I’ve been involved in all the casino games for many years and I had made a lot of money through this and now I am going to tell you the way to maximize profit.

      At the end of the day, the more time dealers spend shuffling, the less time casinos are foisting their advantage over the masses. Thankfully, this creates natural sorts of checks and balances. A cut-card close to the bottom attracts players like you and me, while a cut-card too far forward means fewer hands dealt per hour. So, for the casinos, it all comes down to a balancing act, which is all fine and good except for one thing: with regard to penetration levels, most casinos are penny-wise and dollar foolish.

           These days, most houses have more action than they know what to do with. Yet their fear of advantage players forces that cut card farther and farther forward. Poor penetration levels are responsible for so much loss in earnings-all in an effort to thwart the tiniest fraction of the blackjack-playing population. It just doesn't make sense. Over the course of a year, the revenue lost due to time wasted shuffling will without a doubt far surpass what walks out the door in the pockets of advantage players-guaranteed. Yet poor penetration levels are everywhere.

Back Counting

      This approach involves keeping track of the cards from behind a table, and then entering into a game or winging-in (named after legendary blackjack expert Stanford Wong) only when having an advantage. Just as when sitting at a table, wagers are made according to a predetermined betting scale and appropriate strategy variations are made when necessary. The big difference between back counting and a play-all approach is that you may be playing only a few select hands per shoe, and then moving on if the count suddenly goes negative. This style of play avoids any interface when the player is at a disadvantage.

     The results of "The World's Greatest Blackjack Simulation," performed by Don Schlesinger and John Auston, and contained in Schlesinger's Blackjack Attack, clearly show how back counting for shoe games is far superior to that of the more traditional play-all approach. In many instances, win rates of between one and a half to two units per hour for play-all become win rates in excess of two units per hour using this method of play. A wonderful tactic, this back-counting approach, isn't it?

       Now for the bad news-and unfortunately it relates to this recurring requirement of having to appear likes just another gambler. One downside to back counting is how obvious it appears to any floor person watching you-and they will be watching if you're seen for some time lingering behind a table and then jumping into the game for a hand or two before moving on. To back count successfully you must obviously keep an accurate count.

      So that means laying eyes on every card dealt. Then, of course, there has to be an empty spot at the table that stays  empty until you're ready to occupy it. Finding an empty spot, or any playable spot, may be less likely these days with casino gambling as popular as it is. The $50 or $100 tables in the baccarat pit are an option, but how many times can one really stand around there jumping into one of only four games operating? Not to mention the fact that many back pit blackjack tables are often "no mid-shoe entry." And back counting the packed nickel and dime tables often just isn't viable. That really leaves only those $25 tables that aren't crowded-which, given the current conditions, isn't always a reality either. So how do I back count then, with its being a rather obvious method and one not well suited for crowded conditions and casinos that don't allow mid-shoe entry?

     Casino is the game of probability.  In this game you need good cash in your pocket along with the luck. You got to manage your cash in this game.  

     Over betting tends to be the biggest downfall for aspiring professional gamblers and can cause someone to go broke even when he holds an advantage. This is the one area where more would-be card counters fail than any other. The casino has an almost unlimited bankroll, while most players are seriously underfinanced for the amount they bet. This imbalance greatly favors the house when the pendulum of fluctuation brutally sways back and forth. Casinos can absorb virtually any negative swing, but many players are wiped out with one bad run of cards and never return to the tables.

    If you doubt this concept, just try betting one-half of your bankroll on every high positive count and see how long you last. My guess is the game will be over well before the fat lady sings.

    Why do otherwise smart gamblers occasionally over bet? The main reason is that most of us live in a very nearsighted manner. We look. Mainly at the dot (the present point in time) rather than the longer line of our existence. This creates a tendency to put much greater emphasis on the short term, causing us to get fixated by daily results rather than the long run. As a result, many players develop an innate need to show a profit for the day before they can head off to bed.

    If you want to be successful in the casinos, this myopic form of gambling is a dangerous habit you must absolutely purge out of your system. The only thing that matters in blackjack is whether you win overall. War provides a reasonably good analogy for this concept. Smart generals don't risk their entire resources on each skirmish. They are willing to accept some losses and even retreat to fight another day if the situation calls for it. And your goal as a card counter is to win the war, not each individual battle.

