John Patrick's Count

[sharp21]

Ive been reading Advanced Blackjack by John Patrick & his counting system is +1 for A-9, & -2 for Tens/Faces.
Another difference is that he starts the count at 45 instead of zero, to avoid dealing with negatives. The deck is getting hot at a count of 49 & not at a count of 38.
It is touted in the book for its simplicity, as you dont even have to identify card values.
It is also an unbalanced count, so when you go through the deck you start at 45 but end at 49.
Is this a count worth learning? I am getting back into it after a few years & I had been working with HiLo but this seems pretty good too.
S.

 

[sabre]

What is it about this system that seems "good" to you?

 

[Sonny]

The KO system is just as simple and much more powerful than John Patrick's counting system. And be sure to avoid all of John's advice about betting and playing strategies as well. He advocates using progression systems and a flawed basic strategy that triples the house edge.

-Sonny-

 

[boneuphtoner]

One would have to sim this to actually see if it works, but placing a positive value to the ace, and then increasing your bet the more positive the running count gets??? Since the ace certainly helps the player, removal of aces from the pack would hurt your expectation. Using this system, you would be increasing your bets when aces are removed. This seems counterintuitive to put it mildly.

Am I missing something or does this seem bogus?

 

[Sonny]

Am I missing something or does this seem bogus?

If it's from John Patrick you can be sure it is bogus.

-Sonny-

 

[sharp21]

Fair enough, I suppose Ill study up again on Hi-Lo or Hi-Opt 1
Im basically looking for a system with a good balance between ease of use & power.
Thanks
S.

 

[gordon5432]

The KO system is just as simple and much more powerful than John Patrick's counting system. And be sure to avoid all of John's advice about betting and playing strategies as well. He advocates using progression systems and a flawed basic strategy that triples the house edge.

-Sonny-

Just triples the house edge? The man suggests surrendering 8v9.

 

[SleightOfHand]

Fair enough, I suppose Ill study up again on Hi-Lo or Hi-Opt 1
Im basically looking for a system with a good balance between ease of use & power.
Thanks
S.

Depends on what you consider simple. If you have difficulty converting RCs to TCs, an unbalanced system like KO or Red7 would be good. If you have no problem doing that, HiLo is very common. Personally, I use zen, and I consider it fairly easy to use. Its all about what comes easy to you, how much effort you are willing to put in, and how much you can achieve with that effort.

 

[Automatic Monkey]

Ive been reading Advanced Blackjack by John Patrick & his counting system is +1 for A-9, & -2 for Tens/Faces.
Another difference is that he starts the count at 45 instead of zero, to avoid dealing with negatives. The deck is getting hot at a count of 49 & not at a count of 38.
It is touted in the book for its simplicity, as you dont even have to identify card values.
It is also an unbalanced count, so when you go through the deck you start at 45 but end at 49.
Is this a count worth learning? I am getting back into it after a few years & I had been working with HiLo but this seems pretty good too.
S.

That's the Archer Count. It's a perfectly legitimate count and can give you perfect insurance correlation, but you'll be better off with something stronger than that for today's lousy games. High-Low will be a better choice in nearly every situation.

 

[sharp21]

Its too bad this John Patrick isn't held in very high regard, as I thought I lucked out when I happened across this book in the basement!
Ive also got The Worlds Greatest BlackJack Book by Humble & Cooper, which teaches Hi-Opt 1 & 2.
S.

 

[bjcount]

Its too bad this John Patrick isn't held in very high regard, as I thought I lucked out when I happened across this book in the basement!
Ive also got The Worlds Greatest BlackJack Book by Humble & Cooper, which teaches Hi-Opt 1 & 2.
S.

Go back and double check, HO2 is not in that book.

BJC

 

[sharp21]

True, I stand corrected
S.

 

[callipygian]

Im basically looking for a system with a good balance between ease of use & power.

Is there any reason you've skipped over the hugely popular Hi-Lo, K-O, and Red7 systems?

 

[sharp21]

Im new to the forum & have been reading up on those systems.
Basically I just found those books in storage & have been reading through, which is why I was asking about them specifically.
Ive done a lil reading on the KO count & im leaning towards that one.
My local casino plays a 6D game if that makes a difference
S.

 

[QFIT]

Its too bad this John Patrick isn't held in very high regard, as I thought I lucked out when I happened across this book in the basement!
S.

The statement that "John Patrick isn't held in very high regard" is the understatement of the year. If there is a particle smaller than a quark, it has more knowledge of Blackjack. He has a forum somewhere where he regularly states that "math" does not apply to gambling.

 

[FLASH1296]

Sharp21,

John Patrick is a minion of the casino industry. Enuf' said.

You said ...

"The Worlds Greatest BlackJack Book" ... teaches Hi-Opt 1 & 2."

The book explains ONLY Hi Opt I.

The book was a vehicle for presenting an inexpensive weak system - - Hi-Opt I
- in order to promote a very expensive and powerful system, namely Hi-Opt II.