版本03 blackjackschool 21点黑杰克学校下载与翻译2018年9月华光Tom

www.zhongguoaomen.
com QQ 群 1: 262720741 QQ 群 4: 689903979
复制链接：https://www.blackjackinfo.com/blackjack-school/；
此文的另一个链接：https://bj21.com/category/blackjack-school/pages/game-master-classics-1
里面的表格与策略只针对美国部分赌场规则；
为尊重原文，字体和笔误一律复制；
翻译：华光 Tom（英语专业，21 点优势玩家）,部分翻译。
申明：此文档无商业用途，版权不归翻译者所有。如做商业用途，后果自负。
翻译中的笔误在所难免，希望批评指正，以后增加翻译内容时可以改进。
Blackjack School –Table of Contents

• Introduction
• Lesson 1 : Basic Strategy
• Lesson 2 : Learning Basic Strategy
• Lesson 3 : Counting Cards - The Basics
• Lesson 4 : Card Counting - How to Do It
• Lesson 5 : Card Counting - The Tricks
• Lesson 6 : Card Counting - Single Deck Play
• Lesson 7 : Money Management Part 1
• Lesson 10 : The Proper Mental Attitude
• Lesson 11 : Evaluating Games
• Lesson 12 : Casino Playing Tactics
• Lesson 13 : Advanced Course - Part 1
• Lesson 18 : Advanced Single-Deck Blackjack - Part 1
• Lesson 19 : Advanced Single-Deck Blackjack - Part 2
• Lesson 20 : A Field Trip with the GameMaster
• Lesson 21 : Beating the Double-Deck Game - Part 1
• Lesson 24 : Understanding the Surrender Option
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二十一点学校-目录
 介绍
 第 1 课：基本策略
 第 2 课：学习基本策略
 第 3 课：算牌-基础
 第 4 课：算牌-如何做
 第 5 课：算牌-技巧
 第 6 课：算牌单副牌游戏
 第 7 课：资金管理第 1 部分（含流水数和真数）------------------------------------66
 第 8 课：资金管理第 2 部分
 第 9 课：资金管理第 3 部分
 第 10 课：正确的心态
 第 11 课：评估游戏
 第 12 课：赌场游戏战术
 第 13 课：高级课程-第 1 部分
 第 18 课：高级单副牌二十一点-第 1 部分
 第 19 课：高级单副牌二十一点-第 2 部分
 第 20 课：与游戏大师进行实地考察
 第 21 课：击败双副牌游戏-第 1 部分
 第 24 课：了解投降选项
2
Blackjack School – A Free 24-Lesson Class on Card Counting
Welcome to the GameMaster Blackjack School

by the GameMaster, reprinted with permission.
A brief introduction
I am very pleased and proud to announce the complete revision of The
GameMaster’s Blackjack School. For those who aren’t familiar with my “school”, this
is a series of 24 written lessons that can teach you how to play a winning game of
Blackjack. Here…we have gathered together the entire curriculum, expanded and
refined the lessons and added additional resources.
When the state of Missouri legalized casino gaming in 1994, I developed a course of
instruction that would show people how to get an edge over the casino Blackjack
games. This course, which was taught by me at my home, originally cost $400 and
that included all of the training materials, four “classroom” sessions of about 2 hours
each, which were spread out over a four-week period and one playing session where
I went to a local casino with my graduates in order to assess their skills in the heat of
battle, so to speak.
In 1995, I was one of the founders of Rolling Good Times Online (rgtonline.com), the
Internet’s first gambling “E-zine” and that was when I began converting my course
into a series of written lessons for presentation as a free, internet-based “school”.
Until now those lessons have remained pretty much unchanged and have now been
licensed to appear on more than 120 gambling related websites.
In July of 1997 I opened our flagship web site The GameMaster Online, from that day
forward we have served the blackjack and gaming community with literally hundreds
of articles on “getting the edge” on the casinos. I believe this school is the focal point
of many of these efforts.
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.
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”. The course is long,
but this is not something you have to learn overnight. Take your time,
3
欢迎来到 GAMEMASTER 二十一点学校
欢迎来到游戏大师的的 21 点学校
作者：游戏大师，经允许后重新印刷。
简介
我非常高兴和自豪地宣布对游戏大师的二十一点学校进行全面修订。对于那些不
熟悉我的“学校”的人来说，这是一系列 24 节书面课，可以教你如何赢 21 点游戏。
在这里，我们汇集了、扩大和细化了课程，并增加了额外的资源。
有时你只需要一个地方开始。
二十一点是一项技能的游戏，这是你可以学习击败这个游戏所需的技能。
您在这里看到的 24 节课将带您一步一步地通过学习如何正确地玩每一手牌，如
何算牌，如何以及何时正确地下注，如何玩一些“伎俩”。课程很长，但这不是你
必须在一夜之间学会的东西。慢慢来，
4
Do what we say and you’ll soon be on your way to playing a winning game of
Blackjack.
Start at Lesson 1 and go as far and as fast as you wish. The thrill of winning at casino
Blackjack is literally at your fingertips.
5
照我们说的去做，你很快就会踏上赢 21 点的道路。
从第 1 课开始，按你的意愿走多远多快。在赌场赢 21 点的刺激简直唾手可得。
6
Lesson 1 – Basic Strategy

The foundation of winning at Blackjack is to utilize proper basic strategy in playing
the hands.
“Proper” means that each decision you make on hitting, standing, doubling or
splitting pairs is the correct mathematical play for that hand. There is no room for
intuition, gut feelings or guessing when it comes to basic strategy; you must make
the “percentage” play each time. Even if you’ve doubled an 11 against a dealer’s 10
five times in a row and lost, when that hand comes up a sixth time you must double.
Consistency is a big part of playing a winning game, so resolve right now that you are
going to make the proper play, regardless if the dealer rolls his eyes upward or the
other players at the table groan quietly when you do it. You are there for the money
— there’s no other reason to play blackjack — and the application of proper basic
strategy is going to get that money for you; what others think of your play is not
important.
The correct basic strategy for a blackjack game depends upon the rules of the
casino where you will be playing. The strategy which applies to a single deck game
in Reno, for example, is quite a bit different than the strategy for an eight-deck game
in Atlantic City. I’m going to show you how to learn the basic strategy of your choice;
exactly what that strategy is will depend on you. To select a basic strategy, go to
the Blackjack Strategy Engine and simply fill in the blanks. Once your strategy is
computed, print it out.
Here’s what that looks like for a fairly common game: Six decks, double on any first
two cards, double after splitting pairs is permitted and the dealer stands on A-6.
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第 1 课基本策略
二十一点取胜的基础是运用正确的基本策略。
“正确”的意思是你在要牌、听牌、加倍或对子分牌时做出的每个决定在数学上
都是正确的。当涉及到基本策略时，没有直觉、胆量或猜测；您必须每次都使用
“百分比”。即使你连续 5 次将 11 对 10 加倍，然后输了，第六手此牌出现时，
你也必须加倍。连贯性是打赢游戏的重要部分，所以现在就下定决心，不管荷官
是否动眼睛，还是桌上的其他玩家在你这样做时悄悄地呻吟，你都要进行正确的
游戏。你玩是为了钱-没有其他理由玩二十一点-使用正确的基本策略的将为你赢
得那笔钱，别人怎么看你的游戏并不重要。
正确的基本策略，二十一点游戏取决于规则的赌场。（译者注：澳门的规则基本
都一样，不像美国，不同赌场，甚至同赌场不同桌子规则都一样，直观澳门规则
的基本策略，请访问本人的网站）
下面是非常普遍的的游戏规则：六副牌，任意前两张牌可以加倍，分牌后可加倍，
庄家软 17 点停牌。（译者注：澳门的 21 点是世界上非常好的，可能只最好的，
除了不是手发，而是用循环洗牌蜗牛机。）
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Basic Strategy Matrix :

for 6 Decks, S17, DA2, DAS, No surrender
This resource can also be downloaded for printing purposes.
基本策略表：
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（译者注：此处也不翻译，因为澳门规则不一样。至于澳门的基本策略表，网站
上有。后面还有很多不翻译的，一般不再备注）
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This is the chart that you will eventually know as well as your own name — but don’t
worry, you’re not going to memorize it in this form. What we are going to do is
convert all this into what a “normal” person can understand. I call what’s above
the “Basic Strategy Matrix” and you’ll use it in some of your training. But what we
need to do in order to memorize this is to translate the information above into
all-inclusive rules. Let’s do a few as examples.
Look at the strategy for a player’s hand of 9 on the matrix above; it says to double
against a 3,4,5 or 6 and hit it against everything else. We can turn that information
into a simple rule: “With a hand of 9, double versus 3 through 6, otherwise hit.” See
how this works? We are going to take each player’s starting hand and convert the
proper play of that hand into one easy-to-understand rule. Now look at a hand
of A-2. Proper basic strategy says to double against 5 and 6 and hit it against
everything else, so our rule for A-2 is “Double vs. 5 & 6, otherwise hit.” As a bonus,
we can group A-2 with A-3 since the play for each is identical. So we end up with a
rule like this “A-2 , A-3; double vs. 5 & 6, otherwise hit.” One more example; a pair
of 3’s. When double after split is permitted, proper basic strategy says to split 3’s
whenever the dealer is showing a 2,3,4,5,6, or 7. Against any other dealer up card,
we do not split; we should just hit the hand. Thus, our rule for a pair of 3’s
becomes “3,3; split vs. 2-7, otherwise hit”. Clear on all that? Good. Below is
the basic strategy chart for the matrix shown above.
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（译者注：此页不翻译）
12
Basic Strategy Decision Chart for the Basic Strategy Matrix shown above.
Player’s Hand Decisions
5 thru 8 Always Hit
9 Double 3 thru 6, o/w hit
12 Stand 4 thru 6, o/w Hit
13 thru 16 Stand 2 thru 6, o/w Hit
17 or higher Always Stand
A,2 Double vs 5&6, o/w Hit
A,3 Double vs 5&6, o/w Hit
A,4 Double vs 4 thru 6, o/w Hit
A,7 Double 3 thru 6, Stand vs 2,7,8 Hit vs 9,10, A
A,8-A,9 Always Stand
2,2 Split 2 thru 7, o/w Hit
4,4 Split vs 5 & 6, o/w Hit
5,5 Never Split, treat as “10”
8,8 Always split
9,9 Split 2 thru 9 except 7; o/w Stand
10,10 Never Split
A,A Always Split
13
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Remember The Basic Strategy Decision Chart shown here applies only to the game
described earlier; you must produce your own to fit the rules of your favorite casino.
Once you’ve made your Basic Strategy Chart, we can begin to memorize it. To do
that, we will produce a set of “Flashcards”. Remember those? You probably learned
how to add or subtract using those cards and they will also teach you how to win at
Blackjack. You need to make one flashcard for each starting hand by reproducing the
information above on a 2″ x 2′ piece of paper. (Manila file folder material does well
for this.) Here’s what one looks like…
When you’re finished, you’ll have a pack of flashcards which will help you to
memorize the proper basic strategy for the game you’ve chosen. Start carrying them
with you and as you encounter those “lost” moments we each seem to have in our
day — waiting for a plane, sitting at the dentist’s office or even while watching TV,
pull your cards out and start reciting the rule for the hand shown. Check your
accuracy by flipping over the card and then put it on the bottom of the pack. You’ll
be amazed at how quickly you begin to learn all these rules.
Homework
I said this was a school, didn’t I? Well, you will also have some homework to do
before we get together again next week. Here are your assignments
Flashcards: Spend a minimum of one hour each day going through the cards.
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请记住，这里显示的基本策略表只适用于前面描述的游戏；您必须自己制作，以
符合您最喜欢的赌场的规则。
一旦你制定了你的基本策略表，我们就可以开始记住它了。要做到这一点，我们
将生产一套“硬纸卡”。
你需要为每手牌制作一张硬纸卡，这个样子„
（译者注：O/W 的意思不知道）
当你完成后，你会得到一组硬纸卡，它会帮助你记住你选择的游戏的基本策略。
你开始随身携带，当你等飞机，坐在牙医的办公室，甚至看电视时，拿出你的卡，
并开始背诵规则。通过翻牌检查你的准确性，然后把它放在包的底部。你会惊奇
地发现你学会这些规则的速度有多快。
家庭作业
我说这是一所学校，不是吗？所以呢，下星期我们再聚会之前你还有一些作业要
做。这是你的作业：
硬纸卡：每天花最少一个小时复习卡片。
16
Next lesson we’ll finish with how to learn basic strategy through a discussion and
demonstration of additional training aids and exercises which will give you the
means to check your accuracy. It is not necessary for you to have your chosen basic
strategy memorized perfectly at that point; all you need to know now is HOW to
learn basic strategy. Exactly WHEN you learn it is up to you, since each part of this
course is separate and does not depend on you knowing perfectly what came before.
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下节课我们将通过讨论和演示额外的训练辅助手段和练习来学习基本策略，这将
给你检查准确性。在那个时候，你没有必要完全记住你选择的基本策略；你现在
只需要知道如何学习基本策略。确切地说，你什么时候学习取决于你自己，因为
这门课的每个部分都是独立的，并不取决于你完全知道之前发生了什么。
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Lesson 2 – Learning Basic Strategy

This is a very simple lesson — I’m going to show you how to memorize your chosen
basic strategy perfectly. So perfect, in fact, that you won’t have to think about which
play is proper; you’ll just do it automatically. That skill is developed through a lot of
practice; many hours of repetitious exercises which will leave you knowing basic
strategy as well as your own name. (I didn’t say this was easy, just simple). But we
can make those hours of practice a little more fun and somewhat interesting — even
challenging — by using different methods of training. If you’re a competitive person
the timed exercises will appeal to you; it’s a lot of fun to see if you can post a new
“personal best” in each of them. But don’t worry, you don’t have to be a Type A
personality to learn perfect basic strategy. Just take your time and do as many
exercises in a day as you want and if you keep at it on a regular basis, the knowledge
will come. Remember, you are learning a skill here which you will be able to use for
the rest of your life. Spending a few dozen hours now may return hundreds of hours
of profitable play in the future; seems like a fair trade to me. Let’s get started.
Flashcards – By now, you should have a set of these made up and are using them on
a regular basis. Start timing yourself as you go through all of them; a good goal is to
recite all the rules perfectly and get through your pack in under two minutes. The
time pressure works well in “forcing” you to learn, so record your results so that you
can see your progress. If you have a stopwatch, so much the better, because you can
use it not only with the flashcards but with many other exercises as well. Don’t go
out and buy one, though; the approximate time is all we’re interested in here, so a
wrist watch will do just as well.
Basic Strategy Reconstruction Exercise – Print out the form below and run off a
bunch of copies. This resource can also be downloaded for printing purposes. You
will notice that it is just a “blank” of the form we used in Lesson 1 to create the rules
for each of the player’s starting hands. The object here is to write in the rule for each
hand and then check for accuracy. Remember the old saying; “I read and I forget; I
do and I remember.” That’s what this exercise will do for you. Time yourself as you
do it and see if you can get under 60 seconds with 100% accuracy.
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第 2 课——学习基本策略
这是一个非常简单的一节课——我将展现给你们如何完美记忆你所选择的基本策略。如此完
美和熟练，事实上，你根本不必去想怎么策略是什么样的，你只会机械地下意识地自动地去
做。这种技能是通过大量的练习发展起来的；许多小时的重复练习会让你熟记基本的策略，
像自己的名字一样。（我没说这很简单，很容易）。但是，我们可以通过使用不同的训练方
法，使这些小时的练习更有趣，甚至更具挑战性。如果你是一个喜欢竞争的人，那么定时锻
炼对你很有吸引力；看看你能否在每一项上贴上一个新的“个人最佳”是很有趣的。但不要
担心，你不必是 A 型人格学习完美的基本策略。只要你慢慢来，每天做你想做的练习，如
果你经常坚持下去，知识就会到来。记住，你正在学习一种技能，你将在余下的时间里使用
它。现在花几十个小时可能会在未来返回数百小时盈利的游戏，对我来说这似乎是公平的交
易。让我们开始吧。
硬纸卡-现在，你应该有一套了，并在定期使用它们了。当你完成所有的规则时，
开始自己定时间；一个好的目标是完美地背诵所有的规则，并在两分钟内完成你
的任务。时间压力在强迫你学习的过程中起到了很好的作用，所以，记录你的结
果，这样你就可以看到你的进步。如果你有秒表，那就更好了，因为你不仅可以
和硬纸卡一起使用，而且可以和其他的练习一起使用。不过，不要出去买一个，
我们这里感兴趣的是大概时间，所有手表都可以做到。
基本策略重建练习-打印下面的表格，并复印多份一堆。该资源也可以下载用于
打印目的。你会注意到，这只是一个“空白”的形式，我们在第一课中使用来创
建规则的每手的起手牌。此处的目标是在手牌的规则中写入策略，然后检查其准
确性。记住这句老话：“我读书，我忘记，我做，我记得。”这就是锻炼对你的
作用。当你这样做的时候，看看你能不能在 60 秒内达到 100%的准确度。
20
Player’s hand Decisions
5 thru 8 _______________________________
9 _______________________________
10 _______________________________
11 _______________________________
12 _______________________________
13 thru 16 _______________________________
17 or Higher _______________________________
A,2 _______________________________
A,3 _______________________________
A,4 _______________________________
A,5 _______________________________
A,6 _______________________________
A,7 _______________________________
A,8-A,9 _______________________________
2,2 _______________________________
3,3 _______________________________
4,4 _______________________________
5,5 _______________________________
6,6 _______________________________
7,7 _______________________________
8,8 _______________________________
9,9 _______________________________
10,10 _______________________________
A,A _______________________________
21
玩家起手牌决定
5 到 8 _______________________________
9 _______________________________
10 _______________________________
11 _______________________________
12 _______________________________
13 到 16 _______________________________
17 或更大 _______________________________
A,2 _______________________________
A,3 _______________________________
A,4 _______________________________
A,5 _______________________________
A,6 _______________________________
A,7 _______________________________
A,8-A,9 _______________________________
2,2 _______________________________
3,3 _______________________________
4,4 _______________________________
5,5 _______________________________
6,6 _______________________________
7,7 _______________________________
8,8 _______________________________
9,9 _______________________________
10,10 _______________________________
A,A _______________________________
22
Basic Strategy Decision Exercise – Here I’ve made up a lot of player hands along with
a dealer’s up card. Use your “Basic Strategy Matrix” from Lesson 1 to make a
“correction copy” and mark it as such at the top. Then, just go down the columns of
another copy and fill in the proper play. Use your correction copy to check for
accuracy. Speed is of the essence here, so work towards a goal of completing this in
under two minutes with 100% accuracy. This resource can also be downloaded for
printing purposes.
(Indicate proper play under “Decision”)

