Most counting systems treat the ace as a big card and move it through the count like a ten. The Hi-Opt family refuses. Both of its members tag the ace at exactly zero, on the argument that the ace's power is mostly about getting paid 3:2 on naturals, which is a betting concern, while the business of deciding whether to hit, stand or double is better served by a count that ignores the ace entirely.
That single design choice is the family's identity. It buys a count that is generally described as sharper for playing decisions and softer for betting than Hi-Lo, which tags the ace -1. And it comes with a price tag that is easy to state: to recover the ace's betting value, a Hi-Opt counter commonly keeps a separate side count of aces, a second tally running underneath the first for the whole shoe.
This article lays out both systems in full: the tag tables, the arithmetic that makes each one balanced, the history as the reference sources tell it, and an honest account of what the extra precision costs. One thing to say up front: 21 Trainer teaches Hi-Lo, KO, Omega II and Zen. It does not teach Hi-Opt, so read this as an explanation of the systems, not an app manual.
Where the two counts came from
The history is worth a paragraph, told carefully. The first of the two, Hi-Opt I, grew out of the Einstein count that Charles Einstein described in the late 1960s. Lance Humble and Carl Cooper popularized the Hi-Opt counts in The World's Greatest Blackjack Book, published in 1980. Hi-Opt II is associated with Lance Humble, and reference sources also credit Julian Braun's involvement. Beyond those threads, the sources thin out, and it is best to leave the rest of the origin story alone rather than repeat dates and attributions that are not solidly documented.
The niche the counts occupied is easier to describe. Next to simpler counts such as Hi-Lo, the Hi-Opt systems were the specialist's option: harder to run, aimed at players who wanted the count itself to be as clean a signal as possible for play decisions.
The tags, both systems
Here are the values, per the standard published reference tables:
| Card | Hi-Opt I | Hi-Opt II |
|---|---|---|
| A | 0 | 0 |
| 2 | 0 | +1 |
| 3 | +1 | +1 |
| 4 | +1 | +2 |
| 5 | +1 | +2 |
| 6 | +1 | +1 |
| 7 | 0 | +1 |
| 8 | 0 | 0 |
| 9 | 0 | 0 |
| 10, J, Q, K | -1 | -2 |
Both are balanced counts, and the balance can be checked by hand against a single 52 card deck. For Hi-Opt I: the +1 cards are the 3, 4, 5 and 6, four ranks of four cards each, sixteen cards contributing +16; the -1 cards are the ten-value cards, four ranks again, sixteen cards contributing -16; the net is zero. For Hi-Opt II: the +1 cards are the 2, 3, 6 and 7, sixteen cards contributing +16; the +2 cards are the 4 and 5, two ranks of four cards, eight cards contributing +16; the plus side totals +32; the sixteen ten-value cards at -2 contribute -32; the net is again zero. Any drift from zero therefore measures a real imbalance in what remains, which is the property every balanced count depends on.
The labels follow from the tag ranges. Hi-Opt I, the simpler of the two, is level one, using only plus one and minus one, so each card moves the count by a single step. Hi-Opt II is level two, because its tags reach plus two and minus two, which means some cards move the count twice as far as others.
21 Trainer ProHi-Lo, KO, Omega II and Zen, with single card, multi-card and true count drills. Virtual chips only.
Get the app
Zero is the ace
Compare the tables above with Hi-Lo's and the difference is concentrated in one rank. Hi-Lo tags the ace -1, grouping it with the tens as a card whose departure hurts the player. The Hi-Opt systems leave it at zero, taking no position on it at all.
The reasoning, as the counting literature generally describes it, is that the ace is two-faced. For betting it is one of the most valuable cards in the deck, the raw material of the 3:2 natural. For many playing decisions it behaves more like a small card: drawn to a stiff hand, it adds a single point and cannot bust it. A count that lumps the ace in with the tens slightly blurs the playing signal; a count that ignores it entirely gives up some betting information. Ace-neutral counts are therefore described as stronger for playing decisions and weaker for betting, and players who want the ace's betting value back commonly track aces separately with a side count, at the cost of a second running tally.
Our piece on choosing a counting system walks this trade in more depth, because it is the same trade every system positions itself along. The Omega II article describes the same ace neutrality in another system: there too the ace moves to a side count to keep the playing signal clean.