     Expert blackjack players hold only a slim edge over the house, and even the very best pros still have many trips when they're absolutely crushed by the casinos. It's fairly common to end up in the hole on about two out of every five days you play. So if you are unwilling to walk away a loser on those days, then you is either going to be putting in a lot of marathon sessions or you're going to get desperate. And desperate people do foolish things. I've seen players who are normally much disciplined go on tilt and risk a disproportionate amount of their bankroll in a stupid attempt to finish the day ahead. If you are inclined to have this mind-set, here is a startling secret-the casino will still be open tomorrow.

    It is critical to have strict guidelines for betting and to always adhere to prearranged maximum wagers. If you ever bet more than you should out of a desire to get even, it is very unlikely you will be successful in blackjack. Part of the fallacy for overly aggressive betting comes from the logical belief that a good card counter is supposed to win. While that is certainly true, you can't win every hand or even every session. Accepting losses is an important ingredient to becoming a world-class blackjack player.

 CAN I QUIT MY DAY JOB?

      The main question on the minds of most potential card counters is not related to handling the losses-it "How much money can I make?" It is the potential for riches that draws many into casinos in the first place. Whenever I speak to others about my vocation, they invariably make comments about what an easy job I have. Or how nice it must be to just hop over to a casino anytime the allure of materialism bites and I need to make a major purchase.

    Visiting casino means having a lot of fun people comes to casino for enjoying variety of games offered in casino and in exchange they get a chance to earn some quick money.

    Inside, the casino wasn't crowded. Many guests were either out cooling off in the pool or watching sporting events in the race and sports books. Sparsely populated casinos were not ideal, but I was anxious to get a bet down and a payoff. In spite of the lack of big action, there were a few good wheels in the main pit up front, and all the pit bosses seemed relaxed as they usually were on Sunday afternoons.

    I found a tall, chubby Latino named Guillermo dealing to a group of Europeans on a lively roulette table with a few legitimate black chip players. One guy was betting blacks straight up on the numbers while one of his two decked-out female companions was stacking green casino chips on odd. The rest of the layout was sufficiently covered by an assortment of roulette chips. The only problem was that there were too many people-women-packed around the table. I had the impression that each of the European gamblers not only had a wife or girlfriend with him, but a mistress, too. I tried to twist and turn into my position at the bottom of the table, but one of the black-chip gambler's girlfriends was standing against it, impeding my approach. Here I had to be careful because I didn't want to make a scene with the girl and the gambler. I had to somehow gently nudge her just enough to open up a space from where I could maneuver without rubbing her the wrong way-or the right way, which might make the guy think I was trying to bird-dog his girlfriend. Creating an uneasy atmosphere around the table could cause the gambler or one of the girlfriends, or somebody else at the table, to rat me out if I ended up grabbing the bet off the layout.

   I tried the best I could to squeeze into position, but it was in vain. The threesome was having too much fun, and now they were holding hands and touching each other as they spoke French and sipped their cocktails. The worrisome thought of accidentally knocking over their drinks when they rested on the edge of the layout entered my mind.

    With all these negatives, it seemed best to find another table, or simply wait until the French at the bottom left. But usually, when you waited for conditions to suit you in a casino, it didn't work out the way you wanted. A couple of bad spins and the players could be wiped out. Then suddenly you had an empty table, and you didn't want to go head-up against the dealer, hoping he didn't see your chocolate chip when it sat on the bottom of the only bet on the layout, or that he didn't notice it if you got caught raking when it lost. This was just too much to buck. With exactly that in mind, I made a rash decision. I took a few steps to my right, skirting the threesome, and positioned myself against the inside corner of the table, at the last allowable spot next to the dealer. I then placed my $5, 0 I 5 inside the third-column box, which was located on the bottom right of the layout. I made the tiniest adjustment when cutting the three red chips off the chocolate to compensate for the angle change between Pats had a surprised expression on his face, bur he understood. I gave him a chin with my brows furrowed, silently asking him, "Is this okay with you?"