S=Stand H=Hit P=Split Pairs D=Double
P D Dec P D Dec P D Dec
8,3 A ____ 2,3,6 4 ____ A,4,2 3 ____
6,6 4 ____ 9,9 7 ____ 7,6 3 ____
5,4 6 ____ 10,3 3 ____ 8,2 A ____
7,7 7 ____ 9,8 7 ____ 8,8 10 ____
9,6 8 ____ A,7 2 ____ 10,7 2 ____
7,5 3 ____ A,4 5 ____ 9,3 3 ____
A,2 5 ____ 6,4 10 ____ 7,4 A ____
3,3 4 ____ A,4 5 ____ 6,3 7 ____
9,2 10 ____ 10,8 6 ____ A,6 5 ____
5,5 9 ____ 6,8 7 ____ A,9 6 ____
A,7 6 ____ 9,7 8 ____ 10,4 5 ____
6,3 4 ____ A,2,5 6 ____ 9,9 9 ____
5,2 2 ____ 3,6 4 ____ 2,4 2 ____
10,2 3 ____ 7,8 9 ____ 6,5 2 ____
9,9 7 ____ 10,3 3 ____ 7,7 2 ____
10,4 9 ____ A,4 4 ____ 3,4 5 ____
6,5 9 ____ 10,5 7 ____ 4,4 6 ____
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基本策略决策练习-在这里，我已经列举了针对庄家牌的玩家牌型。使用第 1 课
的“基本策略表”做一个“校正拷贝”，并在顶部标记它。然后，顺着另一个副
本的栏目，填写适当的策略。使用您的校正副本检查准确性。速度是至关重要的，
所以在 2 分钟内 100%准确，算达标。
S=stand 停牌 H＝hit 要牌 P＝split 分牌 D＝double 加倍
玩家庄决定玩家庄决定玩家庄决定
8,3 A ____ 2,3,6 4 ____ A,4,2 3 ____
6,6 4 ____ 9,9 7 ____ 7,6 3 ____
5,4 6 ____ 10,3 3 ____ 8,2 A ____
7,7 7 ____ 9,8 7 ____ 8,8 10 ____
9,6 8 ____ A,7 2 ____ 10,7 2 ____
7,5 3 ____ A,4 5 ____ 9,3 3 ____
A,2 5 ____ 6,4 10 ____ 7,4 A ____
3,3 4 ____ A,4 5 ____ 6,3 7 ____
9,2 10 ____ 10,8 6 ____ A,6 5 ____
5,5 9 ____ 6,8 7 ____ A,9 6 ____
A,7 6 ____ 9,7 8 ____ 10,4 5 ____
6,3 4 ____ A,2,5 6 ____ 9,9 9 ____
5,2 2 ____ 3,6 4 ____ 2,4 2 ____
10,2 3 ____ 7,8 9 ____ 6,5 2 ____
9,9 7 ____ 10,3 3 ____ 7,7 2 ____
10,4 9 ____ A,4 4 ____ 3,4 5 ____
6,5 9 ____ 10,5 7 ____ 4,4 6 ____
24
A,6 2 ____ 5,2 10 ____ A,2,4 6 ____
4,4 6 ____ 8,8 8 ____ 10,2,A 3 ____
10,10 5 ____ A,A 7 ____ 8,2 10 ____
8,6 7 ____ 8,3 10 ____ 6,6 6 ____
7,9 10 ____ 5,5 10 ____ 5,4 2 ____
10,2,A 3 ____ A,5,A 3 ____ A,7 3 ____
A,2,2 6 ____ 2,2 7 ____ 3,3 2 ____
2,6 4 ____ A,5 4 ____ 7,8 7 ____
9,A 6 ____ 6,6 2 ____ 9,9 7 ____
10,6 3 ____ 3,7 9 ____ 2,5,4 2 ____
7,7 6 ____ 3,3 2 ____ 10,4 6 ____
A,A 9 ____ 5,5 9 ____ 9,3 5 ____
2,2 2 ____ A,6 3 ____ A,2 6 ____
9,4 4 ____ 10,6 7 ____ 9,8 7 ____
A,3,4 9 ____ 6,6 3 ____ A,4,A 2 ____
A,4,2 6 ____ 9,4 2 ____ 7,5 3 ____
8,8 10 ____ A,4 10 ____ 2,2 6 ____
5,5 8 ____ 6,4 9 ____ 3,3 7 ____
A,8 6 ____ 8,3 A ____ 6,6 2 ____
5,2 2 ____ 9,9 10 ____ 2,9 10 ____
A,4 6 ____ 7,5 4 ____ 9,7 5 ____
2,3,4,A 6 ____ 7,7 9 ____ 5,4 3 ____
A,A A ____ 9,3 7 ____ 7,4 10 ____
25
A,6 2 ____ 5,2 10 ____ A,2,4 6 ____
4,4 6 ____ 8,8 8 ____ 10,2,A 3 ____
10,10 5 ____ A,A 7 ____ 8,2 10 ____
8,6 7 ____ 8,3 10 ____ 6,6 6 ____
7,9 10 ____ 5,5 10 ____ 5,4 2 ____
10,2,A 3 ____ A,5,A 3 ____ A,7 3 ____
A,2,2 6 ____ 2,2 7 ____ 3,3 2 ____
2,6 4 ____ A,5 4 ____ 7,8 7 ____
9,A 6 ____ 6,6 2 ____ 9,9 7 ____
10,6 3 ____ 3,7 9 ____ 2,5,4 2 ____
7,7 6 ____ 3,3 2 ____ 10,4 6 ____
A,A 9 ____ 5,5 9 ____ 9,3 5 ____
2,2 2 ____ A,6 3 ____ A,2 6 ____
9,4 4 ____ 10,6 7 ____ 9,8 7 ____
A,3,4 9 ____ 6,6 3 ____ A,4,A 2 ____
A,4,2 6 ____ 9,4 2 ____ 7,5 3 ____
8,8 10 ____ A,4 10 ____ 2,2 6 ____
5,5 8 ____ 6,4 9 ____ 3,3 7 ____
A,8 6 ____ 8,3 A ____ 6,6 2 ____
5,2 2 ____ 9,9 10 ____ 2,9 10 ____
A,4 6 ____ 7,5 4 ____ 9,7 5 ____
2,3,4,A 6 ____ 7,7 9 ____ 5,4 3 ____
A,A A ____ 9,3 7 ____ 7,4 10 ____
26
The Importance of Speed – I stress speed in my classes because the ability to do

anything quickly and accurately means you know it well. The play of your hand must
be “automatic” because once you learn how to count cards, you’ll be too busy
counting to think about the proper play. Make sense?
Card Practice #1 – Now, with a copy of your Basic Strategy Matrix next to you, get
out a deck of cards and try this exercise. Deal one card up for the dealer and then
two cards for your starting hand. Play that hand according to proper basic strategy
and, without playing out the dealer’s hand, push all the used cards off to the side
and do it again. Keep going until the deck is used up, shuffle and repeat. This
exercise will get you used to making playing decisions in a casino-style setting. Refer
to your Matrix as often as you must in order to assure yourself that you are making
the proper play.
Card Practice #2 – Some player hands, like A-7 are difficult to learn. So set up a
practice like the one above but leave the player’s hand the same and change only
the dealer’s up card after each round. Continue to hit or double as before. This
exercise is particularly good for getting you used to playing “soft” hands (those
which contain an Ace) properly. Time is not important here but accuracy is.
Card Practice #3 – This is a variation on the practice above. On this one, keep the
dealer’s card the same — say a 6 — then deal two cards for the player. Play out the
hand and then move just the player’s cards off to the side. “Stack” your deck a bit by
putting in a lot of pairs so you can get used to splitting properly.
Homework
 Spend at least a half-hour each day on your flashcards and time yourself.
 Do a minimum of one “Basic Strategy Reconstruction exercise” each day.
Time yourself and record the results along with the date right on the form.
 Do a minimum of one “Basic Strategy Decision exercise” each day and
mark both the date and time it took you to complete it on the form.
 Spend at least a half-hour each day doing the 3 card practices. Work on
those hands which are the most difficult for you to learn.
27
速度的重要性—我在课堂上强调速度，因为快速准确地做任何事情的能力意味着你很熟悉它。
你的手势必须是“自动”的，因为一旦你学会了如何算牌，你将会忙于算牌，而没有时间去
思考正确的打法。有道理？
硬纸片练习 1—现在，你旁边的基本策略表的副本，取出一副牌，并尝试这个练习。把一张
牌交给庄家，然后再拿两张牌。根据适当的基本策略来玩牌，在不玩牌的情况下，把所有用
过的牌都推到一边，然后再玩一次。继续前进直到牌用完，洗牌并重复。这个练习会让你习
惯于在赌场风格的游戏中做出决定。为了确保自己是正确的游戏，你必须经常参考你的策略
表。
硬纸片练习 2-一些玩家的起手牌，像 A -7 是很难学习的。因此，建立一种类似于上面的练

习，但是让玩家的起手牌保持不变，改变庄家的牌进行练习。这个练习特别适合你习惯玩“软
牌”（那些含有 ACE）的牌型。时间在这里并不重要，但准确性是重要的。
硬纸片练习 3-这是上面练习的变体。固定庄家的牌-例如 6，不断发玩家的 2 个牌。这个练

习能帮助你以习惯于正确地分牌。
作业
 每天至少花半个小时在你的硬纸片卡上。
 每天至少做一次“基本策略重建演习” ，把结果连同表格上的日期一起记录下来。
 每天至少进行一次“基本策略决策练习” ，并在表格上标明完成它的日期和所需时间。
 每天至少花半个小时做 3 张硬纸卡片练习，特别是你最难记住的几个牌型。
（译者注：有些靠理解记忆，有些是硬背的，如软牌加倍，有些牌型的分牌）
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Lesson 3 – Counting Cards, The Basics

With this lesson, I’m going to unwrap the veil of mystery which seems to surround
the concept of card counting. Here you will discover that you don’t have to be a
genius to keep track of all the cards in a six-deck shoe; you just have to know a few
card-counter secrets.
The first “secret” is that we don’t memorize the cards in a deck. Instead, each card
is assigned a point-value and all we are really doing is adding those point values
together and then converting that information into a usable form. Just what those
point values are depends upon which counting system a player decides to use. In this
school, I’ll be teaching the “High / Low” or “Plus / Minus” system but if you choose
to learn another one, everything I’m going to teach still applies.
The other big “secret” about card counting is how we do it at the Blackjack table. I
think most people who have flirted with counting can get a good grasp of it at home
but once they hit all the distractions of a casino their ability to keep track of the
cards, play their hand properly and get a bet into the circle on time breaks down.
Remember when I told you that it was a MUST for you to know basic strategy as well
as you know your own name? Now you’ll begin to see why that’s necessary; you
don’t need more things to think about when you’re “on the green”.
Pick a System
There are a lot of different card-counting systems available and — like most things
in life — each has its advantages and its disadvantages. I’ll try to sort through the
most popular and help you choose one which is right for you. Probably the most
important factor in choosing a system is the type of game you’ll be playing most of
the time. For example, if you play mostly in the Reno/Tahoe area, you should learn a
system which performs well against single deck games. If you play in my old
stomping grounds, Atlantic City, you’ll want to learn a system which is powerful in
multi-deck games.
29
第 3 课-算牌，基础知识
（译者注：算牌首先认识要对，正收益的游戏是有震荡的，反向比喻是包输的百家乐也有大
赢，长赢的，不能一输钱就灰心；还有要理解算牌的原理：10 点剩下多，庄家容易爆牌，
自己加倍容易补到公，A 点剩下多，自己黑杰克庄家赔 1.5 倍，庄家黑杰克只输 1.0=本金）
有了这一课，我将揭开算牌原理的神秘面纱。在这里，你会发现你不必是一个天才，以保
持跟踪六副牌里的所有牌，你只需要知道一些算牌的秘密。
第一个“秘密”是我们不牌靴里的牌。相反，每个牌都被分配一个点值，而我们真正要做
的就是将这些点值相加，然后将这些信息转换成可用的形式。这些点值的大小取决于玩家决
定使用的算牌系统。在这所学校里，我会教高/低“或”加/减“系统，但如果你选择学习另
一个，我教的所有东西仍然适用。
关于算牌的另一个“大秘密”是我们二十一点赌桌上怎么算。我认为大多数喜欢算钱的人
在家里都能很好地掌握，但是一旦他们在赌场的注意力都分散了，他们记住牌、正确地玩牌
和下注的能力就会崩溃。记得我告诉过你，你必须熟记基本策略就是记得自己的名字一样？
现在你将开始明白为什么这是必要的；当你在“绿色”的时候，你不需要考虑更多的事情。
选择一个算牌系统
有许多不同的算牌系统可用，就像生活中的大多数事情一样，每个都有它的优点和缺点。（译
者注：根据游戏规则，会有不同难度和准确率的算牌方法）我会尝试整理最流行的，并帮
助你选择适合你的。也许在选择一个系统中最重要的因素是你大部分时间会玩的游戏规则。
例如，如果你主要在雷诺/ Tahoe 地区玩，你应该学习一个对单副牌表现良好的系统。如果
你在我的旧跺脚场，大西洋城，你会想学习一个强大的多副牌算牌系统。
30
Another important factor in selecting a system is the amount of time you spend
playing Blackjack. This is going to surprise you, but a player who intends to spend a
lot of time at the tables should learn a very simple system. I say that because, while
this really is pretty easy, it does require some concentration and the simpler the
system, the easier it is to concentrate for long periods of time. On the other hand, if
you’re only going to play for 3 or 4 hours a week, a more difficult system may work
well for you since a difficult system is usually more powerful and it will optimize the
time you spend at the tables. Now, some of you “Type A’s” out there are thinking
that you’ll spend a lot of time at the tables and use a very powerful (and complicated)
system to get the most $$$ out of your play. The problem here is that under those
circumstances, mistakes begin to creep in and that can cause you to lose your edge.
The KISS principle applies: “Keep It Simple, Stupid”. If you really want to get the
most out of the game, do what I did, learn two counting systems. I use one for
multi-deck games and another one for single-decks. It’s not that hard and as we go
through the lessons on learning how to count, you’ll see how the exercises I’ll teach
you can implement such a strategy.
Card-counting systems are rated by two primary factors: Betting Efficiency (BE) and
Playing Efficiency (PE). The anomaly of counting systems is that if you increase the
BE you are, for the most part, decreasing the PE at the same time. This happens
because of the unusual role an Ace plays in the game. For betting purposes, the Ace
is a very powerful card; it’s the primary component of a “natural” which pays 3 to 2.
But for playing a hand, the Ace is of somewhat limited value. How many times have
you doubled an 11 and got an Ace? Now you have a total of 12…exciting, huh? Hit a
14, get an Ace and you’ve got 15; nothing to shout about, is it? Sure, it’s great to
double a 10 and get an Ace, but that’s one of the very few times when the Ace helps
in the play of a hand.
How a counting system treats the Ace determines a lot about the BE and PE of that
system. If you need a high Betting Efficiency — like in a multi-deck game — then pick
a system which counts the Ace as a “big” card; if your game of choice is single-deck,
31
选择一个系统的另一个重要因素是你玩二十一点的时间长短。这会让你大吃一惊，但是一
个打算花很多时间在桌面上的玩家应该学习一个非常简单的系统。我这么说是因为，虽然这
真的非常简单，但是它确实需要一些精力的集中，并且系统越简单，就越容易长时间集中。
另一方面，如果你每周只玩 3 到 4 个小时，一个更难的系统可能对你来说工作得很好，因为
一个难的系统通常更强大，而且它会优化你在桌上花费的时间。现在，有些“类型 A”的人
认为您将花费大量时间在表上，并使用一个非常强大（和复杂）的系统来从您的游戏中赢得
最多$$。这里的问题是，在这种情况下，错误开始蔓延，这会导致你失去优势。接吻原则适
用于：“保持简单，愚蠢”。如果你真的想从游戏中得到最大的好处，就去做我所做的，学习
两个算牌系统。我使用一个多副牌的系统游戏和另一个单副牌的系统。这并不难，当我们通
过学完如何算牌的课程时，您将看到我将教您的练习如何实现这样的策略。
算牌系统由两个主要因素来衡量：押注效率（BE）和玩牌效率（PE）。（译者注：这两个术
语我尝试解释过给很多人听，但基本都没听明白，这里我要讲的是：去想下 A 的作用，发
牌前，A 剩下多能下大注，发牌后（不是发牌前），A 剩下多，不会让庄家爆牌）算牌系统
违反常理的是，如果增加了押注效率 BE，在大多数情况下，同时减少玩牌效率 PE。这是因
为 ACE 在玩牌中扮演的不寻常的角色。对于押注，ACE 是一个非常强大的卡，它是一个“黑
杰克”的主要组成部分，支付 3 至 2。但是，为了玩 1 手牌，ACE 的价值有限。有多少次你
11 杆加倍事那到一张 Ace？现在你一共有 12 个„„兴奋吗？拿到 14 点，发到一个王牌，你
有 15 点，没有什么可大喊大叫的，是吗？当然， 10 加倍时发到一个 ACE 是很好的，但是
这是 ACE 帮助你手牌中极少的一次。
算牌系统如何处理 ACE 决定了系统的押注效率 BE 和玩牌效率 PE。如果你需要一个高投注效

率-像玩多副牌-然后选择一个系统，把 Ace 算作 “大”牌；如果你选择的游戏是单副牌，
32
then choose a system which treats the Ace as a “neutral” card (and keep track of the
Aces in a “side count”, a trick I’ll show you later.)
Multi-deck games are beaten primarily by a large betting spread. Simply put, you
bet small when the house has the edge and much bigger when you have the edge. A
counting system with a high BE factor tells you when to bet big. In a single-deck
game, where the house knows a big spread will win the $$$, a high PE lets you bet
less and still win. Don’t forget; casinos know that their games are vulnerable and
they are on the lookout for people who can beat them. A big betting spread is one
tipoff they use to detect counters and, depending upon where you play, being
detected as a counter may cause your expulsion (“barring”) from the casino. Let me
stress that what I’m teaching you is entirely legal but not everyone in the casino
business feels as I do. There are no laws against card-counting and you can be the
best counter in the world, but if the casinos won’t let you play your skill is wasted.
To help you decide on a count to use, visit the series of articles called “Counting
Systems” on the Blackjack menu page of GameMaster OnLine and look at the
systems which are reviewed there. As mentioned earlier, I will be talking specifically
about the “High / Low” count, but you can learn any count by the methods I’ll use. If
you’re going to be at single-deck games, the Hi-Opt 1 count is probably the best to
begin with; go with the High / Low if multi-decks are what you’ll be playing. Since I
will be teaching “true count”, either of those systems will work well, regardless of
where you play. Most “unbalanced” counts don’t require you to learn true count,
but it’s not a big deal, so stick with one of the “balanced” counts. For those who
really want to get into it, go with Arnold Snyder’s “Zen” count, but you should buy
his book, “Blackbelt in Blackjack” to supplement what I’m teaching.
School’s out for now. See you here next time.
33
择一个系统，把 Ace 算作 “中性”牌（Ace 作为“边算/单独算”，后面我会告诉你们一个