Balanced means true count
Because both Hi-Opt counts sum to zero across a deck, everything Hi-Lo players know about conversion carries over. The running count must be divided by the estimated decks remaining to produce a true count, and bets and deviations key off the true number, not the raw one. Our article on running count versus true count covers the conversion and its failure modes; nothing about it changes here except the tags feeding the numerator.
This is worth emphasizing because it removes a common misunderstanding. Switching to Hi-Opt, ace neutrality and level two tags included, does not free a player from division the way an unbalanced count such as KO does. The Hi-Opt counts keep the full balanced architecture: running count, deck estimation, division, true count decisions.
What level two costs
Hi-Opt II's twos are the real price of the system. With Hi-Opt I, as with Hi-Lo, no card moves the count more than a single step, and experienced counters commonly read cards in cancelling pairs: a ten and a 3, 4, 5 or 6 cancel at a glance. With Hi-Opt II, a ten cancels a 4 or a 5 exactly, but a ten against a 3 or a 7 leaves -1 behind, and two tens against a single 5 leave -2. Cancellation groups have to be relearned, and each card now carries one of four values instead of three.
The published level two systems face the same bill. Our Omega II piece describes two-level tags sustained through a fast table with a side count running underneath, and our Zen piece describes the classic upgrade error, autopilot pluses and minuses from Hi-Lo years applied to tags that now move by twos. Comparisons of counting systems commonly reach the verdict those articles reach: execution swamps system choice, and the level two premium is collected only by players who can run the harder machine as cleanly as the easier one.
So the honest question for a would be Hi-Opt II player is not whether the tags are finer. They are. The question is whether the finer count survives contact with a real dealing pace, with a side count of aces attached, and whether the gains justify a retraining period in which the count a player could once keep flawlessly becomes wobbly again.
Where to practice, and what the law says
21 Trainer does not include either Hi-Opt count. It teaches Hi-Lo, KO, Omega II and Zen, and a learner who reads this article, understands the level two idea, and wants to train it should practice Omega II or Zen in the app: both are level two, both are balanced, and the habits they build, multi-card counting, cancellation with twos, true count conversion, are the same habits Hi-Opt II demands.
One legal note belongs in any counting article: counting cards with your head is legal in the United States. Casinos are private businesses that may refuse service to players they suspect of counting, and no technique removes the risk from the game. Practicing with virtual chips, in an app or with a deck at home, carries none of that friction and teaches exactly the same arithmetic.
Want level two practice?Omega II and Zen drills, from single cards to true count conversion. No account, no ads, works offline.
Download
Frequently asked questions
What are the card counting values for Hi-Opt I?
Per the published system: 3, 4, 5 and 6 count +1; ten-value cards count -1; and 2, 7, 8, 9 and the ace count 0. It is a level one count, using only plus one and minus one, and it is balanced: the tags sum to zero across a full 52 card deck, sixteen plus cards against sixteen minus cards.
What are the Hi-Opt II card counting values?
Per the published system: 2, 3, 6 and 7 count +1; 4 and 5 count +2; ten-value cards count -2; and 8, 9 and the ace count 0. The twos make it a level two count, with more arithmetic per card. It is balanced: the plus tags total +32 per deck and the ten-value cards total -32.
Why do the Hi-Opt counts not count the ace?
Because, as the counting literature generally describes it, the ace matters more to betting than to most playing decisions, and the Hi-Opt systems are built around playing accuracy. Leaving the ace at zero keeps the count a cleaner signal for play decisions. Counters who want the ace's betting value commonly track it in a separate side count, which adds work on top of the main count.
Is Hi-Opt II better than Hi-Lo?
They aim at different things. Hi-Opt II's finer tags are generally described as stronger for playing decisions and weaker for betting than Hi-Lo, since Hi-Lo counts the ace at -1 and the Hi-Opt systems ignore it. A common conclusion in the counting literature is that execution matters more than system choice: a cleanly run simple count beats a stumbling complex one.
Can you practice Hi-Opt counting in 21 Trainer?
No. 21 Trainer teaches Hi-Lo, KO, Omega II and Zen, and neither Hi-Opt count is included. Learners who want a level two count can practice Omega II or Zen in the app instead, and the skills transfer: balanced counting, true count conversion and cancelling cards in pairs work the same way for any balanced system.