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Lesson 4.3 Extra bets and myths
Card counting and online games: what you can actually control
After this lesson you can say in one sentence what card counting is and why it does nothing in an online game that reshuffles every hand. You can also name the two things you do control: the table rules you pick and the strategy chart you follow.
What card counting is
Card counting means keeping track of which cards have already been dealt from the shoe – the box the cards are dealt from. The goal is to know if the cards left are mostly high or mostly low.
It only matters when many hands are dealt from the same shoe before a shuffle. The row below shows cards that were already dealt.
In a game with no reshuffle after each hand, these cards are gone. The next hand comes from a shoe with fewer high cards.
- Many hands from one shoe: earlier cards change what is left.
- Shuffle after every hand: earlier cards change nothing.
This academy does not teach counting. You can read more on the card counting page.
Why it does nothing in a software game
Much online blackjack is dealt by software. Most of these digital games put all cards back and shuffle again after every hand.
- The hand ends.
- All cards go back into the decks.
- The next hand is dealt from full, freshly shuffled decks.
In a game that reshuffles every hand, the cards you saw in the last hand are back in the decks. Your 16 against a dealer 10 is the same hand every time, with the same best move.
On a software table that reshuffles every round, do not change your bet or your play because of earlier hands. Every hand starts from full decks.
Lever one: the table rules
You choose the table. Its rules change the house edge – the share of each bet the house keeps on average.
| Table rules | House edge with basic strategy |
|---|---|
| 6 decks, dealer hits soft 17, blackjack pays 3:2 | 0.62% |
| Same, but dealer stands on soft 17 | 0.40% |
| Standard rules plus late surrender | 0.53% |
| Standard rules, but blackjack pays 6:5 | 1.98% |
The picture shows what a 10 bet pays for a blackjack at each ratio. Read the rules line before you play – see 6:5 blackjack and soft 17.
Lever two: the chart
The second thing you control is how you play each hand.
Basic strategy – the chart of best moves – brings the house edge down to the numbers in the table above. It does not remove the house edge.
| 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | A |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| S | S | S | S | S | H | H | H | H | H |
Hard 16: stand against 2–6, hit against 7–A.
| 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | A |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | P | P | P | P | P | P | P | P | P |
A pair of 8s: split against 2–A.
Practice these rows with the trainer below, or open the full strategy chart.
Pick a 3:2 table first, then follow the chart on every hand. Those two steps are the whole job.
Practise: 25 hands
Only hands from this lesson. Your first answer counts.
The lesson on one card
- Card counting tracks dealt cards to know if the shoe has more high or low cards left.
- Most digital online games put all cards back and reshuffle after every hand.
- In those games, earlier hands tell you nothing about the next hand.
- Lever one: pick a table that pays 3:2, ideally with dealer standing on soft 17.
- Lever two: follow the basic strategy chart on every hand.
- Basic strategy lowers the house edge; it does not remove it.
Check yourself
1. What is card counting?
Keeping track of dealt cards to know if the cards left are mostly high or low
Right. Correct. Counting follows which cards have left the shoe before the next shuffle.
Adding up your own hand total before you decide to hit
Not quite. Every player adds up their hand. Card counting is about the cards already dealt in earlier hands.
Raising your bet after every losing hand
Not quite. That is a betting system, not card counting. Betting systems do not change the house edge.
2. Why does card counting do nothing in most software blackjack games?
Most software games reshuffle all cards after every hand
Right. Correct. In those games each hand is dealt from full decks, so earlier cards change nothing.
Online games use only one deck
Not quite. The number of decks is not the reason. The reshuffle after every hand is what makes counting useless.
The dealer never shows an up card online
Not quite. The dealer shows an up card online too. The problem for counting is the shuffle after each hand.
3. You play a software table that reshuffles every hand. You hold hard 16 against a dealer 10, and the last hand used many low cards. What do you do?
Hit, as the chart says for hard 16 against 7–A
Right. Correct. The decks were reshuffled, so the last hand does not matter. The chart says hit hard 16 against a 10.
Stand, because more high cards are left
Not quite. After the reshuffle, all cards are back in the decks. No extra high cards are left.
Double your bet, because the deck is now rich in tens
Not quite. This table reshuffles every hand, so the deck is never rich in tens. The chart move for hard 16 against a 10 is hit.