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Thread: Deck Estimation standard in Double Deck

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    Deck Estimation standard in Double Deck

    I am relatively new into this ( 6 months or so). I only play Double Deck ($25 Table Min) with H17, no RSA, Double on any 2 cards, Double after Split, no surrender, Pen 65-70%. I use Hilo with Ace side count.

    I would like to hear what people generally use for accuracy 1/2 deck, 1/4th Deck or something else. I was using 1/2 Deck so far and recently trying to use 1/4th which is slowing down my game significantly. Is 1/4th Deck accuracy practical? It is not hard to estimate 1/4th Deck but division by 1.25 or 1.75 is taking longer for me. I have found a way to make the division easier mentally like dividing the running count by 1.5 and 2 and taking an average instead of dividing by 1.75. But it is still a slow process for me. Hopefully, with more practice it will get faster.
    No pain, no gain.

  2. #2
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    Half Deck is probably fine. When I get between 1 deck and 1/2 deck left I just add 30% to 50% to my RC depending on how far in I am. It's seldom you'll find any double deck game dealt much further past a half deck but in those lucky rare circumstances you should be prepared to multiply your RC by 3 or 4 as needed on the final round of the shuffle.

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    Keep using 1/2 deck estimation Mr. Van Halen. I also use the more difficult ASC (Ace Side Count) which is very difficult to pick up for beginners. You have what it takes to become an advantage playing card counter. Make the division easier by dividing by the higher multiple. Like BigPlayer advised save your max bets for the final round. Double Deck with 2/3 penetration & an ASC is very winnable. Sometimes dealing with these distractions is what separates card counting in theory vs. in practice.

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    Since deck estimation is easy for you but the maths are tripping you up, consider flash cards. I had to work a long time on deck estimation, not as long on fractional division, because I had a good trick:

    Just use an old deck of cards or whatever on hand and make RC cards of 1-15 or 20 and then make another set of cards that are deck estimates in 1/4s and 1/3s, so i.e., 1/2, 2/3, 3/4, 1, 1 1/4, etc. up to 2. As you pull one of each you can practice getting faster at the math. I liked doing them in order first so I could see how the answers related and get comfortable with each RC and divisor and then I started randomizing my flash card choosing and seeing how fast I could come up with TC on the spot. You will start not having to do math at all, you will remember images and relations more and math will become unnecessary...

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    1.25 -- multiply by 0.8 instead. Quicker. 1.75 -- multiply by 0.6 and round slightly down. Both quicker than dividing.

    Don

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    I like multiplying by improper fraction too rather than dividing at low decks. Simplifies the division to think of 1.75 as 7/4s e.g.

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    Not that this is highly relevant for most, but KO works quite nicely with quarter deck estimation. That's because the (unbalanced) count needs to rise by 1 for each quarter deck just to stay at TC of 0. So if you're tracking quarter decks, you always know if your TC is greater or less than 0.

    But you also need to know your RC multipliers for each quarter deck increment. So for instance, after 1/2 deck has been dealt, TC 0 is at RC +2. If at that point the RC happens to be at +4, then you are at TC +1.33 ((4-2) x .66).

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    I would recommend 1/2 deck estimates until you are below 1 deck but dons suggestion works great for many. There are tricks for certain math problems like to multiply by .8 many may not be too comfortable. It is the same as subtracting 1/5. Move the decimal point over one and double and subtract that from the number. With practice you will do this quick and without thought. An easy example is 10*.8. You move the decimal over 1 to get 1 and double to get 2 and subtract from 10 to get 8. Obviously the multiplication in the example is thoughtless but it illustrates the method.

    Just think up short cuts that are easy for you and use those as deck estimates. BigPlayer is talking about the same thing that works for him. You don't want to use the next trick until that penetration has been reached.
    1.5 decks left you subtract on third of the RC from the RC to get the TC.
    1.25 decks left was Don's multiply by .8 or my "short cut" if that doesn't come easy to you.
    1 deck left you us the RC as the TC.
    .75 decks is add one third or multiply by 1.33.
    .67 decks left add half or multiply by 1.5.
    .5 decks left multiply by 2.
    .33 decks left you multiply by 3.
    .25 decks left multiply by 4.

    I think what Bigplayer was suggesting as a sliding scale adjustment for under a deck is probably the simplest once you train your brain to think that way. I bet he just knows the TC without much thought.

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