Ace Tracking and Side Counts

Ace Tracking and Ace Side Counts are not black jack card counting methods on their own, but are actually extra counts that you can track along side your running count in order to improve the accuracy of your favorite system.

Ace Side Count

This is done in one of two ways, depending on what card counting method you are using. For balanced counting systems like Hi-Lo Count and Hi-Opt I the correct way to perform an ace side count is to take the number of aces dealt divided by the number of decks remaining, similar to how you would convert a running count to the true count. The more aces remain, the higher your chances of getting a blackjack.

Ace side counts for non-balanced counting systems (like Zen Count or KO Count) are calculated in a different way and are used to increase the accuracy of playing strategy, particularly as to whether a player should take insurance.

Ace Tracking

Ace tracking (also called “Shuffle Tracking”) is the approximate art of trying to determine when and where the ace will appear by paying attention to the cards directly underneath the ace, so that when the cards are picked up and shuffled the player can recognize the neighbor cards and bet that the ace will be next.

Players interested in ace tracking should check out Arnold Snyder’s The Blackjack Shuffle Tracker’s Cookbook.