When talking about ways to play spectacularly, card counting in poker is always one of the tactics that first comes to mind. It is a resource often used in movies, but in reality, it is not so easy in poker to count cards.

In this article we will tell you what it is, what it is used for, how you can take advantage of it in poker and how to count cards in poker.

Card counting in poker: is it a good strategy?

Of course it is. Not only is it a good strategy, but it is a “back to basics” because there are many aspects of poker that are not understood if you don’t learn how to count cards. And by card counting we don’t mean the gimmick of looking for marked corners, but knowing how to count combos, manage odds and outs and create your own odds.

For example, knowing how to count cards in poker helps you to have an idea of what range of hands your opponent has, what projects he can aspire to, what are the odds of the villain to beat you, and the same goes for you. We have talked about odds and outs, something elementary in a poker game. Well, this is not understood if you do not know how to count cards in poker. It’s as simple as that.

Knowing how to count cards allows you to know which cards in the deck are useful for you. Handling these calculations allows you to manage the odds of winning with outs, something elementary for decision making. From all this we can draw a clear conclusion: to tie projects you need to know how to count cards. If you don’t, you’ll just be blundering around and you’ll never be able to base your decisions on the game.

Is it difficult to count cards in poker?

It is not something easy or something that can be learned in a moment. It takes practice. Having an innate talent for handling numbers, as well as having a high ability to concentrate, can be very helpful in learning to count cards in poker, although this is no guarantee of success.

Moreover, even with the best skills it is necessary to practice and gain confidence, because one thing is the theoretical aspect, and another to be in the middle of a game, where there are a thousand factors that can affect the ability to concentrate.

Although it is not excessively complicated, there is something that can be confusing, especially at the beginning, and that is the combination of folded, uncovered and burned cards. In poker, not knowing what cards the opponents have, they count in the same way the cards that have been folded, those held by the players or those that have not yet been discovered, so the first step to know how to count cards in poker is to equate these three groups of cards and value them in the same way.

And to know how to count cards, it is necessary to handle some essential data, basic to start from a good base:

  • 52 total cards. This is the exact number of cards that make up a complete deck.
  • 47 effective cards. From the 52 that a deck has, we have to deduct our 2 player cards, and the flop cards, which are 3. Therefore, we handle the first calculations with 47.
  • 4 cards per number. There are in total 4 cards of the same value per suit. If we are looking for non-repeated pairs, we can use 3. If we have two cards and we use both pairs, we have 6 that can be of value. And, if we have one pair and we are looking for a three of a kind, only 2 can be useful. 1, if what we are looking for is to tie a poker. This is the rule that is also followed for straights.
  • 13 cards per suit. Diamonds, spades, clubs and hearts. Each of these suits is made up of 13 cards.

Counting cards in poker is not excessively complicated, but it is an art to know how to do it well, especially because it is sometimes frowned upon by some casinos when a player is counting cards and making a strategic profit.

Especially because it is sometimes frowned upon by some casinos when a player is counting cards and making a strategic profit from it. Do you remember the one that broke out because of card counting with Phil Ivey? He claims, probably rightly so, that he knows how to read the cards, but in no case does he cheat. It’s just that his skill reaches a point where he has the ability to do it. 

But casinos are often opposed to the use of these stratagems and many times they can veto the access to casinos if they notice that you are counting cards in their premises. And that can get you into trouble, and you can also get into legal trouble because of lawsuits that the casino may want to open against you for counting cards.

Tips on how to learn card counting in poker

When we master card counting, we will be able to draw outs with ease. And on that basis, simple formulas can be used to draw conclusions for future decisions:

If the result of this operation is lower than our odds, go ahead, it’s a good bet. If not, it is better not to continue.

Another important point to know is the rule of 4 and 2. It is a quick and very useful formula on the flop. It consists of multiplying the outs by 4 on the flop, and on the turn by 2.

But, even if you become an expert card counter, you should know that, although necessary, it is not enough by itself. With card counting you can have interesting data about what is happening in the game, but it does not allow you to guess anything. It is all based on mental agility and skill acquired with experience.