As the second most popular card game in the world, blackjack has earned the reputation as a game that’s extremely easy to learn but incredibly difficult to master, which is one of the many reasons that it attracts new players every year. It’s common to find online blackjack or blackjack tables offered at the nearest casino, but much rarer to find a player that has found a winning strategy that works more often than not.
It should be noted that while many of the following strategies do increase the chances of getting a win, blackjack will always remain a game of chance, meaning that it is always possible to lose, no matter how much a player feels they’ve mastered their chosen strategy.
Hi-Lo System
This is among the most commonly used card counting systems, and its popularity is due to its reliability. This method of card counting is also very easy to learn and understand, and makes use of a tagging technique which gives each card in a deck a certain value, which the counter then uses to count, often successfully. These simple strategies remain the most popular among players, and are also seen in Ausbet sports betting and other types of casino games.
KISS
KISS, derived from the acronym for ‘Keep It Short and Simple’ is another type of card counting that is a lot newer than the Hi-Lo system. It has become a popular method of card counting among novice players, as its easy to learn. One of the reasons behind this ease is the fact that players don’t need to count all of the cards in the deck, but rather around half of them.
K-O
The Knock Out counting method is similar in many ways to the Hi-Lo method, where players assign different values to the cards in the playing deck. They use these values to determine the different outcomes of a round, and then use that information to make the appropriate bets. Like the previous entries, it’s a very popular strategy among beginner players, and one that has seen a rise in popularity in recent years.
Zen Count
Zen Count, like the others, is extremely similar to Hi-Lo but it’s a little more complex. Despite the fact that the two card counting methods resemble each other, the Zen Count allows the player to reach a more reliable estimate of the outcome of a hand. It’s also more difficult to learn and master, which is why it tends to be followed by those players with a numbers of years of experience behind them.
Wong Halves
Arguably the most difficult card counting system in the world, Wong Halves requires that the player memorize the values of the cards, except using a system made up of fractions. The sheer complexity of this method means that there are very few people in the world that can successfully make use of it. Despite this, it’s among the most accurate of all the counting methods, and almost guarantees a certain amount of wins to anyone that is able to master it. It provides optimal betting strategies and can bring high payouts, but it can take many years to master fully.