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  1. 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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    Musings
  2. 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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    Musings
  3. 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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    Musings
  4. Double after Ace Split — A Step Further

    This is a follow-on to the previous post which should be read first.

    I thought I would determine exactly when it is acceptable to double for less for the purple hands. This can be accomplished with Cacarulo’s tables in Appendix A of Don Schlesinger’s Blackjack Attack. Having made the calculations, I removed two purple plays, A7 vs. ten and ace. These require very high ratios of current bet to minimum bet allowed. In the chart below, you will now see numbers in the remaining purple cells.
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    Uncategorized
  5. Double after Ace Split Blackjack Rule

    This new Blackjack rule is appearing in more casinos. It is an interesting rule in that you are allowed to double after you split aces, but you are not allowed to hit. Double and stand are the only two options. If the correct move is to double, that’s great. Go ahead and put more money up. But, if the correct move would not normally be to double, you may want to double for less if you get a poor hand. That is, double with the smallest bet allowed to pay a bit for another card in the hope of a
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    Studies
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BJTF is an advantage player site based on the principles of comity. That is, civil and considerate behavior for the mutual benefit of all involved. The goal of advantage play is the legal extraction of funds from gaming establishments by gaining a mathematic advantage and developing the skills required to use that advantage. To maximize our success, it is important to understand that we are all on the same side. Personal conflicts simply get in the way of our goals.