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Note: In using this guide, begin counting at 3.
If RC Is Bet This Many Units
6 or less _______________________ (no bet leave table)
5 to +1 _______________________ I (the minimum bet)
+ 2 ________________________________ 2
+ 3 ________________________________ 3
+ 4 ________________________________ 4
+ 5 ________________________________ 5
+ 6 _____________________________ 6
+ 7 _____________________________ 7
+ 8 ________________________________ 8
+ 9 ________________________________ 9
+ 10 or more __________________ 10 (suggested upper limit)
To use the RC wagering system most effectively, start your RC at 3 after each shuffle. The actual RC after a shuffle is zero, of course, but for the purposes of this bet-ranging guide, always begin counting at 3 in order to give yourself some built-in protection. This margin of safety will keep you from excessive overbetting if the RC happens to soar early in the shoe. If the RC falls to 6 or less, stop playing and wait for a new shuffle or at least until the count comes back up. As long as the RC remains below + 2, bet the minimum, i.e., one unit. Increase your bet by one unit (or less if possible, perhaps by $1 if the minimum bet is $5) for every whole number that the RC climbs above 2. Under no circumstances, however, should you range your bets up to more than ten units, or 2% of your total bankroll. Under this easy-to-remember system the size of your bets is governed by the RC itself. A beginning counter can usually recover the count whenever he happens to lose track of it, simply by looking at the amount that was bet on the last hand.
True-count Wagering For shoe games, which are by far the most common these days, ranging one’s bet simply according to the RC alone is not reliable enough for serious counters. In a counting example earlier in this chapter, a RC of +4 represented a significant advantage for the player, since it existed in a single-deck game. The same RC of +4, however, would indicate a far less favorable situation if it occurred at the beginning of a six-deck shoe game. While it is true that there would still be four more high cards than low ones available to be dealt, with six times the number of cards in the pool the odds of drawing one of those “extra” high cards is considerably less.
Therefore, to obtain an accurate indication of the advantage, it is necessary to divide the RC by the number of remaining decks yet to be seen. This figure is obviously much more reliable and is known simply as the true count (TC), since it indicates the RC per deck. Although not quite as accurate as Thorp’s complete point-count system, this estimated TC is virtually just as reliable to use in determining the proper size of your next bet and in modifying BS when applicable.
In the single-deck example mentioned above, the RC of +4 represents a TC of approximately +5 ( + 4 + Vs, the remaining number of whole decks still available to be dealt). At the beginning of a six-deck shoe, however, the same + 4 RC produces a TC of less than 1 (+ 4 divided by almost 6 the number of decks remaining in the shoe). While you would still have some advantage playing BS in a shoe game under these circumstances, it would not be enough to justify increasing your next wager beyond the minimum allowable bet. The rounded-off TC would be only +1.
After a little practice at converting RC’s into TC’s, you will note that in all shoe games (where the plastic shuffle card is normally placed more than one full deck from the last card), the TC’s will necessarily be less than positive RC’s, because you must always divide by more than one unseen deck. In single-deck games, TC’s will always be greater than positive RC’s, since you will be dividing by less than one (full deck). Of course, when the RC is negative, just the opposite occurs. In a six-deck shoe, for example, the TC’s are never as good as positive RC’s, but never as bad as negative RC’s. Use the Hi-Low TC practice exercises at the end of this chapter to become totally familiar with converting RC’s into TC’s.
The biggest advantage of knowing the TC lies in its ability to properly indicate the size of one’s next wager, no matter how many decks are being used in the game. This system is, not surprisingly, described as true-count wagering. A counter who combines appropriate true-count bet ranges with correct MBS plays as explained in chapter 7 is doing everything possible to maximize his advantage. Yes, professional counting is as simple as that.
Proper TC wagering is likely the least understood calculation, and consequently the most misplayed aspect of the game, for otherwise competent counters. Rarely is this vital aspect of play even mentioned in blackjack literature. Take the time now to commit this essential piece of knowledge to memory, and you will never again need to worry whether your bets are sized properly. Correct TC wagering is calculated as follows:
From the Kelly Criterion discussed in chapter 4, it is clear that betting in direct proportion to your advantage provides the most reliable long-term profits. Your exact percentage advantage, however, is not always easily determined. It depends mosdy upon the TC, but the liberality of the rules being used should also be considered. Naturally, the advantage provided by any given TC will vary directly with the playing conditions in place at the time. Therefore, if you find yourself playing under restrictive rules, you should range your bets slightly more conservatively than the conservative TC Bet-Ranging Chart below indicates; when the rules are exceptionally good, slightly higher.

A players advantage is calculated by adding .515 to the profit expectation derived from BS playing conditions, then multiplying this figure by the TC.

In other words, playing where your BS profit expectation is zero (i.e., no advantage for the casino or yourself because of the rules), your advantage in percent is generally half the TC at any given time. You should never, therefore, bet more than this percentage of your total blackjack-playing bankroll on any one hand ever, under any circumstances. Betting more than your percentage advantage is courting financial disaster.
For example, if your entire blackjack bankroll amounted to only $500 and the TC climbed to + 6, then your next bet should ideally be $15 (i.e., 6% x lh x 500, or 3% of $500). But from chapter 5 it is clear that, in order to maximize gains while minimizing risks, you should never wager more than 2% of your total bankroll on any single hand no matter how good the situation appears. Whenever you exceed 2% you are in a sense overbetting, even though the TC may justify a higher wager because of your percentage advantage. Because 2% of $500 is only $10, your bankroll is too small to allow you to take full advantage of TC’s over +4. No matter what size your bankroll is, this limit comes into play. To be absolutely safe, your wagers should range smoothly from a maximum bet of 2% of your bankroll down to nothing, while staying in accordance with your actual playing advantage determined by the TC. This is one reason it is advisable to play at tables that offer the lowest limits. There you can bet the table minimum when the TC is 0 or less and range your wagers upward to eight units or more, as the TC wagering charts below dictate, without violating your 2% guideline.