Hi-Opt II (short for highly optimum) is a balanced, level 2 card counting strategy that was developed by professional blackjack player Lance Humble in the 1970s and was outlined in the Hi-Opt II Report, which is, sadly, no longer in print.
This count represents an upgraded and significantly more complex version of the Hi-Opt I count that was too created by Humble and broadly discussed in The World’s Greatest Blackjack Book, a work he co-authored with fellow blackjack aficionado Carl Cooper.
The tweaks and adjustments this expert counter made to his original highly optimum system resulted in the creation of his second, more powerful one. However, Hi-Opt II also requires a bit more mental energy to comprehend and master.
Some argue that the advantage this second count offers is not much bigger than the one achieved by its less elaborate sibling https://www.casinonewsdaily.com/blackjack-guide/hi-opt-i-blackjack-card-counting-system/. Yet, an experienced player knows very well that any opportunity to reduce the house edge should be exploited to the full.
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If you’re a counter with many hours of practice under your belt…
… and you are on the lookout for a new count to implement, this technique is a good one to try out. However, if you lack any counting experience and are just venturing into this form of advantage play, we suggest that you check level 1 systems as they are better suited for beginners.
Before we provide our readers with information on how to count cards with Hi-Opt II, we first want to dwell a little bit on this technique’s efficiency.
Does This Count Only Work with Single-Deck Games?
This counting method was developed for single-deck blackjack, which was hugely popular back in the day. Single-deck games are less frequently played at land-based casinos nowadays, but there are still establishments in Nevada and other popular gambling destinations that offer them as part of their table games offering.
Many say that this card counting method would not work for shoe games without the player having to keep a side count of Aces. However, experts argue that it works just fine in multi-deck games even without the above mentioned side count.
Yet, for best results, players should better keep track of the Aces that are still in the shoe. More experienced counters can include other side counts, if they feel they want some additional power.
But this makes things really complicated, so you’d better avoid adding more side counts, if these are uncharted waters for you, and just stick to the basics.
How Efficient Is Hi-Opt II?
This is a very powerful system. Card counters in the 1970s regarded it as one of the most accurate methods available at the time. As mentioned above, it was specifically designed to be used against single-deck games, but when used properly, it performs equally well against multiple decks.
When we talk about a counting method’s efficiency, we need to discuss two particularly important concepts – betting correlation (or efficiency) and playing efficiency.
Betting correlation indicates how correctly a count predicts valuable betting situations. The higher it is, the more accurately the counting system tells what the real “effect of removal” of each card in the deck or decks is.
A system with betting efficiency of 100% is the best you could get. This concept is particularly important when playing six- or eight-deck games.
Here’s a quick example…
… to make things more clear. If the table you play at indicates that the house has a 0.5% edge over you and you use basic strategy, a counting system with 100% betting efficiency would measure extremely accurately your edge (or the lack of edge) as long as you keep your count properly.
In other words, when scouting for a counting method, you should aim for one offering betting efficiency of as close to 100% as possible.
Hi-Opt II’s betting efficiency stands at 91%, which is pretty good, but not perfect. There are systems that are far superior in that department.
As for playing efficiency, it is a measure that tells how well a count determines correct basic strategy deviations. Just like betting efficiency, the higher this measure is, the better. It is particularly important against single- and double-deck tables where basic strategy changes are more important than they are in shoe games.
In terms of playing efficiency, a count cannot be more than 70% accurate. Hi-Opt II’s playing efficiency stands at 67%, which makes it extremely powerful for playing purposes. In comparison, its easier sibling has betting efficiency of 88% and playing efficiency of 61%.
Counting Cards with This System
When you count cards in blackjack, you assign specific values/attach specific tags to each card that is dealt by the dealer. This helps you determine the ratio of low cards versus high cards still to be played. The more high-valued cards (tens and Aces) there are remaining, the better chance you have to be dealt a blackjack.
And you will really want to wager a little bit more coin if you know that getting a hand totaling 21 is highly likely. Following similar logic, you’d want to decrease your bet, if the chance of being dealt a weak hand is quite big.
We said that this counting system is a balanced, level 2 one. But what does this mean? Well, using a balanced technique requires you to always start your count at 0. And by the time you reach the end of the deck or decks the game is played with, your count should have leveled itself to 0 again.
When you are learning this system, or any other balanced strategy, you’ll be able to easily test how accurately you count your cards.
