The Revere Point Count (RPC) card counting system was developed by Lawrence Revere and was introduced in his book Playing Blackjack as a Business. It’s been around since the early 1970s.
Interestingly enough, Lawrence Revere is actually one of the “pen names” of prominent professional blackjack player, Griffin K. Owens. His other aliases were Paul Mann and Leonard “Speck” Parsons.
There are 3 other systems Revere developed with partner Julian Braun. Those are: Revere 5 Count, Revere Plus Minus Count and The 10 Count. The Revere Point Count is considered his best.
It is an advanced, level 2, balanced system that can be difficult to master, but is extremely effective. Because it is considered very powerful and accurate, it is still used to this day.
With the indexes ranging from -2 to +2, and tracking aces encouraged, though not required as part of the system, there is plenty to keep track of during a hand.
Extra math is involved with this because a true count is used, instead of the running count, when determining how to size your bet.
Fortunately, the Revere Point Count system is a balanced system, meaning if you were to count down an entire deck, you would end up with 0 at the end, making it easy to practice by counting down decks.
Considering it was developed during the times of primarily single deck games, it is most effective for that, however, it can be adapted for multiple deck games.
How it Works
Each card in the deck is assigned a value of -2, -1, 0, +1, or +2. The chart of values is:
| 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | J | Q | K | A |
| +1 | +2 | +2 | +2 | +2 | +1 | 0 | 0 | -2 | -2 | -2 | -2 | -2 |
As the cards are dealt, a running count is kept. The count does start at 0 and is increased or decreased per the value of the card dealt. You will then need to convert the running count to the true count before deciding on your bet.
Determining the true count with this system is slightly different than other systems. With RPC, the true count is determined by dividing the running count by the number of half-decks are left. For most other true count systems, the running count is divided by the number of full-decks left.
When the next hand is dealt, you add the new card values to the previous running count, not the true count. But once again, when you’re ready to bet, convert the running count to the true count and bet based on the true count.
Your running count will revert back to zero once the cards are shuffled.
ACE TRACKING
While ace tracking is not a true part of this system, if done, it will increase the effectiveness of the RPC system. Many advanced players feel it is not necessary because of the inherent effectiveness of the system.
It means extra work to keep a separate count of aces, and the increase in effectiveness is not great enough to justify the extra effort.
SIZING YOUR BETS
The idea is to bet more when the true count is high and less when the true count is low. The higher the true count, the bigger your bet should be. If the true count is low or negative, keep your bet to the table minimum.
If you are able to use some sort of betting system that keeps your bet spread moderate, you should be able to have a nice profitable blackjack session, while card counting.
Your goal should be to play without having the “eyes in the sky” realize that you are counting cards. As long as you don’t make wild jumps in betting amounts, you should be okay.
FINAL THOUGHTS
The Revere Point Count system is best used by a more advanced player because of its complexity. There must be something good about this system because it’s been around for a long time and is still in use.
