Like in all casinos, online casinos have quite high odds in their favor in most games. Understanding these odds and minimizing their effect on your winnings is the first step towards winning at online casinos.
The first factor that you should remember is that online casinos play with a variety of software. Some of the games online are played with a traditional deck of cards, some with a deck of cards that is shuffled after each hand. The traditional cards have what is known as a house edge, which is the advantage that the casino has over the players. The easiest way to visualize this is to imagine if you could count cards, whereas at an online casino you cannot.
Although the house edge is generally bad for the players, it’s even worse for the casino. Although they make money by paying out, the odds are dramatically reduced for the player, meaning the casino almost has to pay out to the players. You can’t say that online casinos have better odds than the traditional ones, but in general the odds are fairer online.
Although there is no way to guarantee when cards will be shuffled, there are certain methods that can be used to keep the odds in favor of the player. Card counting is one of the most common methods, which involves keeping track of the cards played and then making educated guesses as to the next card. This method was first discovered by Edward Thorp, considered the father of blackjack card counting, who published the book “Beat The Dealer” way back in 1962.
Most casinos used multiple decks of cards at once, which complicated card counting. When casinos changed to a single deck of cards, card counting became easier. Casino workers would handing out cards. The gamblers would then mark which cards had not yet been played and which had not been played yet. When a card has not been played for a while, it loses its value; therefore if the card is played one has a better chance of guessing the number of cards remaining.
Blackjack card counting was discovered to work well above and beyond simply keeping track of how many cards have been played. Card counting was often used by the MIT Blackjack team in the 70s and 80s, and by outside players too. It’s nowadays often used online to predict the odds of the game, however. One method of card counting online is the Red Seven method.
This method is when you count the number of cards with a specific hand and then bet to the odds, plus a small amount, that the next card will probably have a higher value than the one you counted. For example, with a three and eight deck game, you might decide to count the sevens and eights as +1 cards for that hand, and then bet +1, -1, 0, or -1, +1, -1 for the other cards.
Card counting online works exactly the same way, except that the cards are kept on a memory stick for every hand that is played. The odds keep changing as cards are played, and you keep track of them. There are various card counting methods, some easy and some difficult to do online.
Although card counting methods don’t guarantee that you will win, it does help if you know how to do it. Just remember that most casinos will be aware that you are counting cards, and they will ask you to leave, so it is best to start out with only small amounts.
Blackjack card counting is the only sure way of beating the house, unless you learn it and have exceptional memory, which is highly unlikely. Online players don’t have the time to learn this method, so it is highly recommended that you stick to playing at the casino table and taking down notes on your hand, rather than trying to learn this card counting system and bet thousands of dollars.