Blackjack KO Count Basics

Unlike the balanced counting systems, which end up with a 0 if you go to the end of the deck of cards, the unbalanced counting systems stand aside. The most popular unbalanced system is the Blackjack KO count. The KO stands for the Knockout card count.

The main thing about this system is that some cards receive other values. 7’s according to this strategy receive the value of 1 and therefore the count changes a bit.

Knock-Out Count Card Values

Small cards (2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7) are counted as +1
8 and 9 are counted as 0.
All the tens (10, J, Q, K) and an A are counted as −1.

Therefore, with the help of the KO Count system if you count the entire deck you will have a positive count, +4. This is done to ignore and not to use the true count.

The authors of the KO count strategy believe that for most of blackjack players it is difficult and inconvenient to go from the running to the true count all the time, especially if the casino is too crowded and noisy and players cannot concentrate. 

KO count was created as an alternative for those who do not like the Hi-Lo count. Though it is less accurate as the Hi-Lo the difference yet is not too big, and those players that have only started counting cards or find the Hi-Lo difficult, you can forfeit it to feel more comfortable.

The blackjack KO count system is great for those who can not master the True and Running counts and are not ready to use something more complicated. Nevertheless, before trying any of the counting strategies make sure you choose them according to your skills and preferences.