Eric S: how do you backcount?

[Eric S]

in whats called the true count, which cards count as + and -?

[Homer J. Simpson]

> in whats called the true count, which cards
> count as + and -?

Backcounting (or wonging) is a method by which a player stands behind a table and counts card until he gains the advantage, then begins playing. A brief explanation of how to count and backcount is shown below.

The count you are referring to is the hi-lo system. In this system, cards 2-6 are +1, and cards 10-A are -1. If you count through a whole deck of cards you will end up with a count of zero (20 +1's and 20 -1's), making this what is called a balanced count, meaning that each deck has the same number of high and low cards. When playing in a game, keep track of the running count, which is the sum of all the +1's and -1's. For example, if you see the cards 3,6,7,8,9,10,A,2, the running count will be: 1,2,2,2,2,1,0,1. The running count is +1. What this count tells you is the amount of high cards relative to low cards in the deck/shoe. In this case, there is 1 more high card (10-A) than low card (2-6) left in the deck/shoe. The next step is to convert to a true count, also known as count per deck. This is how many more high cards there are than low cards, per deck. For example, a running count of +6 with 4 decks left to be dealt is the equivalent of a true count of +1.5 (6/4). There are 1.5 more high cards than low cards per deck left to be played. If there are only 2 decks remaining, then the true count is +3 (6/2). To greater understand the purpose of the true count, consider a bucket with 50 red and 50 white marbles. If one white marble is removed, the odds of drawing a red marble increase to 50/99 (51%). It the bucket instead has 5 red and 5 white marbles, and a white marble is removed, the odds of drawing a red is 5/9 (55%). In both cases, there is one more red marble left than white, but the effect of removal is different, due to the remaining quantity. The less marbles (decks) there are in the bucket (shoe/deck), the more the odds will change based on removal (a change in the running count).

The true count is what is used to determine whether or not to enter the game when backcounting. In a 6 deck shoe game, the house advantage off the top (beginning of a shoe) is around .40%. It has been determined that for every increase in the true count of 1, the advantage to the house decreases (increases for the player) by .50%. Therefore, if the true count is +2, the player advantage is -.40+2(.50) = .60%. The game is now desirable for the player to enter. Similarly, when the count goes negative, the advantage to the house increases by .50%. Thus, if a player has backcounted and entered a game, then the count goes negative, he may wish to exit the game (also known as wonging out). By doing this, among other things, a player may increase his advantage against the house.

Hopefully this was of some help. If not, feel free to ask more questions, and maybe the experts will be able to provide you with a greater understanding. Additionally, there are many excellent books you may wish to buy on the subject. You can find them at bj21.com

-- Homer J.

[Chgobjpro]