An Expert Card Counting Strategy
The Uston Advanced Count is named after its creator Ken Uston, a flamboyant figure in the world of gambling who was famous for his masterful disguises used to get past casino security. Uston made a vast amount of money using his strategies in casinos across the US and even won a lawsuit in the Supreme Court against his local casino who had banned him from playing blackjack.
In 1982 Uston published his classic blackjack text, “Million Dollar Blackjack”. In it he wrote about some of his strategies including the Uston Advanced Point Count (APC). While this has been named as one of the most accurate counts in the history of the game, offering the player a very powerful edge, it is complicated and not advised for beginning players. Here you can find out how to use the Uston APC, how it works, and what its downsides are.
Uston Advanced Count – Using the Uston APC
The Uston APC is a balanced count meaning your running count will end up as 0 once the whole deck has been dealt out. This is common with many other counting systems and allows you to spot errors easily when you are practicing with it.
Like other counting systems Uston APC relies on starting off with a 0 count then adding and subtracting from it depending on which cards have been dealt into the game. This count then gives an indication when the deck or shoe is loaded with 10 value cards and is mathematically in the player’s favor, at which point they should increase their betting.
The count values of the cards are:
Ace = 0
2, 8 = +1
3, 4, 6, 7 = +2
5 = +3
9 = -1
10, Jack, Queen, King = -3
When you start placing your bets use you minimum bet at first then as your count increases start growing you bets. In order to work out how much to bet you will need to figure out the true count, which can be done by dividing your running count by the number of decks remaining in the shoe, although a rough guess is fine here.
You may also notice that aces have no count value. In order to maximize the potential of this count system you will need to keep track of the remaining aces separately. Once you start doing this you can really start pushing your bets up in favorable spots where the shoe is rich in both aces and tens, giving you a better chance of getting blackjack which pays out at 3/2.
Uston Advance Count – How Uston APC Works
Like other advanced counting strategies Uston APC does not only keep track of when the 10-value cards are likely to be in the deck, with its graded value system it also tracks how few unfavorable cards there are. While aces help the player a lot, it is more efficient to keep a separate count. This way you can clearly realize when the chances of getting a blackjack have improved.
As you track the deck with the system, knowing when the deck is rich in 10s can also give you a clear idea of when to take the Insurance bet. While this is generally a sucker bet, once you know when the deck has a disproportionate number of 10s in it, the insurance bet becomes more profitable.
Uston Advanced Count – The Limitations of the Uston APC
The Uston Advanced Count is one of the best counting systems you can find for accuracy and profitability. Its only real downside is the complexity of the different counts. Not only have you got a complicated running count to keep going, you have to be aware of the true count and then track the number of aces left. It is not easy although if it was there would have to be a compromise on its effectiveness.
If you have not practiced this count until you are completely confident with it you will be best to use an easier count. That way you can focus on getting the right balance in your bets to avoid detection rather than fumbling around in your head, wondering what the right count is.