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Omega II Card Counting System

Omega II is a balanced level-2 count. 2, 3 and 7 are +1, 4, 5 and 6 are +2, the 9 is -1, ten-value cards are -2, and the 8 and ace are 0. It is the only system here that tags the 9 negative, and it keeps aces in a side count.

Level
2
Balanced
Yes
True count
Yes
Difficulty
Hard

Omega II Card Values

Cards Tag Per deck
4-6 +2 12 cards
2-3, 7 +1 12 cards
8, A 0 8 cards
9 -1 4 cards
10 -2 16 cards

"10" means every ten-value card: 10, J, Q and K. Add the tags over a full deck and you get exactly 0, which is how you check your practice runs.

Ace side count

Aces count 0 in the main count. Keep a separate ace side count and adjust the count for betting when aces are rich or poor.

How to Count Omega II

  1. Start at 0 after every shuffle.
  2. Keep a running count. Add each card's tag as it is dealt. Count in pairs where you can: a card tagged +2 and a card tagged -2 cancel to 0.
  3. Convert to a true count. Divide the running count by the decks remaining in the shoe. A running count of +6 with 3 decks left is a true count of +2. Base bets and deviations on the true count.

Practice the conversion with the true count drill, and read running count vs true count for the theory.

Published Efficiency

Measure Omega II Hi-Lo
Betting correlation 0.92 0.97
Playing efficiency 0.67 0.51
Insurance correlation 0.85 0.76

Widely published values from standard comparison tables, such as those by Arnold Snyder, Stanford Wong and the Wizard of Odds, not results from our own simulations. Figures are for the main count without the ace side count. See the full comparison.

Pros and Cons

Pros

  • A playing efficiency of 0.67, tied for the highest here, with a betting correlation of 0.92.
  • Balanced, so the true count works at any shoe size.
  • Popular with single-deck specialists, where playing accuracy pays the most.

Cons

  • Two-level tags, a negative 9 and an ace side count make it one of the hardest counts to run fast.
  • Overkill for typical 6-deck shoe games, where betting matters more than playing accuracy.
  • Needs true count conversion.

Who Omega II Suits

Advanced players in single- and double-deck games who want strong playing decisions and can keep a side count.

Usually credited to Bryce Carlson, Blackjack for Blood.

Practice Omega II

Count a real shoe with Omega II tags at the dealing speed you choose.

Start the Omega II Drill

Frequently Asked Questions

Why does Omega II count the 9 as -1?

The 9 is a mildly good card for the player to have remaining, so removing it slightly hurts. Tagging it -1 adds that information to the count and improves playing efficiency, at the cost of one more rank to track.

Is Omega II better than Zen?

They are close. Omega II has the higher published playing efficiency (0.67 vs 0.63), while Zen has the higher betting correlation (0.96 vs 0.92) and counts the ace in the main count, so it needs no side count.

Who created Omega II?

Omega II is credited to Bryce Carlson, who presented it in his book Blackjack for Blood.