Some Questions From A New Guy

[CharismaticAce]

1.) Is there any "general" blackjack strategy that should be studied?
2.) Is it better to be familiar at all variations of BJ strategy or mastering a few?
3.) From what I've seen a deck can "cool" within a few hands. If this is so, does the "big player" just play a few hands at a table before moving on to the next? And if that is true, won't coming back to the same table again and again tip off the pit bosses?
4.) Which of the following would you recommend for learning winning strategies of blackjack.

- Blackjack Bluebook II - the simplest winning strategies ever published (2006 edition) by Fred Renzey
- Blackjack Blueprint: How to Play Like a Pro... Part-Time by Rick Blaine
- Knock-Out Blackjack: The Easiest Card-Counting System Ever Devised by Olaf, Ph.D. Vancura and Ken Fuchs
- Blackjack For Blood: The Card-Counters' Bible, and Complete Winning Guide by Bryce Carlson
- Professional Blackjack by Stanford Wong
- Beat the Dealer: A Winning Strategy for the Game of Twenty-One by Edward O. Thorp
- Casino Verite Blackjack, Blueprint Edition
- Beating Blackjack with Andy Bloch by Andy Bloch and Michael Keller

Thanks for the help!

 

[shadroch]

1.) Is there any "general" blackjack strategy that should be studied?

Yes

2.) Is it better to be familiar at all variations of BJ strategy or mastering a few?

Depends on where you play. If you only play on the East Coast,its silly to waste time learning Single and Double Deck,as you'll never use them.


3.) From what I've seen a deck can "cool" within a few hands. If this is so, does the "big player" just play a few hands at a table before moving on to the next? And if that is true, won't coming back to the same table again and again tip off the pit bosses?


Ploppycock!
4.) Which of the following would you recommend for learning winning strategies of blackjack.

- Blackjack Bluebook II - the simplest winning strategies ever published (2006 edition) by Fred Renzey
Outstanding
- Blackjack Blueprint: How to Play Like a Pro... Part-Time by Rick Blaine
Very good
- Knock-Out Blackjack: The Easiest Card-Counting System Ever Devised by Olaf, Ph.D. Vancura and Ken Fuchs
Very very good
- Blackjack For Blood: The Card-Counters' Bible, and Complete Winning Guide by Bryce Carlson
Interresting,but not all that useful
- Professional Blackjack by Stanford Wong
Very good intermediate book,not a great beginners book
- Beat the Dealer: A Winning Strategy for the Game of Twenty-One by Edward O. Thorp
Good from a historic view. Get back to it later
- Casino Verite Blackjack, Blueprint Edition
Very very good
- Beating Blackjack with Andy Bloch by Andy Bloch and Michael Keller

I'm not familiar with this one. The book reviews are my own opinion,others will undoubtedly disagree on some.


Thanks for the help!

My answer is within your quoted message.
Your mileage may vary.

 

[cardcounter0]

- Blackjack Bluebook II - the simplest winning strategies ever published (2006 edition) by Fred Renzey
Best book you can get for 'casual' counting.

- Blackjack Blueprint: How to Play Like a Pro... Part-Time by Rick Blaine
Not familar with this one, but a reputable author.

- Knock-Out Blackjack: The Easiest Card-Counting System Ever Devised by Olaf, Ph.D. Vancura and Ken Fuchs
Very Good, the easiest "serious" counting system.

- Blackjack For Blood: The Card-Counters' Bible, and Complete Winning Guide by Bryce Carlson
A classic, but outdated.

- Professional Blackjack by Stanford Wong
'The Bible' for the HiLo system, a professional counting system.

- Beat the Dealer: A Winning Strategy for the Game of Twenty-One by Edward O. Thorp
The classic that started it all.

- Casino Verite Blackjack, Blueprint Edition
Not familar with this one.

- Beating Blackjack with Andy Bloch by Andy Bloch and Michael Keller
Probably not worth your time, can't really say.

 

[shadroch]

Why do you think KO is a serious system and KISS is a casual one?

 

[cardcounter0]

because I am unaware of any professional KISS counters

 

[shadroch]

Fair enough.

 

[Simpau]

I have to say Blackjack Bluebook II is easily the best book I have purchased, a must have in your library.

 

[InPlay]

because I am unaware of any professional KISS counters

I am. I use it all the time. Does that make you a expert on counting systems ? You need to expand your brain!

 

[cardcounter0]

I am. I use it all the time. Does that make you a expert on counting systems ? You need to expand your brain!

Yes, it does. I use my own custom count with 50 indices. Kind of hard to track segments with an unbalanced count. Maybe if you expanded your brain a bit you would realize that simply counting the cards is not the be all end all.

 

[shadroch]

Yes, it does. I use my own custom count with 50 indices. Kind of hard to track segments with an unbalanced count. Maybe if you expanded your brain a bit you would realize that simply counting the cards is not the be all end all.

If you need to use a balanced count,doesn't that eliminate KO as well?
I'm not trying to argue with you,I'm trying to learn. Thanks.

 

[cardcounter0]

No, most heavy users switch KO to TKO, the true count version of KO. Unbalanced counts tend to underestimate advantage shallow in the shoe, and overestimate advantage slightly deep in the shoe -- which can be deadly for team play if you are calling in a BP.

The EOR of 7 is almost half that of the 5. KO captures that perfectly. KISSIII overstates that, and then sacrifices accuracy of the 2, which has an even higher EOR than the 7. It would be better to do it the other way around but, opps! then you have Snyder's Red 7.

In real life, there is an insignificent difference between KISSIII and Red 7, but Red 7 isn't the superior "professional" count either, it is too easy to jump to the superior TKO.