Hold the abacus upright on a flat surface
Identify the upper beads and lower beads
Know the value of each rod
Reset all beads to the starting position
Use the thumb to move lower beads upward
Use the index finger to move lower beads downward
Use the index finger or thumb to move upper beads toward the bar
Set numbers by combining upper and lower beads
Read the value from left to right
Carry over when a column reaches its limit
Borrow when subtracting across columns
Clear the abacus after each calculation