Jerry Patterson

SPX

Well-Known Member
Opinions? Just curious what everyone thinks about him.

I understand he's a controversial figure, but from what I've read he's made some significant contributions to the game.
 
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shadroch

Well-Known Member
My understanding is that JP was once a very repected member of the BJ community but started to market a system that couldn't be supported by anything but his word.His insistance on trying to sell this system put him on the outs.
 
SPX said:
Yeah, I've heard that before. So why would a smart guy like Patterson abandon counting if he didn't at least believe that there was merit to Target 21? I assume he has seen significant results to go to such lengths.
Well let's put it this way. I could write a blackjack book. It would be based on sound mathematics and emphasize the importance of game selection, adequate spreads and diligent habits at the table. It would give a realistic picture of what a player can expect from the game. This bokk would be much like a dozen or so BJ books out there, all of them saying basically the same thing, and it would be marketed to people who are rational and careful with money as card counters tend to be.

Or I could write a blackjack book based on gambling superstition. It would be easy to understand for any English-literate adult. It would require little work or memorization, promise exorbitant profits in return, and would be marketed to the compulsive and impulsive who typically frequent casinos hoping for riches.

Which book do you think would make more money for the author?
 

Kasi

Well-Known Member
SPX said:
I understand he's a controversial figure, but from what I've read he's almost made some significant contributions to the game.
Almost? Sounds like he hasn't.

It's so easy to design a betting system that will win x units y% of the time.

And his is only 80% winning sessions after a quick glance? That's low.

I just don't understand why anyone would actually pay for it since it's so easy to do.

But I have no problem with people using it, or other systems like it, to increase the chances of a winning session.

For a guy going to Vegas on his once-in-a-lifetime vacation who doesn't know crap with $10,000 and wants to win $1000, and will quit when he does, why not use a system that will achieve that goal 90% of the time if he doesn't care about losing the 10K 10% of the time?

If that's his goal, let's face it, it won't happen at $10/hd.
 

SPX

Well-Known Member
Sounds like the debate is over whether Patterson believes in his system and is an honest guy or is just trying to make a buck. Snyder, in his article, seems to believe the former. Who knows.
 
SPX said:
Sounds like the debate is over whether Patterson believes in his system and is an honest guy or is just trying to make a buck. Snyder, in his article, seems to believe the former. Who knows.
Snyder's article was written in 1983. If Patterson is still selling TARGET, it's unlikely he still hasn't figured out after 24 years that it's NFG. There is not even one legitimate BJ researcher or author who supports it.

Sad, but advantage play and the very idea of making money in casinos is always going to be attractive to people with low moral standards. I trust people I encounter in casinos less than a random person I meet out on the street.
 

Kasi

Well-Known Member
SPX said:
Sounds like the debate is over whether Patterson believes in his system and is an honest guy or is just trying to make a buck. Snyder, in his article, seems to believe the former. Who knows.
I have absolutely no idea what his system claims to achieve but it could very well be the truth.

Obviously he wants to make a buck.

If I told u you could win 10 units 98.7% of the time with a 1000 unit bankroll, would u believe me? Would u buy it?
 

SPX

Well-Known Member
Kasi said:
I have absolutely no idea what his system claims to achieve but it could very well be the truth.

Obviously he wants to make a buck.

If I told u you could win 10 units 98.7% of the time with a 1000 unit bankroll, would u believe me? Would u buy it?

Yeah, but while I'm sure you're a skilled player, the real question regarding your system is "Who are you?" Jerry Patterson, as we've mentioned, was at least at one time a very respected blackjack player and teacher, even among the 'greats' like Snyder.
 

ScottH

Well-Known Member
Kasi said:
If I told u you could win 10 units 98.7% of the time with a 1000 unit bankroll, would u believe me? Would u buy it?
That depends on what happens the other 1.3%...
 

zengrifter

Banned
Belongs in VOODOO - Voodoo Hall of Shame. zg

------------
About Jerry Patterson



Jerry Patterson has been involved in researching and developing winning gambling systems since the early 1960s. Patterson's research and development activities in casino blackjack started in 1963 when he was working with two of the developers of the original basic strategy -- Will Cantey and Herb Maisel. With their help, he designed and implemented the first blackjack computer simulation model. An example of a notable accomplishment in the blackjack arena is the first Shuffle-tracking method published first in 1985 and then in the 1990s edition of this book.

