Take Five (T5) tracking indicator is an emulation of Hi Lo “true count”, in that it produces a number that directly indicates current shoe conditions (favorable or unfavorable) for the player. The positive vector of the T5 tracker is a count of 5’s played as they are seen, and of “virtual” 5’s. A virtual 5 is any triplet (3) of non-5 low cards 2 through 6. Each 5 seen in play and each set of 3 low-card, non-5 cards (that is, each “virtual 5”) seen in play counts +1 in the T5 tracker system. The negative factor that adjusts the T5 tracker count to emulate a proportionality (true count) statistic, is a “cards consumed tax”. The “tax” is assessed in a pattern that repeats across 4 hands of play and varies by how many “card consumers” there are—the dealer and every player are card consumers as each hand is played. Here are the governing tax patterns, in a table:
Make a continuous tracking (count) number, summing the 5 cards and the “virtual 5’s” played, and deducting the appropriate "cards-consumed" tax. A resulting positive number is favorable to the player; negative numbers are unfavorable. Bet minimum for negative tracker hands, for zero count hands, and for +1 count hands. Bet two betting units (twice your minimum bet) for tracker +2 hands, and bet three betting units for +3 hands. The count can become wildly positive (albeit rarely), but it is recommended that you never bet more than 3.5 to 4 times your unit bet.
ALSO: when the tracking indicator becomes highly negative -3 or more, it is better (if you can do so without being too obtrusive in the game) to skip such a hand altogether – place no bet and receive no cards, while keeping the T5 tracking count for that hand in order to be ready to continue play in subsequent hands. Bring a sufficient total playing stake to the casino, to be able to sustain the loss of 25 minimum bets in a row, and still have playing money left to recover from such losses.
Play basic strategy regarding hit, stand, double down, and split decisions. If you wish to be a bit more aggressive (and win more) when the tracker is +2 or better, then you can use the following “Deviations” from Basic Strategy:
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A bit of commentary:
This method of card counting was originally intended to be "as powerful" as traditional Hi Lo count techniques, but much easier to play, because no ratios need to be calculated or dealt with-- "count per deck", and "true count" versus "running count" ratios are eliminated, and only plus and minus calculation yields a valid advantage play index/indicator. T5 turns out to be "not quite as powerful" mathematically, but it (T5) definitely wins money in real-life blackjack play in legal gambling casinos in Colorado and Las Vegas. With a small playing stake and "average guy" betting limits and patterns, T5 regularly wins money that looks exactly like Joe Six-pack getting a bit lucky at the blackjack tables, except that the T5 player is "lucky" in that way more often than not. As with all advantage play, the foundation and "hardest part" is basic strategy. (Find details on BJ basic strategy in a separate post). Blackjack advantage play techniques are generally so much trouble to learn and develop to a consistent winning level of skill and technique, that they are "not worth it" for casual recreational play, with casual betting amounts and average total playing stake. This is not so with Take Five (T5) Tracking.
OTOH, that "not quite as powerful" factor allows pure luck to have more say than it does with traditional advantage play techniques. Perfect T5 tracking play will sometimes result in losses simply by the power of chance. This could *also* happen with traditional (Hi-Lo) counting. However, with T5 tracking, this will happen more often than it would with perfectly done traditional Hi Lo advantage play. The "perfectly done" qualifier is key. It is just so much easier to play T5 tracking; enough so that T5 can often win for a serious recreational player, where mistakes in playing the more difficult Hi Lo count often dooms the player to consistent losses.
ALSO NOTE: As I have said, T5 advantage play technique is designed to be played in a "stealth" fashion, emulating Joe Six-pack getting lucky. T5 could be "scaled up" to bet big and win big, however the reader is warned and cautioned: the statistical "variance" of T5 is higher than traditional (Hi Lo) play, which is uncomfortably high for most people in the first place. To scale T5, one would need to bring an absolutely huge playing stake to the casino, and to be prepared for the chance of losing most of one's playing stake before the "statistical long run" kicks in and the worm turns. And of course, this says nothing about casino countermeasures, which are unpleasant, and which will undoubtedly be triggered if you bet high stakes and win consistently. Casinos employ folks who know traditional advantages techniques-- they can and will (sooner or later) detect that you are betting large amounts only when the deck is favorable to the player and unfavorable to the house.
I advise against attempting to use T5 for some sort of "big score". Use traditional techniques (and a trained team of Blackjack players) for that.