How accurate is IP::hops and how is it calculated

I can't say anything about how it is implemented, but in a simple test I just ran traceroute reported 7 actual hops while [IP::hops] reported only 6. The documentation does mention that it is an estimate, but who knows how it is performed.

 

This command is used to give you the estimated number of hops between the peer in question, and the client machine making the request.