Jerry Patterson has a B.A. from Willamette University (1956) and an MS in Mathematics from George Washington University (1968). Before becoming a blackjack player, gambling author and instructor, he spent 25 years in the computer systems and services field.

Jerry Patterson has been playing casino blackjack since 1956. He entered the gaming field full time in 1978 when the Atlantic City casinos opened. He played professional blackjack in the 1980s and managed several blackjack teams during that period. He is the author of five gambling books all published by The Berkley Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Putnam Inc.

...more - http://www.readybetgo.com/book-reviews/authors/Jerry-Patterson.html
 

Kasi

Well-Known Member
SPX said:
Yeah, but while I'm sure you're a skilled player, the real question regarding your system is "Who are you?" Jerry Patterson, as we've mentioned, was at least at one time a very respected blackjack player and teacher, even among the 'greats' like Snyder.
I'm nobody. It's not my system. It's public knowledge.

Apparently you didn't believe my claims because they sounded outrageous or "too good to be true", which is what I intended, even though they are true and can be performed by a 10 year old with no skill whatsoever. Which pretty much sums up my opinion of my own skill level.

Note that I did not say that you will become rich using the system or will be a guaranteed winner in the "long run". In fact, just as obviously, you won't.

It is because Jerry Patterson is a respected player that I'm guessing whatever claims he makes about his system are true. Just a guess though because I have no clue what his system is or what claims he makes about it.
 

zengrifter

Banned
Kasi said:
It is because Jerry Patterson is a respected player that I'm guessing whatever claims he makes about his system are true. Just a guess though because I have no clue what his system is or what claims he makes about it.
He was the first to publish info on shuffle-tracking, but his info was FLAWED - he saw Ace-rich decks as BAD FOR PLAYERS because "dealers would bust less".

He sold a system called TARGET which was totally unscientific. He lost all credibility in BJ and moved on to dice-control.

The article above is preposterous, implying him to be a pioneer-of-pioneers of BJ.

I am told that he may have lost credibilty in dice-control also, if there is such a thing. zg
 

SPX

Well-Known Member
zengrifter said:
I am told that he may have lost credibilty in dice-control also, if there is such a thing. zg

You don't believe dice control is possible?
 

SPX

Well-Known Member
Kasi said:
I'm nobody. It's not my system. It's public knowledge.

Apparently you didn't believe my claims because they sounded outrageous or "too good to be true", which is what I intended, even though they are true and can be performed by a 10 year old with no skill whatsoever. Which pretty much sums up my opinion of my own skill level.

Note that I did not say that you will become rich using the system or will be a guaranteed winner in the "long run". In fact, just as obviously, you won't.

It is because Jerry Patterson is a respected player that I'm guessing whatever claims he makes about his system are true. Just a guess though because I have no clue what his system is or what claims he makes about it.

No, I understand. I have one his books and I think there's a lot of good information in it. Except for a little here and there, he doesn't go into TARGET 21 in the book and I don't know all the details behind the system. From what I've heard though, while maybe not a genuine winning system, it's certainly interesting if only for academic purposes.
 

Kasi

Well-Known Member
zengrifter said:
He was the first to publish info on shuffle-tracking, but his info was FLAWED - he saw Ace-rich decks as BAD FOR PLAYERS because "dealers would bust less".

He sold a system called TARGET which was totally unscientific. He lost all credibility in BJ and moved on to dice-control.

The article above is preposterous, implying him to be a pioneer-of-pioneers of BJ.

I am told that he may have lost credibilty in dice-control also, if there is such a thing. zg
Thanks for sparing me having to read it then.

I'm not big on shuffle-tracking, and even more so, dice-control as a way of beating the house.

Not that they both don't have theoretical possibilities.

Losing credibility on dice-control - I gotta remember that one lol.
 
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