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Modern Blackjack nth Edition

Having put out a 684 page book, I thought I had run out of Blackjack-related subjects. Particularly since I hate typing. But, the field seems inexhaustible. A forum doesn’t work too well as a repository. So, I thought I’d give blogging a shot.

This is a continuation of my book, Modern Blackjack, with some random musings and studies, generally on the subject of Blackjack. Feel free to add comments.

  1. Card Counting Strategy Complexity vs. Speed

    In my last post, I looked at the effects of increasing error rate when increasing Blackjack strategy complexity. As a quick follow-on, let’s take a quick look at decreasing speed due to increased complexity. Speed is something I mention numerous times in my books. When using a more complex card counting strategy, the number of rounds that you play in a day can decrease for two reasons. First, you may spend more time thinking. Less obvious is the fact that you are likely to tire more quickly, and
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  2. Card Counting Strategy Complexity vs. Error Rate

    In Blackjack, we know that there are many card counting strategies, and that the more complex strategies provide better performance. But, we also know that this comes at a price. You are more likely to tire using a more complex count, and you may make additional errors — and, these errors may negate any improved performance. But, how does the complex counting strategy’s performance compare to the decrease in performance due to errors? Obviously, it depends on the error rate.

    I ran
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  3. A rather disturbing conversation

    Follow-up to the previous post. I got a phone call from one of the long-time names in the Blackjack field. He had been talking to networks about a Blackjack-based TV show. He had a major network interested. Until the lawyer for the network claimed that card counting is illegal. (Not the brightest of networks also famous for saying many other inane things.) Of course, no court in any country in the world has ever ruled card counting as illegal. How can you make thinking a crime?
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  4. The Campaign to label Blackjack Card Counters as Cheaters

    We have all seen it before, casinos have long attempted to call Blackjack card counters crooks, cheats, thieves, etc. Card counting is simply the correct way to play. Why would anyone purposely ignore the cards that have been played? You certainly wouldn’t ignore the cards in Bridge or Gin. But, their campaign has been effective as can be seen by those repeating the casino libel. I thought I’d start a list of the offenses:

    • November 2007, KLAS TV Las Vegas said
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  5. Why do Blackjack Progression System Authors Believe in Nonsense?

    Nearly all gambling system books rely on empirical evidence. That is, the system worked for them, so it must be valid. They believe this based on a tiny number of hands. For example, if it works for 5,000 hands, in their minds, it’s a winner.

    An example: In a popular Blackjack progression book, the author claims that he played 5,000 hands at his kitchen table and won using a simple 1-2-4 positive progressions with quit points. Well, let’s run some sims. Using this system with standard
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