Counting Cards Online – Can It Be Done?
Counting cards is never a good idea at a land based casino unless you want to get yourself thrown out and banned pretty quickly.
Online casinos, however, do not have the muscley security guards walking around who appear like a menacing thundercloud at you shoulder if you are caught cheating.
Does this mean that one can actually count card in an online casino?
Automated Shuffling
The main spanner in the works to counting cards is how the deck is shuffled. After all, the whole process is about knowing or predicting which cards will be dealt next, something that is almost totally reliant on figuring out how the deck is shuffled.
At land based casinos the deck is either shuffled by hand or by machine, either way, it involves physical cards, which leaves room for error. An online casino uses virtual cards, which are essentially a computer program.
When they are “shuffled”, a complicated random number generator algorithm is used, which ensures the randomness of the deal.
In land based casinos most of the concentration in counting cards revolves around knowing how far into the shoe the dealer is before the cards are reshuffled.
This is important because it gives the player an idea of how many decks there are in the game. Once this is established one can make an educated guess on how to spread your bets.
Online casino games shuffle the deck after every deal, and you can’t see this happening as it is all virtual.
So Now What?
What all of this means is that there isn’t really a way to count cards with an online casino. Of course, this is exactly how the casino wants things as cheaters are not beneficial for either players or establishments.
So, what can be done to help you to win your online blackjack game?
Casino Bonuses
One of the main things which any player should look at is the bonuses which each casino offers.
Some casinos are much more generous than others, both with what they hand out, and the terms and conditions of those handouts. It is well worth your while to shop around a bit in order to find the casino which best suits your needs.
Reading the fine print is essential here. You need to know exactly what the requirements are for each bonus. These will dictate how and when you may withdraw your winnings.
Many casinos require you to complete certain wagering requirements which mean that you have to wager the same amount as the initial free money total before you may draw it out. This is to protect the casinos from people simply signing up, getting free cash and leaving.
Know your game
The best way to win at blackjack is the most obvious: know your game. This goes for other games too, like craps and roulette.
They say that practice makes perfect and this is definitely true when it comes to card games. Playing free versions of the game online will help you to sharpen your skills, as will playing the game against a group of friends.
Try to play against the best players you know in order to advance, playing against beginners won’t help you to improve. Read up as much as you can on the game as well.
The internet has endless resources for the budding blackjack player to help you become your best.