First-time BJI poster, with Advice

Cap, I don't use hilo myself, but I believe in basic hi lo, all card values are either +1 or -1 (a single parameter system), and it's A/T = -1, 2-6= +1. What you described is some other multiparameter system.

Multiparam systems are usually shunned for beginners, since they're harder to learn. Hell, I personally use KO, which is both single parameter and doesn't even have a true count conversion!

edit: I totally used the wrong words, it's "level 2" not "level 1", multiparamter would involve ace side count or something.
 
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zengrifter said:
Thats a grossly inferior count. zg
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Indeed. It's called the Graham 2 Count published, I think, in "A Book on Casino Blackjack" in 1982. Fortunately out of print. It is available on Amazon for $0.47.

It is single parameter; but level 2.
 
zengrifter said:
I recommend this list/order -

1. Knockout BJ
2. Blackbelt in BJ
3. BJ Attack

zg
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Ty, read "about" the other two recently...... although one of the web-sites I was looking at said that the Blackbelt in BJ book was covered in other books, and didn't add much to it. I'll probably get it anyway.

supercoolmancool said:
I'd add burning the tables in Las Vegas by Ian Anderson to the end of Zengrifter's list.
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Either I haven't heard of the book (read reviews on it) or maybe I just forgot (quite possible)...although I am familiar with Ian.

EasyRhino said:
Cap, I don't use hilo myself, but I believe in basic hi lo, all card values are either +1 or -1 (a single parameter system), and it's A/T = -1, 2-6= +1. What you described is some other multiparameter system.

Multiparam systems are usually shunned for beginners, since they're harder to learn. Hell, I personally use KO, which is both single parameter and doesn't even have a true count conversion!

edit: I totally used the wrong words, it's "level 2" not "level 1", multiparamter would involve ace side count or something.
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Noted.

zengrifter said:
Thats a grossly inferior count. zg
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Perhaps it is. However..... If a person is training him/herself to count cards, I don't think that the original system matters as much...at least in my case....and I would think this applies to most. Anyway, the hardest thing that I have found is the distraction of my son pulling on my leg. I changed the value of the cards a couple of hours ago (I believe this is called an uneven count...where after you go thru the deck, you dont come to 0)...anyway, regardless of the name given, I changed the value of aces to -3; tens-2; 9's -1....... 8's and 7's were 0.....6's=+4;5's=+3;4's=-2;3's=-2;2's=-1

The purpose of me changing the values have more to do with my eye-coordination, and so I'll increase my effectiveness at being able to switch systems easier. I have only gone through 8 shoes (6D) and have got it right once. I am going to find a good program that allows me to change dealer speed, to try and increase my time. I realize that a program is not the same as RL, however, for my purposes, I believe it will help...if not...I'll say so.

out.
 
shadroch said:
voodoo in,voodoo out.
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hmmm.


5 of 5. Anyway..... after re-reading this entire thread, it occurs to me that some of you genuinely try to help people, while others seem to be more interested in their ability to pick something someone says apart. The former, I commend. The latter.... Is your time so invaluable, that you would waste it on such a useless objective? The only possible thing you can get by degrading someone else, or their efforts, is personal satisfaction at their assumed misery. I thought we (adults) left that type of behavior in the 3rd grade. Apparently, some of you have matured physically, but mentally, you were left back in grade school.
 
Lets see,you come in here with some nonsense about dealers telling you things they don't know,then you suddenly want to learn counting.But instead of starting at the beginning like everyone else,you are claiming to use some count where Aces count as 3,and other utter bullshit.If you really want to learn the game,start at the beginning and forget trying to impress us with nonsensical tall tales.
There's at least one guy a week who comes here claiming to be a successful player with a system that can't stand up to scrutiny.You're not the first,nor will you be the last.
 
Come on now Shadroch. "Be nice. While intelligent people can and will disagree, make an extra effort to be civil." - Ken Smith's sticky guidelines
I think you're going out of your way to be mean here.
 
