The Omega II Count
Updated
Omega II is level two and ignores the ace, which means serious users keep a separate side count of aces. We computed its betting correlation at 0.921 — against 0.963 for Hi-Lo — from the effect each card has on the game, rather than copying the figure from a book.
- Tags: A 0 · 2–3 +1 · 4–6 +2 · 7 +1 · 8 0 · 9 −1 · 10 −2.
- Betting correlation 0.921, against 0.963 for Hi-Lo.
- Worse than Hi-Lo by 0.042 on betting alone.
- Balanced: a full shoe counts to zero.
How it compares, and how we know
Dropping the ace from the main count makes Omega II better at playing decisions, because the ace matters less for how you play a hand than for how much you bet. The cost is that you must track aces separately to bet well.
The number that ranks counting systems is betting correlation: how closely the system’s tags track the actual effect each card has on your edge. We computed it rather than copying it — by removing one card of each rank from the shoe, recalculating the entire game, and correlating the result with the tags. The full method is here.
Is it worth switching from Hi-Lo?
No, not on betting alone. Omega II correlates 0.042 worse than Hi-Lo, and only makes that back through a side count or through better playing decisions.
Who it actually suits: Advanced players who are already comfortable with a side count. For anyone else the ace side count is the step where accuracy collapses.
This is the part the system comparisons usually skip. The difference between counting systems is small. The difference between counting accurately and counting sloppily is not.
Every system, with the numbers
Computed for six decks, dealer stands on soft 17, using the effect of removal for each card rank.
| System | Betting correlation | Balanced? |
|---|---|---|
| Wong Halves | 0.993 | balanced |
| Red 7 | 0.977 | unbalanced |
| KO | 0.970 | unbalanced |
| Hi-Lo | 0.963 | balanced |
| Zen Count | 0.960 | balanced |
| Omega II | 0.921 | balanced |
| Hi-Opt II | 0.914 | balanced |
| Hi-Opt I | 0.878 | balanced |
Keep reading
By Martin Kosek · every number on this site is computed by us, not copied.
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