spx and asian. I am grateful for the debate on this one. I am totally convinced that the maths give the AP players the edge, you simply cannot argue with wisdom on this site, elsewhere and the evidence in the litrature. I particularly like authors like Ian andersen and Arnold Snyder.
What I have still to be convinced of though is that a faultless basic strategy player with a workable progession method cannot with impeccable discipline, not take the natual streaks in the game and regularly walk away with a profit. I know in the fullness of time the in-built edge will grind the profit away, but my personal study and play of this fascinating game leads me to believe that only the absolute best blackjack players can really make a living out of this. I am talking here about a small fraction of one percent. I salute those professinalss, you are the top of your game and you deserve your rewards. However, what about the rest of the 99% + of us, the ones the casinos make their money out of and the reason why those professionals can take their share and not hurt the casino bottom line. I am sure there must be another method of play which allows us part-timers to take a little bit of the action, without needing to be a 'professional' counter. I may be wrong, but I think Jay Moore has created and shared an effective method with us.
All I know is that nothing is simple in blackjack. Counting takes study and discipline. Using a progression method also needs absolute discipline. When you consider the ups and downs in Blackjack, it's hard to believe that any method works conisistently. I just love a story Ian Andersen tells in Burning the Tables.... where he lost consistently in one casino and started to question if he was doing anything wrong. He wasn't!