In short: Omega II is a balanced, level-two card counting system popularised by Bryce Carlson in his 1992 book Blackjack for Blood. It counts 2, 3 and 7 as +1, 4, 5 and 6 as +2, 9 as -1, tens as -2, and aces and 8s as 0. Players convert the running count to a true count and track aces separately.
Omega II easily fits in the group of the more complex and highly efficient card counting systems that are widely popular with intermediate and advanced blackjack players.
This card counting technique was popularized by Bryce Carlson in the early 1990s. Carlson dwelt broadly on the method in his 1992 book Blackjack for Blood.
Carlson himself was an expert blackjack player and card counter who perfected his skills by playing in teams. He learned a lot about the game and how to swing the edge in his favor by deploying basic mathematical principles by studying card counting methods invented and deployed by fellow professional players such as Arnold Snyder, Ken Uston, and Stanford Wong as well as other blackjack experts.
Omega II is a complex card counting system, but not as complex as some of the techniques devised by some of the above-mentioned blackjack experts. Carlson’s method is a balanced, multi-level system that requires players to keep a running count and convert it into a true count.
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Omega II is classified as a level 2 card counting technique, which means that absolute beginner card counters should really avoid it until they familiarize themselves with what card counting entails. Less experienced players are highly recommended to embark on their card counting journey with level 1 systems such as Hi-Lo, KO (Knockout), and Red 7.
For players who feel comfortable enough with less tricky card counting methods and confident that they can handle more difficult ones, Omega II is one they should definitely try as it is extremely efficient and powerful, which compensates for the time and effort it requires to come to grips with.
Omega II: The Basics
The purpose of card counting systems, Omega II included, is to help players keep track of the ratio of high cards to low cards in the deck. This way players will know when that ratio is skewed in their favor, that is to say when there are more high cards left in the deck. The more high cards there are in the deck, the bigger the chance of getting a blackjack is.
And players need this information when adjusting their bets since a blackjack pays off at 3 to 2. It is a good idea to put more money into action when the player reaches a point where their preferred card counting method indicates a blackjack is very likely to happen.
Keeping a running count is the first important action card counters using Omega II need to master. Running count is not a strange concept for any experienced card counter, but if it is something you are not familiar with, we again suggest that you try a less tricky system to up your blackjack game.
Keeping a running count requires players to assign a value to every card that is dealt during a blackjack game. Different card counting systems require players to assign different values to the cards. And different techniques require players to start their count in different ways.
As mentioned above, Omega II is a balanced card counting method. This means that the positive and negative values cancel each other out over a full deck. With balanced counts, the counting begins with the value of 0 and if the player goes through a deck, or multiple decks, of cards accurately, they will wind up with a 0 when they finish.
This does not really sound too complex and hard to accomplish. However, what makes Omega II one of the harder card counting systems is the fact that it is a level 2 count. Many card counting methods only require players to add or subtract 1 from to keep track on the running count.
However, with Omega II, some of the cards are worth +1 or -1 while others are worth +2 or -2. This significantly complicates things.
How to Count Cards with Omega II?
Now as we have familiarized our readers with the basics of this card counting system, it is time to provide a bit more specific information on how to actually implement the knowledge gained through the above section of our article.
With Omega II, as it is with all other card counting techniques, players need to memorize the values they will assign to the cards as they are dealt by dealers at blackjack tables. Here are the card values for this particular system:
| 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | J | Q | K | A |
| +1 | +1 | +2 | +2 | +2 | +1 | 0 | -1 | -2 | -2 | -2 | -2 | 0 |
The count should start at the beginning of every new shoe after the dealer shuffles the decks. As mentioned above, with Omega II the starting count is always zero. As cards are being dealt, the player should add 1 to their running count if 2s, 3s, or 7s appear, add 2 if 4s, 5s, or 6s are dealt, do nothing if 8s or aces come out, subtract 1 if 9s are dealt, and subtract 2 if tens (10s, Js, Qs, and Ks) appear.
Omega II requires players to convert the running count into a true count. Luckily, this is not that difficult. The need to keep a true count means that players must take into account how many decks there are in play to calculate their advantage.
To convert the running count into a true count, players need to divide the running count by the number of decks left in the shoe. Keeping track of the true count is particularly important when there are more than four decks in play.
You have probably noticed that the Omega II count assigns a 0 value to aces. With this system, aces need to be tracked separately. If, for example, you play an eight-deck blackjack, you will have to keep track of 32 aces. This means that you will need to invest a massive amount of focus and concentration, but many expert blackjack players say it is totally worth it as keeping individual score of the aces in and out of play improves the accuracy of betting decisions.
The more aces remain in the shoe, the higher the probability of being dealt a blackjack.
All the information players gain about the deck or decks they play with through the running and true counts and through counting aces separately is more than enough to help them adjust their bets properly.
As the running count goes positive and increases, the player will want to place higher bets. And as the count starts getting lower (+1, 0, or -1), the odds will start favoring the house. This is the point when the player should reduce their bets until the next time the count moves up.
