The K-O System: A Clear Guide for Blackjack Players

Card counting is one of the strategies blackjack players use when playing against a professional dealer in trusted casinos. Though card counting may sound complex, there are some beginner strategies that you may want to try out, such as the Knock-Out (K-O) System.

Learn more about this popular, yet unbalanced, counting method by diving into the following points of this article:

• What is the K-O Card Counting System?
• How Does this System Work?
• Is The K-O System the Best?

What is the K-O Card Counting System?

This card counting system is a straightforward yet powerful way to track high and low cards in a deck during a game of blackjack. Though even the best card counting techniques are not guaranteed ways to increase your odds of winning, these are interesting ways to make the game more exciting.

The K-O System was introduced, and popularised by, the book, “Knock-Out Blackjack: The Easiest Card Counting System Ever Devised,” by Ken Fuchs and Olaf Vancura.

While most card counting systems require converting the running count into the true count through division, the K-O system eliminates the need for these. This makes the K-O system suitable for beginners.

‼️ The house will always have an edge. Players should never try to recover losses by gambling more. The outcome of the games is always entirely based on luck and chance.

How Does this System Work?

In K-O, there are specific point values for the cards in a deck. These are listed in the table below:

In comparison to the Hi-Lo System, the point values are similar except for the 7s, which are also counted as +1.

The Running Count in K-O

In this system, the total sum of the card values is used for the running count. The higher the count, the more high cards remain in the deck. This is in favour of the player.

Using the Running Count in a Game of Blackjack

Not needing the true count while playing makes the K-O a more straightforward card counting system. However, each blackjack game comes with a pre-determined key count based on the number of decks, as shown in the table below:

If the running count reaches or exceeds the key count, the deck may be rich in high cards.

Is The K-O System the Best?

If you’re new to the world of card counting, you may want to consider trying out the K-O system. It is suitable for beginners since you will not need to keep track of a true count. However, this system is also known to be unbalanced due to this same reason.

Card counting of any kind, however, is not recommended when playing in a high-stakes casino game. Professional live dealers are trained to detect card counters. If you are suspected of this, casinos, such as Genting Casino, may ask you to leave the table.

‼️ The house will always have an edge. Players should never try to recover losses by gambling more. The outcome of the games is always entirely based on luck and chance.