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Welcome to The GameMaster's Blackjack School c A brief introduction.

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c c c   c this is a series of 24 written lessons that can teach you how to play a winning game of Blackjack. c

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Sometimes you just need a place to start.

Blackjack is a game of skill and this is where you can learn the skills it takes to beat the game.c

The 24 lessons you see here will take you step-by-step through the process of learning how to play each hand properly, how to count cards, how and when to properly bet and literally hundreds of other "tricks of the trade".c !c   c  c  c " c  c  c  c c  c 
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esson 1: Basic Strategy c

The foundation of winning at Blackjack is to utilize proper basic strategy in playing the hands.c7 c
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Basic Strategy Matrix : for 6 Decks, S17, DA2, DAS, No surrenderc

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To help you decide on a count to use, visit the series of articles called 
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esson 4: Card Counting - How To Do It c

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This entire lesson that you about to study is very visual. You might want to consider our X X product, to enhance the learning experience.c

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If you feel you know the point values of each card in your system of choice by heart, you may now begin to count down a single deck. .c c
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I always stress the idea of 'expectation' as it applies to casino gaming because understanding the concept will help you stop gambling and hopefully turn you into an investor at the tables.c,c  c
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Now let's look at this concept from the point of view of a positive expectation situation like card counting at Blackjack.c c c

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If you are the only player at a six-deck game, you can play at a rate of about 200 hands an hour.cc
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esson 16: The Advanced Course - ´art 4 c Basic Strategy Variations: To Split or Not To Split

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I use two different systems for counting cards; the Hi/o for multi-deck play and the 'Hi-Opt 1' system for single deck play.c!c
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c Lc cc  c c  c 
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c "c
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c
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c  c 
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c c =C? c  c 9c c c

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c  c c "cc c c c  c
c cc

The most difficult aspect of single-deck play is computing the true count.c c c c
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c  "c c  c Dc "c %(c 5 'c" cc  c
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c  cc

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c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c

esson 19: Advanced Single-Deck Blackjack, ´art 2 c Basic Strategy Variations

Casinos that offer single-deck Blackjack games are very aware that it can easily be beaten by a counter who uses a big bet spread, so trying to play the game with a 1-12 spread like I recommend for 6-deck games will likely get you a one-way ticket out of the casino, pronto.c!
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c c c cc"
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c c
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c c c
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c
c c 
c

If you know how to count cards, you can use the count to tell you how much to bet on each hand, but you can also use the count to help you play each hand more accurately, too.c c  c   cc  c c c c c  c' c c cc'c
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c
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Consequently, you have to sit through a lot more "negative" decks, but the good thing is that a shuffle is never too far away.c 6c
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cc c c c c
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c c 
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Some players prefer to learn just the indices for the most common hands, with the idea that they'll get a hand like A, 4 against a 5 less than 100 times in every 100,000 hands of play, but they'll have a 16 against 10 much more often.c c c" 'c,
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c c
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c 
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But I'm of the opinion that if something about this game can be learned, it should be learned. )/'
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c  c  cc, cc c c c
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cc

‰ather than talk you through each hand's variation, as I did in the multi-deck section, what I've done here is produce a Basic Strategy Matrix that shows an "index" number for each appropriate play.c> c cc c
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c "c   
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cc"  cc Basic Strategy Variations Matrix for Single-Deck

=Dc>
%c c
c c  c

Dealer's up card

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

Ace

A,A

Split

Split

Split

Split

Split

Split

Split

Split

Split

Split

2,2

Hit

0

-1

-4

-5

Split

Hit

Hit

Hit

Hit

3,3

Hit

4

-1

-4

-5

Split

Hit

Hit

Hit

Hit

4,4 (Double)

Hit

Hit

5

0

0

Hit

Hit

Hit

Hit

Hit

5,5 (treat as 10)

Double

Double

Double

Double

Double

-6

-3

0

4

3

6,6

0

-1

-4

-6

Split

Split@>c
c
c c c
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c

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c" cc5  c c ' c
c c cc! c2 c
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ccc
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c

The 'ey: ´enetration

Because a DD game uses only 104 cards, versus the 312 of a 6D game, just a few extra cards of penetration can make a big difference in how well you can do at the game. c c ,
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c  c 
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c:& 'c
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c" cc  cIn a DD situation, 65% penetration is very acceptable, 75% is fantastic and 80% or more is phenomenal.c
c c c 'c c  c 
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c6cc  c c c ' c
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c c c
c
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But penetration is really important, so it's something you need to become familiar with.c c  c
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c ) c 8
c c 
c *c
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c c .
 
