Blackjack major: What serious BJ player should have?

Blackjack major · 12-23-2002, 05:58 PM

I want to be a serious BJ player, what BJ software & books should I have in my blackjack library? thank-you for helping.

Parker · 12-24-2002, 09:45 AM

> I want to be a serious BJ player, what BJ
> software & books should I have in my
> blackjack library? thank-you for helping.

Any of the books sold in our online catalog are worthwhile - we only carry the best. A good start for a library would certainly include:

Blackjack in the Zone by Rick "Night Train" Blaine. The new edition of this book includes a detailed step-by-step plan for learning to count cards.

Professional Blackjack by Stanford Wong. Covers all aspects of card counting, including the Hi-lo and Halves counting systems.

Blackbelt in Blackjack by Arnold Snyder. Covers Red 7 and Zen counts, and other aspects of counting. Also includes an introduction to shuffle tracking.

Knockout Blackjack by Ken Fuchs and Olaf Vancura. This covers the Knockout (KO) counting system, arguably the easiest counting system. You will only need this book if decide to learn this count.

After you master the basics of counting, you will be ready for Blackjack Attack, 2nd Edition, by Don Schlesinger, which pretty much picks up where the above books leave off.

There are lots of other goood books, of course, but you will not go wrong with the above recommendations. Avoid anything by John Patrick or Richard Harvey - the "systems" they espouse are mathmatically unsound.

There are a number of "practice" programs that allow you to play blackjack and practice counting on your computer, but the best by far is Casino Verite, by Qfit The stunning 3D graphics and wealth of features are superior to anything else on the market. It is not cheap, but considering what you get, it is a bargain.

Software for comparing games and calculating bet ramps, risk of ruin, etc., is also extremely useful. Consider John Auston's BJRM2002, or CVCX, again from Qfit.

You may or may not need a full featured simulator, which will allow you to run billions of simulated hands in a short period of time in order to compare strategies, systems, game conditions, etc. Two of the best are Karel Janecek's Statistical Blackjack Analyser (SBA), and CVData, yet again from Qfit.

An alternative is Blackjack 6-7-8 from Stickysoft. While not quite as full-featured as the above, it includes a simulator and a practice program, as well as some drilling programs, all bundled together at an economical price.

All products discussed are available through our online catalog.

Don Schlesinger · 12-24-2002, 10:14 AM

I would archive this question and answer in the FAQ section.

Don

Alexander Mundy · 12-24-2002, 04:44 PM

> I want to be a serious BJ player, what BJ
> software & books should I have in my
> blackjack library? thank-you for helping.

T_Hoppers books, now available on BJRnet

chgobjpro · 12-24-2002, 09:16 PM

of $10,000 minimum is required to be a semi-serious BJ player with a chance of moving up. With this size bank expect to win about $10-15 a hour in the long run when you're playing a 6 deck decent game. You'll this much to avoid going broke if a negative run gets in your way early.
Based on this info, you may decide not to give up your regular job. Good luck.

Mister M · 12-25-2002, 12:50 AM

> I would archive this question and answer in
> the FAQ section.

I could not agree more. A realy excellent post there Parker and very honest.
The reccommendations that new posters can find at RGE are completely accurate.

Don Schlesinger · 12-25-2002, 12:34 PM

> of $10,000 minimum is required to be a
> semi-serious BJ player with a chance of
> moving up. With this size bank expect to win
> about $10-15 a hour in the long run when
> you're playing a 6 deck decent game.

I used hi-lo, 4.5/6, das, s17, ls, 1-12 spread and the rather conservative play-all approach. SCORE was $32+. One could easily improve through back-counting.

I think your $10-$15 estimate is too conservative and rather disheartening.

Don

chgobjpro · 12-25-2002, 07:42 PM

with a $10,000 bank then a safer $10 to $120 spread( aprox 80 big bets ) and as a beginner, without perfect play all the time, somewhat less than 2 units an hour gain.

Don Schlesinger · 12-25-2002, 08:46 PM

> with a $10,000 bank then a safer $10 to $120
> spread( aprox 80 big bets ) and as a
> beginner, without perfect play all the time,
> somewhat less than 2 units an hour gain.

ROR would be 3.18% and win per hour would be $16, if play-all (which really isn't recommended).

Certainly your prerogative to play that way. For me, it would be a bit tame, but no harm done.

Don