Table Of Content

BLACKJACK PLAYING THE PROS' WAY BY DON SCHLESINGER BlackjackAttack PlayingthePros'Way Copyright© 1997byDonaldSchlesinger Allrightsreserved. Nopartofthispublicationmaybetranslated, reproduced,or transmitted inanyformorbyanymeans,electronicormechanical,includingpho tocopyingandrecording,orbyanyinformationstorageandretrievalsystem,with outtheexpresswrittenpermissionofthepublisher,exceptinthecaseofbrief excerptsforpurposesofreview.Portionsofthisbookhavepreviouslyappeared indifferentfonn inBlackjackForummagazine, 1984-96. Publishedby: RGEPublishing 414SantaClaraAvenue OaklandCA94610 (510)465-6452 FAX:(510)652-4330 Website:www.rge21.com a-mail:[email protected] CoverdesignbyJudyRobertson FirstEdition 12345678910 ISBN:0-910575-04-5 BlackjackAttack "Errata": P. vii: In the l'ableofContents~hSuggested References"should be""Selected References"~ P 35: 'rhe last nUfllberon the next-to-Iastlineofthe first paragraph should be .000I704~ P. II.J: There isanequal sign nlissingafterthe tirslexpression for the valueofw~ totherightofthe fractional expression; I>. I.JO: Thesecondequation,on thebottonl, to theright, is nlissinga ....p~"in front oftheexpression for bankroll requirement; P. 167: Thecoluflln headings fortheTable9.7HExponential Functions" are missing. '("heyshould be: x,e'" and e-x Thesameheadingsarerepeated, tothe • right; 1).177: The lastexpressionat theendofthethirdparagraphshould rcad: "W/L SEO/o"; P. 264: ·rhedates forthe laSI entry in II (JYoIIg's JJlll('~illCk Ne,vsletter) should be 1979-84. DEDICATION This bookis dedicatedto allofmy family 'members, pastand present, whose love and support have encouraged me to pursue my studiesofthe gameofcasinotwenty-one. Theirpatienceand understanding, throughout my career of playing, teaching, and writingaboutblackjack,havecertainlycontributed,inlargemeas ure, to any successI may have achieved inthese fields. The book is also dedicated to the memory of three dear blackjack-playing friends: Lester White, Joel Waller, and Paul Keen, whom I miss very much. iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This list ofacknowledgments is quite long, simply because, over the course ofthese pasttwenty years, so many people have beeninstrumental incontributing to my knowledge ofblackjack. And so, I would liketo thank: The one and only Stanford Wong. He, perhaps more than any otherindividual, has furthered ourknowledge ofthe gameof blackjackanditssubtleties. I'mproudtocallhimmyfriend. His help, throughouttheyears,hasbeeninvaluabletome. Inparticu lar,ProfessionalBlackjackandtheBlackjackCountAnalyzerwill foreverstand,inmyopinion,astwoofthemostimportantresource toolstohaveeverbeencreatedfor ourstudyofthegame. Ithank him, aswell, for his Forewordto thisbook. Arnold Snyder, who gave me a "forum" to publish my blackjackarticles,andwhofinallyconvincedme,aftermanyyears oftrying, to write this book. Arnold, perhaps more than for any otherindividual, this one'sfor you! Peter Griffin, our foremost theoretician and expert on the mathematicsofthegame. Onmorethanoneoccasion,whenIwas "stuck"inmypursuitofananswertoathornyproblem,Petercame to my rescue. I will always treasure our pages ofwritten corre spondenceandourphonecalls,duringwhichIneverfailedtolearn from the "master." Seven "pioneers" ofblackjack: Edward O. Thorp, Julian Braun, Lawrence Revere, Allan Wilson, John Gwynn, Lance Humble,andKenUston. ItissafetosaythatIwouldhavenever become involved in the game ofblackjack were it not for these gentlemen's monumental contributions to our knowledge. In particular, it was from Revere's classic, Playing Blackjack as a Business, thatI patternedmy approachto the game. Three fellow blackjack authors and experts, notably George C., whose friendship and help over the years have been ofpara mountimportancetome. George'scontributionstothegamehave broken ground in many areas, and his insights and innovations have opened my eyes to several new and novel approaches to playing blackjack. Bryce Carlson, one of today's brightest authorities, whose recent work, Blackjackfor Blood, and whose v software, the Omega II Blackjack Casino, have proven to be valuable reference resources; and Michael Dalton, for his quar terly, BlackjackReview,andhismonumentalwork, Blackjack: A Professional Reference, which is truly "The Encyclopedia of Casino Twenty-One." Threecomputerprogrammers,fortheirunparalleledcontribu tionstotheworldofblackjacksimulation: theindefatigableJohn Imming, whose Universal BlackjackEngine was the fIrst ofthe truly great multi-purpose pieces ofsimulation software. John's creationhasunlockedthe doorsofblackjackresearchtothepoint where virtually all questions can nowbe answered, thanks to his incredible UBE; Norm Wattenberger, whose equally brilliant Casino Verite has set the standard for the ultimate in blackjack gamesimulationandpracticesoftware. HowIwishCVhadbeen around when I was practicing and learning how to count cards! And last, butcertainly not least, Karel