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c  c c c$(Hc
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et's recap thisc cc 
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Impact of ´enetration on a Double-Deck Game

7c7
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Getting Started

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c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c

esson 22: Beating The Double Deck Game - ´art 2 c

cPart 1 (lesson 21)c c c c   
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 more than 50% into the decks before shufflingc9  c c
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A bigger (or wider, if you prefer) bet spread - the ratio between your minimum and maximum bets - creates its own set of problems that you have to consider.c c c
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But, surprisingly, there isn't that much to gain in overall advantage by going from a 1-8 spread to a 1-12 spread in our "core" game,c c  c %c ' c c 
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c c c$(BHc(See Part 1 for how this is calculated.)c9c&%c 
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c c $BHc That tiny extra edge is hardly worth the cost of the added risk of ruin and the extra scrutiny you'll get from the "pit critters" while using it.cc

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c c 4cThe penetration is just so shallow that you'll seldom be making a 10- or 12unit bet, but you need them to make up for all the minimum bets you'll be making at counts where the casino has the edge over you.cc cc
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c

c

Betting With the True Count

For each increase of 1 in the true count as figured by the Hi/o counting method, the player's advantage increases by about .5% in the average Blackjack game.c cc
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c
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c c cHc
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c c
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It is the edge that a player has on the upcoming hand that determines their bet.c2  c"c c
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c c
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cHere's a table of optimum bets that will work well for a game where the casino has a 0.41% advantage over the Basic Strategy player:c

True Countc Advantage c

% Optimum Betc

&c c cc &c$Hc c c $Hc $cc

&$ Hcc

$Hc

cc

$$H8cD:Hc

$$DHc

%c

$(Hc8cD:Hcc

$ (Hc

Acc

$Hc8cD:Hcc

$BAHc

cc

(Hc8cD:Hcc

%Hc

(cc

%$Hc8cD:Hcc

(Hc

:cc

%(Hc8cD:Hcc

DHc

Dcc

A$Hc8cD:Hcc

%A(Hcc

Bcc

A(Hc8cD:Hcc

%DAHc

cc

$c8cD:Hc

A$Hc

$cc

(c8cD:Hc

A Hc

c By using this table, you can determine the optimal bet for any bankroll;c- c cc ccc
c  c"c c
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' c! c c
c"
' c c$5000cc 
c"c c
c c c c2 is .0045 X $5000 = $22.50cc

Some ´ractical Considerations

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c c"c   c c.  cc  c  c
 
c  c "c c  c c #(c c #$c c 
c  c  'c 'c c

c 
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c c
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c  c 
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c  c c " c c c  c 
c
c  c All of this rounding and negative-deck play cuts into your win rate, but by knowing the conditions that can cost you money, steps can be taken to minimize their impact on your earnings.c The Betting Spread

The most effective 1-8 betting spread would be to bet one unit whenever the casino has the edge and 8 units when the counter has the edge. !
c c c  c c " c  c
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c  c c' c c
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cc
c
cc

A more practical answer to both of the problems presented above is to "ramp" your bets, which is another way of saying gradually increase them. c  c  c "c  c #$c c
c &Bc 
c c 
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c ccc c c> c  cc  c'c cc c c"c cc
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c- c
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c" c#($$$c c
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G c
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c#($$$c  cc 
c
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c c
cc c c
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cccc
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c
cc

c

c

c

With a $5000 bankroll, the betting schedule could look like this:c

True Count c ´layer's Bet c Optimum Betc $c c cc

#$c

#$c

cc

#$cc

#A($c

%cc

#%(c

#%%($c

Acc

# $cc

# ($c

cc

#:$cc

#:$($c

(cc

#B$c

#D($c

:cc

#B$cc

#B($c

Dcc

#B$c

#D($c

Bcc

#B$cc

#A:($c

cc

#B$cc

#(($$c

$cc

#B$cc

#D ($c

c ´lease notice that "Optimum Bet" means the best bet for that count, were you able to make it. ,
c c c "c c  c
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c  cc
c
c c c(c c c, cc c
"c cc

cc
cc "cc#($$$c"
' c   cc " c  4c #$$c
c
c!2c c :c
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c c  c    c "
' c   c"c"c
cc#:$$c c   cc The Bet Schedule Examined

First of all, I hate this schedule for a lot of reasons.c !c
c c  c
c  c
c 
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c c
cc c )72 *c 
c ' c c 
c
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c c c B$c c c$@c+cc' c72c'  c
c> c c
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c cc c 
c c
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c  c >>c 
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c c"c#%(c
c
c c
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c
c
8 3cBc ccc
c "c c
c>>c
cc c c
c 
c c c
cc

The other reason I hate this betting schedule is, it's "clunky".c ,c 
c c 
c c 5  c c 
c  c "c  c
 c  c"c c
 c c c
c c! c c  c c#$c c#%(cc ccc c
c
c
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c
c "cc
c, ccc  c c# $cc cc c c c
ccc c

c 
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c c  cc c- c c c c  c)#($*c9cc # $c  c  c c#:$c c c c"
c "
c  c
c ($Hc 

cc  c  cc  c 
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c  c  c  c c c
c cc Cc
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c
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c c
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c c
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c

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c c 

cc   c" c
c c2 'Nc7 c  c"c c" ccc c  c c c
c
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If you count cards, the surrender option is an even better deal as the count goes up.c c c
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