Many of the strategy guides for blackjack encourage players to develop complex systems of card counting. By keeping track of the cards that have already been played, players can better anticipate what cards are still to come and bet accordingly. However, online card counting is not only more difficult, it is almost impossible for a few reasons.

Deck Number and Random Shuffling

Card counting in blackjack requires players to keep a running tally of cards that have come up in the game. Depending on how many decks there are, this can be quite difficult. Online card counting has even more challenges, as online casinos can vary the number of virtual decks they use at any time. These decks are also randomly shuffled, which re-deposits any cards already counted back into the deck. Keeping up with the automatic shufflers can cancel out the effort of online card counting.

Tools to Help

If players still want to attempt online card counting, there are plenty of tools to make the task easier. Players can download automatic card counters to help with the complicated task. These card counters require the player to enter in the cards as they are played, but they will automatically generate the odds of the next card being high or low. The card counters can even make suggestions as to the player's optimal next move.

Card counting online may not produce the same results as counting cards in live casinos, but the practice can still give players a leg up. If players decide to try online card counting, they should be aware of the limitations, though, and be careful not to over rely on the technique.