Hi All,

New to the forum and to the game of blackjack. I've dedicated myself for the last several months to learning basic strategy and training myself to quickly count down a deck of cards (My record is 19 seconds with no distractions).

I have recently taken the plunge and purchased 6 decks of cards, a shoe, and discard tray to practice counting an entire shoe and making true count conversions.

One thing that I'm concerned about is the way in which rounding is supposed to occur when the true count does not come to a whole integer. This question can be broken into two areas:

1.) How much to bet based on a non-whole number true count
2.) How to play your hand based on a non-whole number true count

I've read online that flooring the true count is the method used by most counters, so if, for example, the TC is 1.9, it would be rounded down to 1 - I can only assume for the sake of being extra conservative.

What I was hoping to have answered by you guys is if this is in fact the correct way to round the TC and, if so, does that only apply for betting purposes or does it apply the same way to the way you play your hand?

Example of what I mean - Basic strategy says to hit a 15 V T, while card counters are supposed to stand if the TC is 4 or higher. So, if the TC is say 3.5 before the hand is dealt, should I place my bet as If I am dealing with a TC of 3? Then when the hands are dealt, say that the TC remains unchanged at 3.5 and I have a 15 V T, do I still round the TC down to 3 and hit? Or is it different when it comes to playing my hand such that I should be rounding UP rather than down?

Any explanations on this would be greatly appreciated.