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THE EASY RED 7 COUNT |
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FROM ET FAN: 
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THE EASY RED 7 COUNT By Arnold Snyder © 1983, 2005 Arnold Snyder Blackjack Basic Strategy Before you learn about counting cards, learn blackjack basic strategy. Even card counters use basic strategy to play most of their hands. The Red Seven Count: Easy and Powerful If you already know blackjack basic strategy, it’s time to learn an easy and powerful card counting system. The easy Red Seven Count gets 80% of the potential gain available from the Hi-Lo Count and other counts that are significantly more difficult to learn and use. It is the strongest professional-level card counting system ever devised for its level of simplicity and ease of use. The Red Seven Count Blackjack players count cards to keep track of the proportions of high cards (Tens and Aces, the cards that are good for the player) and low cards (the cards that are good for the house) remaining in the decks to be dealt. We don’t need to maintain separate counts of the Tens, fives, Aces, deuces, or any individual cards. We just need to know if the remaining deck has more high cards than normal or more low cards than normal. In the Red 7 count, the high cards (Aces and Tens) are assigned the value -1, because each time one is dealt the remaining decks are a little poorer in the cards that are good for us. Low cards (2, 3, 4, 5, and 6) are assigned the value +1, because each time one of these is dealt the remaining decks are a little better for us. As for 8s and 9s, they are neutral cards, assigned a value of 0. This means that when we see them we ignore them, and don’t count them at all. We count red 7s as +1, treating them like another low card. But we count black 7s as 0—that is, we ignore them as a neutral card. This is the device that creates the exact imbalance necessary for this count to work as an easy running count system, with no math at the tables. (Technically, it does not make any difference whether the red sevens or the black sevens are counted, so long as this precise imbalance is attained.) Start learning to count cards by memorizing these values for each card denomination. Then practice keeping a running count by adding and subtracting these values from a starting count of 0 as you deal cards onto a table, one at a time from a deck. If the first card you turn over is a Jack, add -1 to your starting count so that your running count is -1. If the next card is a 6, add +1 to your count so that your running count is 0. If the next card is a 4, add +1 again so that your running count is +1. Example: Cards seen: 2, 6, A, 8, 9, X, X, 5 Point values: +1, +1, -1, 0, 0, -1, -1, +1 Running Count: +1, +2, +1, +1, +1, 0, -1, 0 By the time you get to the end of a single full deck of cards, your running count should be +2. If you have miscounted, try again. Then shuffle and go through the deck once more. Build up speed and accuracy, but do it at your own pace. Note that the deck ends at a running count of +2 because of those two extra red sevens we count as +1. They give the full deck 22 plus counts, against only 20 minus counts. How to Practice Counting Cards Practice, practice, practice. Then learn to count as card counters actually do at the table—counting cards in groups. When you are proficient at counting down a deck of cards one card at a time, practice turning the cards over two at a time, and count the cards in pairs. This is how you will do it at the casino tables, because it’s faster and easier for most people to count cards in pairs. This is because the cards in many pairs cancel each other out, so you don’t have to count them at all. For example, every time you see a ten or an ace (both -1) paired with a 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, or red 7 (all +1), the pair counts as zero. You will quickly learn to ignore self-canceled pairs, as well as 8s, 9s and black 7s, since all of these are valued at 0. When you are good at counting cards in pairs, practice turning them over 3 and 4 at a time. Counting in larger groups really speeds you up, and is a technique professional players use. If you turn over a Ten, 8 with a 2 and black 7, the change in your running count is 0, because the 8 and black 7 aren’t counted at all and the Ten and 2 cancel each other out. Always strive first to be accurate in your count. Speed without accuracy is worthless. You will do much better in your gambling career if you get in the habit right now of taking the time to learn to do things right. After you are good at counting cards in pairs and groups of three or four, run through the cards by fanning them from one hand to the other as you count. This technique builds your skill for actual casino play. Allow your eyes to quickly scan the exposed cards for self-canceling pairs, even when these cards are not adjacent to each other. You should be able to count down a deck in this fashion in 40 seconds or less before you ever attempt counting cards in a casino. Most pros can easily count down a deck in less than 30 seconds. Most professional teams require players to demonstrate that they can count down a deck in 25 seconds or less, with perfect accuracy every time. The legendary card counter Darryl Purpose used to win card-counting contests with his teammates by counting down a deck in 8 seconds flat. No matter how fast you get at counting at home, you will probably find it difficult the first time you actually try to count cards at a casino blackjack table. You may find you forget your running count when you’re playing your hand or talking to the pit boss. In face-down games, you may miss counting some cards as players throw in their hands and dealers scoop them up quickly. You may forget which cards you have already counted and which cards you have not. Don’t worry about it—every successful card counter has gone through this initial awkward period. You will get better with practice. Before you try counting cards in a casino while actually playing blackjack yourself, spend some time counting while watching others play. Do not sit down to play until you feel comfortable counting while watching the game. If you expect to play in multiple-deck games, practice counting down multiple decks of cards at home. But be aware that your final running count should go up as you add decks. In a single deck, your final running count should be +2 because of the two red 7s in the decks. But if you are counting down 6 decks, there will be twelve red 7s in the decks, so your final running count should be +12. Multiply the number of decks you are counting by +2 to get the correct final running count for your practice. Setting Your Starting Count for Casino Play To use your running count to make betting and playing decisions at the table, you need to know about the "pivot." What is a pivot? For the Red 7 count, it’s the running count at which you will know your advantage has risen by about 1% over the game’s starting (dis)advantage. The pivot will be an important indicator in making betting and playing decisions. If you start with a running count of 0, your pivot will change with the number of decks you are counting, just as your final running count changes with the number of decks. To keep things simple at the tables, and make your pivot and other indicators the same for all numbers of decks, the easiest thing to do is adjust your starting count. To make your pivot equal 0 for all numbers of decks, simply multiply the exact number of decks to be dealt by -2 to get your starting running count. (With six decks, you should start your running count at -12. With two decks, you start your running count at -4.) If you always start your running count in this way, your final count (if you count every card in the deck(s)) should always be 0. Here’s a simple chart that shows what your running count should start at with various numbers of decks. And yes, there are a few casinos in this world that deal 3, 5, and even 7-deck games. They’re not common, but they exist. Red Seven Starting Counts
The Red Seven Blackjack Betting Strategy Once you are proficient at counting, you can begin to apply the Red Seven betting guidelines at the tables. The idea is to raise your bet when you have an advantage over the house, raise it even more when you have more of an advantage, and keep your bet small when the house has the advantage over you. Remember, when counting cards in a casino, if you always begin your count at the appropriate starting count for the number of decks in play, your pivot is 0. This means, again, that any time your running count is 0, your advantage will have risen about 1 percent over your starting advantage. This zero "pivot" is a good indicator of when to first raise your bet for nearly all the traditional blackjack games available in this country. About 80 percent of the traditional games have a starting advantage between -0.4 percent and -0.6 percent. So, your zero pivot usually indicates an advantage for you of approximately ½ percent. This is not a huge advantage. It does not guarantee that you will win the hand—far from it. With a ½% advantage, for every $100 you bet, you will end up in the long run with $100.50, or an extra fifty cents per hundred bucks bet. The important thing is that your count tells you when the edge has shifted from the house to you. How much should you raise your bet when your running count hits the pivot—or beyond? This depends on many factors, including the rules of the game, the number of decks in play, the penetration (shuffle point), the size of your bankroll, what you can actually get away with in that particular casino, etc. (Casino personnel often view a large betting spread as a sign that a player may be a card counter.) The chart below will provide a guide for the most common games. Units to Bet
The general idea is to bet enough when you have the advantage to cover the cost of all the smaller bets you placed when the house had the advantage. Card counters call these small bets "waiting bets." Think of the cost of these waiting bets as overhead expenses, or "seat rental." When the edge shifts to your favor, you want to bet a sufficient amount to cover these costs, plus make a nice profit. Card counters call the difference between your waiting bet and your largest bets (placed when you have your strongest advantage) your "betting spread." For example, if you bet $5 at the top of the shoe, but raise your bet to $10 when the advantage shifts to your favor, and bet up to $40 when your count is highest, indicating your strongest advantage, this would be a 5-to-40 betting spread. You may also express this betting spread as 1-to-8, with a betting "unit" of $5. The guidelines above are not to be taken as strict betting advice. In many one-deck games, for example, a 1-to-4 spread according to the count will get you booted out in short order, especially if your unit size is $25 or more. In many shoe games, a 1-to-8 spread would barely get you over the breakeven point. This is why the 0-unit bet is suggested in shoe games at negative counts. It is often impossible to play only at positive counts in shoe games, but it is often wise to leave the table at a negative count. Note that the suggested bets are in units, not dollars. Your unit size is dependent on the size of your playing bankroll. I’m going to provide some very simple bet-sizing guidelines here that should prove sufficient for most players. If you intend to take your game further, I recommend my book, Blackbelt in Blackjack: Playing 21 as a Martial Art, which provides very detailed betting advice for those whose careers depend on casino blackjack winnings as a sole or major source of income. Bet-sizing and bankroll considerations for professional players require a study of standard deviation, normal fluctuations, risk, and the relationship of your advantage to these factors. For now, let’s stick with practical advice that will apply to most recreational players. The "Trip" Bankroll It is very important, first of all, for you to define exactly how much money you have available for gambling. Let’s say you go to Las Vegas or Atlantic City a few times per year and you always bring somewhere in the neighborhood of $1,500 to gamble with. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, but if you lose it all, no big deal. You’ll be back again in a few months with another fifteen hundred to take another shot at the casinos. When you go to the casinos, you are always playing with a "trip bankroll." This is not your life savings, nor are you depending on this money to make your next mortgage payment. This is expendable income to you, earmarked for entertainment. As a card counter with a "trip bankroll," you can play very aggressively. Divide your total trip bankroll by 150, and use this as your betting unit. With a $1500 bankroll, you divide: $1500 / 150 = $10 unit
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The Easy Red 7 Blackjack Card Counting System Arnold Snyder provides his Red 7 Blackjack Card Counting system, the easiest professional -level blackjack card counting system available. The article comes |
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