Clearing Up Card Counting Misconceptions

We'll discuss some of the prevalent card counting misconceptions as related to blackjack. By doing so we hope to help you get an appreciation of card counting and how it can help you boost your game.

The first card counting misconception we'll have to put away is that card counting is really complicated. Card counting is relatively simple and can be learned by any blackjack player. A related misconception is that players need to memorize a lot of things (one misconception even tells that players need to memorize the whole deck).

Players who practice card counting hardly memorize anything, if any. Most of the time, blackjack players only need to keep in mind the ratio of high cards to low cards -- and that's it.

Another misconception is that card counting alone makes sure that players always win the game. That is not really true. Blackjack involves an element of chance and to really make the most out of card counting is to use strategy along with it.

Players still need to learn the fundamentals of the game. The basics still do count whether you're card counting or not. But the player who advocates card counting with strategy is a better one.

Another card counting misconception holds that card counting systems ensure really quick wins in the short term. That is not totally true. Card counting does give players the edge in a game and a better chance to win, but winning using card counting works better in the long run.

Another misconception is that the more complicated a system is the better it is. In recent years, we've seen a boom in the number of complicated systems. People get tricked into thinking that a more complicated card counting system is more successful than simpler ones.

The truth of the matter is that the complexity of a certain card counting system has nothing to do with its success rate. People are setting aside one important factor when dealing with card counting systems when they make it too complicated and that is human error.

One of the biggest factors affecting a any system is human error. And if our card counting system of choice is pretty complicated, expect more errors to come along from the blackjack players.

A lot of experts have repeatedly stated that even the most simple blackjack card counting system is used by a player without any errors is far more effective than a really complicated card counting system that is executed with errors.

We hope that this clears a lot of the myths and the misconceptions associated with card counting. People will better appreciate card counting by really knowing the facts.