Keeping The Count With Aides

ChefJJ · Jul 24, 2007

Just casting a net out there with the posters here...

Does anyone use any techniques at the table to keep track of the count so it is not all in your head? I have a method that I use with my chips and have had decent success in doing so...but, of course, I am a player that does not hit the casino every week.

Curious about this one...

Sonny · Jul 24, 2007

I used to use Hi-Opt II which requires a side count of aces. I tried many of the mental techniques (numbers, letters, even animals!) but I ended up creating my own system to make it easier. I used a physical system to keep track of the aces instead of keeping them in my head.

When the first ace came out I would place my left thumb against the tip of my first finger. For the second ace, I would move my thumb up to the little “pocket” of my first knuckle. For the third ace I would move it up to the fleshy part between the first two knuckles, then up to the pocket of my second knuckle for the fourth ace. I continued using this method on my second (middle) finger for aces 5-8 until I reached the end of my pinky (16 aces). That was usually enough since I played mostly DD games, but you can continue by returning to your first finger again for aces 17-20 etc.

This method makes it very easy to use the side count. Each finger holds four aces, just like a deck of cards. When I felt my thumb halfway up my first finger I knew that half of a deck should have been played. If there was a full deck in the discard tray then I knew that my thumb should have been at the top of my first finger. Similarly, if I felt my thumb at the top of my ring finger I knew that three decks should be played. Each finger represents one full deck so it acts as a physical gauge, like the gas meter on your car.

That system makes it much easier since you don’t have to use any brainpower to keep track of the aces, you don’t have to do any math to figure out the ace density, and you don’t even need to look at your hand because you can feel where your “meter” is at all times. The main drawback is that you have to use your other hand for playing, signaling, drinking, and anything else you need to do.

There are many other ways to keep the count physically. Some people move their tongue along their teeth to keep the count. Others use a casino chip and keep the count by rotating it like the hand of a clock (I use this for shuffle tracking sometimes). Others move their fingers across a piece of jewelry like a bracelet or watch which has notches along it (rosary beads would be perfect!). You could even turn a ring on your finger to keep track. Perhaps a book of matches could be manipulated to keep a running count…

Basically, anything that has notches or similar indicators can be used to keep the count physically. Experiment with a few different methods to see which one works best for you.

-Sonny-

Automatic Monkey · Jul 24, 2007

Sonny said:
...…Basically, anything that has notches or similar indicators can be used to keep the count physically. Experiment with a few different methods to see which one works best for you.

You can record or transmit any number from 0 to 31 using the fingers of one hand using simple binary counting. But be careful when indicating the number 4.

jack.jackson · Jul 24, 2007

I was kinda like sonny when i first started sc aces. All except i used 12 knuckles on my left and 12 knuckles on my right to count 24 aces. Today if i was use some kind of physical aid it might be in the form of a pack of cigarettes or a cell phone.

I wonder what they would do if i brought my laptop in there and sat on the table and started punching in numers:laugh:

I also wonder if micro-computers like multiple magic could gjhdfbhuuhcn in csms.

darco77 · Jul 24, 2007

Automatic Monkey said:
You can record or transmit any number from 0 to 31 using the fingers of one hand using simple binary counting. But be careful when indicating the number 4.

The number 20 would be equally dangerous.

Automatic Monkey · Jul 25, 2007

darco77 said:
The number 20 would be equally dangerous.

My personal favorite would be the number 13.

(left hand, palm up, thumb is MSD)

GeorgeD · Jul 25, 2007

Automatic Monkey said:
You can record or transmit any number from 0 to 31 using the fingers of one hand using simple binary counting. But be careful when indicating the number 4.

Now THAT'S a digital counting system. :grin:

eps6724 · Jul 25, 2007

Automatic Monkey said:
My personal favorite would be the number 13.

(left hand, palm up, thumb is MSD)

I have no idea what you people are talking about, and I kinda think maybe I don't WANT to know!

positiveEV · Jul 25, 2007

eps6724 said:
I have no idea what you people are talking about, and I kinda think maybe I don't WANT to know!

Binary have 2 numbers instead of 10. It have 0 and 1.

After 1, since there is no number left, you have 10. It's like our system but without 2...9, so 1,10,11,100,101,110,111,1000 etc.

The number 4 means your middle finger is up. That was the joke.

bluewhale · Jul 25, 2007

Sonny said:
Others move their fingers across a piece of jewelry like a bracelet or watch which has notches along it (rosary beads would be perfect!). You could even turn a ring on your finger to keep track. Perhaps a book of matches could be manipulated to keep a running count…

Basically, anything that has notches or similar indicators can be used to keep the count physically. Experiment with a few different methods to see which one works best for you.

-Sonny-

isn't this cheating?? the use of a physical aid to help you win would, in my opinion, be regarded as cheating.

Automatic Monkey · Jul 25, 2007

bluewhale said:
isn't this cheating?? the use of a physical aid to help you win would, in my opinion, be regarded as cheating.

