---
title: 'Blackjack KO "Knockout" Card Counting System Tutorial'
source: 'https://youtube.com/watch?v=92zvEh1QDys'
video_id: '92zvEh1QDys'
date: 2026-07-07
duration_sec: 0
---

# Blackjack KO "Knockout" Card Counting System Tutorial

> Source: [Blackjack KO "Knockout" Card Counting System Tutorial](https://youtube.com/watch?v=92zvEh1QDys)

## Summary

The KO (Knockout) card counting system is an easy and effective blackjack strategy that assigns +1, 0, or -1 values to cards, similar to the Hi-Lo system, but eliminates the need to calculate the true count by using an unbalanced starting count based on the number of decks. This video explains how to use the KO system, including card values, starting counts, and betting spreads for different deck sizes.

### Key Points

- **Introduction to KO System** [00:02] — The KO (Knockout) card counting system is easy and effective, comparable to Hi-Lo but simpler because it doesn't require true count calculation.
- **What is the KO System?** [00:41] — It assigns +1 to low cards (2-7), 0 to neutral cards (8-9), and -1 to high cards (10, J, Q, K, A). Unlike Hi-Lo, it uses an unbalanced count, so no true count conversion is needed.
- **Card Values in KO** [01:58] — Low cards (2-7) = +1, neutral (8-9) = 0, high (10-A) = -1. This differs from Hi-Lo which counts 2-6 as low.
- **Starting Running Count by Decks** [02:27] — Starting running count depends on decks: 1 deck = 0, 2 decks = -4, 6 decks = -20, 8 decks = -28.
- **Example of Counting** [03:19] — Using an online casino screenshot, the first five cards (A,2,6,9,7) yield a running count of +2. With 8 decks starting at -28, actual running count is -26.
- **Betting Spreads for 1-2 Decks** [05:40] — For 1-2 deck games: bet 1 unit at RC ≤0, 2 units at +1, 3 at +2, 4 at +3, 5 at +4, 6 at +5 or better.
- **Betting Spreads for 6-8 Decks** [06:47] — For 6-8 deck games: bet 1 unit at RC ≤0, 2 at +1, 4 at +2, 6 at +3, 10 at +4, 12 at +5 or better.

### Conclusion

The KO system is beginner-friendly and as effective as Hi-Lo, allowing players to gain an edge by betting more when the count is high. Practice at home before applying in casinos.

