When it comes card games, few are as popular as Blackjack. As with any casino game, Blackjack requires a few special skills that you can learn to raise your odds of winning at the table. One of the skills you need to acquire is counting cards. While it may sound complicated, it is a skill you can master with a little practice. Here are a few tips to get you started.

The basic foundation behind card counting is pretty simple. There are two types of cards that give any player an advantage: the Aces and 10s. The reason these are desirable is that they give you a higher likelihood of getting a 20. If you have a 20, the dealer will need 21 to beat you. For the dealer, though, small cards (3s through 6s) are the advantage. This is because the dealer can get a range of 12-16 and then be able to hit what are termed, stiff hands.

If you are feeling intimidated by the whole card counting scenario, take heart: counting cards does NOT require any special memorization skills or the ability to recall every card that is played. Instead of memorizing the face value of every card in play you will simply assign point values to each card. You only have to assign the numbers +1, 0 or -1. Cards with a high value get negative numbers and small cards get positive ones. This works because when someone else gets a card that is less than a six, your chances go up for getting a big card. So the 6 is given a positive point. The zero will be for the cards in the 7 to 9 range. It takes a lot of practice, but anyone can master the technique. Just don’t let the casino’s catch you at it: this is considered cheating by them.