Janecek, a relative new comeronthe blackjackscene. Karel'sStatisticalBlackjackAna lyzer was used to produce the simulations for Chapter 10, and it issafeto saythattheSBA hasfastbecomethemostrespectedand reliable simulator inthe industrytoday. Howard Schwartz and Edna Luckman, of the fabulous Gambler'sBookClub,inLasVegas. NotriptoVegaswouldever becompletewithoutastopintheiruniquestore. Thevastmajority ofmy blackjack librarywaspurchasedatthe GBC. Theirannual catalogueisagoldmineofcasinogamingliteratureandsoftware. ChrisC.andBillMargrabe,twoformercolleagues,andeach a brilliant mathematician. When the "sledding" got a bit rough, and I needed some help developing a formula or mathematical concept,theyweretheretofurnishthecrucialpiecesofthepuzzle. My many newfound friends on the Internet, whose contribu tions to the various newsgroups and whose correspondence, through e-mail, have been mostenlightening. Inparticular, I am gratefulforthewisdomofRalph Stricker,agentleman, aworld class player, and truly our "elder statesman" ofthe game today; SteveJacobs,whomIhaveanointedthe"Godfather"of"rec.gam bling.blackjack," and whose advice I have soughtonmany occa sions; Michael Hall, one ofr.g.bj's most brilliant contributors, whose insights are always accurate and illuminating; and, espe cially,thetirelessJohnAuston,whose simulationsforthepenul timate chapter ofmy book may have set an all-time record for number ofhands played. Allmy wonderful friends and blackjack-playingbuddies, too numerousto mention. A few, ofcourse, deserve special recogni tion: Kenny Feldman, a great friend, a great player, and my partner in our blackjack-teaching days. Kenny's advice has vi proven invaluable over our thirty years of friendship, and his companionship, on many a blackjack trip, has enhanced my enjoymentofthegame;LesAppel,anothergreatfriendandplayer who alsotaughtwithKennyandme. Hiseasy-goingapproachto the.game showed me how to relax and not sweat the short-term swmgs. My former teammates, many ofwhom have remained won derfulfriends, overtheyears. Forobviousreasons,nonameswill be mentioned; but you know who you are. We had some great times, guys; thanks for thememories! Last, butcertainlynotleast,the sixproofreadersofmymanu script who turned the tables on me and provided dozens of insightful comments, corrections, and suggestions. This is surely abetterbookbecauseoftheremarkableattentiontodetailof: John Auston, Stanley Dinnelaw, Ken Feldman, Olaf Vancura, Ron James W., and Stanford Wong. vii TABLE OF CONTENTS Foreword ... byStanfordWong viii Publisher's Introduction ..... IX Preface ... byDonSchlesinger xi ListofTables . . . . . . . . . . xiii 1. Back-Countingthe Shoe Game . 1 2. BettingTechniques and Win Rates 17 3. EvaluatingtheNewRules andBonuses. 33 4. Some StatisticalInsights . 48 5. The"Illustrious 18" ... 61 6. The"FloatingAdvantage" . 75 7. TeamPlay ~ 99 0 • • • • 0 • • • 8. Camouflage forthe Basic Strategist& the CardCounter . . 117 9. RiskofRuin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138 10. The World's GreatestBlackjackSimulation. ..... 168 11. SomeFinal"Words ofWisdom" from Cyberspace 252 Epilogue . 261 SuggestedReferences . 263 Index . 266 AbouttheAuthor . . .... 269 viii Foreword Don Schlesinger is a teacher ofblackjack. Probably because ofhis background as a teacher ofmathematics and foreign lan guage,hehasaknackforexplainingdifficultconceptsinamanner than canbeunderstood bymostpeople. Schlesinger not only knows blackjack well enough to write about it, buthe also has a long track record ofbig casino wins at thegame.Thoughheisabusypersonandhasafamily,hemanages severaltripsayeartoLasVegasandothercasinodestinations.He generally takes his family on those trips, but he also hits the blackjacktableshard, making big bets for long hours. Foryears Schlesingerhas beenthe angel sitting onthe shoul dersofblackjackexperts. Hehasgivengenerouslyofhistimeand expertise, reading each new book carefully and sending lengthy critiques to authors and publishers. All ofmy own books have benefited considerably from Schlesinger'stalents. Schlesingeralso is a frequent contributoroforiginal material to blackjack periodicals, primarily Arnold Snyder's Blackjack Forum. Some of his articles, such as the "Illustrious 18" and "FloatingAdvantage," have become legendary. OntheInternet,Schlesingerhasareputationasoneofthemost helpful ofblackjackexperts, patientlyanswering questions about arcane aspects ofthe game. Foryears, Ihavebeentelling SchlesingerthatIwouldloveto have a book that included all ofhis published and privately-dis seminated blackjack material. With this book, I am getting my wish. Stanford Wong

Description:

The most important book available to blackjack aficionados since Beat the Dealer by Ed Thorp, Blackjack Attack has been praised by every prominent blackjack expert. In it, Schlesinger answers virtually all of the thorny mathematical questions that have puzzled serious players for years: optimal bett