How Do You Get the True Count in Blackjack?

If you’re a blackjack player, you know that counting cards can give you an edge over the casino. But to do that, you need to know the true count.

The true count is the running count (the total value of all cards seen so far) divided by the number of decks remaining in the shoe. In this tutorial, we’ll show you how to get the true count in blackjack.

First off, let’s review how to count cards in blackjack. You assign a value (+1 or -1) to each card as they are dealt.

Cards 2 through 6 are assigned a +1 value, cards 7 through 9 are assigned a 0 value, and cards 10 through Ace are assigned a -1 value. As cards are dealt, you add or subtract from your running count.

Now let’s get into how to calculate the true count. To do this, we need to know how many decks are left in the shoe. This is important because if there are more decks left, it’s harder for the player to get an advantage by counting cards.

To find out how many decks are left in the shoe, we can use an estimation method called “halves.” Halves involves dividing our running count by the approximate number of decks remaining in the shoe. We estimate this number by looking at how many half-decks (26 cards) have been dealt.

For example, let’s say we’ve been playing with a six-deck shoe and we’ve seen 156 cards so far. Our running count is +8.

We can estimate that there are approximately three decks remaining (156/52). If we divide our running count (+8) by three, we get a true count of +2.67.

But wait – our true count isn’t always going to be a whole number like this! So what do we do? We round down our true count when it’s less than 0, and we round up when it’s greater than or equal to 0.

Let’s say we’ve seen 234 cards and our running count is +10. We estimate that there are approximately two decks left (104/52).

If we divide our running count (+10) by two, we get a true count of +5. But because our true count is greater than or equal to 0, we round up to get a final true count of +6.

To make things easier, you can use a chart to help you calculate the true count. The chart will tell you how many decks are remaining based on the number of half-decks dealt and the number of decks in the shoe.

In conclusion, if you want to be successful at counting cards in blackjack, you need to know how to calculate the true count. By using estimation methods like halves and rounding rules, you can accurately determine the number of decks left in the shoe and adjust your betting accordingly.

Remember – counting cards is not illegal, but casinos don’t take kindly to players who do it well. So use this information at your own risk and always play responsibly!