The Revere Advanced Plus Minus system was developed and introduced by Lawrence Revere, in his book, “Playing Blackjack as a Business,” back in 1980.
It is a level one system, easy for beginners to learn, and yet effective in the proper situations. The main drawback is that it was developed for single deck games, which are hard to find.
Revere actually has developed several card counting systems, and though this is called “advanced,” it is one of his most simple systems.
How it works
There are only 3 card values: -1, 0 or +1 and your count starts at 0 and continues until there is a shuffle, where you again start the count at 0.
It is a balanced system, meaning if you were to count down a deck, you would end at zero.
The card value chart is:
| 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | J | Q | K | A |
| +1 | +1 | +1 | +1 | +1 | 0 | 0 | -1 | -1 | -1 | -1 | -1 | 0 |
As with all counting systems, the higher the count, the more you should bet. As the cards are dealt, you assign the above appropriate values to the card and keep a running total count. You make your next bet based on that running count being positive or negative.
Because it is for single deck games, there is no need to consider a true count, because the running count and true count are the same when considering a one deck game.
You can increase the advantage of using this system by also keeping track of the aces. Because it is best used with single deck games, you should be able to remember if any aces have been played. If half the deck has been played and no aces have dropped, with a plus count, you stand a better chance of hitting blackjack and therefore should increase your bet.
Sizing your bets
Because of the simple nature of the system, using the running count as a multiplier is considered best practice. For example, if the running count is +4, your bet should be 4 times the table minimum. Conversely, if the running count is +1 or less, your bet should remain the table minimum.
Ideally, sizing your bet should be done by whatever method fits your individual playing style. By using a bet sizing system, it will keep your wins and losses to maximums and minimums, while misdirecting the fact that you’re counting cards.
Final Thoughts
The Revere Advanced Plus-Minus system is another easy card counting system to learn that is great for beginners. It is a good system to try as your first effort in card counting, which you can then use as a basis to advancing into more technical systems.
It is an old system that can still be reliable if you’re able to find a single deck blackjack table to play.
Would love to find a software program to practice the advanced plus-minus system
Let me know if you know of one.