The Hi-Opt 1 Tables for Card Counting

Commit these to memory.

You now know how to tract the RUNNING COUNT (count 3, 4, 5, and 6-value cards as 1 and 10, J, Q, and K cards (all 10-value) as -1) and calculate the TRUE COUNT (by dividing the RUNNING COUNT by the number of decks remaining in the shoe).

Here are the Hi-Opt 1 Tables for 4 decks you must commit to memory. It looks impossible at first and I won’t kid around with you- it is a huge task- but you can do it.

[When I memorized the 10s-non-10s Thorpe system which was 10x as hard as this, it took me three weeks. When we switched to Hi-Opt 1, I had it down in 2 days. I made flash cards for every entry in the tables and went over them constantly until I no longer made mistakes. I suggest you do the same].

Here are the Tables (Note: Modifications for 2, 6 or 8 decks are minimal so you don’t need to worry about memorizing different tables depending on the number of decks):

First, “Should I surrender?”

You can declare “surrender” and get half your wager back.

You have to decide if you want to surrender after your first two cards vs the dealer’s up card. Casinos rarely offer surrender, but if you find one that does, play at that table. It is a tremendous boon to your take.

If Surrender is allowed, take advantage of it. Don’t forget!

“Early surrender” means you can get half of your wager back before the dealer checks her hole card to see if she has a “blackjack” or 21. By the way never buy “insurance” unless you know the remaining cards are more than half-composed of 10s (because insurance pays 2-to-1.

Another “by the way”… Never sit at a table where blackjack pays 6 to 5. Only sit at tables where blackjack pays 3 to 2.

Next decision is, “Should I split this pair?”

ALWAYS try to sit at tables where doubling down is allowed after splitting pairs:

Then doubling down

Finally, Hard and Soft Hitting and Standing:

…

The below modifications apply because casinos always have their dealers hit soft 17. (This is because it is strongly in the dealer’s favor to hit soft 17.)

There you have it. I’ll be doing a card counting VIDEO soon that will greatly enhance your understanding and ability to apply these table numbers and letters to a real game in the fast dealing, multiple players at your table-casino games you will encounter. So for now, memorize everything and watch the video when I have time to make and post it.

If your plan is to try this in a casino on your next trip occurring in more than 3 months from now, do it for fun now, but postpone hardcore memorization until about a month before you go. It will be only marginally-beneficial to memorize it now because you will forget most of it over 3 months and have to memorize it again.