Problems when customizing KO count in CV (Playing and Betting strategy numbers)

[Norm]

Why would anyone want to set counts to such high numbers? The difficulties in keeping a mental count would increase dramatically.

[PinkChip]

Why would anyone want to set counts to such high numbers? The difficulties in keeping a mental count would increase dramatically.

I think starting at an IRC of 100 is actually easier than at zero. You don't have to care about negative numbers and sign switches.

Starting at zero or in the negatives (as in standard Hi-Lo, KO and REKO) means that even when the RC is not hovering up and down, i.e. there is a slug of purely low or purely high cards, you must be aware that when the RC crosses the zero line, the absolute value of the RC is suddenly not decremented but incremented (or vice versa), which is a potential source of error.

Regarding the length of the spoken or thought numbers, counting "minus two, minus one, zero, plus one, plus two" can be shortened to "m two, m one, zero, one, two" , but you can likewise shorten "98, 99, 100, 101, 102" to "98, 99, hundred, 1, 2" etc.

The idea of starting the RC around 100 is btw. also seconded by literature, e.g. Fred Renzey in "Blackjack Bluebook II", 2006 edition, Chapter 12 "Mentor Count", pages 198-199, section "A 100 Counting Base" does exactly the same. I might have read this in additional books, too (have read about 25 such books), but can't exactly remember now.