Card Counting Drills Setup
One of the greatest problems encountered by card counters is failure in getting the count correct. The Counting Drill feature provides thirteen card counting practice drills with cards thrown at you in several different ways. After all, the dealer does not face all the cards on the table in nice lines pointing towards you. Set the desired options and hit LAUNCH. Select options as follows:
Card Parameters
Ø # Cards - Cards are displayed one, two or three at a time, or randomly one or two or three at a time according to the setting of this option.
Ø Orientation - Cards are displayed Vertically, Horizontally (sideways), or randomly as specified by this option.
Ø Placement - Pairs of cards are displayed one above the other, one at the side of the other, or one to the upper right of the other, or randomly as selected by this option.
Note: The three above options can be combined in any combination to allow numerous display situations.
Deal Until
When performing a counting drill, card counters often remove a card or two from the deck before starting the drill. When completed with the deck, they then use the count to determine the value(s) of the removed cards. This option simulates this action by pausing automatically near the end of the deck. Pressing CONTINUE will then display the remaining card(s). Note: True Count is meaningless at the end of the deck.
Bias
Some card counters find it more difficult to count in certain situations. This parameter can be used to make those situations appear more often as follows:
Ø None - No bias
Ø Negative (1st half of deck rich) - When set, the first half of the deck has cards with a negative count (i.e. tens and aces for some systems). This forces a counter to count negatively and then to count negative numbers upward in the second half of the shoe.
Ø Positive (Last half of deck rich) - When set, the last half of the deck has cards with a negative count. This forces a counter to count positively and then to count positive numbers downward in the second half of the shoe.
Drills
If you select the Quick Count Drill, then cards fly by quickly to determine your card counting speed. If you select any of the other drills, then tests are periodically presented as the cards are dealt. The tests consist of an array of numbers that appear. You must select the correct answer, depending on the drill selected, with the mouse. If you are correct, the button with the selected number turns green and the deal is continued. If you are incorrect, the selected button will turn red and the correct button will turn green. You must press the correct button to continue. See the General Options Screen for other input methods. The drills are discussed separately below:
Ø Quick Count - The point of this drill is to count cards as quickly as you can. The cards will be dealt automatically or manually as described under the later described Timer Mode.
Ø Aces Left - In this drill, you will be periodically tested on the number of Aces remaining in the deck. When the array appears, click on the correct number to continue.
Ø Aces Dealt - This is the same as the previous drill, except that you select the number of Aces dealt thus far.
Ø Running Count - In this test, you will be asked the current running count according to the selected counting strategy.
Ø True Count - This tests your ability to calculate the correct true count for the selected strategy according to the True Count Resolution parameters as specified on the OPTIONS - SETTINGS menu TC Calc/Sound folder.
Ø Ace Bet Count - This drill is only available if the selected strategy has a zero value for the Ace card point value (an Ace-Neutral strategy). It tests your ability to calculate the Ace adjusted true count for betting. For information on this calculation, and the others below, see the section on Side Count Handling.
Ø Ace Play Count - This drill is only available if the selected strategy has a NON-zero value for the Ace card point value (Aces counted in high group). It tests your ability to calculate the Ace adjusted true count for playing decisions.
Ø Ace Insure Delta - This drill is only available if the selected strategy has a NON-zero value for the Ace card point value (Aces counted in high group). It tests your ability to calculate the Ace adjusted true count for Insurance decisions.
Ø Ten Side Count - This drill is always available. It tests your ability to calculate the Ten Side Count for Insurance decisions.
Ø Over/Under Count - This drill tests your calculation of the over/Under 13 Count. You must specify an O/U count using STRATEGIES - OVER/UNDER 13 to use this drill.
Ø Other SC Dealt - Here you can test your ability to count multiple side cards. Specify the cards to side count in the Other Side Cards section.
Ø Other SC Delta - This is the same as above except you are tested at your ability to calculate the difference between the side count and the expected side count at the displayed deck depth.
Ø Two Counts - This is not actually a separate drill, but a combined drill. You can turn this option to test keeping two counts at once. For each test, you will need to enter the True Count and then also enter the correct answer for whatever other drill above has been selected.
(Note: The Discard Tray Drills test running count adjustment and the Card Counting Drills test true count calculation.)
Resolution
This field controls the frequency of tests as the cards are flashed in front of you. If 'CARD' is selected, you will be tested after every card is displayed. If '8 CARDS +/-50%' is selected, you will be tested about every eight cards, etc.
Accuracy
If 'EXACT' is selected, then you will receive an error unless you hit the exact answer. The other options allow an error of 1 or 2 test buttons to the right or left without counting as an error. However, when you hit one of the boxes, the box will turn yellow, the correct box will turn green and you must still hit the green box to continue the drill. You will not be penalized with an error, but you will lose some time.
Customize Discard Tray
Pressing this button will display many options that allow customization of the discard tray. Dozens of discard trays are available. I will not explain these parameters as it is easier just to try them.
Timer Mode
You must select one of the timer modes below to control the presentation of the tests:
Ø Automatic - In this mode, cards are dealt automatically at the speed controlled by DEAL SPEED below. The deal pauses when tests are presented. Also, in this mode, you are given a limited amount of time to respond to tests. If you do not respond on time, the correct answer turns green (not depressed) and an error is logged. You must press the green button to continue the drill.
Ø Count Down - In this mode, cards are dealt manually by you. You must press the NEXT button to deal each card (or pair of cards). Note: You can also deal by pressing the RETURN key on the keyboard. This allows dealing with one hand and test answers using the mouse with the other hand.
Ø Count Up - This is the same as COUNT DOWN except for the handling of the total time field as described later.
Control Bars
Note: all speeds and times are measured in seconds and displayed below the control bars.
Ø Deal Speed - Moving the Speed bar up will increase the speed of the card dealing. This field is only present in Automatic Timer Mode.
Ø Test Speed - In Automatic Timer Mode, this field specifies the amount of time that you have to respond to a test.
Ø Alarm Time - In Count Up or Count Down Timer Modes, this field specifies the total time allowed for the entire drill (all tests). At the end of this time, an alarm will sound. The tests will continue.
Ø Decks - Moving the Decks bar down will increase the number of decks.
Reset Stats
Click to wipe out all previous counting drill stats to start over.
Launch
Click to start the drill.
Internet Tests
ITests (Internet Tests) are a set of standardized, pre-configured Blackjack drills. Your Ratings will be compared with those of other players via the Internet after each test. You can set the speeds before starting an ITest. But, all other options will be forced to the definition of that test. At the end of the test, click update to compare with others. The four ITests are:
Count 1: Running Count, two cards at a time, simple display
Count 2: True Count, two cards, simple display
Count 3: Running Count, random number of cards and displays
Count 4: True Count, random number of cards and displays
