Hi-Lo, Hi-Opt I Hybrid for SD and DD

[H Bomb]

In another thread I mentioned that I've only played SD and DD so far and use Hi-Opt I w/ace SC. Several well-intentioned posters advised me to forsake it for Hi-Lo because of its versatility for shoe. I played around with the idea of, for shoe, using HOI and SC aces on one hand under the table with thumb placement on ridges of the other 4 fingers (which I currently do for pitch). One poster mentioned that even though I can keep an accurate ace SC, it requires estimation to 1/4 deck (I can barely do it for DD so probably not for 6D :laugh and it's still a pain to use that info. I agree, and have decided to use HL for shoe.

But...

For pitch, I really like HOI's high PE and IC. But even w/ace SC the BC isn't as high as HL because 2's aren't counted. And going back and forth between 2 systems might mess me up. I came up with a hybrid count:

1. Mental count of HOI
2. Mechanical count of ace-2 offset on one hand under the table. See 2, move thumb up a ridge. See ace, move thumb down a ridge. There are 16 ridges so even if 8 aces and 0 2's have been played or vice versa this isn't a problem.
3. Add the 2 counts for betting. This is exactly the HL count.
4. Use the mental HOI count for playing and insurance

This count has HL's BC and HOI's PE and IC (pretty much the same as level-2 Zen). And it doesn't require estimation to 1/4 deck.

For shoe, I'll just straight HL count in my head. Hopefully going from pitch to shoe won't mess me up. It's the same tags, just that counting aces and 2's become mental instead of mechanical.

I haven't road-tested this puppy but welcome any comments and suggestions.

 

[moo321]

You could also use something with your feet to side count aces. Left heel down, right toe down, etc.

 

[Automatic Monkey]

In another thread I mentioned that I've only played SD and DD so far and use Hi-Opt I w/ace SC. Several well-intentioned posters advised me to forsake it for Hi-Lo because of its versatility for shoe. I played around with the idea of, for shoe, using HOI and SC aces on one hand under the table with thumb placement on ridges of the other 4 fingers (which I currently do for pitch). One poster mentioned that even though I can keep an accurate ace SC, it requires estimation to 1/4 deck (I can barely do it for DD so probably not for 6D :laugh and it's still a pain to use that info. I agree, and have decided to use HL for shoe.

But...

For pitch, I really like HOI's high PE and IC. But even w/ace SC the BC isn't as high as HL because 2's aren't counted. And going back and forth between 2 systems might mess me up. I came up with a hybrid count:

1. Mental count of HOI
2. Mechanical count of ace-2 offset on one hand under the table. See 2, move thumb up a ridge. See ace, move thumb down a ridge. There are 16 ridges so even if 8 aces and 0 2's have been played or vice versa this isn't a problem.
3. Add the 2 counts for betting. This is exactly the HL count.
4. Use the mental HOI count for playing and insurance

This count has HL's BC and HOI's PE and IC (pretty much the same as level-2 Zen). And it doesn't require estimation to 1/4 deck.

For shoe, I'll just straight HL count in my head. Hopefully going from pitch to shoe won't mess me up. It's the same tags, just that counting aces and 2's become mental instead of mechanical.

I haven't road-tested this puppy but welcome any comments and suggestions.

First suggestion: no shoe game requires estimation to 1/4 deck. Where'd you hear that?

The other problem: balancing the 2's against the aces isn't the strongest play because the absolute value of the ace is so much more than the 2. Let's say all the aces and all the 2's have been dealt out. Your sidecount would say 'neutral', but in reality you would be playing at a serious disadvantage. It's true, this could happen when counting High-Low too. An interesting experiment would be to use 2-5 as your low cards and balance the ace with the 6 for the sidecount.

So if you are already adept at HO1 there is no compelling reason not to use it in shoe games. Treat it just like you would a DD game, and 1 deck estimation will be fine. High-Low might be a little stronger for shoes but not enough that you should fret over it. If you are really interested in sidecounting aces and are itching to learn a new system, HO2 is hard to beat.