I am truly amazed at the level of hate and almost outright vengence when someone admits they have won without counting. I have been the mod of a lot of forums, and it seems like the ones who are the most spiteful are the ones who think they are so superior that they refuse to acknowlge anyone else. I played for about a year with the plain basic strategy and did the flat betting. Then I read and used the World's Greatest Blackjack Book with the Hi-OPT 1 and Hi-OPT 2. From then on, I kept reading books from Uston, Patterson and some of the others. Blackjack For Blood was one of my favorites and I loved it. I did some shuffle tracking and practiced it to no end. Doing this with a level 2 count and a big bankroll, I had marginal success...but generally it was not as favorable as I wanted. And with the spreads the way they were, it was much more difficult. Some of the rules were also in place where you could only make a certain low level bet in the middle of the shoe. I then talked with a few people that went to Vegas on a regular basis with a $ 2,000 a day bankroll for a week and did ok.
I call blackjack systems the Star Trek or Beer or Music Phoenomenon. Take any show that someone raves about...and you could easily rip it apart as stupid or juvenile or all in all make fun of until the person who is a fan get's pissed. Same with beer or music - or anything else for that matter It is so subjective and the user can be taken to task for why they love it. " You like that kind of beer ! ? " or " You actually like ABBA ? What are you, a moran ? " Anything can be turned...and that is one reason I despise politics so much. My point is this. if someone says they like something, and have had success with it, don't automatically make a blanket and negative statment and dismiss it...just becuase you have a different opinion on it. I know people who do ok counting...others who can never seem to win...so everything is subjective. I simply know what has worked for me. And please don't call me a shill. I have been a contributing member and mod at a number of forums over the years. Just becuase I have a limited number of posts at this forum, does not make me an instant idiot or un-qualified to make an opinion on a subject I know about from personal experience.
Blackjack should be about learning and helping each other win - and that is the best thing we can do for each other. Take as much of the Casino's money as possible as they provide us some incredible environments, some great hotels and some amazing food - all as we take their money. That should be the goal of every blackjack player.