A novice player looking to dive into card counting might wonder if this form of advantage play works. The simple answer is – it does!
Players can swing the odds in their favor and beat the casino if they use correct blackjack strategy and combine it with a good card counting system that they have mastered to near perfection.
There is a countless number of counting techniques and a player’s choice of a system to learn and utilize at the blackjack table depends strictly on their level of experience and comfort with using such systems.
They are generally classified in four levels based on how difficult they are to learn and use. Level 1 systems are the easiest, while level 4s are the most complex ones. For beginner blackjack players who had just begun their journey into card counting, we recommend strongly level 1 strategies.
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And Canfield Expert is one such technique. This count was invented by blackjack aficionado and a former pit boss turned author Richard Canfield. It was first introduced in his book Blackjack Your Way to Riches. The book was published in the late 1970s, making Canfield Expert is one of the earlier counting systems.
While it is less frequently used nowadays and despite certain bad points to it that we will discuss at a later stage, this count is extremely efficient. It should also be noted that it is one of two methods devised by Canfield, but it costs a little bit of coin to get a copy of its much trickier brother – Canfield Master.
Before we delve into what Canfield Expert involves and whether this system is worth a try, we would like to discuss a couple of important terms that would later help us explain why this count is actually quite powerful, even though it is only a single-level one.
Betting Efficiency/Playing Efficiency – What Are These?
All card counting systems are assigned betting efficiency and playing efficiency ratings that measure how good they are for betting and for playing purposes.
A count’s betting efficiency basically indicates how accurately it measures the player’s edge over the casino. For example, if a casino has a 0.5% edge over a player who uses basic strategy, a counting system with 100% betting efficiency would calculate precisely the player’s edge, if they keep the running count accurately and convert it into a true count properly.
However, the player still should have some money management system at hand as having an edge over the casino does not always mean that you are going to win a hand.
As for playing efficiency, it measures how well a player’s counting system of choice guides them in making basic strategy variations.
The best count for betting is 100% accurate, while the accuracy of the best one used for playing purposes sits at about 70%. However, out of the multitude of counts out there, there is not a single one that offers this 100/70 combination. This leaves it to the player to decide which one works best for them.
The Canfield Expert Count – How Does It Work?
Canfield Expert is a balanced system, which means that counting starts at zero and when the card counter has gone through an entire deck, the count should be zero.
As it is with all other counts ever introduced, this one too requires players to assign pre-determined values to each and every card as it is being dealt. As mentioned above, Canfield Expert is a single-level system which means that the player will only have to either add or subtract 1 from their running count. This is what makes this system so simple.
So when a new game kicks of and the dealer begins to deal cards, the player should start assigning values to these based on the chart below:
| 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | J | Q | K | A |
| 0 | +1 | +1 | +1 | +1 | +1 | 0 | -1 | -1 | -1 | -1 | -1 | 0 |
As a new card is turned, the running count will update, unless that new card is a 2, an 8, or an ace.
The ultimate goal of every card counting system is to show players whether high cards (aces and 10s) prevail in what’s left from the deck or whether there are more low cards left in play. Knowing this is particularly important as it provides players with information whether a natural, which pays out 3 to 2, is likely and also helps them adjust their bets.
As you have probably noticed, Canfield Expert does not reckon aces, that is they are not assigned any value. However, it might be a good idea to keep a count of them in addition to the running count for better results. Also, getting used to side-counting the aces with this system will help you in future if you try other, more complex methods where keeping a count of the aces in play is actually required.
To put the knowledge we’ve provided our readers with so far, here’s an example of how this method works. At the start of a new blackjack game, your running count is 0. During the first hand, an Ace appears first, which means that the count stays at 0. A 9 is dealt next and you’ll need to subtract 1 from your count. The running count is now -1. Then a 3 is dealt, which means that you will need to add 1. This brings the running count back to 0. A 6 comes next to up the count to +1, and so on.
The higher the running count goes when using this system…
…the more likely players are to increase their bets. The opposite happens when the count is still positive but close to zero or negative. If the count remains negative for a while, that means that the chance for a blackjack is really low. In such cases we recommend that players stay at base bet or leave the table.
The size of the bet is really determined by the player, but we should warn you that every casino is on the lookout for prolonged patterns of systematic play, so you have to be extremely careful when using this or any other card counting system. While this form of advantage play is not illegal, it is still heavily frowned upon by casinos in every corner of the world.
And being spotted counting cards at the blackjack table could get you in trouble with the casino you’re playing at. You can be escorted out of it in best-case scenario or even banned from it for life, in the most serious case.
The Uston Advanced Point Count Blackjack Card Counting System
The Uston SS (Strongest and Simplest) Blackjack Card Counting System
The Omega II Blackjack Card Counting System
What Makes Canfield Expert a Good Technique?
Canfield Expert, although an old-ish and simple card counting system, is a good and quite powerful one. Its betting efficiency stands at 87% which means that it is not too far from being nearly perfectly accurate when determining when a player should raise their bets.
In comparison, the Hi-Lo count, which is cited as the ultimate balanced beginner’s card counting system, offers betting efficiency of 97%. In other words, this other system offers more of an edge for players when they raise their bets.
However, Canfield Expert’s playing efficiency sits at 63%, while Hi-Lo’s is at 51%. This means that the former is much better for playing purposes.
A good way to get the most of Canfield’s technique is to adjust your playing moves according to your running count. When it is positive, you can take insurance. In other cases, insurance can be a sucker bet, that is to say one whose expected return does not really reflect the odds of winning.
But Canfield Expert could give you the information that you need to play certain difficult hands such as a hard total of 16 when the dealer shows a 10. If your count is positive, you will likely stand.
Disadvantages
While Canfield’s system seems like a nice introduction to card counting, we should also note that there are several significant disadvantages attached to it.
The edge this technique offers a bit lower than what other, equally simple and efficient systems do. In addition, it was designed for single-deck blackjack games. And you can rarely come across games of this kind these days.
Well, many casinos host single-deck high-stakes blackjack games, but security at such tables is usually ten times more vigilant against card counting and other advantage play methods, so you should really think carefully if it is worth the risk.
Final Thoughts
Canfield Expert is a nice strategy to get into card counting. It is not too challenging to master and it offers an OK edge. On the other hand, there are other just as simple systems that can be better used with multiple-deck games, including Red 7 and Knockout.
And for players with some counting experience, upgrading your skills to a level 2 method such as the Zen Count method than learning another level 1 one is probably a better idea.