技巧）
多副牌游戏主要是通过跳注来击败的。简单地说，当庄家有优势时，押小注，当玩家有优
势时，押大注。一个具有高押注效率 BE 的算牌系统会告诉你什么时候押大注。在单副牌的
游戏中，庄家知道玩家跳注能赢，玩牌效率 PE 高的系统押小注也能赢。别忘了，赌场知道
他们的游戏是脆弱的，他们正在寻找能打败他们的人。一个大的跳注是他们用来检测算牌客
的小贴士，并且，根据你玩的地方，被检测为算牌客可能导致你被驱逐出赌场。让我强调一
下，我教你的是完全合法的，但不是赌场的每个人都在这么想。没有法律禁止算牌客，你可
以是世界上最好的算牌者，但如果赌场不让你玩你的技能是浪费。
为了帮助您决定要使用哪个算牌系统，请访问 GameMasterOnline 的黑杰克菜单页上的名为

“算牌系统”的一系列文章，并查看其中查看的比较数据。如前所述，我将具体地讨论“高
/低”算牌法，但是您可以通过我将使用的方法学习任何算牌系统。如果你要玩单副牌游戏，
Hi-Opt 1 算牌可能是最好的开始；如果要玩的是多副牌游戏，则使用“高/低”算牌法。因为
我将教授“真数” ，无论你在哪里玩，这些系统都会很好。大多数“不平衡”算牌不要求你
学习真数，但这没什么大不了的，所以要坚持其中一种“平衡算法”。对于那些真正想学会
算牌的人，去看 Arnold Snyder 的“Zen”算牌法，但你应该买他的书，
“Blackbelt in Blackjack”
，
作为我教内容的补充。
放学了，下次再这里见。
34
This system has a Betting Efficiency of 97% and a Playing Efficiency of 51%. The
best system in the world would rate about 98% BE and 70% PE, so what you’ll be
learning is easy to use for long periods of time, is good at estimating your edge for
betting purposes and is just “OK” at playing the hand properly. (But don’t worry; it
gets the $$$.) By the way, there’s a third rating for counting systems and that’s
Insurance Efficiency. While basic strategy says to never take insurance, once the
proportion of tens in the remaining deck(s) reaches a certain point, it becomes
profitable to make the insurance bet. The High / Low counting system has an
Insurance Efficiency of .76, which means that about 3/4 of the time you do take
insurance (as determined by the “true count”), it will be the correct decision.
But…we’re getting ahead of ourselves here, so copy your homework assignments
and get outta here.
Homework
 Continue working with your flashcards at least a half-hour per day.

 Do at least one “Basic Strategy Reconstruction excercise” each day and
continue to work on your speed.
 Do at least one “Basic Strategy Decision excercise” each day and
concentrate on getting it done in under 2 minutes.
 Work with the three “Card Exercises” and concentrate on adding up your
hand as you play proper basic strategy.
该系统的押注效率为 97%，玩牌效率为 51%。世界上最好的系统大约有 98%的 BE 和 70%的

35
PE，所以你将要学习的东西很容易长期使用，很擅长为了赌博目的而估计你的优势，并且只
是“可以”正确地玩牌。（但是不用担心，它得到$$。
）顺便说一下，算牌系统还有第三个等
级，那就是保险效率。虽然基本策略说永远不要买保险，但是一旦剩余的牌靴上的 10 点的
比例达到某一点，保险就变得有利可图了。高/低算牌系统的保险效率为 0.76，这意味着你
投保的时间大约为 3/4（由“真数”确定），这将是正确的决定。但是，我们讲远了，所以
抄下你的家庭作业，离开这里。
家庭作业
 继续每天至少用半小时练习硬纸张卡。
 每天至少做一次“基本策略重建”，并继续努力提高你的速度。
 每天至少做一个“基本策略决策”，集中精力在 2 分钟内完成。
 使用三张“硬纸卡”
，集中注意力在增加能用正确基本策略的牌型。
36
Lesson 4 – Card Counting – How to Do It

By now you’ve chosen a counting system that you want to learn and even though it
may be different than the Hi / Lo Count which I’m going to discuss here, the methods
used to learn it are the same. Just make adjustments where appropriate and you’ll
do fine.
The Hi / Lo counting system assigns a “point” value to each type of card in a

deck. The first step in card counting is to memorize those values. Here they are
Card Point Value
2 +1
3 +1
4 +1
5 +1
6 +1
7 0
8 0
9 0
10 -1
J -1
Q -1
K -1
A -1
A bit of simple math will show you that there are, in a complete deck, an equal
number of “plus”-valued cards and “minus”-valued cards. This is called a “balanced”
count and since all cards are valued either 1 or 0, this is also a “single-level” count.
The Power of Card Counting
The Hi / Lo count recognizes that the cards 2 through 6 are of greatest value to the
dealer, since these cards turn the dealer’s “stiff” hands (12 – 16) which s/he must hit
37
第 4 课卡-算牌-如何做
到现在为止，您已经选择了一个您想要学习的算牌系统，即使它可能不同于我在
这里将要讨论的高/低算牌法，但是用于学习它的方法是相同的。只要在适当的
时候做出调整，你就会做得很好。
高/低算牌法为牌靴里的每种类型的牌分配一个“点”值。算牌的第一步是记住
这些值。它们在这里：
牌点值
2 +1
3 +1
4 +1
5 +1
6 +1
7 0
8 0
9 0
10 -1
J -1
Q -1
K -1
A -1
简单的数学运算就会表明，在一副完整的牌里，有相等数量的“加”值牌和“减”值牌。这
被称为“平衡”计数（译者注：如果 7 也赋值为 1，和值为正，就是非平衡算牌法），因为
所有的牌点值 1 或 0，这也是一个“单级”算牌。
算牌的威力
高/低算牌法识别出卡 2 到 6 对庄家是最有价值的，因为这些帮助了庄家的“硬牌”-庄家
（12-16），他/他必须要牌。
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into good hands. For example, a 5 turns a dealer’s 12-16 into 17-21, consequently it
is the most important card for a dealer. On the other hand, an Ace is most important
to a player, since it’s the key component to a “blackjack” which pays 3 to 2. So, as
“little” cards are played, they are no longer available to the dealer and since there
are an equal number of plus- and minus-valued cards in the deck, a “plus” count tells
us that there are a higher proportion of tens and aces left in the unplayed portion of
the deck. This situation is favorable for the player since the chances for a blackjack
have increased and doubling or splitting situations stand a better chance of receiving
a high card.
Of course, a dealer has the same chance of receiving high cards as you. But
remember that the dealer does not receive 3 to 2 for a blackjack, may not double or
split and must hit 16 or less. Also, as you will learn in a later lesson, knowing the
proportion of 10-valued cards in the decks gives you the knowledge to make
profitable insurance bets.
Learning The Point Values
This is the only exercise you will ever need to learn the point values of your
counting system. It’s the one I use when I’m switching counts for a single-deck game
or back again to the one I use for multi-deck games. Just take a deck of cards and
begin turning them over one at a time and recite the point value of each card. If a
card is a plus-value, I don’t say “Plus 1”; I just say “one”, because it implies “plus”
anyway. If a card is a minus-value, I say “M 1”, not “minus 1” because it saves a
syllable. For the “neutral” or zero-value cards, I say nothing — they are completely
ignored for counting purposes with the Hi / Lo system.
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例如，5 帮助庄家的 12-16 变成 17-21，因此它是庄家最重要的牌。另一方面，ACE 对于玩家

来说是最重要的，因为它是“二十一点”的关键组成部分，它的赔率是 3 到 2。因此，随着
“小”牌被使用，它们不再可供庄家使用，并且由于在牌组中有相同数量的加值和减值牌，
一个“加”数告诉我们，在剩余的牌里剩下的 10 点和 Ace 的比例更高。这种情况对玩家是
有利的，因为二十一点（blackjack）的机会已经增加，加倍或分牌的情况更有可能收到高牌。
当然，庄家有同样的机会像你一样拿到高牌。但请记住，庄家的的二十一点不要你 3 赔 2，
不得加倍或分牌，17 点以下必须要牌。此外，正如您将在后面的课程中了解到的，了解剩
下牌靴里 10 点的比例可以让您了解如何进行有利可图的保险押注。
学习点值
这是你唯一需要学习算牌系统的点值的练习。这是我使用的：我切换算单副牌或再次回到
多副牌。只需拿一副牌，然后一次一个地把它们翻过来，背诵每张牌的点值。如果一张牌是
一个加值，我就不说“加 1” ，我只说“1”
，因为它暗示了“加”。如果一张卡是负值，我说
“负 1”，而不是“负数是 1”，因为它节省了一个音节。对于“中性”或零值牌，我什么也
没说——对于高/低系统的算牌，它们被完全忽略了。
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So, how does this look? Here’s a quick example

Ace (M-one)
5 (One)
6 (One)
King (M-one)
2 (One)
10 (M-one)
Notice that I’m not keeping track of the cards, but merely stating the point value of
each. You must practice this until you have the point values firmly implanted in your
mind but don’t worry, it won’t take long.
Single-Card Countdown
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. Simply remove any three
cards without looking at them (to check your accuracy) and set them aside. Now turn
over cards one at a time and keep a running total of their values. Remember your old
algebra classes? If you add +1 to -1 the result is 0. That applies here, so keep it in
mind as you go through the deck.
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这是个快速的例子
Ace (负 1)
5 (1)
6 (1)
K (负 1)
2 (1)
10 (负 1)
注意，我不是在追踪牌的数值，而是被赋予的点值。你必须练习这一点，直到你牢牢记住你
的点值，但不要担心，这不会花太长时间。
算单个牌
如果你感觉到你你知道了你所选择的算牌系统中每一张牌的点值，你现在可以开始计算单
幅牌了。只需移走三张牌而不看它们（检查你的准确性）并把它们放在一边。现在把牌一张
张翻过来，并记录流水数的和。还记得你以前的代数课吗？如果你加 1 到负 1，结果是 0。
这在这里适用，所以当你计算整副牌时要牢记。
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Here’s an example:
1st card Ace The count: M-one
2nd King M-two
3rd 10 M-three
4th 6 M-two (make sure you know why)
5th Queen M-three
6th 5 M-two
7th 3 M-one
8th 6 Even (I don’t use “zero”)
9th 4 One (again, no “plus”)
Got it? Good. You’re not very fast yet, are you? Well, don’t worry about that; we’ll
work on speed later. When you’ve completed the deck, the count should be off by
the value of the three cards we set aside in the beginning. Look at those cards, check
your accuracy, shuffle and begin again. Get into the habit of removing three cards
every time you do any counting exercises since they will keep you from fooling
yourself when you make a mistake.
For now the key is accuracy; keep at this until you can go through a deck three or four times in
a row without mistakes. What you have learned here is called the “running count”. Next time
we’ll work on speeding up your ability to count; can you believe I’ll have you zipping through a
deck in less than 20 seconds? The babes really love that at parties…
Homework
 Continue testing yourself on basic strategy by doing the Basic Strategy

Reconstruction and Basic Strategy Decisions exercises. You won’t win if
you can’t play proper basic strategy.
 Begin learning the point values of your chosen system and when you
know them by heart — and only then — start doing single-card
countdowns of one deck.
See you here next time.

Practice!
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这是个例子：
第1张 Ace 算作：-1
第2张 k -2
第3张 10 -3
第4张 6 -2 (确认你知道原因)
第5张 Q -3
第6张 5 -2
第7张 3 -1
第8张 6 0
第9张 4 1 (不要说正 1)
知道了？很好。你还不太快，是吗？不用担心，以后我们会加快速度的。当你完成了一副
牌，算牌应该计算你开始移走的放在一边的三张卡的点值。看看那些牌，检查你的准确性，
洗牌并重新开始。养成每次做算牌练习都把三张卡片拿掉的习惯，因为当你犯错时，它们会
阻止你愚弄自己。
现在关键是准确，保持这一点，直到你可以没有错误地连续算单副牌三次或四次。你在这里
学到的东西叫做“流水数”
。下次我们将努力提高你的计算能力，你能相信我在不到 20 秒内
就能让你快速计算一副牌吗？
家庭作业
·通过进行基本策略重建和基本策略决策练习，继续测试自己的基本策略。如果你不能运
用正确的基本策略，你就赢不了。
·开始学习所选系统的点数值，只有你记住它们后，然后才开始计算一副牌的单个牌。
下次见。
加油练习！
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Lesson 5 – Card Counting – The Tricks

No, I’m not going to teach you card tricks here, but I am going to show you a few
interesting ways to practice the count you’ve decided to learn and then teach you
the methods we use to keep track of the cards as they’re played at the
casino. Developing your speed at counting is an important part of your training,
because if you can’t count quickly at home, you’ll never keep up with the dealer in a
casino. Inaccurate counting can cause you to give up any edge you have over the
house and it’s frustrating to constantly “drop” the count when a faster dealer comes
along.
At this point you should have the point values of each card memorized and you
might be doing some single-card countdowns of a deck. I’m sure you’re slow at it,
but that’s OK, since accuracy is the most important factor right now. Speed will come
as you work your way through the exercises I’ll show you this week.
Pairs Value Practice
Just as you learned the point value of each card according to the system you wish to
use, here you will learn the point value of different PAIRS of cards. This is one of the
real “tricks” of the card-counting business: the ability to count cards in pairs. With
enough practice, you’ll see a hand of Queen, Jack as both a “20” and an M-2. That
capability will bring speed to your game. Here are the values of pairs using the Hi /
Lo method of counting:
Hand Net Point Value
-2
-2
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第 5 课卡片计数-技巧
不，我不打算在这里教你纸牌戏法，但是我要教你一些有趣的方法来练习算牌，然后教你
我们在赌场玩牌时跟踪纸牌的方法。提高你的算牌速度是你训练的一个重要部分，因为如
果你在家里不能快速算牌，你就永远跟不上赌场里的荷官（译者注：美国发牌快，澳门可以
较慢）。不准确的算牌会导致你丢失任何玩家优势，当发牌更快的荷官出现，总是忘记算到
多少了是令人沮丧的。
此时，您应该记住每张牌的点值，并且您可能正在进行一副牌的倒数单幅算牌。我确信你
在这方面做得很慢，但没关系，因为准确性是目前最重要的因素。速度将随着这个星期我告
诉你们的的方式练习提高。
双牌点数练习
正如您根据希望使用的系统学习了每张牌的点值一样，这里您将学习不同的双牌的点值。
这是卡算牌的真正“窍门” ：成对算牌能力。有足够的练习，你会看到 Q，J 是“20”
，又是
-2。这种能力会给你的游戏带来速度。以下是使用高/低计数法的成对值：
手牌点值
-2
-2
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-1
-1
+1
+1
+2
+2
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-1
-1
+1
+1
+2
+2
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Important! Make sure you understand why each pair is valued as shown and don’t
forget that if you’re learning a different count, these pairs may have different values.
If you understand everything above, then start going through a single deck and turn
two cards over at a time. DO NOT keep a running count, just recite the value of each
pair so you can get used to the adding and subtracting which is required. Do this
until you are totally familiar with the values of all possible pairs. Then do it some
more.
Laying down a good foundation here will allow you to build your speed quickly
later on, so this exercise is time well spent. For you “Type-A’s” out there, you might
even push this to learning 3-card values. That is a very helpful skill to have,
particularly if you intend to play one-on-one with a dealer, since you always see 3
cards at once; your initial pair and the dealer’s up card. Most of you will want to
begin play at tables with other players since things move slower that way, but like I
said — knowing the 3-card values won’t hurt.
Pairs Countdown
Once again, remove three random cards from a single deck and set them aside. (No
peeking!) Now, turn over the cards two at a time, keep a running (cumulative) count
of the deck and check your accuracy by adding the cards you set aside in at the end.
This exercise will be your primary way of practicing card counting.
Gradually, your speed will increase to a point where you will count as quickly as
you can turn over the cards. To go even faster, hold the deck in your left hand, face
up, and pull the cards — two at a time — off the deck with your right hand.
(Opposite if you’re left-handed). Help the cards along with your thumb and you’ll
start to build some speed. How fast is “fast”? I go through a deck in 10.5 seconds,
but all you need to keep up at an average table with 2 or 3 other players is 20
seconds, though 15 is better (and easy attained if you practice).
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重要！确保你理解为什么每两个都像所显示的一样，不要忘记。
如果你学习不同的算牌系统，这两个牌可能有不同的值。
如果你理解上面的一切，然后开始通算单副牌，并同时翻转两张卡。不要保持流水数，只要
背出每两个牌的值，这样您就可以习惯于所需的加法和减法。这样做，直到你完全熟悉所有
可能的两个牌的值。然后再做一些练习。
在这里建立一个良好的基础可以让你更快地建立你的速度，所以这个练习是很好的。对于
你的“A 型”
，你甚至可以把它改进到学习 3 个牌的值。这是一个非常有用的技能，特别是
如果你想与荷官一对一地玩，因为你总是同时看到 3 张牌；你的两个牌和庄家翻开的牌。你
们大多数人会想开始和其他玩家一起玩，因为这样牌局会会缓慢些，但是就像我说的——知
道三张牌的价值不会有什么坏处。
成双算牌
再次，从一副牌中取出三张随机牌并将它们放在一边。（不要偷看！
）现在，一次翻开两张卡
片，计算这幅牌的流水（累计）数。检查你的准确性：通过添加放在一边的牌。这个练习将
是你练习算牌的主要方法。
渐渐地，你的速度会增加到一个点，你一翻牌就可以快速地算牌。为了更快，用左手握住
牌，牌面朝上，用右手把两张牌拿下来。（相反，如果你是左撇子）。用你的大拇指来帮忙，
你将开始增加一些速度。多快算快？我在 10.5 秒内算完一副牌，但是对于其他 2 到 3 名玩
家，你平均需要 20 秒才能跟上牌桌，不过 15 秒更好（如果你练习的话很容易达到）。
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Counting at the Table

