Knock Out Count | An Even Simpler Card Counting System
In addition to Hi-Lo, card counters can also try out other card counting systems like the Knock Out card counting system. KO is also a straightforward counting system that rookie card counters can progress towards to if they want to try out other systems.
This system was devised by Olaf Vancura and Ken Fuchs and detailed in the book “Knock-Out Blackjack: The Easiest Card-Counting System Ever Devised.” This is called the easiest because it works similarly to Hi-Lo with the main difference being that players no longer need to convert the running count to the true count.
How Does Knock Out Card Counting Work?
The main reason why players won’t need to convert the count is because the starting count is dependent on how many decks are at play. A single-deck game starts off at 0 while a two-deck game starts off at -4. The more decks there are at play, the lower the starting count is. This can be difficult when not checking how many decks a table is using. Still, most blackjack tables in Lodibet will have eight decs at play.
Another difference is that the assigned values are slightly differently than Hi-Lo’s values.
| Card Value | Card Types | Assigned Value |
| High Cards | 10, Jack, Queen, King, Ace | -1 |
| Neutral Cards | 8, 9 | 0 |
| Low Cards | 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 | 1 |
As seen above, the only 8 and 9 are Neutral Cards and 7 is moved to the Low Cards.
Once the count is +2, the player starts gaining an advantage and should mostly increase how much they bet and deviate from time to time. As the count increases, the better the time to increase the stake as there is a higher chance of higher value cards appearing and giving the player a better chance of getting a natural Blackjack.
Is the Knock Out Card Counting System Good?
Yes. Some might argue that this is better and simpler than the Hi-Lo system due to the fact that there are less calculations needed since players won’t need to convert the running count into the true count. Some card counters can either start out from this card counting system or move here from the Hi-Lo and stick to it to keep things simple and make more consistent wins.
The learning curve in this counting system is arguably less steep than Hi-Lo’s learning curve and can be more beginner-friendly. Still, similar to Hi-Lo, some players might prefer the more complicated systems instead of the simpler ones.
Is Knock Out the Ultimate Card Counting System?
No. Although Knock Out is simpler than Hi-Lo, it’s still not the best card counting system. The best is still dependent on player preference. Players must also make no mistake when keeping track of the count.
Knock Out also has some disadvantages as it is not as accurate as other card counting systems so it’s possible to lose bets as players can’t eliminate the house edge. The other disadvantages are common amongst other card counting systems as card counting becomes useless when the dealer constantly reshuffles the deck.
Conclusion
The Knock Out card counting system is an even simpler card counting system than the Hi-Lo count and can be popular for beginners when they play at Lodibet’s blackjack tables. We advise using the tables that follow the Infinite format available in Evolution Gaming to have less cards to count per round.
Register at Lodibet today and try counting cards with one of our blackjack games. Use the Knock Out to start with if you still don’t know how to count cards or if you’re sticking to the system for simplicity’s sake.
