JStarZid1 said:
After all .. BlackJack is a mathematical game. I don't want everyone to
think this is a moronic idea, but what if we're all doing what the "computer"
is telling us what to do. Although the IBM 704 computer was designed and
programmed only to track the cards and play at a level of [17.]
10 + 7 = 17 ~~ Stop
J + 7 = 17 ~~ Stop
Q + 7 = 17 ~~ Stop
K + 7 = 17 ~~ Stop
Why is our mentality in this computer generated BS such a mindset?
Because we are humans and we're gullible. We believe everything that is
taught us on what is right from wrong! Well what if what is wrong is right!
You know our brains have two parts, one side the left lobe controls the right
side of your body, while the other the right lobe controls the left side of
your body. How many computers back in 1954 were used to figure the
probabilities of BS? 3 computers! The IBM 704, and Edward O. Thorpe.
Yet dear Edward may have only used the left side of his brain which
controls the analytical, numbers, linear, details, and concrete. The right
side of the brain may have been incoherent to his "strategy" which he did
not use to implement in his BS, the right side controls intuitive, images,
non-linear, big picture, abstract. Remember the Brain acts as 2 computers,
the left lobe and the right lobe used to control the body.
Let's talk about a part of the right side of the brain the abstract,
and adapt this abstract to BlackJack as an abstract art. An abstract art
is distinct from pattern-making in design, since it draws on the distinction
between decorative art (i.e. mixed suits, pair of suits) and fine art
(i.e. playing intuitively,) in which a painting is an object of thoughtful
contemplation in its own right. Remember I talked about the right side
of the brain which controls the intuitiveness? This is why you need to
look at the whole picture, use your intuitiveness to control the abstract
art (i.e. mixed suits, pair suits). And imagine going beyond the 17 that
the BS "computer" has given you as the MindSet!
J*Star
ill actually read the thread and comment more on it later, but for now let me tell you that this exact thing bothered me for quite some time, despite that fact that i trust it, and it still bothers me a little to this day.. i feel that i want everything proven to me, not just assumed, because we all know that there are books and other such things out there that can be bias, exaggerated, or flat out wrong, so if 5% are wrong, how do you know your reading/learning the 95%?
for instance, the knockout book, where people have proven the sims to be bias, yet when i read the book, it sounded dead on with how they explained how they set up the sims so as not to be bias, so who do i trust? the knockout book, which claims ko is the same as red 7 and hi-lo, and slightly worse than omega 2? or the person(s) who ran new sims that were not bias, and showed omega 2 "knocking out" ko, and showing hi-lo beating ko by a decent amount in single/dd -OR- shoes (i cant remember which)
the reason i used the above example is to prove my next point, which is that sometimes math (or sims that are assumed to be set up and run correctly) can prove wrong things to be right if they are worded or set up correctly (or wrongly?).. in exaggerated terms, think of how easy it would be to convince a ploppy that something worked or didnt work; you could make up so much random math that they would eventually say "ok ok, i believe you", which despite my troubles with math, is something i dont want to do.. so to side with you, i agree, dont be intimidated by math and just "believe", but if you really worked hard and figured it all out yourself, you would come up with the same exact basic strategy.. also, remember this is BASIC strategy, not john johnson's alternative strategy.. put another way, if basic strategy were ever proven wrong, it would turn the world of blackjack upside down (this is ignoring the fact that math itself would be turned upside down)..
you are not the first person to say "wait a minute", but if this bothers you to just "trust it" as it sometimes bothers me, i suggest you ask others how to go about calculating a few basic strategy moves to prove they are right