| Updated: September 25, 2025Most casino patrons know that it is unreasonable to expect their gambling activities to become a sustainable, profitable way to make a living. There are very few gamblers who honestly consider themselves professionals, but those who do are almost all advantage players, except perhaps for elite poker pros. Advantage play is what most blackjack players strive to master in order to beat the game and turn the odds in their favor.
Advantage play in blackjack is often associated with card counting, but there are many other techniques that can be used in both live and online games. They can be described as methods for exploiting various weaknesses in the game to make a profit. Typically, the techniques used by advantage players are legal and permitted by casinos, but there are also ways to gain an edge over the house by simply cheating. Whether employing legal or illegal methods, harmless or unethical tricks, advantage players are always seeking an advantage in the games they play.
Card Counting
Card counting has been portrayed many times in books and films, but it differs quite a bit in real life. Most card counting systems for blackjack are not as complicated as people imagine; however, they are hard to apply for long stretches while sitting at the blackjack table. Players don’t need to be mathematical geniuses to learn how to count cards and gain an advantage – all they have to do is keep track of the ratio of high to low cards in the dealer’s shoe. The idea is that while low cards favor the casino, high cards favor the player.
Although this is a simplified explanation, anyone who wants to gain an edge through card counting must first master the fundamentals of blackjack. This means knowing the rules and playing perfect basic strategy. Once a player can act correctly on every hand without mistakes, he can start learning the simpler counting systems.
How It Works
Counting Systems Team PlayHow It Works
There is a widespread misconception – especially among those who have never played blackjack – that card counters memorize every card that has been dealt so they know which cards will appear next. This is unnecessary, however, and would only make the technique completely impractical. There are many strategies for counting cards in blackjack, and while they differ, they all assign certain point values to the cards. This helps players determine the approximate composition of the deck – whether the cards left in the shoe are high or low.
But why is this important? The top payout in this game is awarded when the player gets blackjack (3:1), which is composed of an Ace and a 10-value card. Let us imagine that all Aces and 10s (10s plus face cards) have been removed from the deck; it would then be impossible to get a natural. If we remove all cards from 2s through 9s, however, the likelihood of a natural 21 becomes much greater.
So, if the shoe is rich in high cards, i.e., Aces and 10s, the odds are in the player’s favor, and he should increase his bet. If more low cards are still in play, the player should instead bet smaller stakes to minimize expected losses. This is why betting is so uneven when counting cards – the wager per hand may jump from the table minimum to hundreds of dollars within ten hands or even fewer.
Counting Systems
Different counting systems have been developed for blackjack, such as the Hi-Lo, the Zen Count, Hi-Opt I and II, Halves, the Knockout Counting System, and many more. In the Hi-Lo system, for example, we assign low cards (2–6) a value of +1 and high cards (Aces and 10s) a value of -1, while cards 7–9 are neutral, or 0. The total count of a standard 52-card deck will therefore be 0, which is why this system is described as balanced.
We start the game with a full shoe at a count of 0 and add or subtract numbers as cards are dealt. If the first three cards on the table are an Ace and a 2 to the player and a Jack to the dealer, our running count will be -1 (0-1+1-1), which means the player should bet the minimum. When we have a positive count, the bet should be increased.
Another simple counting system is the Ace/5 Count, which assigns +1 to all 5s and -1 to all Aces. If the count is 1 or lower, the player keeps his minimum bet, and when the count reaches 2 or higher, he increases his bet. With any of these counting methods, however, players should always use basic strategy – otherwise, any attempts to track the composition of the deck and count the cards will be useless.
Team Play
The idea of blackjack counting teams and partners seems very appealing, especially after being depicted in movies and on TV. The famous MIT Blackjack Team, for example, is known to have won huge amounts of money, but many other groups have also played in various casinos and won millions of dollars over the years. Team play, first described in the 1970s by Ken Uston, typically involves several players who work together to gain an advantage over the casino.
In these teams, several skilled card counters sit at different tables in the casino and keep track of the cards. They are called “spotters” because their job is to spot a table with a favorable count. Once they notice a good count, they signal the main player – or big player – who sits at the table and starts betting large sums of money. When the count drops, the big player moves to another table with favorable odds. Of course, team members may use other strategies as well, and if they are careful, they can avoid detection by the casinos for some time.
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Other Techniques for Advantage Play in Blackjack
Wonging Technique Edge Sorting and Hole Carding Camouflage Betting Playing with Comps and Bonuses Cheating and CollusionWonging Technique
One interesting method for gaining an edge in blackjack is the technique of back-counting, or “wonging.” It has been practiced for decades, but it was most notably popularized by gambling author and researcher John Ferguson, better known by his pen name Stanford Wong.
The back-counting, or wonging, method is very similar to the scheme used by blackjack counting teams. Wongers simply stand or sit near a blackjack table and count the cards that are dealt. These players may remain off the table and “wong in” once the count becomes favorable. When the count is no longer in their favor, they wong out, or leave the table.
Most casinos are aware of this technique, which is why some of them do not allow mid-shoe entry. To get around this restriction, some wongers choose to stay at the table until the cards are shuffled.
Edge Sorting and Hole Carding
Edge sorting is a technique advantage players have used for centuries in various card games. It involves simply observing the cards and identifying low and high cards by small irregularities on their backs. Edge sorters typically spot asymmetrical edges, hence the technique’s name. In many decks, the two long edges and the patterns around them are not symmetrical.