The Canfield Expert Blackjack Card Counting System/
The Uston Advanced Plus-Minus Blackjack Card Counting System
The Uston Advanced Point Count Blackjack Card Counting System
Reading this, you may think that balanced systems are easier to master. Well, that’s not entirely true. Yes, it is rather soothing to know that if you do things correctly, your final count would net out to 0. However, with balanced systems you need to convert your count (or running count as it is most often referred to as) into a true count. This makes things a bit more complex. In comparison, with unbalanced systems, the true count conversion is not necessary.
Another important thing that defines Hi-Opt II is that it is a level 2 count. This means that the values you need to assign to the cards range between -2, -1, 0, +1, and +2. In comparison, its sibling is a level 1 count, which means that it features fewer tags to keep up with.
But here are the values that you need to give to your cards as they are being dealt when you use this counting system:
| 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | J | Q | K | A |
| +1 | +1 | +2 | +2 | +1 | +1 | 0 | 0 | -2 | -2 | -2 | -2 | 0 |
According to the above chart, 2s, 3s, 6s, and 7s get a +1 value, meaning each time any of these hits the felt, you would add +1 to your running count. 4s and 5s get a +2 value, which means that you’d add +2 to your running count every time these are dealt by the dealer. Being given a the highest value than any of the other cards in the deck shows that these cards are particularly bad for the player.
On the opposite side of the spectrum…
… when a ten-valued card pops, you’ll need to subtract 2 from your running count. You will do nothing when 8s and 9s come up. As you can see, Aces are, too, assigned a 0 tag, but we’ll talk about this in the next section of this article.
So, you’ve bought into a blackjack game and the dealer starts to deal the first hand. Your running count is 0 at this point. As cards begin to appear on the felt, you start adding or subtracting their values to keep your running count. If a 2 appears, your running count will become +1. If a ten is dealt, you’ll subtract 2 for a new running count of -1, and so on.
As we mentioned above, the counting system that we are discussing in this article is a balanced one, which means that you’ll have to convert the running count into a true count. But why do you need this?
Blackjack is a swingy game…
… or in other words, as your running count proceeds, the odds will vary from favoring the dealer to favoring you. The true count will show you when the advantage has swung to your favor. To calculate the true count, you need to divide the running count by the number of decks that are still in play, assuming that you play a multi-deck game.
It is difficult to know the exact number of decks still in the shoe, but in practice you don’t need an absolutely exact number. A simple and approximate estimate will suffice. If, for example, your running count is +2 and there are two decks left, your true count would be +1.
Keeping Side Counts with This System
While the conversion of the running count into a true count is just enough for this system to perform well and give you information about the proportion of good versus bad cards that are yet to be dealt, counting the Aces still in play separately will bolster its performance.
The system being Ace-neutral means that the true count is really accurate for strategy purposes, but less so for betting purposes. To correct this, you can calculate the number of excess Aces still in the shoe and multiply their number by -2 (the value assigned to ten-valued cards). Temporarily add the result you get to your running count and recalculate your true count for betting purposes.
In this count, 8s and 9s are, too, counted as 0. To improve the system’s playing efficiency, some expert counters also keep a side count of these two cards, in addition to Aces. However, while we encourage keeping a separate count on the Aces (as long as your level of expertise allows this), we do not recommend bothering with the 8s and 9s as this makes this technique unnecessarily complex.
After all, every removal of an Ace from the decks has a really measurable impact on the player’s edge, so that’s where you should focus your effort and attention rather than dividing it among additional side counts.
Sizing Your Bet with This System
The general rule of sizing your wager when utilizing this system (or any other counting strategy) is that you should bet larger when the odds are in your favor and reduce your bet when they swing in the house’s favor. There are other approaches to adjusting a bet, but this one is the best to start with.
When the edge favors the house, you should bet no more than the table minimum. And as the size of the odds grows in your favor, you should consider increasing your wager. If your count is negative, zero, or lower than +2, you should stick to the table minimum. If the count goes beyond +2, you can calculate the size of your bet by multiplying the true count by the betting unit at your table.
So, if your true count is +4 and the minimum bet at the table is set at $20, your recommended wager would be 4*$20 which equals to $80.
However, ensure that raising or reducing your bet looks natural to avoid being caught counting cards. While the practice is not illegal, it is not something casinos are fond of.
Final Words
Hi-Opt II is a more elaborate and sophisticated version of Humble’s original highly optimum count. The system is a really powerful one, but it is also not so easy to master. This makes it suitable for more experienced counters who want to up their counting game.
You should also remember that this counting strategy, just as any other, will not make you a winner and swell your bankroll instantly. Yet, if you follow it properly and pair it with a side count of Aces, your chances of emerging victorious over the dealer will increase significantly.
