Simulating Hi-Lo count in MATLAB

Abstract

Blackjack is a card game that usually played in casino where one or several players bet against a dealer. Each player and the dealer are given a pair of cards where both cards received by the player are facing up (known as the upcard) and the dealer has one card facing up and another facing down (known as the hole card). The rule is simple, the players must accumulate points to beat the dealer. The points of each card are the number that appears on the card, with cards like J, Q and K are counted 10 points. An A can be counted as 1 or 10 points at the player’s preference. Additional cards (maximum 5 cards) can be drawn be players and the dealer and both parties must not exceed 21 points (busting). This game can be played instinctively with luck but mathematicians had found a systematic way to increase the player’s advantage in Blackjack; which is known as card counting. There are many card counting techniques such as Hi-Low count, Hi-Opt II, Red 7, etc. In this study, we will determine whether the Hi-Low count technique will affect the winning probabilities of a player as well as the profit gained by a player in Blackjack. We simulate Blackjack for 10, 000 and 100, 000 trials in MATLAB 2018a using the Hi-Low count and compare the result against the trials without card counting. Furthermore, we will also vary the number of decks used in the trials as this to see how it affects the efficiency of card counting.