Sorry,but I've asked him repeatedly to explain his methods and all he does is attempt to steer away from the fact that the Emperor has no clothes.
Yesterday,he didn't know about counting but today he's using level two counts on multiple decks?And what retail bookstore closes on a holiday? Not to mention the first White man to see the Sierras wasn't even born in 1537.
I'm just frankly getting tired of the bullshit level around here lately.It sucks having to wade thru thirty threads of crap to find one pearl of knowledge.
 
shadroch said:
...........
I'm just frankly getting tired of the bullshit level around here lately.It sucks having to wade thru thirty threads of crap to find one pearl of knowledge.
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:) heh, heh sorry for the diversion but thats often how i feel sitting through one crappy hand after another and one crappy shoe after another just waiting for that one shoe that holds the juicy stuff ......
so many parallels in life and blackjack :confused:
 
Hey Captain I have a question for you. First understand I wish you no ill will and I hope things are going as well as you previously stated. That brings me to my question, Why if you have been doing so well playing the way you have, you've stated that this is your sole source of income earlier, would you mess with it and try something totally different? Blackjack has been my primary source of income for quite a while now and I would not even think of drastically overhauling my game based on a few message board posts unless my success rate at what I was doing wasn't cutting it. In my opinion I do think that its smarter to become a real advantage player, but for you to read all those books and master a system will require a good bit of time. As a player who depends on playing to make an income, I know I couldn't afford that kind of downtime. I do think you mean well, but I think a bit of what you said has been misleading to some, enough to the point that they would try things that just aren't correct. I really do wish you the best playing this game, I do think you need to fine tune it a bit.

By the way I appreciate the advice you gave earlier about playing through a whole 6 deck shoe to check for errors in the peeking for blackjack. Just so you know we average about 50 to 75 shoes a week in practice, not to mention the tests we give each other before we make trips. We've been able to catch all type of dealer weakness that gives some type of advantage, the peeker just hasn't been one of them.
 
shadroch said:
Lets see,you come in here with some nonsense about dealers telling you things they don't know,then you suddenly want to learn counting.But instead of starting at the beginning like everyone else,you are claiming to use some count where Aces count as 3,and other utter bullshit.If you really want to learn the game,start at the beginning and forget trying to impress us with nonsensical tall tales.
There's at least one guy a week who comes here claiming to be a successful player with a system that can't stand up to scrutiny.You're not the first,nor will you be the last.
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shadroch said:
Sorry,but I've asked him repeatedly to explain his methods and all he does is attempt to steer away from the fact that the Emperor has no clothes.
Yesterday,he didn't know about counting but today he's using level two counts on multiple decks?And what retail bookstore closes on a holiday? Not to mention the first White man to see the Sierras wasn't even born in 1537.
I'm just frankly getting tired of the bullshit level around here lately.It sucks having to wade thru thirty threads of crap to find one pearl of knowledge.
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Apparently your memory is as advanced as your choice in reading...

captheathmalc said:
Here's the thing..... I learned how to count cards in 1998...although I wasn't aware that I was doing it...lemme explain: I read a book that told me how to keep track of the cards by assigning values to them....
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As for the bookstore...Blah...nm. I went there today, and I had to order the books....although I did find two interesting books in their $3 bin: "Playing BlackJack as a business, by Lawrence Revere, and "New ways to win More at BlackJack" by Richard Harvey. The first one is older, but I got it because I saw it on a recommended reading list...the other was published in '04, and I got it because it was cheap, and even if it doesn't teach me anything....It can't hurt.

The local Library had "Ken Uston on BlackJack", so I got that too.

As for the values I gave to the cards...I thought I explained why I did that. And if you aren't interested in what I'm saying, and I bore you so much...you don't have to click on the thread. As for me explaining what I "have" done, and my strategies.....I Have tried to explain what I do. If I was too unclear to you, then I invite you to IM me...and then perhaps what I say won't seem so vague.

And BTW, I have not told one lie during my posts, on how I play; what my strategies are; or the amount(s) I win. I can even prove some of this to you. I kept the Title to the Corvette, even though I obviously don't have it anymore.... In Indiana (where I do 60-70% of my playing now), you can get printouts from the VIP club that show your average bet, your average session length, and how many sessions you have spent during that month. I can show you every month from last year except last month for the Argosy, the Belterra, and the Grand Vic. I also have journals...though I am positive you would claim that I made them up......and thinking about it....you'd probably say the same thing about my comp-sheets.

Here's the thing Shadroch.... I'm not asking you to play like I play.... I really don't care. My only interest in learning an advanced system has to do with advantage. If it adds to my current take, then I will do it. It has nothing to do with Hans Christen Anderson, or his book.
 