The method we use to count cards at the table is the real secret of this
business. For those games where the cards are dealt face up to the players, the
diagram below will show you how we do it. Games where the cards are dealt face
down (mostly single deck) require a different methodology and we’ll cover that next
week.
Most dealers keep their up card face-down until each player has received both
cards. The procedure for counting at a table like that is to begin counting when the
player at “first base” receives his second card and to count each player’s pair as the
cards are dealt. End your count with the dealer’s up card and then count each
player’s “hit” cards. Finally, count the dealer’s hole card and any cards the dealer
may take as a hit.
You can see that this method of counting by pairs allows you to look more natural
at the table. Most people think counters track each card as it’s dealt, so supervisory
people at casinos watch for players who follow every cards as it comes out. My
method allows you to look away from the table as the first card is going down and
then watch as each hand is made with the second card. That looks a lot more natural,
since most players are interested in seeing what hands other players get.
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桌上计数
我们用来计算桌子上的牌的方法是这个行业的真正秘密。对于那些玩家面对牌的游戏，下
面的图表将告诉你我们是如何做到的。扑克牌面朝下（主要是单副牌）的游戏需要不同的方
法，下周我们将讲道。
大多数庄家保持他们的牌面朝下，直到每个玩家都拿到这两张牌。在像这样的桌子上进行
计数的过程是在“第一垒”的玩家收到他的第二张牌时开始计数，并且在发牌时对每个玩家
的两个牌进行计数。当庄家翻牌时，结束你的计数，然后计算每个玩家的“要”卡。最后，
庄家的河牌和可能的要牌。
你可以看到这种双牌计数法让你看起来更自然。大多数人认为算牌客会跟踪每张发出来的
牌，所以赌场的监管人员会观察出牌后盯着每张牌的玩家。我的方法允许你的视线在第一张
牌发出来的时候从桌子上移开，然后第二张牌发出来的时候盯着。这看起来更自然，因为大
多数玩家都对其他玩家的点数感兴趣。
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Homework
Besides continuing with your basic strategy practice, start playing some “kitchen
table” Blackjack. If you can con someone into dealing to you, great, but if you can’t,
just deal four player hands out in a manner they use at your favorite casino. Don’t
assume the role of the dealer; you want to get used to seeing all this from a player’s
perspective so deal one card to an imaginary first-base player, then to yourself and
then to two other imaginary players on your left. Finish with a dealer’s card face
down across from you and then deal the second player’s card. Begin counting as
shown above and finish with a dealer’s up card. Now, play ALL FOUR player’s hands
according to proper basic strategy and keep the count. Busy, huh? Don’t worry, with
practice it will all come to you. When you’re done with the first round, do another
and then riffle through the few remaining cards to verify that you’ve kept the count
accurately.
This exercise will form the basis for all of our practice — except speed
development — from here on out. As you’ll discover, this type of “overload” makes
it very easy to play and keep count at an actual casino game; all you need to do there
is just sit back, count and play.
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家庭作业
除了继续你的基本策略练习，开始玩一些“厨房”二十一点（译者注：美国人的厨房都很
大，所以有此一说。）如果你能骗人给你发牌，很好，但如果你不能，只要以你最喜欢的赌
场里玩家使用的方式发四张牌就行了。不要承担荷官的角色；您希望习惯于从一个玩家的角
度来看待所有这些，所以将一张牌发给一个假想的一垒玩家，然后发给您自己，然后发给您
左边的另外两个假想玩家。用一张庄家的牌面朝下，然后再庄家第二个玩家的牌。如上文所
示开始计数，庄家翻牌时完成。现在，根据正确的基本策略玩所有四个玩家的牌，并保持计
数。忙，是吧？别担心，通过练习，一切都会来到你身边。当你完成第一轮的时候，再做一
次，然后快速翻开剩下的几张牌，以确认你已经正确地保持了计数。
这个练习将形成我们所有练习的基础——除了速度发展——从这里开始。正如您将发现的，
这种类型的“过载训练”使得在实际的赌场游戏中玩和算牌变得非常容易；您只需要坐在后
面，算牌和玩就可以了。
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Lesson 6 – Card Counting – Single-deck Play

Every serious counter should have a good knowledge of how to play single-deck
Blackjack, even if you spend 90% of your time at multi-deck games, because when
you are able to get to a single deck game, it can be very profitable. The primary lure
of the game will become more evident as we get into betting strategies, but take my
word for it now: any “big” money you’ll make at Blackjack will probably come from a
single-deck game.
Most of you — especially those who are close to Atlantic City — should spend your
time practicing instead of playing, all with the idea of taking 5 or 6 trips a year to
areas such as Reno or Laughlin. You’ll be much better off playing 60 or 70 hours a
year at the single-deck games there than you would be playing several hundred
hours at the dismal games A.C. is currently offering. Most of my students from the St.
Louis area can fly to Reno on a 3 or 4 day trip for under $300, which includes
round-trip airfare and hotel, and since they usually make that much in Blackjack
profits per day, they often come home with a $1000 or more in net winnings. You
“Eastcoasters” can find similar action in Tunica, MS.
Counting at the Table
To win at single-deck games, you first need to learn another method of counting at
a table where the cards are dealt face down. As you will recall from Lesson 5, there
is a very structured approach required for counting in order to make sure you’re
doing it accurately. I’ll never forget the first time I played single-deck; it was in Vegas
and I was used to the, then, four-deck game in Atlantic City. On about the second or
third hand, the dealer had a “Blackjack” and everybody threw their cards in, face up.
Talk about scrambling; my speed training was tested to its limit, but I got the count
before the next hand was dealt. That’s a situation for which you’ll have to be ready
and only practice will get you there.
Cards get turned face up for various reasons at a single-deck game, so let’s go
through a hand and see when you will count them.Begin by counting your two
cards, then dealer’s up card. Count any hit cards for the players since those will be
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delivered face up. If a player doubles , s/he will turn his or her first two cards face up,
so you’ll count them. However, the “double” card will usually be dealt face down, so
you won’t count it yet. If a player splits a pair, those will be turned face up so count
them and then count the “hit” cards as they come out. In a single-deck game, a
player signifies a “stand” by placing the cards underneath the bet so you don’t see
them, consequently you can’t count them — yet. Should a player bust, s/he will toss
in his or her first two cards, so count them as you see them. Play ends at the dealer’s
hand, so count the dealer’s hole card as it’s turned up and any hit cards for that
hand.
Now comes the tricky part. The dealer will begin at the “third base” side and turn
over any “hole” cards (as well as double-down cards) from underneath the bet and
set them above any other cards in the hand. They will end up as the two cards
closest to the dealer; count them as they’re exposed. A typical hand will look like
this:
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58
Hand Before Dealer Turns Over Cards
Hand After Dealer Turns Over Cards
As you can see, this player had a hand totaling 7 and took a hit. The dealer has pulled
the cards over the top and will now pay it as a winner. Count those two cards as
they’re exposed, but DO NOT count the Jack again, since you would have counted it
when the player “scratched” for a hit.
This may still be a bit confusing, but once you fit the idea in your mind, you’ll quickly
get into the scheme of things when you watch a real game in action. You should just
stand behind and observe until you’re sure you’ve got the technique, but it won’t
take long. The ideal way to practice is to have someone deal for you, but make sure
they use the procedures shown above.
Developing Your Speed and Endurance
I often use the analogy of a prize fighter when I discuss practicing your counting; a
fighter trains for both speed and endurance. They use a “speed bag” for the short,
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fast jab and a big, heavy bag for the hard punches. A single-deck countdown is your
“speed bag”; try to get through it as quickly as possible while maintaining your
accuracy. To build your endurance, begin by counting down two decks shuffled
together (don’t forget to remove 3 cards to check your accuracy). Once you’re doing
two decks under 40 seconds, go to 6 decks. Shuffle all six together, then break them
down to 5 or 6 separate piles on a table top and count them all down as quickly as
possible. Your goal here is to do it under 2 minutes; under 1:30 is ideal. The reason
why we do so many decks, whether we’re training for a single-deck or multi-deck
game, is to not only get used to retaining the count for a long period of time, but
also to get used to wide swings in the count. The running count for a single deck will
seldom go above or below 10, but you’ll often get such counts in a six-deck
countdown and you need to get used to that. Practicing like this with a lot of
distractions around is good. Do it with the kids bugging you, with the TV on, or with
Fido barking and you’ll develop your ability to keep track while you’re in a casino.
A Few More Tricks
Learn to count backward from an odd number by 2’s. We can all count “2, 4, 6,” etc.,
but few of us can count “11, 9, 7, 5, 3” very quickly. This is a good exercise to do
while you’re driving. Start at 25 and take it to M5, over and over again; it will
“imprint” in your mind and serve you well at a full table when the count is high and
all those 20’s and Blackjacks come out. When you get bored, do it backward from an
even number just to keep yourself in shape.
When your counting is interrupted for any reason, recite the count to yourself over
and over again. Let’s say you’re practicing at home and little Margaux or your son,
Corky (isn’t every card counter also a wine fanatic?), has a “life or death” question. If
the count at that point is M6, just keep repeating “M6, M6, M6” in your mind as you
listen to them. You’ll know you’re making real progress when you can then TALK to
them and remember the count! Practice is what allows that to happen.
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Homework
Continue working on your speed with a single-deck countdown, but also work in some
two-deck exercises as well. When you can do two decks accurately in under 40 seconds, go to a
six-deck countdown.
Important: All I’ve shown you here also applies to most double-deck games, but you
must remember that the basic strategy does change a bit when you’re playing a
game dealt from less than four decks. See Lesson 1 for how to learn the single-deck
basic strategy.
Next we’ll begin discussing the only reason for playing Blackjack: Money.
Until then, school’s out.
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Lesson 7 – Money Management – Part 1

A Sermon
I do a little bit of preaching on the pages of The GameMaster Online every so often,
primarily because I hate to think of people handing their money to casinos. I’m not
saying I don’t lose, because I have my bad days as well, but what I am saying is that
the casinos have to fight me for every penny they get. You need to develop that kind
of attitude and just the fact that you’re reading this now shows me that you’re
willing to learn, so you’ve got a good start. Casinos make money because the players
allow them to make money. Even if you’ve learned everything I’ve taught you up to
this point, you’re still not ready to play, so forget about it and start building your
bankroll towards the day when you WILL be ready. You cannot expect to win at
Blackjack if you’re betting the rent money. You must have a sum of money set aside
which is “extra” — money which, should you lose it, will not affect your lifestyle in
any way. By doing it that way, you’ll bet what needs to be bet and play the hands as
they need to be played. That’s what gets the $$$ at the casino. ‘Nuff said.
What is Money Management?
As it applies to playing Blackjack as a card counter, money management is a

method of betting which will minimize your losses and maximize your
gains. Playing Blackjack carries with it the risk of loss. The advantage a counter has
over the casino is small and the fluctuations in a player’s bankroll can occur with
frightening speed. Proper management of your funds is required in all aspects of the
game to give you the best possible chance of reaching that elusive “long term”.
Some of you will begin your careers as counters with a big win and you’ll never look
back. Most of you, however, will begin with a loss and it will take more hours of play
before you start showing a profit; that’s just the reality of the situation. What I’m
going to teach you in the next four or five lessons is how to survive at the game until
your long term edge begins to have its effect and then show you how to keep the
profits you make.
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第 7 课-资金管理和流水数以及真数-第 1 部分
布道
我经常在《在线游戏大师》的网页上做一点宣传，主要是因为我讨厌人们把钱交给赌场。我
不是说我不会输，因为我也有不好的日子，但我想说的是，赌场必须为了他们得到的每一分
钱而和我搏斗。你需要培养这种态度，而事实上，你现在正在读这篇文章，表明你愿意学习，
所以你有一个好的开始。赌场赚钱是因为玩家允许他们赚钱。即使到现在为止，你已经学会
了我教你的一切，你仍然没有准备好去玩，所以忘记它，开始建立你的资金储备，直到你准
备好的那一天。如果你用房租押注，你就不能指望在二十一点赢。你必须留出一笔钱，这是
“额外的”——如果你失去它，这笔钱不会以任何方式影响你的生活方式。通过这样做，你
会押该押的注码，玩该怎么玩的牌。努夫说。这就是赌场得到$$的原因。
什么是资金管理？
由于它适用于二十一点算牌客，资金管理是一种方法，这将使您的损失最小化，使您的收
益最大化。玩二十一点会带来损失的风险。赌客对赌场的优势很小，玩家的资金波动可能以
惊人的速度发生。在游戏的各个方面都需要对资金进行适当的管理，以便使你最有可能达到
达到那个难以捉摸的“长期”（译者注：正收益长赌必赢，但是这个“长”必须建立在你们
输光的基础上）。你们中的一些人将开始职业生涯，作为一个大赢家的算牌客，你永远不会
回头。然而，你们中的大多数人将从亏损开始，在开始赢利之前会花更多的时间玩牌，这就
是现实情况。在接下来的四到五节课中，我要教你的是如何在游戏中生存，直到你的长期优
势开始发挥作用，然后告诉你如何保持你的利润。
66
The True Count

All of our betting decisions will be made on the basis of what is known as the “true
count” or more accurately, the “count per remaining deck”. While most of this
applies to those who will be playing at multi-deck games, you single-deckers pay
attention, too — you’ll need to know this as well. If six small cards come out on the
first hand in a game, we will have a running count of 6. For the single-deck players,
you will have a true count of just over 6, since there’s just a bit less than one deck
remaining to be played. If you’re at a six-deck game, the count per remaining deck
(the true count) is just a bit over 1, since there is just a bit less than 6 decks
remaining to be played. See how that works? We are “standardizing” the count by
dividing the running count by the total number of remaining decks. Let’s try another
example to see if you understand the concept. At a single-deck game on the first
hand, a running count of 2 (remember, I don’t use “+” to indicate a positive number)
converts to a true count of 2, when rounded off. In a six-deck game and a running
count of 12 after the first hand, the true count converts to 2. Both true counts are 2 ,
but it takes a much higher running count to achieve that in the six-deck game.
TO DETERMINE THE TRUE COUNT, DIVIDE THE “RUNNING” COUNT BY THE

