Blackjack Hi-Lo Card Counting System

The card-counting system that is called the Blackjack Hi-Lo Count (High/Low, Plus/Minus) is considered to be a single-level or a level-one count (because the count increments or decrements by one only). The system of Blackjack Hi-Lo Count was created by Harvey Dubner, who simplified the Ten-count system invented by Edward Throp.

The Blackjack Hi-Lo Count is created specially for beginners and not full-time players and can be used in Blackjack teams due to its ease of use and ability to comply with the standards of the multilevel game.

Strategy of the Blackjack Hi-Lo Count

The strategy of the Blackjack Hi-Lo Count is easy to any person who knows the basis of arithmetics.

To master the Blackjack Hi-Lo Count you should learn the numbers, that correspond to each card dealt during the game.

All the small cards (2, 3, 4, 5 and 6) count as +1
7, 8 and 9 count as 0.
All the tens (10, Jack, Queen, King) and an Ace count as -1.

This very system is considered as a balanced card-counting system because if all the cards of a 52-card deck are counted, the result is 0. When the game starts, the initial count is 0, after that you add or subtract 1 or add 0. The point is knowing the percentage of high cards in the deck. The more high cards- the more chances you have of receiving a Blackjack, high starting hand or dealer busting.

The more small cards there are in the deck, the better it is for the dealer because his chances of busting decrease.

In case you accidently lose the count you can continue the game without it, by relying on your knowledge of the Basic Blackjack strategy and common sense.