Omega II Blackjack System by Bryce Carlson

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Bryce Carlson’s Omega II Card Counting System for Advanced Players

Over the past few weeks, I’ve been focusing heavily on the expansion of this website’s blackjack content. I’m particularly interested in the efficiency and difficulty ratings of variable blackjack card counting systems.

Thus far, I’ve covered a number of point count systems that are ranked beginner to intermediate, such as Arnold Snyder’s indubitably simple Red Sevens Count, and the somewhat more complicated, professional-approved Hi-Lo Strategy with True Count conversion.

Today, we’ll tackle a more advanced count system than any we’ve described yet. I’m referring to the Omega II Blackjack System, as developed by professional player Bryce Carlson, and detailed in his best-selling strategy guide, Blackjack for Blood.

Carlson developed this system after meeting and strategizing alongside some of the most famous blackjack pros in the world; players like Lawrence Revere, Stanford Wong, Ken Uston, Don Schlesinger, Peter Griffin, and Arnold Snyder. Carlson didn’t just play for money, but for the sheer accomplishment of doing something most people believed impossible—beating the casinos at their own game.

Advanced Omega II Card Counting System

Like all other point-count blackjack systems, the Omega II is based on giving certain groups of cards a specific, numerical value. Unlike more simplistic counting methods, where the values range from -1 to +1, the more advanced Omega II system assigns values of -2 to +2, and the numerical groups are not sequential.

It is strongly recommended that you begin with one of the easiest card counting systems, like the Knock Out Count, before attempting something with this degree of difficulty. It’s not that it’s hard to add or subtract by 1 or 2, or to remember that 8s and Aces are the only 0-value cards in the deck. It’s remembering all of this and more, while keeping an accurate count of every card played, in a public setting, at the dealer’s pace, without being conspicuous about the fact that you’re doing it. That, my friends, takes a great deal of practice.

Omega II Blackjack System – Card Values

Employing this advanced card counting system requires the following values to be assigned to the corresponding cards. Note again the numerical groups are not sequential.

4, 5 and 6 = +2

2, 3 and 7 = +1

8 and A = 0

9 = -1

10, J, Q and K = -2

It may be easier to examine and memorize the values in this way:

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

To practice, take a single deck of cards and count your way through. The Omega II Card Counting System is balanced, therefore you should end with a final total of 0. Continue practicing until you can complete the count with consistent ease and accuracy.

The object of using this blackjack counting method is to increase your bet size when the count is high, and decrease wagers when the count is low. The higher the count, the more high cards there will be remaining in the deck; thus the higher your odds of being dealt a natural blackjack.

For multi-deck games that use 4 or more decks in the shoe, you’ll get the best results by converting the running count to a true count. Please refer to our section on true count conversion at the bottom of this page for more information.