Confusion about Mysterium: Card Counting 101

Bryson G.

Elite Member
Jun 13, 2013
47
19
This article, "Mysterium: Card Counting 101," written by Jason England, talks, mainly, as examples, about 2 different card-counting techniques, the Hi-Lo count and the K-O count.

In the article it states that the Hi-Lo count is a balanced count.
"If you’ll recall, the Hi-Lo had the same number of high cards as it did low cards. The Hi-Lo is an example of a balanced count," (Quoted from the article).

The article states the K-O count is an unbalanced count.
"First of all, the K-O is not a balanced count. There are now 24 low cards, 8 medium cards, and only 20 high cards," (Quoted from the article).

However, in the fourth paragraph from the bottom of the article, Jason says,
"Although I didn’t mention it earlier, the Hi-Lo (and other unbalanced counts) needs an adjustment before it can be used at a real table,".

Is this a typo or am I missing something? If it is a typo, did he mistakenly put the Hi-Lo count instead of the K-O count, or did he mean to say "other balanced counts" instead of "other unbalanced counts"?

The article can be found here: http://www.theory11.com/news/mysterium-card-counting-101/

Thanks,
Bryson
 

JasonEngland

theory11 artist / card mechanic
Nov 7, 2008
158
25
Las Vegas, NV
This article, "Mysterium: Card Counting 101," written by Jason England, talks, mainly, as examples, about 2 different card-counting techniques, the Hi-Lo count and the K-O count.

In the article it states that the Hi-Lo count is a balanced count.
"If you’ll recall, the Hi-Lo had the same number of high cards as it did low cards. The Hi-Lo is an example of a balanced count," (Quoted from the article).

The article states the K-O count is an unbalanced count.
"First of all, the K-O is not a balanced count. There are now 24 low cards, 8 medium cards, and only 20 high cards," (Quoted from the article).

However, in the fourth paragraph from the bottom of the article, Jason says,
"Although I didn’t mention it earlier, the Hi-Lo (and other unbalanced counts) needs an adjustment before it can be used at a real table,".

Is this a typo or am I missing something? If it is a typo, did he mistakenly put the Hi-Lo count instead of the K-O count, or did he mean to say "other balanced counts" instead of "other unbalanced counts"?

The article can be found here: http://www.theory11.com/news/mysterium-card-counting-101/

Thanks,
Bryson



Good catch. Yes, that should have read "...the Hi Lo (and other balanced counts) needs an adjustment before it can be used at a real table."

The truth is, you can bet off of the running count without converting it to a true count for balanced systems like the Hi Lo, but you lose a lot of information fidelity that way.

Likewise, you can use a true count conversion on a count that doesn't need one (like the KO), but your increase in EV is minimal, so most players don't bother.

I didn't mention this in the article because it's advanced information and more interesting to theorists than real players. Regardless, the original text is in error and you caught it.

Nice job.

Jason
 
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