NUMBER OF DECKS REMAINING TO BE PLAYED.
Don’t let that statement confuse you. What this means is the number of decks left,
whether they’ll actually be played or not. In a six-deck game, a deck or more may
be cut off by the dealer, but that means nothing when computing true count. The
basis for the calculation is the total number of decks in the game which is adjusted
by the number of decks which have been played. An example: in a six-deck game
where two decks have been played and put into the discard rack off to the side, a
running count of 8 translates into a true count of 2 because there are four decks left
in the shoe. The dealer may shuffle before all four of those remaining decks have
been played, but for true count conversion that doesn’t matter.
真数
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我们所有的押注决策将根据所谓的“真数”或更准确的“针对剩余牌副数的计数”做出的。
（译者注：这里一定要理解，我们夸张地乡下，如果剩下 5 副牌，有 20 个 A 没发出来，和
如果剩下 1 副牌剩下 20 个 A 没发出来，你拿到黑杰克的概率是不一样的）虽然这大部分适
用于那些将玩多副牌游戏的人，但你们单幅牌玩家也要注意——你们也需要知道这一点。如
果在游戏中第一手牌中有六张小牌，我们将有 6 的流水数。对于单副牌玩家，您将有超过 6
的真数=真 6，因为剩下牌的副数小于 1。如果你在六副牌中，每个剩余副数的计数（真数）
只是略超过 1，因为基本上还有 6 副牌剩下。看看效果如何？我们通过将流水数除以剩余副
数总数来“标准化”计数。让我们再试一个例子，看看你是否理解这个概念。在第一手单副
牌游戏中，当四舍五入时，流水数 2（记住，我不使用“正 2”来表示正数）转换为真数 2。
在六副牌的游戏中，第一手牌后的流水数 12，真数转换为 2。两个真数都是 2，但是在六副
牌的游戏中需要更高的流水数来达到这个目标。
要确定真数，将“流水数”除以大致剩余几副牌。
（真数=流水水/副数）
别让那句话迷惑了你。这意味着剩下牌副的数量，无论它们实际上是否被玩。在六副牌的
游戏中，一副或多副牌可以被庄家切掉，但在计算真数时，这意味着什么。计算的基础是游
戏的总牌数，该总牌数由已经玩过的牌数调整。举个例子：在六副牌中，两副牌被玩过，并
被放到收牌架的一边，流水数 8 转化为真数 2，因为牌靴里还有四副牌。庄家可以在剩下的
四副牌都玩完之前进行洗牌，但对于真正的计数转换并不重要。
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Take this little test with me to see if you understand the principle.
Deck Remaining Running Count True Count
1. 4 8 2
2. 2 10 5
3. 5 5 1
4. 3 12 4
Estimating the Number of Remaining Decks
The casinos are very nice about providing us a device to determine just how many
decks there are remaining to be played in the shoe. No, that device is not the shoe,
but the discard tray which can be found on virtually every table where a multi-deck
game is played. As cards are used, the dealer places them very neatly in the discard
tray where everyone can see them so counters use that, and a bit of subtraction, to
determine how many decks are left to be played. At a six-deck game, if there are two
decks in the discard tray, there has to be four decks left in the shoe, assuming no
cards are on the table. What we strive for is to be accurate to within a half-deck for
our estimation. Just exactly how to train for that is one of your homework
assignments, so don’t worry about it for the moment. What’s more important at this
point are the mechanics used to calculate the true count by that method. Let’s walk
through a simple explanation together.We’re at a six-deck game, the running count
is M-6 and three decks are in the discard tray. That means three decks remain, so we
divide the running count by 3 and our true count is M-2. Yes, this works for negative
decks as well — exactly the same way. Got it? Try this test to see if you do.
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和我一起做这个小测验看看你是否理解这个原理。
剩余副数流水数真数
1. 4 8 2
2. 2 10 5
3. 5 5 1
4. 3 12 4
剩余副数的估算
赌场非常乐意为我们提供一个小物件，以确定有多少副牌还没发出来。不，那个装置不是
牌靴盒，而是收牌架，几乎在每张多副牌游戏的桌子上都能找到。当牌使用后时，发牌人把
它们非常整齐地放在收牌架中，每个人都可以看到它们，所以算牌客使用这个收牌架和对应
的减法，以确定还有多少副牌要玩。在六副牌游戏中，如果收牌架中有两副牌，假设桌上没
有牌，那么牌靴里必须剩下四副牌。我们所追求的是准确地以半副牌为基数进行估算。确切
地说，如何估算发出几副或几点 5 副牌是你的家庭作业之一，所以暂时不要担心。在这一点
上更重要的是通过该方法计算真数。让我们一起来简单解释一下。我们正在玩六副牌游戏，
流水是负 6，三副牌在收牌架里。这意味着剩下三副牌，所以我们将流水数除以 3，我们的
真数是负 2。是的，这也适用于负流水——完全一样。知道了？试试这个测试，看看你有没
有学会。
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Assume we’re at a six-deck game. I’m only going to give you the decks in the discard
tray, so do the calculation to determine the number of decks left in the shoe.
Decks Played Running Count True Count
1. 2 4 ?
2. 4 8 ?
3. 5 5 ?
4. 1 5 ?
5. 2.5 7 ?
6. 2 0 ?
7. 3.5 M-5 ?
8. 1.5 9 ?
9. 3 M-3 ?
10. 4.5 2 ?
The Answers
1. One (2 decks played, 4 decks remaining, 4 divided by 4 = 1)
2. Four (4 decks played, 2 decks remaining, 8 divided by 2 = 4)
3. Five (You’re on your own now, kid.)
4. One
5. Two
6. Zero
7. M-two
8. Two
9.M-one
10. A bit over one (but we always round “down” in order to be conservative, so we’d
call this “one”.)
I can see some eyes glazing over out there, so we better stop for this week. But
don’t be discouraged; you can learn this — it just takes some practice. Speaking of
practice, pick up your homework assignment and practice “calibrating” your eyes.
Homework
Estimating the number of decks remaining in a discard tray is really just an exercise
in repetitive staring. If you look at a deck of 52 cards long enough, you can tell if 10
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假设我们是副牌的游戏。我只打算给你收牌架的副数，所以计算确定留在牌靴中牌的副数。
玩过的副数流水数真数
1. 2 4 ?
2. 4 8 ?
3. 5 5 ?
4. 1 5 ?
5. 2.5 7 ?
6. 2 0 ?
7. 3.5 M-5 ?
8. 1.5 9 ?
9. 3 M-3 ?
10. 4.5 2 ?
答案
1。1（玩过 2 副牌，剩余 4 副牌，4 个除以 4＝1）
2。4（玩过 4 副牌，剩余 2 副牌，8 除以 2＝4）
3。5（靠你自己了，孩子。）
4。1
5。2
6。0
7。—2
8。2
9。-1
10。超过 1 一点点（为了保守但我们总是往小取整，，所以我们称之为“1”
。）
不要气馁，你可以学会-只要花时间。说到练习，拿起你的家庭作业，练习“校准”你的眼
睛，练习看了发了几副或几点 5 副牌。
家庭作业
估计在收牌架剩余的副数实际上只是重复凝视的一种练习。如果你看 1 副 52 张牌足够长，
你可以看出 10 张
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or 12 cards have been added to it. So, that’s how we calibrate our eyes. Begin with a
single deck and look it for a while. Then, put another deck on top of it and look at
that for a while. Now, put a third deck on top and look at that for a while. Finally,
pull one deck off — don’t count the cards — just estimate how much a deck is, pull it
off and then count it to see how close you were. Now, put that deck back on top and
pull off two decks, count them for accuracy and put them back on top. Now, build
your stack up to five decks and pull off a deck and a half, then three decks and so on.
You’ll be amazed at how quickly you’ve begun to recognize how many decks are in a
pile. A nice variation to this exercise is to have a friend set up piles of various sizes
(within a half-deck accuracy) while you’re out of the room and then you come in and
recite the size of each pile.
Keep at it, because you’ve got to be accurate at this. Your money will be riding on it.
See you here next week when we discuss how to bet by using the true count.
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12 张牌加上去了。这就是我们校准眼睛的方法。从 1 副牌开始看一段时间。然后，把另一
个副牌放在上面，看一会儿。现在，把第三副牌放在上面，看一会儿。最后，把一副牌拿下
来，不要算牌，只要估计一副牌是多厚，把它拿下来，然后数一数看你估得有多准。现在，
把一副牌放回到顶部，拿下两副牌，计算它们的精度并把它们放回到顶部。现在，放 5 副牌，
拿走一副半的牌，然后三副牌等。你会惊奇地发现你已经很快意识到有多少副牌在收牌架中。
这个练习的一个很好的变体是让一个朋友在你离开房间的时候设置各种厚度小的牌堆（在半
副牌精度内），然后你进来估算每堆的副数。
坚持下去，因为在这点上你必须准确。它会帮你挣钱的。
下周见，当我们讨论如何使用真数下注。
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A Few Words on Single Deck
In the previous lesson, I taught you how to figure the “true count” for a multi-deck
game, but I want to emphasize that the concept of true count also applies to
single-deck games as well. The conversion is done a bit differently, but the result is
the same; you end up with a standardized count per remaining deck. If you see just
one card in a single-deck game, a 5 for example, you now have a “running count” of
1 and a true count of one. That, of course, is because there’s only one deck in the
game to begin with and we determine the true count by dividing the running count
by the number of remaining decks. If, after playing several hands the running count
is 6 and there’s three-fourths of a deck left to be played, we must divide the running
count by .75 in order to determine the true count. In this instance, the true count is
8. If we were at the halfway point of the deck, the true count would be 6 divided
by .50 = 12. Got the concept of that? In a single-deck game, you have to divide by
fractions, and that isn’t easy to do, so all you single-deck counters need to practice
this in order to figure it properly when you play.
Betting With the True Count
For each increase of 1 in the true count as figured by the Hi / Lo counting method,
the player’s advantage increases by about .5% in the average Blackjack game. If the
casino has an edge over the basic strategy player of .40% (6 decks, double on any
first two cards, double after splitting pairs, dealer stands on A-6), it takes a true
count of just about 1 in order to get “even” with the house. Being even means that
the player who utilizes proper basic strategy will win as much as s/he loses — in the
long run — at a true count of one. A true count of 2 gives the counter an edge of .5%
over the house; a true count of 3 gives the player an edge of 1% and so forth.
It is the edge that a player has on the upcoming hand which determines their
bet. Counters bet only a small portion of their capital on any given hand, because
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第 8 课--资金管理-第 2 部分
关于单副牌上的几句话
在上一节课中，我教你如何计算一款多副牌游戏的“真数”，但是我想强调的是，真数的概
念同样适用于单副牌游戏。转换做的有点不同，但结果是一样的，最终每个剩余的牌副都有
一个标准的计数。如果你只看到一副牌牌游戏中的一张牌，例如 5，你现在有一个“1”的
“流水数”和真数 1。当然，这是因为游戏中只有一副牌，我们通过将流水数除以剩余牌副
的数量来确定真数。如果打完几手牌后，流水数是 6，还有四分之三的牌要打，我们必须把
流水数除以 0.75，以便确定真数。在这种情况下，真正的计数是 8。如果我们在副牌的中点，
真数将是 6 除以 0.50＝12。有这个概念吗？在单副牌游戏中，你必须除以小数，这不容易做
到，所以所有的单副牌算牌都需要实践这一点，以便在游戏时正确地计算它。
用真数下注
对于 Hi/Lo 计数方法所计算的真数中每次增加 1，玩家的优势在平均 Blackjack 游戏中增加大

约 0.5%。如果赌场对于基本策略玩家有 0.40%的赌场优势（6 副牌，任意两张牌加倍，分牌
后可以加倍，庄家软 16 点停牌），那么要得到庄家优势的“持平”只需要真 1 就够了。“持
平”意味着，运用恰当的基本策略的玩家，从长远来看，在真数 1 时下注下，将赢的和输的
一样多。真 2 时玩家有 0.5%的优势；真 3 时玩家有 1%的优势等等。
这个优势是玩家对即将玩的手牌上决定下注的依据。在任意手牌上，算牌客也总资金的一
个下小比例，
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while they will win in the long run, they could lose any one hand. By betting an
amount which is in proportion to their advantage (called the “Kelly Criterion”), they
are maximizing their potential while minimizing the risk. A lot of people misinterpret
the Kelly Criterion by assuming that the amount bet is in direct proportion to the
advantage. They think that if you have a 1% edge, you should bet 1% of your
“bankroll” and that is incorrect. What they are forgetting is the doubling and pair
splitting which goes on in the course of a game and that increases the risk or
“variance” of a hand. For a game with rules like those listed above, the optimum bet
is 76% of the player’s advantage. Here’s a table of optimum bets which will work
well for most multi-deck games:
True Count Advantage % Optimum Bet
-1 or lower -1.00% or more 0%
0 -0.50% 0%
1 0% 0%
2 0.5%x76% .38%
3 1.0%x76% .76%
4 1.5%x76% 1.14%
5 2.0%x76% 1.52%
6 2.5%x76% 1.90%
7 3.0%x76% 2.28%
By using this table, you can determine the optimal bet for any bankroll; just multiply
the figure in the last column by the amount of the bankroll. Thus, for a bankroll of
$3000, the optimal bet for a true count of 2 is .0038 X $3000 = $11.40.
Some Practical Considerations
First and foremost, it isn’t practical to bet in units of less than $1, so a betting
schedule must be rounded off. Secondly, it is more appropriate to bet in units of $5
so that you’ll look like the average gambler, plus it cuts down on the calculations
you need to make. Further, it is impossible to refigure your optimal bet while seated
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因为虽然他们最终会赢，但他们可能会输于任意一手牌。通过与他们的优势成比例的金额下
注（称为“凯利标准” ），他们在最大化利益的同时最小化风险。很多人误解了凯利标准（译
者注：详见本人网站），并认为下注的数量与优势成直接正比。他们认为，如果你有 1%的优
势，你应该下注 1%的“资金” ，这是不正确的。他们忘记的在游戏过程中进行的加倍和分牌，
这增加了手牌的风险或“方差/波动” 。对于像上面列出的游戏规则，最佳的赌注是玩家的优
势的 76%。这是一张最佳赌注表，对于大多数多副牌游戏来说都会很好用：
真数优势 % 最佳赌注表
-1 或更低 -1.00% 或更少 0%
0 -0.50% 0%
1 0% 0%
2 0.5%x76% .38%
3 1.0%x76% .76%
4 1.5%x76% 1.14%
5 2.0%x76% 1.52%
6 2.5%x76% 1.90%
7 3.0%x76% 2.28%
通过使用这个表，您可以确定任何资金的最佳押注；只需将最后一列中的数字乘以资金数额
即可。因此，对于 3000 美元的资金，对于真 2 的最优赌注是 0038×3000 美元＝11.40 美元。
一些实际考虑
首先，最重要的是，以少于 1 美元的单位下注是不实际的，所以下注必须取近似值。其次，
以 5 美元为单位押注更合适，这样你就像一个普通的赌徒，而且减少了你需要做的计算。
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at the table, even though it should be recalculated as the bankroll varies up and
down. Finally, it just isn’t possible to play only at shoes where the true count is 2 or
higher; you will sometimes have to make bets when the house has an edge. All of
this rounding and negative-deck play cuts into your win rate, but by knowing the
conditions which can cost you money, steps can be taken to minimize their impact
on your earnings.
The Betting Spread
A single-deck game with decent rules in which thirty-six cards or more are used
before a shuffle can be beaten by a 1 to 4 spread. A two-deck game in which
seventy cards or more are used before the shuffle can usually be beaten by a 1 to 6
spread. A game with four decks or more will require a spread of 1 to 12 in order to
get an edge. We’ll discuss the evaluation of games in a later lesson, but I wanted to
lay the foundation for your money management by giving you an idea of what it
takes to play winning Blackjack. The spread is expressed in betting units, so if you
play with $5 chips, you’d be spreading from $5 to $60 in a six-deck game. Since a
counter should have a bankroll consisting of a minimum of 50 top bets, a spread like
this will require a bankroll of $3000.
With a $3000 bankroll, a betting schedule could look like this:
True Count Player’s Bet Optimum Bet
0 or lower $5 $0
1 $5 $0
2 $10 $11.20
3 $20 $22.80
4 $40 $34.20
5 $50 $45.60
6 $60 $57.00
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此外，在桌子上坐下时不可能重新确定最佳投注，即使因为资金变化它应该重新计算。最
后，不可能只在真 2 或更高的牌靴里玩；有时，当庄家有优势时，你必须下赌注。所有这些
近似值和负流水负真数会降低你的赢利率，但是，通过知道可能花费你钱的条件，可以采取
措施来最小化它们对你收入的影响。
跳注
规则好的单副牌游戏，在洗牌之前打 36 张或以上的牌，以 1 比 4 的跳注就可以击败它。两

幅牌游戏，在洗牌前使用七十张或更多牌，通常可以被 1 到 6 的跳注击败。四副和更多副的
的游戏将需要 1 到 12 的跳注以获得优势。我们将在后面的一节课中讨论游戏的评估，但是
我想通过给你一个能赢的例子来为你的资金管理打下基础。跳注是用投注单位表示的，所以
如果你玩 5 美元筹码，你会在六副牌游戏中从 5 美元跳注到 60 美元。由于一个算牌客应该
有至少 50 个顶级赌注组成的资金，像这样的跳注将需要 3000 美元的资金。
一个 3000 美元的资金，投注计划表可能看起来像这样：
真数玩家的赌注最佳赌注
0 或更低 $5 $0
1 $5 $0
2 $10 $11.20
3 $20 $22.80
4 $40 $34.20
5 $50 $45.60
6 $60 $57.00
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A betting schedule like this allows you to “parlay” your bets as the count rises, thus
making you look more like a “gambler”.
YOU WILL SAVE A LOT OF MONEY AND FIND MORE PROFITABLE SITUATIONS IF
YOU LEAVE A TABLE WHEN THE COUNT HAS GONE DOWN TO A TRUE OF – 1. BUT
LEAVE ONLY AFTER LOSING A HAND; NO GAMBLER WOULD LEAVE A TABLE AFTER
A WIN.
So, have I got your brain spinning? If so, just hang in there as I’ll be wrapping all this
up in a nice, easy-to-understand package in the coming weeks. As always, get your
homework, then you’re outta here.
Homework
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像这样的投注计划表允许你随着真数的增加“过关”你的赌注，从而使你看起来更像一个“赌
徒”。
如果你在算到真-1 时离开桌子，你会省下一大笔钱，并找到更多有利可图的桌子。但，请
只有在输了一手之后才离开；没有赌徒在赢后会离开桌子。（译者注：美国抓算牌客很严重，
如果你在澳门算蜗牛机等，没必要这么做。）
所以，我让你的大脑旋转了吗？如果是的话，就保持住，我会在接下来的几周里用一个很好
的、容易理解的总结包装这些东西。像往常一样，完成你的家庭作业，然后你就离开这里。
家庭作业
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Expectation and Standard Deviation
If you flip a coin 100 times, your expectation is to receive 50 heads and 50 tails. But
the reality may well be different; the measurement of that reality is called “standard
deviation”.
Standard deviation is a mathematical term used to predict the outcome of a

situation. In our coin-flipping exercise, we expect 50 heads and 50 tails to occur, but
two-thirds of the time the actual result will be somewhere between 45 and 55 either
way. That is, a result of 55 heads and 45 tails or something in between is not unusual;
it will happen 68.3% of the time. That measurement is for 1 standard deviation from
the expectation and if we were to run hundreds of ‘trials’ of 100 flips, we could plot
our results on a bell curve and the vast majority of results would fall between 55 and
45 either way. What would be unusual would be to have a lot of trials where the
result was actually 50-50! Got that concept in your mind? Good. You’ll need to
understand this in order to survive the mental turmoil caused by the losses which
are inevitable in this game.
Nothing has caused counters to give up Blackjack more than a lack of

understanding about normal, everyday standard deviation.Counters who have
trained hard unrealistically expect to win each time they play, so when they have
several losing sessions, they forget what they’ve learned. Next thing you know,
they’re over betting their bankroll and fail to play their hands properly and when
they wake from the daze, their money is gone.
PATIENCE AND SKILL WIN — HUNCHES AND WISHING WILL NOT WIN. PRAYER DOES
NOT WORK AT BLACKJACK.
So, what can you expect — what’s the worst which can happen? Well, you can lose
all your money, but if you establish a bankroll of at least 50 ‘top’ bets, play proper
basic strategy at all times and don’t over bet, you stand a good chance of making
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第 9 课资金管理-第 3 部分
期望值与标准偏差
如果你掷硬币 100 次，你的期望是得到 50 个头和 50 个尾巴。但是现实很可能是不同的；对
现实的测量被称为“标准偏差” 。
标准偏差是用来预测形势结果的数学术语。在我们掷硬币的练习中，我们预计 50 个头和 50
个尾会出现，但是实际结果的三分之二都在 45 到 55 之间。也就是说，55 个头和 45 个尾巴
或之间的不是非常少见的，这将发生 68.3%。这个测量是针对一个标准偏差的预期，如果我
们要运行 100 次翻转的数百个“试验”，我们可以把我们的结果绘制在钟形曲线上，并且绝
大多数的结果都落在 55 到 45 之间。不寻常的是要进行大量的实验，结果实际上是 50-50！
你脑子里有这个概念吗？很好。你需要理解这一点，以便在这场游戏中不可避免的损失所造
成的精神混乱中幸存下来。
没有什么比不了解正常的日常标准偏差更能让算牌客放弃 Blackjack 了。那些经过艰苦训练

的算牌客，不切实际地期望每次玩游戏都能赢，所以当他们连输几场游戏时，他们忘记了学
到的东西。接下来，你知道吗，他们过度赌注自己的资金，没有正确地玩牌，当他们从困惑
中醒来，他们的钱不见了。
忍耐和技巧赢得胜利---预感和愿望不会。祈祷在二十一点不起作用。
那么，你能期待什么？最坏的情况是什么？嗯，你可以损失你所有的钱，但如果你建立了
至少 50 个“顶级”赌注的资金（译者注：顶注是真数最大时下注的最大注码）
，在任何时候
都要采取适当的基本策略，不要过度赌注，你在 21 点赚钱的可能性很大。
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some $$$ at Blackjack — if the game at your local casino is a game which can be
beaten. Did I ever say this was easy?
The table below illustrates the possible results from varying hours of play at a fairly
typical game. Shown with the expectation are the possible dollar results as
measured by 1 standard deviation (68.3% of the time) and 2 standard deviations
which covers what will happen 95% of the time. Three standard deviations cover
what will happen 99.7% of the time.
Expected Win / Standard Deviation

