I tried my fastest going through a deck of cards 2 by 2 without even counting. and it took me 20 seconds just to put the whole deck onto the table. then I went through it 1 by 1, without counting again, and it took me 29 seconds. How can professionals count faster than 20 seconds then? ..are they just extra proficient at throwing cards onto the table in front of them?
card counting speed
- Thread starter agc28
- Start date
I don't know, but it doesn't matter.
Getting your time down isn't the point of getting your time down. Being able to instantaneously recognize high/low/neutral cards is. It's not like you're going to fail miserably if you count a 20-second deck and magically succeed if you count a 19-second deck.
When you can see K-6-2 and immediately think +1 instead of "Hmm, a king is a ten and tens are good so that's -1 and 6's are bad so that's +1 and so the sum of those is 0 and then there's 2 which is neutral, wait, no, it's low, so that's another -1 so 0 plus -1 is -1, oh wait, low is positive so 2 is +1 so the total is +1", you're okay.
A 30-second deck countdown will allow you to play something like 2,000 hands per hour. That's well above anything you'll ever see at the tables (which will range from 50-200 hands per hour) because of the time it takes for the dealer to make decisions and pay out. You want the speed of a 30-second countdown so that you spend your time thinking about what to do at your count, not what the count is.
Getting your time down isn't the point of getting your time down. Being able to instantaneously recognize high/low/neutral cards is. It's not like you're going to fail miserably if you count a 20-second deck and magically succeed if you count a 19-second deck.
When you can see K-6-2 and immediately think +1 instead of "Hmm, a king is a ten and tens are good so that's -1 and 6's are bad so that's +1 and so the sum of those is 0 and then there's 2 which is neutral, wait, no, it's low, so that's another -1 so 0 plus -1 is -1, oh wait, low is positive so 2 is +1 so the total is +1", you're okay.
A 30-second deck countdown will allow you to play something like 2,000 hands per hour. That's well above anything you'll ever see at the tables (which will range from 50-200 hands per hour) because of the time it takes for the dealer to make decisions and pay out. You want the speed of a 30-second countdown so that you spend your time thinking about what to do at your count, not what the count is.
You don’t need to throw them on the table. Just hold them in one hand and slide them into your other hand, the same motion you would use to count money. It will go much faster that way. I once saw a guy count a deck in 13 seconds. He just fanned the cards out on the table and scooped them up 13 seconds later. As far as I know the official record is 8 seconds by Darryl Purpose. 
But, as Callipygian said, at that point it's just a parlor trick.
-Sonny-
But, as Callipygian said, at that point it's just a parlor trick.-Sonny-
Sonny said:
You don’t need to throw them on the table. Just hold them in one hand and slide them into your other hand, the same motion you would use to count money. It will go much faster that way. I once saw a guy count a deck in 13 seconds. He just fanned the cards out on the table and scooped them up 13 seconds later. As far as I know the official record is 8 seconds by Darryl Purpose. But, as Callipygian said, at that point it's just a parlor trick.
-Sonny-
But, as Callipygian said, at that point it's just a parlor trick.-Sonny-
I don't know if using cards (for magic) for 15-16 or 20 years ... Using mnemonic techniques and various kind of count has helped us with this count.
But we found extrmly easy to count cards this way.
Anyway I ve found that the best way to training is to put the cards on the table as the dealer does... Because the glimpse is totally different.
this is one of the best practice methods, after you have internalized the card values and can count down in 1's, 2's and i recommend 3's.
25 seconds with perfect 100% accuracy is more than fast enough.
when i started, i bought 6 decks of cards, and would count those down on my coffee table, until i could get though 2-3 shoes in a row with 0 mistakes and in decent time, roughly 20-25 seconds a deck. accuracy should always be the prime directive, not speed. you can always find a slower table, and at the beginning you probably will want a slow table with 3-4 other people present, just so that you can practice.
25 seconds with perfect 100% accuracy is more than fast enough.
when i started, i bought 6 decks of cards, and would count those down on my coffee table, until i could get though 2-3 shoes in a row with 0 mistakes and in decent time, roughly 20-25 seconds a deck. accuracy should always be the prime directive, not speed. you can always find a slower table, and at the beginning you probably will want a slow table with 3-4 other people present, just so that you can practice.
Thirded.
It often helps to visualize things in a way that is very obvious to you. For example, some people might see high and low cards as different colors. It's then easier to count by color or by pattern than to add a string of numbers.
For me, I have come to think of low cards as "bumps" and high cards as "sinks". As I scan a table, I "push" the bumps to fill in the sinks, and then count the remaining unleveled cards.
It often helps to visualize things in a way that is very obvious to you. For example, some people might see high and low cards as different colors. It's then easier to count by color or by pattern than to add a string of numbers.
For me, I have come to think of low cards as "bumps" and high cards as "sinks". As I scan a table, I "push" the bumps to fill in the sinks, and then count the remaining unleveled cards.
I think I speak for many of us (CC's and professionals) when I say that I've always wondered how similar CC'g (and especially other advanced techniques) is to the studies, research and performances of a magician. I think that's why we like you so much and have become so interested in your questions.
Keep it up. You're helping our egos as much as we're helping your blackjack.
Keep it up. You're helping our egos as much as we're helping your blackjack.
I agree, counting a deck on your table at home is nothing like counting the way the cards are dealt, and at a casino. That's why counting shoe and pitch games is very different. I find counting pitch easier, for some odd reason.
When I've counted at home, what I'll do is take a card out of the deck and hide it. Then I grab about a quarter of the deck and throw it down on the table face up, count it, then the same for the next 3 quarters. It's a vague approximation of counting a shoe game. How fast do I do it? I don't know. It takes a fast dealer about 2 minutes per deck to deal shoe so if you can do it in less than 2 minutes I suppose that's fast enough to count in a casino.
When I've counted at home, what I'll do is take a card out of the deck and hide it. Then I grab about a quarter of the deck and throw it down on the table face up, count it, then the same for the next 3 quarters. It's a vague approximation of counting a shoe game. How fast do I do it? I don't know. It takes a fast dealer about 2 minutes per deck to deal shoe so if you can do it in less than 2 minutes I suppose that's fast enough to count in a casino.