Gambling Tips

The intermediate blackjack strategy discussed in this chapter centers around learning a simple plus minus card counting system. This is not as difficult as it first appears. In fact I have taught thousands of average players in my schools and seminars the technique of card counting. Take a positive approach that you can and will learn it and I guarantee you will be rewarded with many profitable blackjack sessions. Before I get into the discussion of card counting, I want to digress and summarize the history of winning online blackjack strategies and give credit to the individuals who have made major contributions to our understanding of blackjack.

It all started in 1953 when Roger Baldwin and co¬workers undertook the first scientific analysis of the game of blackjack. Using hand calculators, they were able to develop the first basic blackjack playing strategy which they published in the Journal of the American Statistical Association in 1956. Baldwin and his co-workers then published a book, Playing Blackjack to Win in 1956. In the early 1960s, Dr. Edward Thorp used high speed computers to develop the first card counting system for blackjack. He published his ten count system in the classic book, Beat the Dealer, which became a best seller. His message was quite clear. Blackjack is a game of skill, not just luck, and the skillful player can beat the online casino. The casinos in Las Vegas began to panic after Thorp’s revelation. They started to change the rules of blackjack but in the process upset the majority of blackjack players who had no clue as to how to win. Although it was theoretically possible to have the edge over the casinos with Thorp’s card counting system, it was extremely difficult to implement for the average person in actual casino play. Therefore, blackjack popularity grew tremendously because of this discovery that it was a “beatable game.

Ironically, the casino’s profits also increased because more and more players flocked to play the beatable game but did not possess the skills or knowledge to do it. The next blackjack guru that came on the scene was Lawrence Revere. His book, Playing Blackjack as a Business, simplified card counting systems and also presented the basic strategy in colored charts to make learning the strategy even easier. Revere’s book started me on a career of doing my own studies about the games. Julian Braun, who worked for IBM and collaborated with Revere, further refined the basic strategy and the high-low count developed earlier by Harvey Dubner. His book, How to Play Winning Blackjack, clearly explained the mathematics of the basic strategy charts. I found Julian’s book to be extremely helpful to explain the reasons for certain basic strategy plays to novice players. Unfortunately, the book is now out of print. Other authors and researchers came onto the scene in the 70′s and 80′s. Stanford Wong, a professional blackjack player, wrote the classic book, Professional Blackjack. This was and still is the bible for card counters. I’ve learned a tremendous amount about blackjack through the writings of Stanford Wong he still authors books and a newsletter. The late Ken Uston popularized the concept of card counting teams in his book, Million Dollar Blackjack. Ian Anderson gave us new techniques for disguising our card counting skills in his book, turning the Tables on Las Vegas. Stanley Roberts started one of the first schools to teach players how to count. He was also one of the first to publish a national gambling magazine, Gambling Times, devoted to gambling. Other major contributors to. our knowledge of blackjack during this era included: Peter Griffin detailed mathematical studies and book, The Theory of Blackjack, Carlen Chambliss and Thomas Roginski Fundamentals of Blackjack, a very thorough survey of the entire field of blackjack, Arnold Snyder monthly blackjack publication, Blackjack Forum, Lance Humble and Carl Cooper World’s Greatest Blackjack Book, detailed study of his card counting system, Jerry Patterson Blackjack – A Winner’s Handbook and New Studies into Target Blackjack Systems, Steve Forte Read the Dealer, which explains how to read dealer tells,