User Guide
Everything you need to set up table rules, configure Kelly betting, and run gesture-based card counting at the table without ever looking at your screen.
📱 Device requirements
Hidden Ace's gesture and vibration input layer is built on iOS Shortcuts. These three things need to be true before you sit down at a table.
iPhone or iPad running iOS 12+.
The Shortcuts hand-off only works reliably in Safari.
Required to deliver vibration commands.
shortcuts:// URL scheme, which only hands off reliably from Safari.⚙️ Game settings explained
Configure these on the setup screen to match your casino table exactly. Getting these right matters — every probability calculation downstream assumes your configured rules are the real ones.
Casino standard: 6 decks (most common).
Set to: Match your table's shoe size exactly.
Casino standard: Most casinos use H17.
Set to: Check if your dealer hits soft 17.
Casino standard: Most casinos allow it.
Set to: Check if allowed at your table.
Casino standard: Rare in modern casinos.
Set to: Check if your table offers it.
Casino standard: 3:2 is the traditional, player-favorable rate.
Set to: Whatever's posted at your table — 6:5 meaningfully changes the math.
Casino standard: Always offered.
Set to: Enable to get insurance recommendations.
🎯 Kelly betting configuration
These settings drive the bet-size recommendation you get on every hand. Set them up once before you sit down.
Kelly fraction — choose your risk tolerance
Other betting parameters
Recommended: At least 100× your unit size.
Set to: Your actual available funds.
Recommended: About 1% of your bankroll.
Set to: Your preferred base unit.
Recommended: 1 unit.
Set to: Table minimum ÷ your unit size.
Recommended: 5–10 units.
Set to: The most you're willing to risk on one hand.
Recommended: -1 to -2.
Set to: Your tolerance for playing through negative counts.
🎮 How to use the app
On the first screen, select your table rules so they match your casino exactly — see Game Settings above.
Set your bankroll, unit size, Kelly fraction, and bet limits — see Kelly Configuration above.
On the main screen, use the gestures below: tap to set a card's value, swipe up to confirm it, swipe down to finish the hand once you have at least 3 cards.
Game flow, end to end
👆 Gesture reference
Three gestures cover every card input you'll ever need.
- Tap — increases the current card's value (1 = Ace, 2–10 = number cards, 11+ wraps to 10/face).
- Swipe up ↑ — confirms the current card value and logs it.
- Swipe down ↓ — finishes the hand and requests a decision (requires at least 3 cards logged for the hand: your two plus the dealer's, at minimum).
📳 Vibration command system
The app talks back exclusively through vibration patterns — this is what lets you keep your phone in your pocket the entire hand.
Main action vibrations
Bet-change modifiers
• Increase suffix — bet size increased from last hand.
• Decrease suffix — bet size decreased from last hand.
• No suffix — bet size unchanged.
Insurance signal (dealer shows Ace)
• 1 vibration — take insurance.
• 2 vibrations — do not take insurance.
Then, after a short pause, the main action vibration follows as usual.
Full sequence, in order
- Insurance advice (only if the dealer shows an Ace)
- A roughly 1-second pause
- Main action vibration (1–6)
- A roughly 1-second pause
- Optional increase/decrease bet modifier
🔄 Split-hand process
When you feel the SPLIT command (4 vibrations), the app walks you through both resulting hands in sequence. Here's exactly what happens.
After the split signal, input the first card of the first split hand exactly as you normally would.
Right after logging that card, you'll feel a command for this specific hand: HIT (1 vibration), STAND (2 vibrations), or DOUBLE (3 vibrations, if DAS is enabled at your table).
On a HIT command, log another card — you'll immediately get another command. Keep going until you feel STAND, or BUST (6 vibrations, hand over 21).
Once the first hand resolves (STAND or BUST), input the first card of the second split hand.
The same sequence runs again: log the first card, receive a command, hit if instructed, repeat until STAND or BUST.
💰 Kelly betting strategy
Hidden Ace sizes every bet recommendation using the Kelly criterion, scaled by the fraction you configured.
- Bet calculation: derived from the current true count, your configured bankroll, and your chosen Kelly fraction.
- Bet changes: communicated as the increase/decrease vibration modifiers described above.
- Wong-out: recommended once the true count drops below the threshold you configured.
- True count: calculated using the Hi-Lo counting system, adjusted for decks remaining.
⚠️ Critical warnings
After swiping down, or after logging a card following a HIT command, Safari will show a permission popup asking to open the Shortcuts app. You need to be able to tap "Allow" without looking at your phone — consider marking that button's approximate screen position with a small piece of tape so you can find it by feel.
The very first time you're sent back to the web app after a command fires, you must select "Always Allow" when prompted about opening Shortcuts. Skipping this means you'll get a permission prompt on every single card for the rest of the session.
As soon as you feel the vibration command, the app is ready for your next action — there's no extra delay you need to build in before logging the next card.
🔧 Troubleshooting
Confirm the Shortcuts app is installed, check "Allow Untrusted Shortcuts" in the Shortcuts app's settings, and make sure you tapped "Always Allow" on the very first permission prompt.
Make sure you're using Safari, confirm you're on iOS 12 or newer, try reloading the page, and check your internet connection.
Double-check your game settings match the actual table rules, verify every card you've logged is accurate, confirm the played-cards list looks right, and start a fresh shoe if anything seems off.
Lower your Kelly fraction for smaller bets, double-check your unit-size calculation, verify your configured bankroll, and adjust your min/max unit limits.
❓ Frequently asked questions
shortcuts:// URL scheme, and the return trip back to the web app afterward, is the part of iOS that's most consistent in Safari. Other browsers on iOS use Safari's engine under the hood but don't always handle that round-trip the same way.