Assumptions: $12 average bet, 50 hands per hour,
1.25% average advantage.
Results
Time Expected Win 68.3% of the time 95% of the time
3 hours $22.50 +$191 to -$147 +$360 to -$316
12 hours $90.00 +$428 to -$248 +$766 to -$586
48 hours $360.00 +$1,036 to -$316 +$1,710 to -$992
90 hours $675.00 +$1,600 to -$250 +$2,525 to -$1,175
Let’s talk about this a bit. If you were to play several hundred ‘sessions’ of 3 hours
each, the average win for those sessions would be about $22.50. (This comes from
using a $5 to $60 betting spread which we discussed in previous lessons). But few
sessions would result in a win of exactly $22.50; about two-thirds would be
somewhere between a win of $191 and a loss of $147. Most of the other sessions
could see you winning as much as $360 or losing as much as $316 and a few would
see wins or losses even bigger than that!
Do you see now why it takes a bankroll of $3000 to support a $5 to $60 betting
spread? In order to be successful, you must be able to absorb losses which are many
times that of your ‘expectation’. These fluctuations are real; they will happen to you
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-如果你在当地赌场的游戏是一个可以打败的游戏。我曾经说过这很容易吗？
下表说明了在一个相当典型的游戏中不同时间的游戏可能产生的结果。用预期显示的是可
能的美元结果，用 1 个标准偏差（68.3%的时间）和 2 个标准偏差（95%的时间）衡量。三
个标准偏差涵盖了 99.7%的时间会发生什么。
期望赢/标准偏差
假设：平均赌注 12 美元，每小时 50 手，
1.25%平均优势。
结果
时间期望赢 68.3% 的时间 95% 的时间
3 小时 $22.50 +$191 到 -$147 +$360 到-$316
12 小时 $90.00 +$428 到-$248 +$766 到-$586
48 小时 $360.00 +$1,036 到-$316 +$1,710 到-$992
90 小时 $675.00 +$1,600 到-$250 +$2,525 到-$1,175
让我们谈谈这一点。如果你每场玩 3 个小时，那么这些场次的平均获胜率大约是 22.50 美元。

（这是从我们之前讨论过的 5 美元到 60 美元的赌注中得到的。）但是很少的场次会正好赢
22.50 美元，大约三分之二将在 191 美元的赢利和 147 美元的损失之间。大多数其他的场次
可以看到你赢了多达 360 美元或损失多达 316 美元，少数人会看到胜负甚至比这更大！
你知道为什么要花 3000 美元来支持 5 美元到 60 美元的博彩吗？为了成功，你必须能够吸收

损失，这是你的“期望”的许多倍。这些波动是真实的，
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at one time or another and if you’re not prepared for them, you’ll either get
frustrated and quit or lose your cool and blow your bankroll.
Now look at the results for 90 hours of play. Most of you will be — at worst —
about breakeven after that many hours. A few might be up by $2500, but some of
you could be down by $1175 or more. Boy, I’d hate to hear the names you’ll be
calling the old GameMaster then! But it can happen and it won’t be unusual if it does,
so ask yourself right now if you can deal with playing a disciplined game for 90 hours,
still be at a loss and continue playing and betting as I’ve shown you. It’s sad, but
most of you won’t be able to deal with that and you’ll be another victim of standard
deviation. That’s why I’m not afraid of the casinos going out of business, even if
every player in the world learns how to count cards — few have the patience to stick
it out. I don’t want to be overly-negative, but that’s the reality. However, if you do
stick it out, the percentages will eventually begin working in your favor. As I tell all
my students, “the money comes in ‘chunks’ at Blackjack”. This is not a slow,
consistent way to make money; your bankroll will, at times, resemble a roller coaster
and it’s difficult to deal with that from an emotional point of view.
Just try to understand the concept of standard deviation and continue ‘calibrating’
your eyes by doing deck estimation exercises with six decks. As I’ve said before, you
need to be accurate within a half-deck for computing the true count.
Homework
Have a look around the blackjack knowledge base at this site. With over 200,000
posts about blackjack, that should keep you busy.
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如果你没有准备好，它们将不时地发生在你身上，你要么会感到沮丧，要么放弃，要么失去
冷静，挥霍你的资金。
现在看 90 小时的玩牌结果。你们中的大多数人将在-最坏的情况下-在几个小时之后的收支
平衡。一些可能会增加 2500 美元，但是你们中的一些可能下降 1175 美元或更多。伙计，
我不想听到你打电话给老 GAMEMASTER 时说出的名字！但是这种情况可能发生，如果真的
发生了，那也不奇怪，所以现在就问问自己，你是否能应付一个有纪律的游戏，玩 90 个小
时，仍然不知所措，并继续玩和赌博，就像我向你展示的那样。这是令人悲哀的，但是你们
中的大多数人将无法应对，而你们将成为标准偏差的另一个牺牲品。这就是为什么我不害怕
赌场倒闭的原因，即使世界上的每个玩家都学会了数牌——很少有人有耐心坚持下去。我不
想过于消极，但这就是现实。然而，如果你坚持下去，百分比最终会开始对你有利。正如我
告诉我所有的学生，“钱'在二十一点是输赢抵扣得来的”。这不是一种缓慢、连续的赚钱方
式；你的资金有时会像过山车，很难从情感的角度来处理。
只要试着理解标准偏差的概念，并继续通过六副牌做副数估计练习“校准”你的眼睛。正
如我之前说过的，你需要在半副牌内精确计算真数。
家庭作业
看看这个网站上的二十一点知识库。有超过 200，000 个关于二十一点的帖子，这会让你忙

碌。
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Lesson 10 – The Proper Mental Attitude

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. By definition, an investor expects to make a profit so you
cannot be an investor if you play at games where there is a negative expectation. If
you bet $10 on the Pass line at craps, you’ll either win $10 or lose $10, but your
‘expectation’ is to lose 14 cents on every hand. That’s because the house has a
built-in edge of 1.4% on that bet and if you play it frequently, your average loss will
work out to be 14 cents per decision. In the short term you might win a lot of money,
but play it long enough and the house edge will eventually have its effect. Since the
average craps table produces about 60 decisions an hour, the cost per hour of
betting $10 on the pass line will work out to be — in the long run — about 60 X 14
cents = $8.40.
Now let’s look at this concept from the point of view of a positive expectation
situation like card counting at Blackjack. If your average bet is $12 and the average
advantage you have over the house is 1.25%, your expectation is to win $12 X .0125
= $.15 per hand. Yes, that’s 15 cents per hand. At a rate of 60 hands an hour, you can
expect to make — in the long run — about 60 X 15 cents = $9.00 an hour. But, if you
can increase the number of hands you play per hour to, say, 80 hands, you’ve raised
your expectation to 80 X 15 cents = $12.00 an hour. The only other way to make
more money is to either raise the size of your average bet or increase your edge over
the casino. The bet size is just a function of your bankroll (and your ability to
continue ‘fooling’ the casino into believing you are just another gambler and not a
card counter) and the advantage is mostly a function of the casino’s rules for their
Blackjack game. I will address both these issues in future lessons, so for now let’s
focus on increasing the number of hands you play in an hour.
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第 10 课-正确的心态
我总是强调“期望”这个概念，因为它适用于赌场游戏，因为理解这个概念将有助于你停
止赌博，并有望使你成为桌上的投资者。根据定义，投资者期望获利，所以如果你玩负期
望值的游戏，你就不能成为投资者。如果你在花旗骰过线注上赌 10 美元，要么赢 10 美元，
要么输 10 美元，但是你的“期望”是每只手输 14 美分。这是因为庄家优势是 1.4%，如果
你经常下注，你的平均损失将是 14 美分。在短期内，你可能会赢得很多钱，但是玩得足够
长，庄家优势最终会有它的效果。由于平均每小时产生 60 个决定，所以从长远来看，每小
时在过线注上押注 10 美元的输约为 60X 14 美分=8.40 美元。
现在让我们来看看这个概念，从正期望值的情况来看，比如在二十一点的算牌。如果你的
平均赌注是 12 美元，玩家优势是 1.25%，你的期望是赢得 12X.0125 美元=每手 15 美元。是
的，每手 15 美分。以每小时 60 手牌的速度，你可以预期——从长远来看——大约每小时
60×15 美分＝9 美元。但是，如果你能增加你每小时玩的数量，比如说，增加到 80 手，你
的期望值就会提高到 80X 15 美分=12.00 美元一小时。唯一赚钱的另一种方法是要么提高平
均押注的大小，要么增加玩家优势。押注大小只是你资金的函数（还有你继续愚弄赌场的能
力，让他们相信自己只是另一个赌徒，而不是一个算牌客），而优势主要来自赌场 “二十一
点”游戏规则。我将在以后的课程中讨论这两个问题，所以现在让我们集中精力在一个小时
内增加你玩的手的数量。
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More Hands Mean More Money

If you are the only player at a six-deck game, you can play at a rate of about 200
hands an hour. With all else remaining equal, that will raise your expectation to 200
X 15 cents = $30 an hour — a very healthy increase. The problem here is that I want
you to get up and walk away whenever the true count drops below M1, so 200
hands an hour is possible only if you get one of those shoes where the count stays
positive AND if you are fast enough to keep the count while your playing at this rate.
Moving when the deck goes bad is a must, since it’s cheaper to not play at all rather
than play at a game where the house has an edge over you.
But 200 hands an hour is a worthy goal, so continue practicing with your
single-deck countdown in an effort to build your speed to a point where you can go
through a deck in under 20 seconds. When you can do that and compute the true
count and play perfect basic strategy, you should play one-on-one whenever
possible. That may mean that you’ll have to go to the casino at 2 AM on a Monday,
but it will be worth it. Just remember that increasing your rate of play will increase
your hourly standard deviation, so don’t be surprised if you lose $400 or more in an
hour’s play; your risk hasn’t increased but you have — in effect — ‘compressed’ your
time factor. Dealers often tell me that a player “can’t win” one-on-one, but they’re
wrong. Their misconception in this regard comes from the fact that because more
hands are being played, the swings are bigger and dealers usually remember the big
losers and forget the big winners. As an investor, it is in your best interest to play as
many hands an hour as possible, since your expectation is to win 15 cents a hand.
THE GOAL OF THE PROFESSIONAL PLAYER IS TO PUT IN AS MUCH QUALITY

PLAYING TIME AS POSSIBLE; WIN OR LOSS AMOUNTS ARE SECONDARY. BY
PLAYING AND BETTING CORRECTLY, THE $$$ WILL COME WITH TIME.
A Winning Attitude
As I’ve said before, the wins at Blackjack come in ‘chunks’, so you shouldn’t be
concerned when you have a losing session, nor should you feel invincible when you
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更多的手数意味着更多的钱
如果你是 6 副牌游戏唯一的玩家，你可以以每小时大约 200 手的速度玩。其余情况都相同

等，这将使你的期望值增加到 200×15 美分＝每小时 30 美元，这是一个非常健康的增长。
这里的问题是，每当真计数降到负 1 以下时，我希望你站起来并走开，所以只有当你得到计
数保持正数的牌靴，并且如果你算牌足够快来维持计数，而你以这种速度玩时，每小时 200
手才有可能。计数不好时走开是必须的，因为完全不玩比在庄家占优势的游戏中玩更便宜。
但是每小时 200 手是一个值得追求的目标，所以继续练习单幅算牌，努力把速度提高到能

在 20 秒内算完一副牌的程度。当你能做到这一点，计算真数，并发挥完美的基本策略，你
应该尽可能玩一对一的游戏(和庄家单挑)。这可能意味着你必须在星期一凌晨 2 点去赌场，
但这是值得的。请记住，提高你的游戏速度会增加你每小时的标准偏差，所以如果你在一小
时的游戏中损失了 400 美元或更多，不要惊讶；你的风险并没有增加，但实际上你已经压缩
了你的时间因素。荷官经常告诉我一个玩家“不能赢”一对一，但他们错了。他们在这方面
的误解来自于这样一个事实，因为玩更多手牌，波动更大，荷官通常记得大输家，忘记了大
赢家。作为投资者，尽可能一个小时多玩一些手数是你最大的兴趣，因为你的期望是赢得
15 美分/每手牌。
职业玩家的目标是尽可能多玩牌质量，胜负是次要的。通过正确的玩牌和投注，美元将随
时间而来。
获胜的态度
正如我之前所说的，二十一点的胜利是“输赢抵扣后的盈利”，所以当你有一个失败的场次
时，你不应该担心，
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win. A proper mental attitude eliminates the highs and lows of the game (thus
making it very boring — at least in my opinion) but it enables you to play a solid,
unemotional game. When I have a losing session (on average, 35% of the time), I
just go away knowing that the casino will take good care of the money and I’ll
eventually come back and get it. 600 hands of play means I’ve ‘earned’ 600 times my
expectation per hand so I just need to keep going to work and my paycheck will
eventually reflect my earnings. To put it simply, if you are playing a winning game, it
isn’t a matter of ‘if’ you will win, merely a matter of ‘when’.
So let the ice-water begin to flow in your veins — as one author put it, “steely blue
eyes will do.” Emotion has no place in card-counting; accuracy and patience are the
only requirements for getting the $$$.
Homework
Get an old deck of cards and a marker pen. For those of you playing at 6-deck
games, write the number “1/2” on the back of one card, “1” on the next card, “1 1/2”
on the third card and continue up to 5 by increments of one-half. Now , number the
backs of 20 more cards individually from 1 to 20. Shuffle both piles (separately) face
up so you can’t see the numbers and turn over the top card from the first pile. This
will represent the number of decks in the discard tray. For example, if it’s the “2 1/2”
card, it represents 2 1/2 decks in the discard tray, so that must mean there are 3 1/2
decks left in the shoe. Now begin turning over the cards from the second pile. These
represent the running count and we want to practice computing the true count, so if
the first card is “8”, the true count is 8 divided by 3 1/2 = 2 (remember, we round
down to be conservative). Keep going through the running count cards while the
‘decks’ card remains the same. When you’ve gone through all the running count
cards, change the ‘decks’ card and do it again.
This exercise will help speed your ability to compute the true count
accurately. Those of you who will be playing single deck just need to make a card for
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赢钱也不要觉得无敌。一个正确的心态可以消除输赢的高低起伏（因此它非常无聊——至
少在我看来），但它可以让你玩一个稳固的、不带感情的游戏。当我有一个输掉的场次（平
均 35%的时间），我只知道赌场会好好保管钱，我最终会回来拿。600 手牌意味着我每手牌
的“收入”是我预期的 600 倍，所以我需要继续工作，我的薪水最终会反映我的收入。简而
言之，如果你正在玩一场胜利的游戏，那不是“如果”你会赢的问题，而是“何时”的问题。
因此，让冰水开始流入你的血管——正如一位作者所说，
“铁青的眼睛会起作用。”情感在算
牌片中没有位置；准确和耐心是获得$的唯一要求。
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1/4, 1/2, and 3/4 decks and running-count cards from 1 to 10, but you will practice
the same way.
As you do this exercise, concentrate on accuracy and remember to be conservative

in computing the true count.
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Lesson 11 – Evaluating Games

While almost all Blackjack games are ultimately beatable, the rewards to be gained
from marginal situations do not adequately compensate you for your time and
risk. Therefore, you must evaluate a game in several ways before playing it. Two
primary areas of concern are the house rules of the game, including the number of
decks used and the placement of the cut-card, what we call “penetration.”Many rule
changes require a change in your basic strategy, so don’t forget about the “Basic
Strategy Engine”. Remember that rule changes may also affect your betting
schedule.
Effect of Rule Variations on the Player’s Edge

(Assume 6 decks, double on any first two cards, no double after splitting, resplit all
pairs, except Aces, insurance is available and the dealer stands on Ace-6. This yields a
-.54% advantage to the player.)
Changes which help the player Change in the edge
Double after split +.14%
Resplit Aces +.07%
Early surrender vs. all +.70%
Early surrender vs 10 0nly +.30%
Late surrender +.08%
Single Deck +.50%
Two Decks +.20%
Four Decks +.05%
Changes which hurt the player Changes in edge
Dealer hits A-6 -.20%
Double only on 11 -.46%
Double only on 10,11 -.09%
Double only 9, 10,11 -.09%
No resplitting pairs -.04%
No insurance (if you are counting cards) -.40%
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To determine the casino’s edge over you at the beginning of a shoe, just add or
subtract the rules variations from the ‘base’ game listed above. For example, if you
play a double deck game which has the same rules as the base game, the casino
advantage is computed as follows.
Base game -.54%

Two Decks +.20%
_____________________
Player edge -.34%
Effect of Deck Penetration
How far the dealer goes into the deck(s) before shuffling can have a major effect
on your winnings. The reason is that with a shallow penetration, the ‘high’ counts
which enable you to bet more occur less often in decks where the shuffle comes
early. The table below shows how often counts will occur on a percentage basis at
varying degrees of penetration.
Percent Occurrence at…
True Count 50% 65% 75% 85% penetration
+1 15 15 13 13
+2 8 7 8 8
+3 3 4 4 5
+4 1.5 2.5 3 4
+5 1 1 2 2
+6 .5 1 2 2
+7 0 .5 1 1.5
+8 0 0 .5 1
+9 0 0 0 .5
+10 0 0 0 .5
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Let’s examine what I’m trying to say here. If you play at a game with only 50%
penetration, out of every 100 hands, only 29 will have, on average, a true count of 1
or better. Since it requires a true count of 1 to get even with the house, only 14 will
be hands on which you have an advantage. Now look at the stats for a game with 85%
penetration. Here, about 37.5% of the hands will be at breakeven or better and
almost a quarter will be hands on which you have an advantage.
YOU ARE WASTING YOUR TIME AND MONEY IF YOU PLAY AT A GAME WITH LESS THAN
65% PENETRATION.
Even if a game doesn’t offer the best rules, it can still be beaten if good
penetration is available. Remember that you should leave a game when the count
drops below a true of minus 1 so that you spend most of your playing time making
bets in what I call the ‘profit zone.’
Homework
Calculate the player starting advantage for the following:
 Single deck, double only on 10 and 11 and the dealer hits A-6. Resplits
(except Aces) are permitted and insurance is available.
 Six decks, dealer stands on A-6, double any first two cards, double after
split is allowed, resplitting permitted, including Aces and insurance is
available.
 Two decks, double on any first two cards, no resplitting of pairs, no double
after split allowed, late surrender and insurance is available.
I’ll post the correct answers to this quiz in the next lesson.
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Lesson 12 – Casino Playing Tactics

