I recently switched from KO to Hi-Lo so I am relatively new to the idea of estimating the # of cards in the discard rack. I will be playing East Coast games.

Basically I want to be able to estimate the cards that remain in the shoe to the nearest quarter deck. The way I see it there are two approaches I can take to practice.

The first method involves estimation that is on the conservative side. I would simply number the cards in the discard rack(in quarters) starting at the bottom of the rack and work my way to the top:

Cards 1-13: 6D remaining

14-26: 5.75D remaining

27-39: 5.50D remaining

40-52: 5.25D remaining

53-65: 5.00D remaining etc.

OR (This approach is the more aggressive)

Cards 1-13: 5.75D remaining

14-26: 5.50D remaining

27-39: 5.25D remaining

40-52: 5.00D remaining

53-65: 4.75D remaining etc.

Well I hope you get the idea. At least this way I can pull cards from the discard tray and then check my estimation instantaneously(I will know about how many cards are left in the shoe). It would seem as though each approach has advantages and disadvantages. So what do you think? Which of the two should I use? Perhaps there is an even better approach I am missing? Thanks for any responses!

-MJ