I've read this thread from the beginning and have to say I find it fascinating. I'm not an advanced player, so maybe it's just the idea that someone can win significant amounts from what seems like just intuition, instinct, luck or some combination.

Capt could be telling the straight story, but it's impossible to say if he's just beat the odds or is an advanced player. I think what annoys some of you folks that have been a little hard on him is he's not claiming a technique you can run sims on or otherwise mathmatically prove. Besides that, many of you have devoted a lot of time and effort lerning AP techniques and it seems to come natural to him.

Just my two cents, but I'd like to hear more about how Capt has achieved a level of play only otherwise seen in professional counters. Give him the benefit of doubt, but challange his assertations. As always that should be done in a respectful manner ..... at least unless he starts trying to sell his system. :)
 
I know how he did it. Since it couldn't have involved his dealer tells, or his simple count, which both probably increased his disadvantage. The only other explaination had to have been nothing short of an amazing display of the power of positive thinking. Think about it, Captain only played happy tables, with happy dealers, and happy players. The cumulative focusing power of thier positive energies must have been just enough to turn the advantage upside down. And we all know the power positive thoughts can have.
 
Casey,
From the beginning I've asked him to explain how he found the dealers were able to communicate with their body language something they don't know.
Rather than answer that question,he's tried to say that the dealers can make mistakes placing the cards on the mirrors,which while true means nothing,or he claimed he never said it.
Everyone is interested in learning new techniques that work and are provable.
but as Bojack pointed out- if his system was so successful that it was his only source of income,why would he be so intent on learning new inferior methods.
While I try to give everyone the benefit of the doubt,sometimes enough is enough.
 
CaseyCat said:
I've read this thread from the beginning and have to say I find it fascinating. I'm not an advanced player, so maybe it's just the idea that someone can win significant amounts from what seems like just intuition, instinct, luck or some combination.

Capt could be telling the straight story, but it's impossible to say if he's just beat the odds or is an advanced player. I think what annoys some of you folks that have been a little hard on him is he's not claiming a technique you can run sims on or otherwise mathmatically prove. Besides that, many of you have devoted a lot of time and effort lerning AP techniques and it seems to come natural to him.

Just my two cents, but I'd like to hear more about how Capt has achieved a level of play only otherwise seen in professional counters. Give him the benefit of doubt, but challange his assertations. As always that should be done in a respectful manner ..... at least unless he starts trying to sell his system. :)
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Now, that is most definitely funny. Sell a system. LOL. That is way too good.


supercoolmancool said:
I know how he did it. Since it couldn't have involved his dealer tells, or his simple count, which both probably increased his disadvantage. The only other explaination had to have been nothing short of an amazing display of the power of positive thinking. Think about it, Captain only played happy tables, with happy dealers, and happy players. The cumulative focusing power of thier positive energies must have been just enough to turn the advantage upside down. And we all know the power positive thoughts can have.
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hmmm... the "other" science. Facinating..... I wonder how the people of Salem would have interpreted that in the early 19th century....during their infamous witch-hunts?
 
supercoolmancool said:
Think about it, Captain only played happy tables, with happy dealers, and happy players. The cumulative focusing power of thier positive energies must have been just enough to turn the advantage upside down. And we all know the power positive thoughts can have.
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Maybe we should play in Aruba since it's called "One happy island"
 
shadroch said:
Casey,
From the beginning I've asked him to explain how he found the dealers were able to communicate with their body language something they don't know.
Rather than answer that question,he's tried to say that the dealers can make mistakes placing the cards on the mirrors,which while true means nothing,or he claimed he never said it.
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I agree there was a bit of tap dancing on that subject, but the thread turned as if that was ALL he did to win. He claims there's more, though techniques like happy table/positive attutude can only be assesed with anecdotal or experiental evidence.


shadroch said:
Casey,
Everyone is interested in learning new techniques that work and are provable.
but as Bojack pointed out- if his system was so successful that it was his only source of income,why would he be so intent on learning new inferior methods.
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IIRC, he said he's learning to count to test if that gives him a bigger advantage, otherwise he will abandon it. Were it me, I'd worry that learning typical counting would interfere with any sub-conscious counting or intuative count (if that's the deal) and ruin his current game.

That sai, I think Capt needs to tell us more specifically what makes up his playing strategy. Otherwise maybe he's one lucky SOB and some day this will all come crashing down for him.
 
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