When to run a true count?

hello,

been counting for a few days now. happy with results. When exactly should i run a true count? For example if ther eare 2 decks left and the count is -2 or +2 should i divided by 2 and restart at 0 count? What im saying is the count is only allowed to go as high as many decks left before finding true count? When exactly should this be done?

What is a big hot count? Running a 6 or 8 deck shoe? i was thinking like +4 or better is getting hot? Lmk so i can maxamize profits thank you. any extra tips help too.

The TC is just the RC/decks remaining. Simple second grade math.

Quote: IamWoth30b

hello,

been counting for a few days now. happy with results. When exactly should i run a true count? For example if there are 2 decks left and the count is -2 or +2 should i divided by 2 and restart at 0 count? What im saying is the count is only allowed to go as high as many decks left before finding true count? When exactly should this be done?

What is a big hot count? Running a 6 or 8 deck shoe? i was thinking like +4 or better is getting hot? Lmk so i can maxamize profits thank you. any extra tips help too.

Hi Woth, and welcome to the forums!

Don't take this the wrong way, but you have a lot more to learn =). I can tell from your questions you might not exactly understand what the true count means... There's a LOT to say about it, so what I'll do for now is give you some highlights, and then point you to the 3 articles I have on this site that will take you from A to Z.

Running Count: The running count is the summation of all of your +1's and -1's at ANY point in the shoe.

True Count: The true count is the running count divided by the number of decks remaining at the given time of calculation. The true count must be constantly RE-CALCULATED. If you have a RC of +10 with 5 decks left, then the TC is +2. Likewise, if you have a RC of +4 is 2 decks left, then the TC is still +2. The true count tells us when to bet, and how much because "in general" each True Count is worth .5% advantage towards the player.

After every single round you should know what the RC is, and what the TC is, in order to place your wager for the next round. You will need another skill to do this called "Deck Estimation." This is the ability to look at the discard tray, figure out how many decks (down to a half deck estimate for shoe games) are in there, and thus know how many decks are left to be played. Then you can take your running count and divide by your estimate of number of decks remaining.

There is no "starting over." The count starts and ends at zero. During the shoe it may go positive, back to zero, then negative, then back to zero, then positive again. It is one continuous flow throughout the shoe and at no point should you "start over." For all intents and purposes when you do reach a running count of zero it's "similar" to when you first started, but don't forget now you've been playing and there are decks removed which will change your true count calculations!

Example:
At the beginning of a 6D shoe you see the burn card and it's a 2... so the RC is +1 and the TC is (Running Count/Decks Left) = 1/6 = .1667, which most pro's will "FLOOR" (or round down) to 0. Thus for all intensive purposes the RC is +1 but the TC is 0.

However, say you're 5 decks in and the RC is 0... NOW you see the next card and it's a 2, making the RC +1, but now there's only 1 deck remaining... So this time our TC is 1/1 = 1... which in a good game (HE less than .5%) means we should up our bet a bit!

I hope you see the difference and why it's not considered "Starting Over."

Lastly, I'll link you to my articles, which should explain EVERYTHING you need to understand card counting A-Z. All of the answers are in these articles, just keep re-reading them if you don't understand something. Also feel free to post a question in the comments, or message me by clicking my name on these forums.

Happy Hunting

https://wizardofvegas.com/articles/A-to-Z-Counting-Cards-in-Blackjack/
https://wizardofvegas.com/articles/A-to-Z-Counting-Cards-In-Blackjack-2/
https://wizardofvegas.com/articles/A-to-Z-Counting-Cards-in-Blackjack-3/

Intents and purposes; )

Quote: Hunterhill

Intents and purposes; )

Yeah yeah I don't hit grammar check, most of the time =D.

IT'S FIXED!!! =p

ok so i got all that and have been counting this exact same way. Whats the next step. I got hit at ceasers and somewhere else for like 1.9k on hot counts. then i lost another 100 tonight to a local yocal casino on hot counts. not sure wtf is happening with the count but the sht sure is magicv when i miss lolol

anyway i was thinking that its prob bcs i was dividing the true count to much and "reseting" messing up my count. Will not happen next time.

I try to explain to strangers counting is EASIER then counting the face value of the cards.... Yea, like im talking to a tree.....

Anyway link me to the next steps so i can count better. I know all of this stuff plus counting the decks in the discard. Thank you so much for tweaking my game and assisting me. Im going back to vegas wednesday so i need a crash corse in advanced play so that i can take them big

Quote: IamWoth30b

ok so i got all that and have been counting this exact same way. Whats the next step. I got hit at ceasers and somewhere else for like 1.9k on hot counts. then i lost another 100 tonight to a local yocal casino on hot counts. not sure wtf is happening with the count but the sht sure is magicv when i miss lolol

If you take a peak in my articles you'll see the math behind the idea... Just because the count is super high doesn't mean you're super likely to win the hand. You make your money in the game off the rules... 1) You get 150% for blackjacks, the dealer does not. 2) You can double/Split and put more money on the table in advantageous situations, the dealer can't. 3) You can stand before 17 where as the dealer must hit (which will bust somewhat more frequently in higher counts).

However, when the count is "super high" the dealer is just another hand. They're just as likely to get dealt 20 or 21 as you, but you'll make more in the long run because of these extra rules...

Quote: IamWoth30b

I try to explain to strangers counting is EASIER then counting the face value of the cards.... Yea, like im talking to a tree.....

You should never tell anyone that you're counting, especially strangers. If you've been telling people at the tables you count, the dealer and the PB have certainly noticed. A big indicator is if they allow you to keep playing, they see that you're not doing it correctly and thus you're not a threat.

Quote: IamWoth30b

Anyway link me to the next steps so i can count better. I know all of this stuff plus counting the decks in the discard. Thank you so much for tweaking my game and assisting me. Im going back to vegas wednesday so i need a crash corse in advanced play so that i can take them big

I linked you to my 3 articles on this site which will answer all your questions above, and I'm pretty certain show you a lot more you didn't know yet to get you to a winning game =).

To be very upfront and honest, it really sounds like you don't have a winning game. Simply being able to +1 and -1 and get the true count DOES NOT give you a winning edge in blackjack. There's a lot more simple concepts that must all be put together to form a winning game. I encourage you to check out the 3 articles I linked to above...