Counting question

When using the Hi/Lo method is the true count determined from dividing the running count by the TOTAL number of decks left in the physical shoe or by the approximate number of decks left before reaching the cut card?

The whole shoe

Quote: Absocold

When using the Hi/Lo method is the true count determined from dividing the running count by the TOTAL number of decks left in the physical shoe or by the approximate number of decks left before reaching the cut card?

Divide by the number of unseen cards. Imagine you have a six deck shoe, and there are 3 unseen decks (including any burned cards, that hand where you were buying your drink and weren't paying attention, etc), and you have a running count of +6. That means you know out of the cards you have not seen, 6 more 10's and Aces exist than 2's-6's. Divide by the number of unseen decks to figure out how many extra high cards there are per deck (6/3 = 2). Since 2 is most likely above our strike point, you should begin raising your bet.

Oddly enough, you can actually begin counting even if you weren't present for the first few hands of a shoe. You'll just have to imagine those cards are sitting behind the cut card.