     It was not automatic. Identifying into which column a winning number fell was not nearly as simple as red or black, or odd or even. Red or black was simply visual. Odd or even required a first-grade education, bur with columns you had to invoke your brain's memory, or actually make the match with your eyes, which took longer. The first column we had both already memorized since we'd been working exclusively on it from the inception of the move. But I could not expect Pat to have the third column memorized any more than I had myself.

THE MARTINGALES

The Martingale and its variations are the most popular and best-known betting systems in the world. Also known as doubling-up or progression systems, they are praised by those who have won big and damned by those who have lost their shirts. There is no question that they can produce either result. The basic Martingale principle, which can be applied to any repetitive even-money wager, was devised at least 300 years ago and its popularity has never waned.

As with almost all roulette betting systems, this one is applied to the even-money outside bets, as defined above. In its most fundamental form, the amount of the initial bet is doubled after each successive loss. After each win, the bet is reduced to its initial value and remains there until the next loss occurs. In this way, all losses are eventually recovered with a net gain in the amount of the initial bet.

For instance, if an initial bet of 5 units is lost, the next bet would be doubled to 10 units. If the second bet also lost, the third bet would be 20 units; if the third bet lost, the fourth bet would be 40 units, and so forth. If the 40-unit bet won, the amount of the first three bets (5 + 10+ 20=35) would be recovered with a net gain of 5 units. Whenever any bet is won, the next bet is reduced to the initial value of 5 units.

The danger in this system is that eventually a long string of successive losses will keep increasing the amount of the bet until it reaches the table limit. At many roulette wheels, the table limit for outside bets is set to 200 times the minimum bet. This ratio will allow seven consecutive bet doublings before the table limit is encountered.

Eight losses in a row for an even-money bet is not as rare an occurrence as one might think. Statistically, it will happen an average of once for every 170 spins of the ball. In most U.S. casinos, a roulette ball is typically spun sixty to eighty times every hour. Consequently, for a particular even-money bet one can expect such a losing streak to occur on an average of about once every two hours on any given  wheel. Even more worrisome is the fact that it could happen in the next ten minutes.

The classical Martingale is obviously not for everyone, especially if you think in terms of dollars instead of the innocuous “units.” After seven straight losses, the idea of risking an additional 640 dollars in an attempt to recoup the 635 dollars already lost, and ending up with a five-dollar profit seems ludicrous to most people.

SYSTEM TABLE LIMITS

For many years, gambling industry experts and consultants such as John Scarne have advised casinos to “protect” themselves from systems players by maintaining tight table limits. As a result, most casinos have kept the minimum-to-maximum bet ratio at their roulette tables to no greater than 100 to 1, or, at most,

REVERSE LABOUCHERE

Although there is a tendency to belittle reverse versions of roulette betting systems, in 1966, an Englishman and his team of twelve players broke the bank at one of the French casinos in Nice with the reverse Labouchere system. The Englishman’s name is Norman Leigh and some people have called him a con artist and accused him of exaggeration. That may or may not be true, but he did write a very interesting book about the experience.

As in the regular Labouchere system, a line of numbers is written down, and the first bet is the sum of the first and last numbers in the line. At this point the rules are reversed: Whenever a win occurs, the amount of the bet is added to the end of the line, and whenever a loss occurs, the first and last numbers in the line are canceled. When the line ultimately clears, there is a net loss instead of a net gain.

When Mr. Leigh and his team were playing, they used the aggressive starting line of 1-2-3-4, and every time the line played out it cost them ten units. Winning streaks were allowed to run to the table limit, if possible. The theory was that the small losses are eventually paid back when a long winning streak occurs. In the case of Norman Leigh and his companions it worked out as planned, but that does not mean it always will.

INSIDE BETTING SYSTEMS

Inside bets are any bets placed directly on the main field of numbers. This includes single-number bets that pay 35:1 through six-number bets that pay 5:1, and everything in-between. It does not include dozens, column bets, or any even-money bets.

Most inside bet systems are based on the notion that a sleeper will eventually have to awaken. Although the term sleeper is the common vernacular, a more descriptive term is overdue number. It is commonly believed that if a particular number has not won in a long time, it is “due” or “overdue.”

