are located, and where they win surface in the dealing of the next shoe.

5. Based on your observations, increase your wager when you reach those sections of the shoe that are rich in high point cards; decrease your wager when the deck is rich in "stiff" cards.

Extract from The Ultimate Blackjack Book by Walter Thomason
Buy it here

More Blackjack News and Information