I have been involved in casino games for
many years and believe me I am really having fun here I want to tell the newbie
how to learn Hi-Lo.
The best way to learn Hi-Lo is to take a standard deck and flip through the cards one at a time until the value of each denomination becomes automatic. Fortunately, this is not too difficult after a little bit of practice. Remember, you don't have to differentiate for any of the four suits-the 5 of spades counts exactly the same as the 5 of diamonds.
Once you feel comfortable with that task, you can start keeping a running count (hereafter called RC) of all cards in the deck. This is done by starting off with a count of zero. As you flip through the deck, add or subtract the respective values of each card to your overall tally, or RC. After polishing off all fifty-two cards, you should be back at zero.
Another trick pros use is to never call negative numbers "negative 1" or "minus 1." It is much quicker to refer to them as "mi I." Mi is short for minus. This may sound like a silly modification, but it really speeds up your counting. Another thing experts never do is refer to positive numbers as "positive 5." They would simply be 5.
This also streamlines and simplifies the counting process, although I will use the plus signs in this book to avoid any confusion while you're still learning the material.
Next, go through the deck two cards at a time. This may sound more difficult but is actually much easier. The reason is that many card combinations will cancel each other out in Hi- Lo. Here are several examples of cancellation at work.
All of the two-card combos shown above can essentially be ignored when counting since their total value is zero. Once you become acquainted with this fact, you often don't need to add or subtract each card, which is why many consider Hi-Lo such a breeze to learn.
For now, don't worry about your speed-the only thing important at this juncture is accuracy, which can be tested by removing one unseen card from the deck before you begin your count. When you're done, turn over the hidden card and see if it matches your count. For instance, if you ended up with a RC of minus 1, the last card (the one you had set aside) has to be a small card in order to bring the overall count back to zero. If it was any other card, then you made an error (or two) somewhere along the way.
Once you get to the point at which you can predict the last card correctly most of the time, it's safe to move on to your next assignment-speed. This drill is done exactly the same way-you flip over two cards at a time through a fifty-two-card deck, except now you're pushing yourself like a racehorse down the homestretch at Belmont, trying to coax out every ounce of speed.
Don't even bother timing your first efforts-it might be too discouraging. But before long, you should start feeling more in rhythm with the flow of the cards. At that point you're ready to dust off the old stopwatch from your track days and start recording your times. The ballpark goal most people shoot for is twenty-five seconds.