On the surface, the idea seems to have some merit. Since the probability of a given number winning is 1/38, or 1 chance out of 38, the expectation is that each number on the wheel will win an average of once every thirty-eight spins of the ball. If a particular number has not appeared in, say, seventy or eighty spins, it is overdue and should show up very soon, if only to comply with the law of averages. What isn’t always understood is that the so-called “law of averages” can only be relied on over the very long term. In roulette, the long term could mean thousands or tens of thousands of spins.

Actually, if a particular number comes up very seldom or not at all, it is probably because the wheel is not random. It is not at all difficult to cause a wheel, either accidentally or deliberately, to favor or disfavor certain numbers. If, for instance, the number 29 has not won in a long time, it may be because the pad at the bottom of the pocket had at one time been replaced during routine maintenance. If the replacement material had a different resilience, the ball may now bounce out of that pocket more readily than the other pockets. This would be enough to cause a substantial reduction in the probability of occurrence for number 29. Thus, any bet placed on that number is a losing proposition, even though the number always seems overdue.

Another point to remember is that a roulette wheel has no memory. Every spin of the ball is an independent event that has no bearing on what happened in the past. If the wheel is truly random, then the probability of a given number coming up continues to be 1 out of 38, no matter how long it has been since the last time that number won. Let us say the number 29 came up five times in the last 38 spins five times the expectation. What is the probability of 29 winning on the 39th spin? If the wheel is unbiased: Exactly one chance out of thirty-eight.

Well, what happened to the law of averages? Was it repealed? Of course not. Three weeks later, on that same hypothetical wheel, number 29 may not show up for 200 spins of the ball. After the first 100 spins, some players will notice the “sleeper” and start betting on 29. One-hundred spins later, after they all lost their bankrolls, 29 finally appears. They do not believe it, but the law of averages is intact.

A SIMPLE STRATEGY

Before employing any blackjack playing strategy, it is important that you first become familiar with the proper decision-making procedure. Knowledge of a playing strategy will be of limited value if you try to apply it haphazardly. There is a certain evaluation sequence that should be followed in order to make the best playing decisions.

PLAYING DECISIONS

Many novice blackjack players get flustered when it is their turn to make a decision on how to play their hand. Should they split? Should  they double down? Should they hit? Should they stand? Suddenly there seem to be an unending number of decisions to make. Although they have carefully memorized the strategy rules, when their turn comes and the dealer is impatiently pointing at their hand, they draw a blank and end up taking the wrong action.

Experienced كازينو players, on the other hand, don’t have this problem when it comes time to make a decision, because they already use such a methodical approach on a subconscious level. It is so automatic that most of them don’t even realize they are doing it. Whether subconscious or not, if you follow the decision process outlined below while applying the basic strategy, you have the best chance of playing your hand correctly .

Decide whether or not to surrender. Apply the basicكازينو strategy rules to determine if surrendering is the best action. If surrender is not offered by the casino or you are using a simplified strategy table, skip to pair splitting.

Decide whether or not to split a pair. Apply the basic strategy rules to determine if splitting is the best action. If your initial hand is not a pair, skip to doubling.

Decide whether or not to double down. Whether or not you have split a pair, apply the basic كازينوstrategy rules to determine if doubling is the next best action.

Decide whether to hit or stand. If you did not double, apply the basic strategy rules to determine if you should hit or stand.

If you split a pair, repeat the above steps for each hand. These four fundamental playing decisions are summarized in the following simple, easy-to- remember chart:

A SIMPLE STRATEGY

When you are a beginner, learning the entire Universal Basicكازينو Strategy table in the next section seems like a daunting task—especially when you are anxious to start playing. An easier approach is to first learn the simplified strategy presented in this section. Surprisingly, using the Simple Strategy costs the player less than 1% as compared to the Universal Basic Strategy. That is, the house advantage will still be only 1% or so—which is a lot better than the 3% to 5% advantage the house has over the average player.

