RJT said:
I'm not going to defend some of the garbage that man has marketed, but he makes his money doing other things these days.
RJT.
What garbage are you referring to? I have both of Semyon's DVDs which include the counting game covered on the first DVD as well as the advanced techniques on the second DVD. I found them both quite helpful and insightful. In particular, I liked Semyon's discussion and illustration of the concept of SD and EV as well as his emphasis on record keeping for a serious player.
Semyon is the real deal when it comes to BJ and the fact that his team Amphibian Investments won millions of dollars is a testament to that fact. Please quit it with the bashing.
BTW, I also own the home training course offered from BJI. If you are trying to learn the counting game, and can only afford one product, I would go with the manual and DVD offered by BJI. The DVD is the best out on the market because it shows you what to practice and how to practice. I really learned my counting game thanks to BJI. Just the concept of meaningful pairs reduces the counting work by nearly 50%.
As for Andy Bloch, I own both of his blackjack DVDs and learned something from each of them. The first DVD is not as good quality as the second DVD but it includes the number plays. The second DVD delves into team play and shows some cool strategies.
Remember, all three of these MIT players managed a professional team at one point or another and has something to offer. If you are open minded you can probably get something from all of them.