Guide · True count
The true count: converting the running count
The running count tells you how many more low cards than high cards have been seen. The true count spreads that number over the decks still in the shoe, so it reads the same way early in the shoe and late.
Why the running count needs converting
A running count of +6 with seven decks still to come is spread thinly over a lot of cards. The same +6 with four decks left is packed into far fewer. Dividing by the decks remaining puts both on the same scale.
The conversion
True count = running count ÷ decks remaining
The course rounds the result down to the whole number below it, so +2.7 becomes +2 and -1.5 becomes -2. Rounding the same way each time keeps your practice consistent.
Estimating the decks remaining
An 8-deck shoe holds 416 cards, 52 to a deck. At a live-dealer table you can see the discard rack on camera: estimate how many decks sit in it, to the nearest half deck, and subtract from 8. In this game the cut card sits around halfway, so you will mostly be working with 8 down to about 4 decks remaining.
Worked examples for an 8-deck shoe
| Running count | Decks dealt | Decks remaining | Division | True count |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| +8 | 1 | 7 | +8 ÷ 7 = +1.14 | +1 |
| +8 | 2.5 | 5.5 | +8 ÷ 5.5 = +1.45 | +1 |
| +8 | 4 | 4 | +8 ÷ 4 = +2 | +2 |
| +12 | 3 | 5 | +12 ÷ 5 = +2.4 | +2 |
| -6 | 2 | 6 | -6 ÷ 6 = -1 | -1 |
| -5 | 3.5 | 4.5 | -5 ÷ 4.5 = -1.11 | -2 |
The first three rows have the same running count. As the shoe is dealt down, the same +8 becomes a larger true count, because it applies to fewer remaining cards.
What the true count tells you about the remaining cards
Hi-Lo is balanced: a full deck holds twenty low cards (2 to 6) and twenty high cards (tens and aces). The true count describes how far the cards still in the shoe have moved from that balance, per deck.
- Around 0: the remaining cards look much like a fresh shoe.
- Positive, say +2: on average, each remaining deck holds about two more high cards than low cards.
- Negative, say -2: on average, each remaining deck holds about two more low cards than high cards.
It is an average, not a forecast of the next card. Any single card can still be anything left in the shoe.
Practising the conversion
Start with whole decks, then move to half decks. Say the running count, glance at the discard rack, divide and round down. The trainer demo shows the running count, the true count and the decks left after each card, so you can check your own conversion as you play four hands.
If the running count itself still feels slow, go back to Hi-Lo card counting. Both sit on top of basic strategy.
Learn it with Hana
From the running count to the true count
The course covers estimating decks, the conversion, and rounding it quickly, with the trainer's true-count converter and count checks to practise on.
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