- There are different blackjack books that give different card counting strategies.
- Edward Thorp, Peter Griffin, and Stanford Wong all highlight different card counting techniques.
LAS VEGAS – Anyone and everyone that plays blackjack at a casino wants to get an edge over the house and build their bankrolls. People look to different strategies and take different pieces of advice, however, one of the oldest, yet complex strategies is counting cards.
Those looking to play legal blackjack and learn different card counting strategies can look to books and literature to get a better understanding. There are three books that we suggest that are all written by some of the brightest minds in the game. All of which can be found on Amazon just in time for Prime Day.
“Beat The Dealer” By Edward Thorp
First published in 1962, mathematics professor, Edward Thorp first introduced the concept of counting cards overall. Most notably, his book dives into the “Ten Count System,” which tracks the ratio of high and low cards and giving them values in a single deck game. High cards of tens and aces will get a -4 value, while low cards between 2-9 are given a +5 value.
Once sitting at a table, a player will begin at a zero value and add to their count with the card values according to what comes out. The higher the value, the more chance there is of a ten value card coming out, while the lower the value, there is a less likely chance of a ten coming out.
“The Theory Of Blackjack” By Peter Griffin
Published in 1979, Peter Griffin, a statistics professor and member of the Blackjack Hall of Fame, introduced his book, “The Theory of Blackjack.” Griffin highlights the “Hi-Lo” counting system, which also gives values to cards. In this case, high cards of tens or aces will receive a -1 while low cards between 2-6 will receive a +1 value. Cards between 7-9 will stay neutral with a zero value.
This can be used in multi-deck games by adding and subtracting the values of the cards that come out and converting it to a true count by dividing the estimated number of decks remaining.
“Professional Blackjack” By Stanford Wong
In Stanford Wong’s “Professional Blackjack,” published in 1975, he takes a different approach to the blackjack strategy that is counting cards. He refers to this strategy as “Wonging,” and it is basically a back-counting system that can be used with both the Hi-Lo and Ten Count System.
Depending on the type of table, whether it’s a single or multi-deck table, players will wait until sitting down. They’ll stand by the table, though, and keep count using of the systems and wait for a more favorable time to sit.