The main differences between this strategy and the full-blown basic strategy are the lack of a surrender option and simplified splitting and doubling rules. When you apply the simplified rules, be sure to play non-split pairs like a hard hand, as the table indicates. If the strategy tells you to split a pair, then it is correct to resplit if you catch a third card of the same value. Before you ever step up to a blackjack table, be sure you have the following rules down pat, and have familiarized yourself with the above decision-making procedure, which you can reduce to three steps, since there is no surrender rule to consider.

Pair of aces: Always split a pair of aces. The value of the initial hand is either a 2 or a soft 12, neither of which is very good. By splitting, you get two chances of catching a 21. Remember that splitting aces is a special case. The dealer will give you just one card on each ace, and you cannot take any hits. If one of those cards is another ace, you should resplit to a third hand, if the casino permits you to do so.

Winning Strategies in Blackjack

Every one who played in casino wish to win all games of casino which he plays and he wins but not always. If you want to win the game always you should know what the basic strategy of this game is. That’s why I told about the strategy of the blackjack game which helps you to make your winnings.    

         Card counters who obtain an honest advantage over the House through a playing strategy do not break any law. Gaming supervisors should ensure that no steps are taken to discourage any player simply because he is winning.

           The running indices in the second column should be used when the number of unseen cards is greater than 104. Those in the third column, when the number of unseen cards is 104 or less.

            The running indices in Table 4 are relatively small when compared with the corresponding ones in the other tables in this section. Therefore, in games played under Eastern rules, the player may increase the bets substantially, even when the running indices are relatively low. The main reason for this is the early surrender option, which is very favorable to the player.

            The above discussion covers the most important situations. However, because there are so many possible rule variations, we cannot give tables for all cases. In any event, on the basis of l)-7), given below, the player should be able to determine approximate betting tables in most cases:

1) In games in which doubling down after splitting is allowed, the running indices should be decreased by one unit.

2) In games in which doubling on soft hands is not allowed, the running indices should be increased by one unit.

3) In games in which doubling down on hard hands of value 9 or less is not allowed, the running indices should be increased by one unit.

4) In games in which the dealer draws on soft 17, the running indices should be increased by 1.37. In practice, the running indices should be increased by one unit.

5) In games in which the player may draw to split aces, the running indices should be decreased by one unit.

          To clarify how l)-7) above should be used, let us assume that we participate in a game in which:

doubling down on soft hands is not allowed;

doubling down on hard hands of value 9 or less is not allowed; the dealer draws to soft 17.

         By 2), 3), and 4) we obtain the betting table for these rules by adding to each one of the running indices in Table 2 a total of 3 units. This leads to Table 3. This is, of course, natural, since the above are the Reno—Tahoe rules.

         When the conditions are favorable, the player who has substantial capital should replace the betting scale

I unit, 2 units, 4 units, 8 units, 12 units by the scale

I unit, 5 units, 10 units, 20 units, 30 units.

For example, if the bet unit is $5, he should use the scale

$5, $25, $50, $100, $150

Changing the bet from a $5 chip to a $25 chip might attract less attention than changing from a $5 chip to four $5 chips.

The player who decides — against our recommendations — to play in games in which special favorable rules  are not offered and which are dealt from more than four decks should use the betting scale

1 unit, 5 units, 10 units, 20 units, 30 units.

Blackjack, or twenty one, is a game played with cards between one or several players and a dealer who represents the house. Roughly speaking, the goal of each of the players is to obtain a hand having a value greater than that of the dealer’s hand, but without exceeding 21.

Blackjack is one of the two most popular casino games. The other is the dice game of craps. In blackjack, one must make strategic decisions. These decisions affect the outcome of the game and hence give the players the feeling that, to a certain extent, they control the game. Also, blackjack is, at present, the only casino game in which the player can obtain an advantage over the house by skill. The reader should not conclude from the above remarks that the decisions one has to make are obvious and that most players make the right ones. Unfortunately, very few players make correct betting and playing decisions. As a colleague of mine said sometime ago, the game of blackjack is such that when one makes strategic decisions according to “intuition and common sense” many of his decisions will be completely wrong.

