There are countless stories about legendary blackjack card counters who raked in huge amounts of money playing in land-based casinos. The thin line between the legality and illegality of blackjack card counting has its share of opposing proponents and in almost all cases, casinos can ban anyone caught card counting in their (casino’s) blackjack game. However, there is still a significant number of known and unknown card counters winning in blackjack.

With the proliferation of online casinos where players can practice their prowess in blackjack, is it possible to card count to increase the chances of winning? Is it possible to duplicate the feats those land-based casino players did and are still doing? Wouldn’t it be awesome just to play online blackjack at home and win thousands of dollars? Add to the fact that there would be no one to throw the card-counting player out of the casino and probably be banned for life.

Well Shuffled Deck in the Shoe

 

Card counters in land-based casinos know that their special talent depends in knowing the deck penetration-which means how far into the shoe the blackjack dealer is before the decks are re-shuffled. Card counters do very well in card counting a single deck card for blackjack but casinos prefer several deck cards as they are harder to card count.

In online blackjack, it is the software that does the shuffling and reshuffling. Players will not able to see this in action. The virtual deck shuffles and re-shuffles every time which translates to no opportunity to get deck penetration. There seems to be no way to card count in online blackjack.

Online Blackjack: How to Win

 

Is there a way to beat the online version of blackjack? Online casinos that offer blackjack use infinite shoe which would render card counting useless as random cards are drawn. It is therefore possible for all players to get the same card – such as everyone getting a queen of hearts! So, in short, card-counting is completely ineffective online.

However, there are some blackjack aficionados who claim that card counting is possible in online blackjack. How? Well, one can always opt for “live” online blackjack and play with a “real live” dealer online. As with the brick and mortar casino blackjack, it is important to know how many decks are on the table. It is also important to note where the cut card is placed by the dealer, which signals the end of dealing from the shoe. For example, if the cut card is placed near the bottom of the shoe, then about 5 decks of cards will be dealt which is a penetration of about 1/6 or 16.6%. This is an advantageous situation for the player.

Why is penetration important? Let’s say the running count is 12 and that the cut card is to be dealt before the last deck of cards, obviously there are lots of high-value cards such as 10, J,Q, K and A, that are yet to be dealt in the last remaining 52 cards. Now, if the cut card is placed near the last two remaining deck of cards, then there’s less chance of being dealt high-value cards as they have been scattered over 104 cards. Most online casinos has a penetration of only three decks for their live blackjack which means 3/6 decks of cards won’t be dealt, or 4/8. This is a great disadvantage for players.

The best deal in online blackjack is to look for casinos that offer profitable bonuses when playing online blackjack. Free Blackjack Money sets out to show you just that. The generous bonuses could readily overcome the house edge.