Uston Advanced Plus-Minus (APM) is a balanced level-one count documented in Million Dollar Blackjack (1981). It is a historical counting method, not a current profit promise. Use its full rules, indexes and true-count convention.
Documented card tags
| Card | A | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10/J/Q/K |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Uston APM tag | −1 | 0 | +1 | +1 | +1 | +1 | +1 | 0 | 0 | −1 |
These tags sum to zero over a full deck. QFIT classifies the system as balanced, ace-reckoned and level one, and says it was optimized for betting.
Worked practice: keep the two neutral
Start at zero and expose 2, 7, A, 5, K, 8, 3 and 9. Your checkpoints are 0, +1, 0, +1, 0, 0, +1 and +1. The two contributes nothing, the seven adds one, and the ace subtracts one. Eight and nine also leave the count unchanged.
This short packet helps catch a common mix-up: carrying over another system’s treatment of the two or seven. Learning only “small cards plus, big cards minus” is insufficient. Read the actual tags before practicing and check each intermediate answer, not just the final total.
Check the balance of a complete deck
There are five positive ranks, from three through seven. Four cards of each rank give 5 × 4 = +20. The four aces contribute −4, and the sixteen ten-valued cards contribute −16. Twos, eights and nines contribute zero, so the complete deck totals +20 −4 −16 = 0.
After counting a shuffled deck, zero is the expected final count. It is not proof of an error-free exercise: overlooking a three and an ace produces cancelling mistakes. Use smaller packets with written checkpoints before increasing speed. Accuracy at card recognition comes before adding deck estimation and playing decisions.
Running and true counts
The running count tracks the cumulative tags. A balanced system normally converts that figure using the prescribed estimate of cards or decks remaining. Rounding and index conventions can change decisions, so use one documented source consistently.
Conversion changes with the cards remaining
For an arithmetic illustration using full-deck units, a running count of +6 divided by three remaining decks gives +2; the same +6 divided by one remaining deck gives +6. These figures illustrate concentration, not an APM betting schedule or a playing index. Follow the divisor and deck-estimation method specified by your chosen APM source.
Negative fractions need an explicit convention too. −3 ÷ 2 = −1.5. Flooring gives −2; truncating toward zero gives −1. QFIT explains that the conversion should match the convention used to generate the indexes. Switching between methods can change a close decision even when the running count is correct.
Do not mix the Uston systems
APM, APC and SS are distinct methods. APM counts an ace as −1 and a two as zero. Uston APC uses larger tags and treats the ace as neutral; SS is unbalanced. Their names do not make their starting counts, ace procedures, indexes or betting scales interchangeable.
“Ace-reckoned” means that aces affect APM’s main count. It does not mean an APC excess-ace adjustment can be added to it unchanged. A side count is a separate procedure with its own purpose and associated decisions. Keep the practice exercise simple until the full method you intend to learn is clear.
Choose a matching practice setup
Check the selected tags in the card-counting trainer before using it as an APM test. If APM is unavailable, use physical cards and an answer sheet for the exercises above. Success with another count can build attention, but does not demonstrate mastery of APM’s neutral two and positive seven.
Historical and current use
QFIT says Uston APM is not in common use today. That observation does not prove the method ineffective, and its historical reputation does not prove it best for a current game. Compare systems under the same rules, penetration, bankroll, spread and error assumptions.
Sources
For the conversion and rounding explanation, see QFIT’s true-count calculation guide.
Further reading
No counting system guarantees a winning session or continued casino access.