While anybody can learn how to play winning blackjack, only very few will make the necessary effort. One cannot learn the game by reading a book on blackjack during a flight to Las Vegas or to London. There are very few skillful players. Nevertheless, even casino managements overestimate theft number by a wide margin. Most blackjack is played in casinos in the continental United States. Nevertheless, the game is played in Europe, particularly England, the Caribbean, Canada, and many other parts of the world. At present, the popularity of the game as well as the number of casinos offering it is growing.

In the rest of this chapter we shall indicate how the game is played, describe the options a player has and make various observations. The material is useful to both the beginner and the knowledgeable player. winning strategies will be given in Chapters 3 and 4. A short historical note concerning blackjack systems is also given in Chapter 3.

THE VALUE OF A HAND (HARD AND SOFT HANDS

TO describe the game we must know what we mean by the value of a hand (or of a group of cards). The difference between hard hands and nds is particularly important. The jacks, queens, and kings are called face cards. These cards are always counted 10. The aces are counted 1. The other cards are d as their face values indicate. For example, are counted, respectively, 3, 6, and 10.

THE GAME

The game of blackjack is played at a table like the one . There are six or seven chairs for the players and, on the table, six or seven betting areas. The game can be played with one to seven players. Nowadays, most blackjack games are multiple-deck games.*  this book we always assume that the considered games are four-deck games, unless we say explicitly the contrary. Nevertheless, most of e strategies ‘e describe can be used, with very little error, for all multiple-deck games. Variations and customs are discussed in the next section.

The game proceeds as follows: Assume that there are three players the table, Mary, George, and Jack. Each player has some chips, bought from the dealer, or from the casino cashier. Each player makes a bet by placing one or more chips in the corresponding betting ea. Sometimes, currency is used for bets, particularly for large ones. The dealer shuffles the pack of cards and offers it to one of the players for a cut. The cut is usually performed by inserting a plastic rd in the pack and by interchanging the two parts determined by e card. The cut must be made: If the players at the table do not ant to, the dealer must make it. A plastic card (the joker) is placed )out 60—70 cards from the end of the packet The first card is dealt id placed — face down — in a small box to the right of the dealer.**

In my earlier days of playing blackjack, I purchased an inexpensive discard tray from a casino supply house and stacked different decks of cards in the tray to get a feel of what two, three, four, etc. stack of cards looked like. With a little practice you'd be amazed at how quickly and accurately you can estimate the number of decks stacked in the tray. Now I m telling you advance level Blackjack Strategies.

What if you glance at the discard tray and estimate what appears to be about 2nd decks of cards. The table is using four decks of cards. In this situation, you first estimate the number of unplayed decks by subtracting 2nd from 4 (answer is 1st). You then divide the running count (+2) by the number of unplayed decks (1st or 312). When dealing with fractions, it's a lot easier to multiply by the inverse of the fraction than to divide by the fractions.

If dividing (or multiplying) by fractions is not your cup of tea, than just do the best job you can to estimate the number of decks in the discard tray to the nearest whole number. If you glance at the discard tray and estimate what appears to be 2nd decks, be conservative and round down to 2. By rounding down you'll be calculating a true count that will be slightly less than the actual true count.

Now let's discuss the situation of playing in a single or two deck hand held game. In two deck games, you'll need to estimate the number of decks in the discard tray to the nearest half deck and in single deck games, to the nearest third. Let's review these situations in more detail.

Single Deck

Some casinos use a discard tray in single deck games and others do not. If one isn't used, the discards are placed face up under the remaining cards by the dealer. I'll address both situations. Whenever multiple decks of cards are used, the true count is most always less than the running count. In the case of a single deck, the opposite occurs for the most part, namely, the true count will be higher than the running.

Before you play in single deck games, take a deck of cards and group them into piles of 17, 26 and 35 to get a feel for what that many cards stacked looks like. Remember you only have a few seconds to glance at the discard tray to determine how many fraction of a deck of cards are stacked. That one glance will give you the information you need to determine the multiplier for converting running count to true count.

An alternate technique can be used to determine the multiplier for running to true count conversion. This is in fact the way to do this conversion when the dealer places the discards under the remaining cards. This technique is based on learning a multiplier for each round of hands dealt in a single deck game.

