21 was movie starring Kevin Spacey that told the story of the MIT card counting blackjack team. The team was made of college students who would attend class during the week and fly to Vega on the weekends to gamble. They used the Hi Lo Card Counting system to gain an advantage over the casino and win millions.

The move was based on a true story of the 1990s MIT card counting blackjack team. THe basic facts of the story a true. Several MIT students participated in a business to beat the casinos at blackjack.

Would you like to learn more about the movie 21 and Card Counting?

The basic plot of the movie 21 is true and based on the MIT team.  But there a few misleading points in the movie.

One, the students practice the Hi Lo card counting system, memorizing the card values.  However, no time is shown learning to convert the running count into a true count.  All balanced card counting systems like Hi Lo must convert to a true count.

Two, the students win almost all of the time, and only lose when they let their emotions get the better of them.  In reality, card counting offers only a slight edge over the casino.  For example, if you have a 2% advantage you win 52% of the time, but lose 48% of the time as well.

Three. team play was an important part of MIT strategy.  This helped hide the fact they were counting cards.  The fraternization seen in 21 would not have been possible.

All card counting systems use the same basic theory.  There is a greater chance of the dealer busting if there are more ten value cards in the shoe that can be drawn.  All card counting systems track the cards played to get an idea of the cards yet to be drawn from the shoe.  

When the card counter recognizes there are more ten value cards in the shoe, he increases his bet to take advantage of the statistical edge.

The Hi Lo Card Counting system was the system used in the movie and by the MIT Team.  

When the decks are shuffled, begin your count (called the running count) at zero.  For every card played, add it's value to the running count.  The values are list below.

• 2 card = +1
• 3 card = +1
• 4 card = +1
• 5 card = +1
• 6 card = +1
• 7 card = +1
• 8 card = 0
• 9 card = 0
• 10 card = -1
• jack = -1
• queen = -1
• king = -1
• ace = -1

Now that you the running count, you must convert it into the true count.  You divide the running count by the number of decks left in the shoe.  You determine the number of decks left in the show by subtracting the number of discarded decks from the original amount of decks in the shoe.  You estimate the number of decks discarded by visually examining the discard pile.

The true count determines when a card counter should raise his bet

All card counting systems call for the player to increase his bet when the odds are in his favor. For the Hi Lo system, a true count of +2 means the player has the advantage. At this point you should increase you bet 5 times or 10 times.

When the count shows the casino has the edge, you should be betting the table minimum.

More complex varities of the Hi Lo Card Counting system require you to vary you bet with the true count.  The higher the true count the higher the bet and vice versa.

A player must also have sufficient funds to withstand a losing streak. A good general rule is that the table minimum should be no more than 1% of you bankroll.

Would you like to learn more about the Hi Lo Card Counting system? Do you want to know to perform the Red Seven or KO Counts (these don't require the true count calculation)?

Would you like to play online for FREE and have the computer teach you card counting while you play?