Card Counting: The True Count.

Knowing the methods of card counting is only part of the story; you also need to be able to keep count of the number of games remaining in the deck.

When talking about the number of games remaining in the deck, we mean the number of packs of cards remaining in the un-dealt deck.

Why use the true count?
Knowing how to count the cards is not sufficient, you have to also adapt the count to the number of cards remaining in the deck. The principle of the card counting strategies consists of following the cards which are dealt in order to establish whether there are more or less strong cards remaining in the deck: the percentage of strong cards will be higher with a count of +10 if there are still two games remaining in the deck but less so if there are five games left to play.

Calculating the real count is simple:
Evaluate by eye the approximate number of games remaining in the deck. Simply divide your accumulated count by the number of games that remain to be played.

Thus, if your count has a value of +10 and that there are two games left to play (52 cards per game) in the deck, the true count is 10/2=+5.

If there are five games left to play then the true count is 10/5=+2

How to evaluate the number of games remaining:
In order to iuindentify the number of games remaining in the deck, you can either evaluate by eye, or count the number of games used basing your count on the number of rounds played. If there are 6 players and each one plays around three cards per hand, that is the level of one game of cards, two more rounds and a game would be complete. This method requires slightly more calculation, and thus takes up more brain power, but sometimes casinos can be very adept at hiding the number of games that remain in a deck.

The more the true count is positive, the better the advantage to the player. With a deck of 6 games, each additional true count point will give the player an advantage of approximately 0.05%.

At the point at which the count is 0 the house advantage is around 0.05%, thus a true count of +1 means that you have an equal advantage with the house. So, at the point when the true count reaches +2, you then have the advantage over the house of 0.05%.

How to wager in reference to the true count:
If the true count is: +1 or less: Place a low bet
If the true count is: +2 or +3: Place 2x the base bet.
If the true count is: +4 or +5: Place 3x the base bet.
If the true count is: +6 or +7: Place 4x the base bet.
If the true count is: +8 or more: Bet as much as you want.

Card Counting: Introduction. Card Counting: History. Card Counting:Is it Illegal? Card Counting: How is it Detected by Casinos? Card Counting: The MIT Team. Card Counting: An Informal Technique Card Counting: The Hi/Lo Technique Card Counting: The KO Tecnique Card Counting: Hi/Opt I & II Technique Card Counting: The True Count