As a general rule, on average 2.7 cards are played per hand. Therefore, if you play bead up with the dealer (just you and the dealer - no other players), 5.4 cards are used on average per round. Likewise, we can use this information to calculate how many cards would be used per round as a function of number of players. Based on this we can also compute a multiplier from running count to true count.

When playing single deck games, you should try to play head up as much as possible. Never play with more than two other players at the table. Therefore the following table lists the calculated number of hands dealt per round for one, two and three player games, and the calculated running count to true count multiplier.

In some cases, I've rounded the multiplier to avoid wild fractions (remember we need a method to estimate true count that is fairly accurate but just as important, easy to do at the tables).

To use this information, all you need do is memorize the corresponding multiplier for the number of rounds played and then use the multiplier to convert your running count to true count.

What does your business card say when you’re a professional gambler?

When I met Shirley for the first time, my business card said “Dance Instructor.” I’d had this card printed up before I moved to Los Vegas three years earlier, I was a part-time instructor in California and expected to get a teaching gig at Sam’s Town or one of the other nightclubs once I got to town. It never happened, but still I had those cards.

 Other casino-consultants have cards that say “Gaming Analyst”.

Playing cards at casino are believed to have originated in the Orient. It is documented that the French utilized them as early as the fourteenth century. The deck of cards as we know it today (consisting of four distinct suits), is said to have evolved from Tarot cards, which may account for the many who believe that fortunes can be made at the blackjack tables. (Sorry about that!).

Despite the longevity of gambling, the practice was generally considered vulgar and was illegal in the United States until relatively recently. The first United States Blue Law regulating gambling was passed in 1624 by the Virginia Assembly. The law   stated that "Ministers shall not give themselves to excess in drinking or yeti spend their time idolize by day or night, playing at dice, cards or any unlawful game." The first gambling legislation passed March 22, 1630, in Boston, Massachusetts. The legislation read, "It is ordered that all persons whatsoever that have cards, dice or tables in their houses, shall make away with them before the next court under pain of punishment." It makes you wonder where the family was expected to eat their dinner!

As the casinos in Atlantic City have failed to rebuild the city, they have also failed to provide adequate gambling facilities for us common folk. The minimum table limits have been too high from day one. During a weekend or holiday a player is literally forced to play at a $10 or $25 table. One New Year's Eve the lowest minimum bet table Robin and I could find open was $25. We saw hundreds of poor souls milling around hoping to find a $5 table, which did not exist. The state has always had very strict control over the Atlantic City casinos. All games must be dealt from a shoe and must consist of six or eight decks. There are no variations of the rules from one casino to another. Double-downs are only allowed on a ten or eleven. When Atlantic City first opened its casinos in 1978 "surrender" was offered. In 1982 the casinos terminated the option. To put it bluntly, compared to gambling in Nevada, Atlantic City sucks!

To beat the casino we must minimize our losses and maximize our winnings. The only sure way to do this is to raise the bet as we win. The player who lowers the bet as he or she wins is not playing with a full deck, if you know what I mean. The betting scheme works on all tables regardless of the minimum limit. The minimum bet must be made based on the amount of money you have to work with. Never take more money to the casinos than you are willing to lose, and always be prepared to lose. With an adequate bankroll to support your minimum bet, you will give the casino one hell of a fight. With proper play and a small amount of luck you should be able to take a piece of the casino home! For ease of discussion I will start with the $10 progression.

Some years ago I read a gambling book titled How to Win by Mike Goodman, a professional gambler and casino executive. His approach to the game of blackjack was unique and controversial. He believed in winning money He openly challenged any and all experts to back up their systems at his casino and offered them a chance to hold public debates. To the best of my knowledge, he had no takers.

Mr. Goodman opened my eyes to a completely new approach to the game of blackjack. Without specifically attacking the card counting systems, he made it clear that the key to profitable blackjack play was to never risk more than a minimal bet while losing, and to increase the bet while winning. This strategy, which seems too easy to believe, works! The card counting systems can then be discarded because they require that a player determine the bet based on a "count" or "index," with no relationship to winning or losing.