Card counting is known as one of the most effective means to beat the casino. There are not many methods to turn the odds in favor of the player. Counting cards properly can flip the odds against the house.
There are two things that are very important to master card counting. First, learning how to card count is going to be the first step. This requires a lot of mathematical aptitude and memorization.
Having a blackjack team can certainly help make the process easier. The MIT Blackjack Team is the most infamous blackjack team ever. Their presence was a double-edged sword in a sense.
The MIT Blackjack Team mainstreamed card counting. They gave millions of other people a dream that beating the casino is not impossible. However, this also got the full attention of casino security.
Learning how to card count is the easy part now. Avoiding the attention of casino security is the hard part. Card counters go to great lengths to not get caught.
It is a continual cat-and-mouse game between the casino and card counters. With casino surveillance becoming more high-tech, playing blackjack as a career card counter is not as easy.
If land-based casinos are on high alert, what about online casinos? Can you count cards in online blackjack? We are going to get into the dynamics of card counting at online casinos.
Does Card Counting Work Online?
For gamblers that want to take their card counting online, they might be wondering if it works. When we talk about card counting online, we are specifically talking about the live dealers at online casinos.
The virtual games that resemble a video game are completely random. It is impossible to count cards when these games are based on an RNG. Let’s just get that out there right now.
Similar to slot machines, virtual blackjack games use an RNG to determine the cards. This is different from live blackjack with a real dealer at the table. We are going over card counting as it pertains to live dealers.
Winning Accounts In Online Casinos Raise Red Flags
Let’s assume that you have figured out how to card count online blackjack. You cracked the secret and know how to count cards online. Ignore the fact that it is near impossible, to begin with, but we are assuming that a player is card counting.
Congratulations, but like a casino in Las Vegas, you are going to be under a lot of scrutiny. Online casinos are all connected to sophisticated software that can immediately detect that a player might be doing something suspicious.
This includes every hand and betting movements. At a land-based casino, this still has to largely be detected by humans in surveillance. Online casinos have the advantage of letting the software do all of the heavy lifting.
Even if the casino cannot rule that card counting occurred, they may not want your business. We should stress that this is for accounts that are winning on a consistent basis.
It is not the same as getting lucky and winning on slots, roulette, baccarat, and so on. Winning big on a jackpot or high roller bets is fair game. You will not have problems if you are playing within the rules of the online casino.
TheSportsGeek recommends only playing at the best online blackjack casinos to avoid having problems.
Eight-Deck Shoes Used Most Often
Online blackjack games typically use eight decks in their shoes. There are six-deck blackjack games out there, but the consensus is that eight decks are used most often. Note that there are no four-deck or fewer blackjack games available.
The best that an online blackjack player can hope for is a six-deck game. Online casinos do not make this information readily available to players. They can contact customer support or ready the fine print of the rules for each game.
Card counting an eight-deck shoe is not impossible. The effectiveness of a card counting strategy with eight decks deteriorates greatly, though. There are 416 cards in the game that you must account for in eight-deck blackjack.
In other words, trying to card count an eight-deck shoe is largely seen as a waste of your time. Stick with single and double-deck blackjack for a card counting strategy. If an online casino offers these games, it will only be for high-limit games.
Online Blackjack Uses Continuous Shuffle Machines
The vast majority, if not all, online casinos use a CSM, or Continuous Shuffle Machine today. Continuous shuffle machines have been more popular than traditional dealing shoes over the last few years.
Online casinos took to CSM as soon as they started offering live dealer blackjack. This makes dealing easier for the house and also reduces players from having success counting cards. The CSM is capable of shuffling the cards much more effectively than a dealer can.
In single or double-deck pitch blackjack, the dealer holds the cards in their hand. Shuffling is done by the dealers. AP players prefer blackjack for not only the card counting, but the opportunities for dealers to make mistakes.
Unfortunately, this old-school style of blackjack is not offered in online casinos. Pitch games are also rare in land-based casinos, but can be located with some work.
High Deck Penetration
Have you ever noticed how often an employee from off the screen comes along and replaces the decks? The rate at that they replace the decks in the game is off the charts. It always feels like the deck is being changed.
The fresh cards were shuffled by a CSM for minutes before being added to the game. Finding blackjack games with low deck penetration is the best for card counting.
High deck penetration should be avoided. Again, online casinos have safeguards for this and have the highest rates of deck penetration in the industry. Good luck trying to effectively card count.
Conclusion
Does card counting work online? As you have come to find, online casinos make it incredibly difficult on card counters. It is so tough that the very small edge that might be possible is not worth your time.
Online casino card counting strategies typically come from scammers that are looking for your money. It is much more worthwhile to find single and double-deck blackjack in land-based casinos.
What if you like playing online blackjack? The best online blackjack strategy is to use basic strategy. Blackjack strategy charts can still be used to ensure that you are as close to the true house edge as possible.
Online casinos will not ban your account for winning blackjack by using basic strategy. While counting cards online is a waste of time, gamblers can still enhance their odds of winning with basic strategies.
Visit our best online blackjack page to get started playing at the top-rated online casinos today. Best of luck at the tables!
