Here are the card assignments for Hi Opt II:
A = 0
2, 3 = 1
4, 5 = 2
6, 7 = 1
8, 9 = 0
10, J, Q, K = -2
Note:
The total of all the cards is 0. This means the total for any size shoe is also 0.
You can ignore A, 8, and 9.
When more small cards have gone by than 10-value cards (leaving a “10-rich” shoe), the count is positive and in the player’s favor. When the count is negative, the cards remaining in the shoe favor the dealer.
Please get out a deck of cards. Shuffle them thoroughly. Starting at zero, apply the assignments and turn the first ten cards over one by one as slowly as you need to keep perfect track of the count. What is your count?
My first 10 cards are: A, 8, 7, 5, 3, K, 4, Q, K, K .
What is my count?
It’s -2.
The deck is currently in the favor of the dealer. So your next wager should be whatever your minimum is, say, $5.
On the next hand, the following cards are played: 4, 4, 9, 8, A, J, A, K, 5, 7.
The count is now +1. Still, bet the minimum. Next hand: 5, 6, 6, 9, Q, 4, 3, 5, 7, 6, .
The count is now +10. There are lot of 10-value cards in the unused portion of the deck. You have a greater than 50/50 chance of winning the next hand. You want to take advantage of that by betting more. How about $50? It’s 10 times your minimum bet- riskier- but you’re doing the right thing. In the long run, it will benefit you greatly to bet more when the odds are in your favor.
Here’s what usually happens. You play 500 hands. You win 242 and lose 258. But suppose you bet an average of $10 on the losers and $29 on the winners. You lost $2580. You won $7018 for a net over the 500 hands of up $4,438.
Now it’s time to practice. Do so until you can flip over all 52 cards, keeping track of the count without making a mistake in less that 50 seconds. When you can do this, flip them over 2 or 3 cards at a time. When you can do that, get someone to toss them onto a table in 1s, 2s or 3s while you count. Then play a game of blackjack and track the count. You will be SHOCKED at how fast the dealer deals when you get into a real casino; at first, anyway. You will get used to it eventually.