This becomes apparent when the cards are rotated, so edge sorters often ask the dealer to rotate certain cards under the guise of superstition. Most dealers indulge the request, although they are not obligated to do so. Recently, the technique made headlines when famous poker player Phil Ivey and a partner used edge sorting to beat casinos in the UK and the US. They reportedly earned millions of dollars on baccarat tables but were later ordered by the courts to return the money.
Hole carding is another technique that is widespread among advantage players. It involves looking at the dealer’s face-down card, known as the hole card. In this scenario, players capitalize on the dealer’s inability to protect the card from view. Some players glance at the card while the dealer checks for blackjack (this is called “first-basing”), while others rely on a partner with a better angle on the hole card (“spooking”).
Some players can also peek at the hole card as it is dealt or as it is slid under the upcard (“front-loading”). In no-hole-card games such as European blackjack, players instead look at the next card that would be dealt, and by having this extra information, they gain a substantial advantage over the casino. Some advantage players even use peeking devices and mirrors, which is certainly not allowed.
When performed without partners or electronic devices, edge sorting and hole carding are typically legal ways to exploit imperfections in card design, dealer mistakes, and so on. However, in Phil Ivey’s case these actions were deemed illegal by the court, so players should be very cautious – especially if they have a partner – as casinos may regard this as collusion.
Camouflage Betting
Camouflage betting is one of the essentials every blackjack card counter should master to succeed in the long term. It is exactly what the name implies – placing bets in a way that helps the counter avoid detection by casino staff. Note that this is extremely difficult, because a core principle of all card-counting systems is to adjust your bet size based on the cards you expect to be dealt next.
Card counters usually raise their bets to the table maximum when they calculate that they have the advantage – that is, when the count is high. When the odds are against them, or when the count is low, they keep their stakes as low as possible. This is why casinos can easily spot card counters who are careless with their betting; they maintain the minimum bet and, all of a sudden, sharply increase the stakes.
To avoid detection and remain hidden, skilled card counters practice camouflage betting, and the best way to do so is to mimic how recreational players bet at the blackjack table. Casual players often change their bet size, double their wager after a win, and rely on luck or a hunch. There are many things card counters can do to make their betting appear random and not part of a pattern – they can double their bet after two or three losing hands, reduce it after three wins, and so on.
Playing with Comps and Bonuses
Most advantage players try to exploit casinos’ comp programs, bonuses, and promotional chip offers as much as possible. The majority of reputable casinos, both land-based and online, have a loyalty scheme that rewards the most active players – those who wager or lose the most. Comp points can be collected when playing blackjack, poker, slot machines, or any other casino game, and they can later be redeemed for accommodation, dining, or other benefits.
Bonuses, on the other hand, are usually offered by online casinos, but players should carefully read all conditions and requirements associated with them, most importantly the wagering or playthrough requirements. For instance, if a player receives $100 in bonus funds with a 30-times playthrough, he will be required to wager a total of $3,000 to unlock both the winnings and the bonus funds themselves.
If he plays a blackjack variant with a house edge of 0.50%, the expected loss from that total wager would be $15, resulting in a profit of $85 after claiming the bonus. There are, of course, various restrictions when wagering bonuses; some casinos increase the playthrough amount when patrons play card games, while others restrict bonuses to slot play only.
Another method of gaining an advantage over the casino is exploiting offers that provide a rebate on losses or grant free chips of up to $100,000. Such special offers never target the average player; they are designed to attract high-rollers who are willing to spend millions of dollars in a single night. Still, they can be a great way to earn money in the long run, provided the player chooses a favorable blackjack variant and uses proper strategy.
Cheating and Collusion
When discussing advantage play techniques, we cannot ignore cheating – although unethical, certainly not permitted by casinos, and illegal, it is still a way to tilt the odds in a player’s favor. Cheating often requires players to cooperate with the dealer because blackjack players are not allowed to touch the cards. Dealers can peek at the top card in the shoe, feel bumps or other irregularities previously placed on certain cards, and so on. With today’s increased surveillance, however, it is extremely difficult for blackjack players to pull off such a cheat.
Another option for would-be cheaters is to use various devices and computers. This is absolutely illegal and almost impossible to do in a modern brick-and-mortar casino. Some players attempt to cheat at online blackjack using special software; a range of programs has been developed and used for virtual casino games, including poker, blackjack, and roulette.
The most notable mass-use cases of cheating software were probably the Ultimate Bet and Absolute Poker scandals from 2005-2008. It is believed that former employees of the company operating the poker platform used unauthorized software to relay players’ hole-card information to accomplices during games. As a result, numerous users of the online cardroom lost tens of millions of dollars; several people were fined and punished (only one individual received jail time), and the two websites are no longer operational.
Overall, cheating with special software is just as unreliable as many of the physical cheating techniques used in land-based casinos. Nevertheless, some players still try to gain an illegal advantage by partnering with other players. This practice is forbidden in both land-based and online casinos and is referred to as “collusion”.
Team play or collusion helps players share information and make more accurate decisions about each hand. This type of cheating, however, is practically useless in virtual blackjack and can be employed only in live-dealer games at online or brick-and-mortar casinos.