## Transcript

here and welcome to a brand new video so today i'm going to talk about the ko card counting system also known as the knockout card counting system this is actually a really easy and effective card counting system it's i would say as
effective as the classic high-low card counting system and it's actually easier in my opinion so in this video i'm going to explain you exactly what is the discard counting system how to use it and actually how to apply it in online
casinos or in real life casinos so once again make sure you drop a like and subscribe for more blackjack tips and tricks and without further ado let's get right into it so what exactly is the ko system it is
actually an easy card accounting system that allows players to gain an edge over the casino by assigning a plus one minus one or zero value to each card that is dealt so as you can see it's pretty similar to the high low you assign a
value depending on a card that is dealt on uh the shoe but the difference with this strategy is that you only need to keep track of the figure out the true count so there's no
need for complicated math you see one year you use a card counting system like the high low to gain the edge you need to calculate the true count okay but that you only focus on your running count and what's good about this is
because a lot of people have difficulties with the true count because a lot of people sometimes can't predict how many decks are left in the shoe and you know some people just find it too hard to add that extra step and find
a true count and uh it just makes it it makes this it and uh it just makes it it makes this it mixes them up uh into the count so i help out people by the way if you guys do not know what the true count is
usually the true count is to calculate the running count divided by the number of decks remaining so how do you actually use the ko system it's actually really simple you assign a plus one value to all the low cards
dealt now don't get this mixed up with the high low okay because in the high low the low cards are considered uh two through six but for this strategy the low cards are considered two through seven so every time you see a number
being dealt in a shoe you consider that as a low card and add plus one okay uh you assign a zero value to all the neutral cards so for this system neutral cards are considered uh eight and nine and you assign a minus one value to all
the high cards such as ten jack queen king and ace and also a really important rule to respect when you're using this system is to know how many decks you're the number of decks you're playing with it's gonna um you're gonna have a
different starting running count so if you're playing with a one deck game your running count starts at zero if you're playing with two decks your rank count starts at minus four if you're playing with a six deck game your running count
starts at minus 20 and if you're playing with a eight deck game your running count starts at -28 so i'm going to actually go into whiteboard and just show you guys a bit how the system work works because you know a lot of people
sometimes get confused when i just show it through the powerpoint so i'd rather just go into online whiteboard and really explain to you guys exactly uh if you were in game how you would calculate a red account and how you would use this
all right guys so we're on the online whiteboard right now so this is a screenshot of an online casino so i'm gonna use this as an example uh remember guys every time you start counting cards you need to make sure that it's the
first hand of the shoe or else your card counting won't work okay so remember hand of the shoe because as you can see here the tray is empty so you can confirm that it is uh now you are now able to count uh this deck okay so let's
just analyze okay the first card over here is an ace so you would uh count a minus one value okay since it's a high card the next card over here is a two a two is a low card so you would add plus one to the count so right now your total
simple mat because you do minus one plus one which equals to zero now let's go to these cards over here so as you can see the next card is a6 so a6 is a low card so you'd add plus one a nine is a neutral card so you do zero
so now your total running count is plus one right guys because remember that before it was at zero and now you added a plus one since there was a low card here and over here the last card we can see
and seven for this strategy is considered as a low card so you would add plus one to the count so your total running count for these first five cards would be plus two right guys but remember that um in online casinos
as you can see there's still uh it's it's around eight decks over here so what you remember the rule i said is that if you're playing with a big shoe your running count starts at minus 28 so that means right now your
minus 28 so that means right now your actual running count would be minus 28 two right and minus 28 plus two simple math your running count would be at -26 right now okay
and basically as you can see it's way far from being profitable okay um but remember that most card accounting most card accounting strategies uh you usually need to go at least around half of the shoe to start getting
around half of the shoe to start getting profitable bets and um yeah okay so this this is the same principle for any card accounting strategy in the first few hands you're never probably gonna get a profitable um bet but you're gonna see
you're gonna start getting some profitable bets that you can make okay guys so let's go back to the powerpoint okay so now we're gonna talk about bed spreads for this system remember that bed spreads are the only way to make
your game profitable because you're betting more when you have an advantage and you're betting the minimal when you don't have the advantage and profits because you're betting big when you know you have more chances to win
and you're betting really small when you know you have more chances to lose and so the betting spreads for uh one and two deck games with this system is that you should bet one unit at a running count of zero or less you should
bet two units at a running count of plus one you should bet three units at a four units at a running count of plus three you should bet five units at a running count of plus four and you should bet six units at a running count
of plus five or better so basically a unit guys is pretty much your base bet so for example if your base bet was ten dollars well you would bet ten dollars a running count of zero less and you would bet for example sixty dollars at a
running count of plus five or better in a one or two deck game now betting spreads for this system for the six and eight deck games it's a bit different so you should bet one unit at a running count of zero or less you should bet two
units at a running count of plus one you should bet four units at a running count at a running count of plus three you should bet ten units at a running count units at a running count of plus five or
better so this is the strategy guys you can apply it either online and or in real life it works perfectly and um in my opinion i just find it easier just because the fact that you don't need to calculate uh the true count okay so this
is beginner friendly it's really easy to learn you can practice a bit at home with one deck and try to you know count the cards really fast and then you can apply it either in online casinos real life casinos and this strategy like i
said at the beginning of video it's as effective as the high low so you can really see some nice profits with this strategy as well so hopefully you guys enjoyed make sure to like and subscribe once again because i have plenty of more
blackjack tips and tricks to give to you guys because my goal is to help you guys um win money instead of losing money when you're going to the casino so hopefully you enjoyed and see you next one guys bye