What Are Casino Playing Tactics?
It’s a sad fact of life that casino personnel, especially floor supervisors and pit
bosses do not like card counters playing at their Blackjack games. They know the
game can be beaten by a skilled player, so depending upon how deep their paranoia
runs, their reaction to a player who wins and is suspected of being a counter may
vary from close scrutiny (‘heat’) to outright barring of that player. Consequently, a
skillful player must hide his or her abilities and appear as just another ‘loser’ while
winning at the game. Proper casino playing tactics help to disguise your skills, thus
allowing you to continue to play.
A Casino ‘Profile’ of a Counter
Casino supervisors believe they have card counters profiled and can spot them by
their actions. While the list is long, here are some of their prejudices:
1. Card counters are usually young, white males (probably with beards) who
dress too casually for the amount of money they throw around.
2. Card counters ‘scout’ the tables in a pit, looking for a good count before
sitting down.
3. A counter will change $200-300 into chips but then only bet $5 or $10 on
the first hand.
4. Counters don’t talk to anyone; they stare at the discard tray and rescan the
table, checking on the count.
5. Counters don’t smoke or drink alcohol.
6. A counter thinks a while before placing his bet.
7. A counter doesn’t hesitate before playing a ‘stiff’ hand.
8. A counter never takes insurance with a minimum bet out, but does take
insurance when a big bet is out, regardless of his hand.
9. A counter varies his bet beyond a ‘parlay’.
10. Counters don’t tip the dealers.
11. A counter pulls back a big bet and lowers it on a ‘push’ or when the shoe
ends.
12. A counter always makes a minimum bet on the first hand of a
newly-shuffled shoe.
Card Counter Camouflage
To make money at Blackjack, you must maintain your welcome at the casinos. But
even though you may feel that there’s a big red ‘C’ on your forehead the first few
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times that you play as a counter, it really isn’t there and if you avoid a few of the
‘newbie’ mistakes, the casino supervisors probably won’t pay any attention to you at
all.
If you are playing for high stakes, you’ll be noticed whether you win OR lose;
high-stakes players are always noticed. But, if you are starting with the $5 to $60
spread which I recommend, you probably won’t be noticed at all. How often you play
at a particular casino has a lot to do with this. Remember that most casinos have at
least two shifts, so try to spread your play around between casinos and shifts. AVOID
PLAYING FROM ONE SHIFT TO ANOTHER. Keep your sessions fairly short and it will
take them a long time to even begin to figure out what you’re doing.
The real key to fooling the casino personnel is to appear as though you are just
another gambler. Here are some techniques which I use.
1. Dress appropriately for your betting level. A ‘high-roller’ should look like a
prosperous person not, as one author put it, “like an out-of-work
substitute school teacher.” If you go to a local casino on the day shift
during the week, dress like a business person who’s playing hooky from
the office. Do NOT dress like a tourist (a very effective disguise) if they are
going to see you again next week.
2. When you enter a casino, walk directly to a table where the dealer is
shuffling and sit down. Talk to the dealer, or at least say “hi”.
3. If you are playing a $5 minimum bet, buy in for less than $100, but more
than $40. Do not use terms like ‘red’ or ‘green’; ‘nickels’ or ‘quarters’. Call
the chips $5 or $25 chips.
4. Do not order anything from the cocktail servers; they are too slow and
waiting for a drink may cause you to play at a negative deck while you’re
waiting. Instead, order non-alcoholic drinks at the bar (O’Doul’s, orange
juice, anything with a lime) and carry it around with you.
5. Try to always have a bet in your betting circle. Remember, only counters
think about how much to bet; gamblers just put something out there. If
you busted your hand or got a Blackjack, place your next bet as the dealer
is playing his hand. With practice, your bet will be the correct amount, but
it won’t appear as though you had to think a lot about how much to put
out.
6. Gamblers NEVER leave a table after a win. If the count has dropped below
-1, continue playing at the minimum bet until you lose a hand.
7. Hesitate before hitting a ‘stiff’ hand. Talking to the cards helps.
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8. Occasionally, insure your Blackjack against the dealer’s Ace when you have
the minimum bet out. Do not ask for ‘even money’; go through the
motions like you don’t know how it all works. This will also make the
dealer slow down on her insurance calls in the future which will give you
extra time to calculate the true count. It’s best to do this ‘minimum’
insurance bet when a floor supervisor is looking.
9. If you are going to tip the dealer (something which you should do
sparingly), wait until the count is high and you have a big bet out. Placing a
bet for the dealer at that time will make it look like you want her to help
you win.
10. Once or twice in each session, start off a new shoe with a bet of 2 or 3
times the minimum.
11. Do not vary from proper basic strategy as a form of camouflage; most
casino personnel wouldn’t know good play anyway. In fact, perfect basic
strategy players look like idiots — hitting a 12 against a 2 or 3 or doubling
an A-7 against a 4 is nuts! (To them.)
12. Do not talk to others at the table about your abilities; do not help others
to play their hands properly. Never admit that you’ve understood a book
about Blackjack. Do not appear confident, but don’t act like a loser when
you’re obviously winning — gamblers love to win!
13. I can’t bring myself to wear one, but a ‘fanny pack’ has got to be one of
the most disarming items a counter can wear. With that and a pair of
glasses on, damn few supervisors will ever think you’re this cold-blooded,
card counting, steely-eyed destroyer of casinos. But I guess if my usual act
ever starts to wear thin, I’ll get one and put it on. I’d rather be rich than
cool.
Homework
Here are the answers for last week’s assignment.
Calculate the casino’s starting advantage for the following games:
 Single deck, double only 10 or 11, dealer hits A-6. Answer: .33%
 Six decks, double on any first two cards, dealer stands on A-6, resplit pairs,
incl. Aces, double after split allowed. Answer: .33%
 Two decks, double on any first two cards, no resplit of pairs, no double
after split, dealer stands on A-6, late surrender. Answer: .30% (I didn’t
specify if the dealer stands or hits on A-6; this figure is for a game where
s/he stands.)
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Lesson 13 – The Advanced Course – Part 1

The most powerful (legal) means of overcoming the casino’s edge in Blackjack is to
vary your bets according to the true count. Additional gains of .2 to .3% are
available to those who also vary the play of their hands according to the true count.
You undoubtedly have had situations where the count was sky-high and just knew
that hitting that 12 against the dealer’s 3 was going to get you a face card. There is a
point, as measured by true count, where standing with a 12 against a 3 is more
profitable than hitting. This is called a ‘basic strategy variation’ and you’ll learn a lot
of them in this series.
Basic Strategy Variations
Modifying the play of your hand according to the true count will occur about 10%
of the time. Should the count drop, you will double less, hit ‘stiff’ hands more and
split pairs less often. As the count goes up, you will double more often, hit ‘stiffs’
less and split pairs more. For each basic strategy play, there is only one variation. For
example, the variation for the hand 10, 6 versus 10 is to stand instead of hit; you
would never double and you obviously may not split. Another example is 5,4 versus
2. Basic strategy says to hit, but if the count is high enough, you would double this
hand. A good example on the minus side is A-2 versus 5; basic strategy says to
double, but if the count is below 0, you should just hit. The easy way to remember
something like that is “Double Ace-2 vs. 5 at 0 or higher.” Broken down into the
‘shorthand’ of a flashcard it is A-2 vs. 5 = 0. (Yes, we’ll be going back to our old
friends, the flashcards.)
The Power of Basic Strategy Variations
The value of any variation is determined by how often it will, on average, be

used. If you play 100,000 hands of Blackjack a year ( about 20 hours a week, year
round), you can expect to see a hand of 16 vs. 10 about 3500 times (3.5%). That’s
actually the number 1 non-insurance situation. Any variation here has considerable
value, simply because you’ll be using it relatively often. Conversely, you will receive
9,9 vs. 2 only 43 times in that 100,000-hand sample, so the variation here is of little
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value, because you’ll rarely use it. The frequency of hands allows us to prioritize the learning of
basic strategy variations.
One of the most important variations from basic strategy is the insurance bet. Since
the dealer will show an Ace as an up card about 7.5% of the time, knowing when it’s
profitable to take insurance is very important. If you are playing at a six deck game,
insurance is worthwhile when the true count is 3 or higher. You should always make
the insurance bet at that point, regardless of what cards you’re holding, since it has
no relationship with your hand. The High/Low counting system has an ‘Insurance
Efficiency’ of 80% which means that 8 out of 10 times you’ll be doing the right thing
when you make an insurance bet based on the true count.As I mentioned
earlier, considerable value is gained by learning those variations which involve
starting hands of 12-16 vs. any up card, since those are the hands you’ll see most
often. In fact, fully 54% of all your hands will be ‘stiff’ at some point in the playing.
This is a good place to make an important point: basic strategy variations apply not
just to your starting hands, but also to hands composed of 3 or more cards. You will
stand on A, 2, 10, 3 versus 10 if the count is 0 or higher, as well as a hand of 10, 6.
Doubling (or not doubling) is next in importance and splitting/not splitting pairs is
least important.
The Value of Basic Strategy Variations
It’s safe to say that utilizing these variations will increase your winnings by 10% in
the six-deck game. But there’s a major side-benefit to them as well. By using these
variations, you’ll look more like a ‘gambler’ in the casino. Hitting 16 against 10 some
of the time and standing on it at other times is typical gambler behavior. For those
casino supervisors who know proper basic strategy (damn few!), seeing you double
A,7 versus 2 is crazy, just as standing with 15 against a 10 is ‘chicken’. Yet, all of
those are — at certain counts — the correct play.
If you play at a single-deck game, the value of variations to basic strategy soars to 25%
or more. If you spend any time at those games, you must learn them.
In the next lesson, I’ll show you how to learn these variations
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Basic Strategy Variations: Hit or Stand?
The most common decision any player makes at Blackjack is whether to hit or
stand, consequently this will be the most common basic strategy variation and you
should learn all the important ones. The first is with a hand of 16 against a dealer’s
up card of 10. You should stand if the count is 0 or higher and hit if it is less than 0.
This means that if the running count is 0 or higher, stand. Since the ‘decision’
number is 0, it’s not necessary to calculate the true count — the running count will
do in this situation. Don’t get confused here. Almost all basic strategy variations rely
on the true count, but for those where the decision number is 0, the running count
will suffice.
The next most important hand is 15 against a dealer’s 10. The decision number is a
true count of 4, if you are playing at a game of four decks or more. This variation and
the others can be easily learned if you make a set of flashcards. They needn’t be
fancy or sophisticated; merely accurate. Cut some 2′” squares from manila folders
and they’ll work just fine. A typical flashcard should look like this
If you imagine the 10 and 16 placed on the centerline of a 2″ X 2″ square, the 0 is

offset so your left thumb covers the number. As you go through the stack, recite
“sixteen versus 10, stand at zero” (or higher). For a hand of 15 vs. 10, a card will look
like this
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When you come to this card, you’ll recite “15 versus 10; stand at 4”.
As time goes on, you won’t need to remind yourself that you should stand with the
15 against 10, so you’ll recite “15 versus 10 is 4”.
Got the idea?
Here are the numbers you’ll need to learn. These may vary a bit from numbers
you’ll see published in books like Stanford Wong’s “Professional Blackjack” because
the ones I use are specifically for a six-deck game where the dealer stands on A-6
and a few have been modified based upon the theory of ‘risk averse’ play which was
developed about 15 years ago. These numbers work well; they have been proven in
thousands of hours of actual casino play by me and my students. Do NOT use them
for single-deck games, however. Single-deck play requires different numbers and will
be covered in a future lesson.
Note from the BlackjackInfo.com editor:

There are slight differences in the GameMaster’s index numbers published here and
the optimized numbers on the BlackjackInfo Advanced Blackjack Strategy
Cards.These differences are usually due to the use of risk-averse calculations by the
GameMaster. I maintain that for the majority of players (who are not playing near
the maximum Kelly fraction of their bankroll), straight indexes are preferable to
risk-adjusted ones. In any case where risk-averse indexes differ from straight indexes,
even by several points, the decisions are quite close and the effect of choosing one
index style over another is minimal.
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And to finish it off, one weird play: Stand with A-7 against Ace at 1 or higher.
Homework
Make up a set of flashcards and begin learning these variations.
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Basic Strategy Variations: Double?
The opportunity to double your bet in return for agreeing to accept only one more
card is a very powerful option for the player, if it’s utilized correctly. I can’t tell you
how often I see players double hands like 7 or 8 against a dealer’s up card of 6 and
then bemoan their fate when they lose. Yes, the dealer is very vulnerable with a 6
showing, but placing an extra bet changes the mathematics of the hand, so all
doubles must be well-considered. For example, in a six-deck game where the dealer
stands on A-6, doubling a hand of 8 against the dealer’s 6 has a total return of 10.3%
whereas just hitting the hand returns 12.3% and the risk is lower!
That said, there comes a time when it is worthwhile to double an 8 against a

dealer’s 6 and that’s when there’s a higher proportion than normal of 10s left in
the deck. That point is determined, of course, by the true count. As the true count
gets more positive, it becomes more profitable to double. Conversely, as the count
goes negative, it becomes a better play to hit some hands, rather than double.
Just as you’re using flashcards to learn the hit/stand variations, make up, a set for
doubling. Here are the numbers you need:
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Basic Strategy Variations Six decks, dealer stands on A-6

the optimized numbers on the
BlackjackInfo Advanced Blackjack Strategy Cards.
These differences are usually due to the use of risk-averse calculations by the
GameMaster. I maintain that for the majority
of players (who are not playing near the maximum Kelly fraction of their bankroll),
straight indexes are preferable to
even by several points,
the decisions are quite close and the effect of choosing one index style over another
is minimal.
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Homework
Make up a set of flashcards for these variations and begin working them into your
game.
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Basic Strategy Variations: To Split or Not To Split
The primary factor to consider when splitting pairs is whether or not your casino of
choice allows doubling after splitting (DAS). If DAS is allowed, you must have the
proper basic strategy memorized. I see players make a lot of errors in splitting pairs,
primarily with a hand of 8, 8. Most know that a pair of 8s should be split against all
up cards, but most stand when they hold them against a dealer’s 10. The cost of that
mistake isn’t huge, simply because a hand of 8,8 is fairly rare. But by standing, a
player has an expectation of -.537% and by splitting (if DAS is allowed), an
expectation of -.483% is realized. So, the extra money which is put to risk does — in
the long run — give a better return. Think of it this way. Would you rather stand with
a 16 against a 10 or hit an 8 against a 10? By splitting, you get to hit an 8. Incidentally,
the numbers also indicate that splitting is best when DAS isn’t allowed, though there
isn’t as big a difference.
As the true count goes up, you’ll split more and as it goes down, you’ll split
less. One play which is justified by a high count is the splitting of 10s. For example,
there may come a time when it’s worthwhile to split a pair of face cards against a 6. I
counsel my students to avoid that play since it draws such a negative reaction from
other players at the table. I don’t really care what the others at a table think of my
play, but if the floor personnel are alerted to what I’ve done, their initial suspicion
may be that I’m a counter. If they’ve seen me playing good basic strategy and
suddenly I have a big bet out and I do something like splitting 10s against a 6, they’re
going to think I’m either very stupid or very smart. I guess it all relates to the image
your projecting in the casino; if it’s one of a ‘wild man’, then go for it. But if you’re
quiet, polite and a non-drinker, I’d advise against making the play.
All other splitting situations should be followed to the letter; especially that of
splitting 4s against a 5 or 6 (if DAS is allowed). Most people don’t have the pairs
part of basic strategy memorized perfectly, so they won’t know what’s right or
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wrong when you do it and most think it’s wrong to split 4s. Nothing quite like making
the right play and looking like a dummy when you do it!
As you go through the numbers on splitting pairs, you’ll see that some don’t agree
with those published by Stanford Wong and other authors. As I’ve explained before,
some have been modified as a result of Friedman’s study on risk-averse play, and I
feel they take no advantage from you yet do lower your risk somewhat.
the optimized numbers on the
BlackjackInfo Advanced Blackjack Strategy Cards.
These differences are usually due to the use of risk-averse calculations by the
GameMaster. I maintain that for the majority
of players (who are not playing near the maximum Kelly fraction of their bankroll),
straight indexes are preferable to
even by several points,
the decisions are quite close and the effect of choosing one index style over another
is minimal.
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Basic Strategy Variations: Test Yourself
By putting my classes up on the internet, I know I’m reaching a much larger audience
than I ever had while teaching classes in person, but I do miss the ability to see how
you all are doing in learning the material. In my ‘in-person’ classes, I always tested
my students to gauge their progress and thus determine how effective my teaching
methods are. We can’t do that here, but I want you to test yourself with the
methods I’m going to show you, if for no reason other than the fact that it will build
your confidence when you see how much you really know. Much like we did when
learning proper basic strategy, you should first complete one copy of the test directly
from the material I taught in order to give yourself an answer sheet to use when
correcting subsequent tests.
This test just asks you to ‘fill in the blanks’ with the correct index number from -2
to +10. Print as many copies of this as you’d like.
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THIS MATRIX ASSUMES DOUBLE AFTER SPLIT IS PERMITTED AND ALSO ASSUMES
THAT YOU DON’T CHOOSE TO SPLIT 10s.
Homework
Start on this and try to do one a day for the next two weeks.
See you here next lesson.

