java - Connect 4 check for a win algorithm

Question

I know there is a lot of of questions regarding connect 4 check for a win. The issue is that most of other algorithms make my program have runtime errors, because they try to access an index outside of my array. My algorithm is like this:

private int checkWin(int[][] gridTable,int rowNum,int colNum, int maxRow, int maxCol) 
{
//  For checking whether any win or lose condition is reached. Returns 1 if win or lose is reached. else returns 0
//  gridTable[][] is the game matrix(can be any number of rows and columns between 4 and 40)
//  colNum is the column number where the last token was placed
//  rowNum is the row number where the last token was placed
//  maxRow is the number of rows in my grid
//  maxCol is the number of columns in my grid

int player = gridTable[rowNum][colNum]; //player ID
int count=0;

// Horizontal check
for (int i=0;i<maxCol;i++)
{
    if (gridTable[rowNum][i]==player)
        count++;
    else
        count=0;

    if (count>=4)
        return 1;
}
//Vertical check
for (int i=0;i<maxRow;i++)
{
    if (gridTable[i][colNum]==player)
        count++;
    else
        count=0;

    if (count>=4)
        return 1;
} 
count=0;
// 4 in a row diagonally
for(int i=colNum+1,j=rowNum+1;i<maxRow && j<maxCol;i++,j++) 
{ 
    if(gridTable[j][i]!=player)
    {
        count=1;
        break;        
    }
    count++;
}
// 4 in a row diagonally
for(int i=colNum-1,j=rowNum-1;i>=0 && j>=0;i--,j--) 
{ 
    if(gridTable[j][i]!=player)
    {
        count=1;
        break;        
    }
    count++;
}
// 4 in a row diagonally
for(int i=colNum+1,j=rowNum-1;i<maxRow && j>=0;i++,j--) 
{ 
    if(gridTable[j][i]!=player)
    {
        count=1;
        break;        
    }
    count++;
}

for(int i=colNum-1,j=rowNum+1;i>=0 && j<maxCol;i--,j++) 
{ // 4 in a row diagonally
    if(gridTable[j][i]!=player)
    {
        count=1;
        break;        
    }
    count++;
}

if(count>=4)
    return 1;

return 0;
}

count is the variable that checks for a win if count is equal or more than 4 means they should be 4 or more consecutive tokens of the same player.

THE PROBLEM: sometimes the method checks for a win without being 4 tokens in order and other times does not check for a win when 4 tokens are in order.

Answer 1

For some reason I am not so fond of counters, so I did it this way (It works for boards with different sizes).

public boolean areFourConnected(int player){

    // horizontalCheck 
    for (int j = 0; j<getHeight()-3 ; j++ ){
        for (int i = 0; i<getWidth(); i++){
            if (this.board[i][j] == player && this.board[i][j+1] == player && this.board[i][j+2] == player && this.board[i][j+3] == player){
                return true;
            }           
        }
    }
    // verticalCheck
    for (int i = 0; i<getWidth()-3 ; i++ ){
        for (int j = 0; j<this.getHeight(); j++){
            if (this.board[i][j] == player && this.board[i+1][j] == player && this.board[i+2][j] == player && this.board[i+3][j] == player){
                return true;
            }           
        }
    }
    // ascendingDiagonalCheck 
    for (int i=3; i<getWidth(); i++){
        for (int j=0; j<getHeight()-3; j++){
            if (this.board[i][j] == player && this.board[i-1][j+1] == player && this.board[i-2][j+2] == player && this.board[i-3][j+3] == player)
                return true;
        }
    }
    // descendingDiagonalCheck
    for (int i=3; i<getWidth(); i++){
        for (int j=3; j<getHeight(); j++){
            if (this.board[i][j] == player && this.board[i-1][j-1] == player && this.board[i-2][j-2] == player && this.board[i-3][j-3] == player)
                return true;
        }
    }
    return false;
}