Yes it often would, in fact there was a case in Ontario where some key girls were using beads. Now apparently they were using them for their own accounting to keep track of how much the BP owes them, but the casino construed it as an illegal device and prosecuted them.

When I do things like this I only use objects that the casino itself has provided for me, therefore if I have done something illegal they have aided and abetted me.

moo321 · Jul 25, 2007

I don't think the casino won that case.

jack.jackson · Jul 26, 2007

010

asiafever said:
Binary have 2 numbers instead of 10. It have 0 and 1.

After 1, since there is no number left, you have 10. It's like our system but without 2...9, so 1,10,11,100,101,110,111,1000 etc.

The number 4 means your middle finger is up. That was the joke.

Believe it or not? Thats why this is the best practical system that could be devised.

Code:

    Primary      Secondary
       
     -4             +6
                                               BC. .997
     +2                                        PE. .698
     +3                                        IC. .943
     +3
     +4                                       A02: OSR:   1:4  98.16  
     +3
     +2                                       X  : OSR:   1:4  98.66

     +2             +1
      0             +2
     -1             +1                        
 
     -3
_________________________________
      0            10

I just havent firgued how to utilize it yet. But i will! Bj math 3.5

eps6724 · Jul 26, 2007

asiafever said:
Binary have 2 numbers instead of 10. It have 0 and 1.

After 1, since there is no number left, you have 10. It's like our system but without 2...9, so 1,10,11,100,101,110,111,1000 etc.

The number 4 means your middle finger is up. That was the joke.

I figured it was a joke....but now my head hurts...where do the 2-9 go? Is there a parallel universe that only squiggly lines go? Can I use the binary system to explain my speed to the cops? Is this the answer ot the question 'when does 1+1 NOT equal 2'? Why is the sky blue? Why am I here? How does the binary system fit into Douglas Adams's "Great Question of Life"?

And the ULTIMATE question-who came up with this idea, anyway?

No, I really don't want to know. Now my head REALLY hurts!:cry:

eps6724 · Jul 26, 2007

jack said:

Believe it or not? Thats why this is the best practical system that could be devised.

Code:

    Primary      Secondary
       
     -4             +6
                                               BC. .997
     +2                                        PE. .698
     +3                                        IC. .943
     +3
     +4                                       A02: OSR:   1:4  98.16  
     +3
     +2                                       X  : OSR:   1:4  98.66

     +2             +1
      0             +2
     -1             +1                        
 
     -3
_________________________________
      0            10

I just havent firgued how to utilize it yet. But i will! Bj math 3.5

My degree is in music performance. I can count to 4. And sometimes I get confused...does the 2 ALWAYS come after the 1???

Canceler · Jul 26, 2007

The decimal system has ten digits, 0-9. The binary system has two digits, 0-1. This is useful with computers, 0 being "off", 1 being "on". In the current discussion, 0 being "finger not extended", 1 being "finger extended".

Now let's talk place values:

Decimal: 10000, 1000, 100, 10, 1
Binary: 16, 8, 4, 2, 1

So, when AM says "(left hand, palm up, thumb is MSD)", he means the thumb is worth 16, and the pinky is worth 1.

eps6724 said:
where do the 2-9 go?

They're not necessary.

eps6724 said:
Is there a parallel universe that only squiggly lines go?

The 2-9 go there, too.

eps6724 said:
Can I use the binary system to explain my speed to the cops?

Yes, but you don't want to admit to going 111100 in a 55.

eps6724 said:
Is this the answer ot the question 'when does 1+1 NOT equal 2'?

Yes! In binary 1 + 1 = 10.

eps6724 said:
Why is the sky blue?

Unequal refraction of wavelengths of light.

eps6724 said:
Why am I here?

To learn blackjack. And other number systems.

eps6724 said:
How does the binary system fit into Douglas Adams's "Great Question of Life"?

Beats the heck out of me!

eps6724 said:
And the ULTIMATE question-who came up with this idea, anyway?

It's a computer thing. Ever wonder why most power buttons are marked with a weird symbol comprised of a 1 and a 0? Now you know.

eps6724 said:
No, I really don't want to know.

Too bad! Is there anything else you don't want to know?

(I don't mean to imply that the only reason for binary is to tell when your computer is on or off. There is more to it than that!)

ChefJJ · Jul 26, 2007

bluewhale said:
isn't this cheating?? the use of a physical aid to help you win would, in my opinion, be regarded as cheating.

That's kinda why I thought that using their chips for a ones-and-tens based tracking system is OK. Nobody's said **** to me yet, but, of course, I'm not a high-roller either.

halcyon1234 · Jul 26, 2007

There are 10 types of people in the world. Those who understand binary, and those who don't.

eps6724 · Jul 26, 2007

halcyon1234 said:
There are 10 types of people in the world. Those who understand binary, and those who don't.

AHAH! FINALLY something I can understand!:laugh:

ChefJJ · Jul 26, 2007

halcyon1234 said:
There are 10 types of people in the world. Those who understand binary, and those who don't.

Sounds like something Yogi Berra would have said.

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