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Lesson 18 – Advanced Single-Deck Blackjack – Part 1

While much of card-counting is a science — the science of mathematics — it all takes
on something of an art form when playing at a single-deck game. True count
conversion is difficult to do quickly, large bet spreads (over 4 to 1) are difficult to
obtain and it’s hard to keep an accurate count at a game which is dealt face-down
when you’re used to counting where all the cards are face up.Despite that, I really
urge you to learn how to play single deck and, instead of banging your head against
the multiple-deck games in your area, save your money and take 2 or 3 trips to Reno
each year. No, I’m not in the employ of the Reno Chamber of Commerce, but I can
tell you that it’s a great place to make $$$ at the Blackjack tables, it’s relatively
inexpensive and typically very easy to get to from all over the United States. Sure
their rules, for the most part, suck (only double on 10 and 11, no double after split
and the dealer hits A-6) and that gives the casinos the same .5% edge off the top that
you’re fighting now, but it takes just one +1 card to get you even with the house and
that’s the real appeal of single-deck. I should mention that some casinos in Reno (as
well as in Tahoe and Laughlin) allow double on any first two cards, so the casino
edge is dropped to about .2% and that’s a very beatable game.
The key to evaluating good single-deck play is how many cards you’ll see before a
shuffle. If you can find a game with 60% penetration and get away with a 5 to 1
betting spread, it’s fairly easy to obtain a long term winning rate of 1.5% of all the
money you bet, just by playing basic strategy and varying your bets according to the
count. If you also modify the play of your hand according to the true count, a win
rate which approaches 2% is possible. That’s serious money Blackjack fans, so the
effort is worth it.
Which Counting System?
I use two different systems for counting cards; the Hi/Lo for multi-deck play and
the ‘Hi-Opt 1’ system for single deck play. The latter counts 3-6 as +1; 7,8,9 and ace
as 0 with 10s as -1. Since there are only four aces to track in a single deck game, I
find omitting the ace in the count improves the play of the hand, yet I can still ‘adjust’
the count for betting purposes. Let’s talk about a side count of aces for a moment.
We expect to see one ace per quarter-deck played in a normal distribution, but of
course that doesn’t always happen. For example, if a quarter deck has been played
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and no aces have come out, the remaining deck is ‘rich’ one ace. I can — for betting
purposes — temporarily add +1 to the count, yet for playing purposes the true count
without adjustment is correct. Got that concept? If a quarter-deck has been played
and 2 aces have come out, the remaining deck is ‘poor’ by one ace, so I would lower
the count by 1 (that is, ‘add’ a minus 1 to the count ) just for betting purposes, since
my opportunity to receive a natural has decreased. This is a very powerful addition
to your game, but my advice is to just use it in single-deck play because an ace
adjustment is very taxing, mentally.
If you want to learn the Hi-Opt count, use the same techniques I showed you for
learning the Hi/Lo count. All of my advanced techniques will, however, be based
upon the Hi/Lo system, since that seems to be the method most of you are using.
The most difficult aspect of single-deck play is computing the true count. First you
must ‘calibrate’ your eyeballs for measuring the number of cards which have been
played. Today most casinos have the dealer place the discards in a rack to the side;
unlike the ‘old’ days when they put the discards underneath, so deck estimation is
easier. The really tough part is the division which is required. In a multideck game,
we’re almost always dividing one whole number (the running count) by another
number which is at least 1. Admittedly, some people have a problem of dividing 17
by 2.5 qucikly, but it doesn’t take long to get used to. In single deck, you’re always
dividing by a fraction or decimal and that’s not easy. For example, if you’re at a
single-deck game and a quarter-deck has been played, with a running count of 3, the
true count is 3 divided by .75 = 4. That’s actually an easy example. Try dividing a
running count of 5 by .5. The answer is, of course 10, but how many of you wanted
to say 2.5 or 1? Only practice will make this an automatic process.
Homework
Continue learning the decision numbers for Hi/Lo basic strategy variations in the
multiple deck games. For the ‘overachievers’ out there, start learning the Hi-Opt 1
count.
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Lesson 19 – Advanced Single-Deck Blackjack – Part 2

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. That’s not to say you’re going to get “backed-off” if you
bet more than 5 chips on a hand, but I think it’s fair to say making $$$ at a good SD
game requires a bigger bag of tricks than needed against a 6-deck game, so altering
the play of your hand according to the count is a logical place to start.
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. If you’ve studied my course up to this point, you know one of the
key factors in playing a winning game of Blackjack is to leave the table when the True
Count drops to -1 or lower, but that tactic isn’t very practical at a single-deck game,
because only a few rounds of hands are dealt before the shuffle.
Consequently, you have to sit through a lot more “negative” decks, but the good
thing is that a shuffle is never too far away. Yet, at the same time, we all know the
casino’s edge increases as the count drops, so we want to neutralize the effects of
that as much as possible. Because you’ll be sitting through many more negative
counts at a single-deck game, what we need to do is learn the plays for hands like
hitting 12 against a dealer’s 5 and so forth. We also want to avoid doubling and
splitting pairs in low counts and we’ll hit instead. But we don’t want to guess at
important plays like that, so we’ll need to learn Basic Strategy variations for “lower”
numbers, like -2, -3 and so forth. A realistic range for most single-deck games is a
True Count of -6 to +6 and that will cover 85% of all the hands you’ll ever play,
assuming 63% penetration which is about as good as it gets. In a later lesson, I’ll talk
about the importance of penetration, but for now, trust me on this.
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
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100,000 hands of play, but they’ll have a 16 against 10 much more often. In his
book, “Blackjack Attack”, Don Schlesinger devoted a chapter to what he calls “The
Illustrious 18” that are, in his opinion, the most important Basic Strategy variations.
I’m not big on reproducing other authors’ original works, so I’ll refer you to the book
for a complete listing if you feel you’d rather not memorize all of the variations I’ve
listed here. Another idea worth considering is to not learn the indices below -2, with
the rationale that you’ll likely be betting the minimum in such a count, so any playing
mistakes will, in the long run, cost you very little. Or, you might want to learn only
the indices where you’ll be placing extra bets on the table, as in doubles and splits,
with the idea that, if I’m going to be putting more $$$ on the table, I’m sure as hell
going to play the hand correctly.
But I’m of the opinion that if something about this game can be learned, it should
be learned. (Okay, I know I’m a fanatic for this stuff, but what can I do?) If single
deck games will be where you’ll spend most of your time, then it’s probably worth
the effort to memorize the 90-odd indices presented here. But if this isn’t your
primary game, a range of -2 to +6 with some judicious editing will probably suffice.
Don’t forget that some of these indices are similar to those for a multi-deck game, so
you won’t be starting from scratch. Learn those numbers you think are important for
where and how you play.
Rather 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. Don’t worry if you have a problem
understanding it, because I’ll explain it all at the bottom.
Basic Strategy Variations Matrix

Single Deck, H17, Da2, no das, no surrender
See the matrix. (Use your back button to get back here.)
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Using the Matrix

(GM Note: The Basic Strategy for this game is available from BlackjackInfo.com: 1D,
H17, DA2, NDAS Basic Strategy)
The general rule for understanding the Basic Strategy Variations Matrix is this: If the
number in a slot is 0 or a minus, then that play is a Basic Strategy move that you
should make as long as the count is higher than the number shown. For example,
with A, 6 vs. 2, you will double as long as the count is 0 or higher. If the count is
minus, just hit. In the case of 9 vs. 4, you’ll double as long as the count is -2 or higher
(remember that -1 is “higher” than -2). For a hand of 9,9 vs. Ace, you’ll stand as long
as the count is 0 or less. If the count is higher than 0, you split the 9s.
It’s a lot easier to use the matrix if you’ve memorized the Basic Strategy for this
game but if you haven’t yet done that, you really should learn it before you get
into this advanced mode of play. For each player hand and dealer’s up card
combination you will see either a specific action, such as hit, stand, double, etc., or a
number. The number is an “action point” based upon the True Count and it keys the
variation. As to what the proper variation is for a situation may get a little confusing,
but if you study the hand in question, you can usually figure it out. A good example
of this is A, 7 versus a dealer’s 2. In the matrix, you’ll see the number 1 in that spot,
so do you hit or stand or do something else? Well, “something else” is the answer, so
you should double, just as you do with A,7 vs. 3, 4, 5, and 6. Logic plays a role here,
so if a play sounds illogical, it’s probably the wrong one. Would you really hit A,7
against a 2? Of course, you might stand, but that’s already the Basic Strategy play, so
doubling is all that’s left. Consequently, what this is telling you is that you should
double A,7 against a dealer’s up card of 2 when the True Count is 1 or more. If the
True Count is less than 1, use the Basic Strategy play, which is to stand. Against a 3,
Basic Strategy says to double A,7. But the index for that is -1, so that’s telling you to
double A,7 vs. 3 only if the True Count is -1 or higher. If it’s not, then you should
stand.
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Let’s talk about another variation that may cause some confusion: 8, 8 vs. 10. The
notation in that box is “Stand@6”, so if the True Count is 6 or more, you will not split
the 8s, but stand instead. Another hand that draws a lot of questions is 7, 7 vs. 10.
Yes, Basic Strategy is correct when it says to stand with 7, 7 vs. 10 in a single-deck
game, mostly because the dealer either has a good hand, like a 20 or s/he is “stiff”
and we’re hoping for a dealer bust. Because you already have 2 of the four 7s in the
deck in your hand, the odds are greatly reduced that you can beat a dealer’s 20 by
catching another 7, so the mathematics work out that you’re better off standing and
praying. But it’s a close call, so if the count is below 0, you should hit. This means
that if the running count is -1 or lower, you should hit 7,7 versus a 10, not split. If the
count is 0 or higher, stand.
Now, take a look at the Hard Totals section, where I have 2 different types of 16s: a
10,6 and a 9,7. In the 10, 6 row there’s a “4” under the dealer’s 10 and a “0” in the
9,7 row. This is what’s called a “composition-dependent” play and I included it for
several good reasons. First of all, 16 vs.10 is a relatively common hand and you can
see by the numbers that there’s quit a difference between how the two 16s should
be played. What the variations matrix’s saying is that you should stand with 9,7 at 0
or higher, but stand with 10,6 only when the True Count is 4 or more. This is quite a
departure from what we do with a 16 vs. 10 in a multi-deck game, where we stand
only when the count is more than 0 (i.e., a running count of 1). Just a side note here:
there’s a lot of confusion about this play in my multi-deck section, but what I do is
stand with 16 vs.10 when the running count is 1 or more, otherwise I hit it. What you
do when the count is exactly 0 doesn’t really matter because the expected value is
the same for either play. The same is true for a hand of 9,7 vs. 10 in a single-deck
game.
Anyway, why would we stand with 10,6 vs.10 only when the True Count is at 4 or
more? It all has to do with the total number of 10s in a single deck, which is sixteen
and you already have one of them in your hand and the dealer is showing one as his
up card. That’s two less 10s that can bust you and two less 10s the dealer can have in
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“the hole”, so it sways the decision away from standing toward hitting more
aggressively. Look, a hand of 16 is never going to be great, regardless of how you
play it, so all we’re really doing is trying to minimize the damage. Hitting 10, 6 vs. 10
until the True Count is 4 or more helps with that process.
In the row for 6,6 you’ll see a notation under the dealer’s card of 7 like this: Split@<0
and that means, “split a pair of 6s versus 7, if the count is below 0.”
I don’t want you to leave without me telling you the most important variation of
all, which is the Insurance bet. You hopefully know that proper Basic Strategy tells
us to never take insurance (even when you have a ‘natural’ and the dealer’s up card
is an Ace, in spite of what everybody else tells you), but in a single-deck game, the
insurance bet becomes profitable at a True Count of 1.4 or higher.
Learning the Basic Strategy Variations
Once you’ve chosen the Basic Strategy variations you want to learn, you should
make a set of flash cards for them. Exactly how to do that is explained in Lesson 14
of “The GameMaster’s Blackjack School” and I cannot over-emphasize their value.
Make up a set and carry them with you, or at least study them intently before each
playing session if single-deck Blackjack isn’t your “primary” game.
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Lesson 20 – A Field Trip with the GameMaster

On February 1, 1997 the Station Casino St. Charles which is located on the banks of
the Missouri River in a western suburb of St. Louis began offering a handful of tables
of double deck Blackjack. The rules are the same as their six-deck game: dealer hits
A-6, double on any first two cards, resplit pairs up to 4 times (and, effective March 3,
resplit Aces as well) and double after split. Most of the tables are $25-$500, but
there are usually one or two with a $10 minimum. The casino has an edge of .35%
over the basic strategy player and the game is cut at the 75% penetration point and
it’s dealt from a shoe (a Missouri Gaming Commission rule) with all cards face up.
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I have never played double deck before for any length of time, so I knew I’d have to
do some homework to get ready. The basic strategy for double deck is the same for
4 or 6 decks, so there was not a lot there which I needed to work on. However,
unlike the 6-deck games where I get up when the true count is -1 or lower, I knew
I’d have to play through all the double deck shoes, so I’d need to learn more of the
‘minus’ indexes in the basic strategy variations. For example, in a six-deck game, I’d
be long gone before I’d have to play a 13 against a dealer’s 5 in a highly negative
count. But, one should hit a 13 vs. 5 at -4 and I needed to learn that. I added all the
plays from -3 to -6 to my pack of flashcards which covers -2 to +10 and began to
learn all the basic strategy variations from -6 to +10.
Money Management
Next I had to work out a betting schedule. I always like to use an example of a
betting schedule based on a $3000 bankroll so, even though I actually use a multiple
of that, I’ll break everything down to that size so you can see how it will work with a
minimum bankroll. The casino has a starting edge of .35% now that resplit of Aces is
allowed; it was .40% and since each increase of 1 in the true count is worth .5%, at a
true count of 1 I’d have a small edge over the casino. Since I’d be playing at a $10
table, I’d be over betting somewhat until the true hit 2, but there was no choice in
the matter. Because double after split is allowed, my optimum bet would be 76% of
my advantage. If this is confusing to you, reread the section on money management
which begins at Lesson 7. Here’s a table I use to calculate the optimum bet:
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Following me on this? At the beginning of a shoe, the casino has an advantage of .35%
because of the rules of their game and the fact that they’re dealing from 2 decks. If
the count goes minus, their edge will increase and the OPTIMUM bet in that
situation is $0. That’s not the PRACTICAL bet, however, since it’s a $10 minimum
table, so I have to bet that amount. As the count goes up, I can bet the prescribed
percentage of my bankroll as indicated. For example, with a $3000 bankroll, my
optimum bet at a true count of 3 is .00874 X $3000 = $26.22. Here’s how the chart
looks for a $3000 bankroll:
That’s the theoretical, not the practical. As I stated before, I must bet at least $10
and I really feel strongly about the fact that the top bet should not exceed 2% of the
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total bankroll, so I end up with a $10-60 spread until the bankroll gets bigger. A 1 to
6 spread can beat this game, but there’s a nice little trick I can use to get more
money on the table without increasing my risk too much: play 2 hands in positive
situations. Here we go with more math, but stick with me; it’s important.
Since I would, whenever appropriate, play 2 hands, I’d need a table for the
optimum bets for those situations. The rule here is that 56% of the advantage times
the bankroll is the optimum bet for each of two hands. In other words, if it’s correct
for me to bet $25 on one hand, I would be over betting if I bet $25 on each of two
hands at the same true count. Because of covariance (the relationship of two hands
to one another), the optimum bet must be reduced. Since I must bet at least $10 on
each hand (Casino Station St. Charles doesn’t have that silly rule that a player must
bet twice the minimum on each hand when playing more than one; many do, so
check), it’s practical for me to spread to two hands of play only when the true count
is at 2 or more. Here’s how that chart looks:
Factoring this with a $3000 bankroll gives us the optimum bet for each of two
simultaneous hands at different positive counts:
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At Last! The Betting Schedule
Obviously I cannot place a bet of $10.92 so I’ll have to round things off in order to
arrive at a practical betting schedule. In doing that, I keep several things in mind.
First, I want a schedule which will allow me to ‘parlay’ winning bets as the count
goes up. For example, if the bet for a true count of 2 is $20, it would be great if the
bet for a true count of 3 was twice that; it makes me look like a ‘gambler’ to just add
my winnings to the original bet. Of course I’d only be doing it because the count has
gone up, but it’s something to keep in mind as I design the schedule. Another
‘nice-to-have’ thing is a schedule which allows me to bet some multiple of the true
count. For example, “$10 times the true” would mean that at a true of 2 my bet
would be $20, at a true of 4 it’d be $40, etc. Another point to keep in mind is that we
have a bit of a ‘fudge’ factor built into counts above 2.4 in a double deck game. Why
2.4? Well, that’s the true count at which one should take insurance in a double deck
game and that option is so valuable that it adds to our advantage. While the
advantage goes up about .5% with each increase of 1 in the true count, above 2.4
the advantage increase is more like .58%. So our ‘real’ advantage at a true of 7 is
more like 4% than the 3.65% which I show on the charts above. This gives us a
cushion for rounding up a bit.
So, here’s the betting schedule I worked out for a $3000 bankroll. Bear in mind that
as the bankroll increases (or decreases), the schedule must be changed in order to
keep the risk of ‘gambler’s ruin’ about the same. I will modify the schedule at $1000
increments; that is, if I win $1000, I’ll refigure the betting schedule by remultiplying
all the percentages by $4000. On the other hand, if I choose to spend my profits, I’ll
just continue to operate with the original schedule. In the unlikely event that I hit a
big losing streak (how’s that for positive thinking?) I really couldn’t downsize the bets
very much. As long as the bank remains above $2000, I’ll stick with this schedule. If it
should go below $2000, I’d quit until I could build the bank up again.
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Notice that I top out at one hand of $60 or 2 hands of $50, regardless of how high
the count gets. I’ll stick with that until the bankroll increases and I get a ‘feel’ for just
how the floor supervisors at the casino react to such a spread. The ‘pit critters’ know
that counters vary their bets widely, so I’m going to be conservative for a while since
this is my ‘home’. If I was playing this game somewhere else — where they wouldn’t
see me for months at a time — I’d be more aggressive. The single-hand schedule is
not an easy one to memorize; it’s not a straight parlay and it’s not a simple multiple
of the true count. I’m going to be screwing around a lot with $5 and $25 chips and
precise betting is another indicator of a card counter, so I may find myself ‘pushing’
the count; that is, over betting a bit on a true of 2 or 3. I’ll have to watch that, since
my reaction will be to bet $20 on a true of 2 and $30 on a true of 3. With that, the
schedule is $10 times the true, but a bank of $4000 is required to justify those
bets. I’ll just have to see how it goes.
Playing Two Hands
Whether or not one should play one or two hands is more a factor of opportunity
than strategy. If there is no space available at the table for a second hand, I
obviously must play only one. Neither am I going to play two hands when the true
count is below 2, nor am I going to play two hands if I’m alone with the dealer. The
reason for that last rule is twofold: First, by playing a second hand, more cards are
used and — since I only go to two hands on positive counts — I’ll be ‘eating’ good
cards. That’s okay, but when head-to-head with the dealer, my two hands represent
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an increase in the total bet of about 150% but I’m also using up 150% more of the
cards. Second, the game has a high maximum bet, well above my maximum so I
don’t need to spread to two hands in order to get more money on the table. So,
whenever I’m alone and the table limit is above my top bet, I’ll always play one
hand.
If there is at least one other player besides me at the table, I’ll then spread to two
hands whenever possible. In that case I do want to ‘eat’ the good cards; why give
the opportunities to others when I can get them for myself? Mercenary, perhaps but
this IS about money, you know.
Lots of gamblers play two hands, so the maneuver won’t draw a lot of attention to
you unless you make a big deal about it. First, most casinos allow two hands only if
they are located in two adjacent betting circles. If you’re sitting at ‘first base’, don’t
try to place a second bet at the empty spot on third base. Also, I don’t ask people to
move to the next spot over in order to accommodate my second hand and I never
refuse to allow someone else to sit down and play in the spot I was using for my
second hand. You have to look indifferent about the idea of a second hand — just
like a gambler would. One neat trick is to spread to two hands when a new player
joins the table (assuming of course that the count justifies it); gamblers seem to
think that doing so ‘keeps the cards in proper order’ when someone is jumping in
and out. Naturally it’s BS, but anything that makes me look more like a gambler is
welcomed.
Practice Makes Perfect
Next I had to set up a regimen of practice to get used to playing a double-deck

game. I already own several decks of cards from the casino, so I can use them to
‘calibrate’ my eyes for estimating the number of decks left to be played. I did this to
a half-deck accuracy and can consistently cut 26 cards from two decks shuffled
together. I accomplished this simply by breaking the pack into four parts over and
over again and counting the segments when I was done. Just looking at a half-deck, a
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full deck and a deck and a half gets you used to estimating the number of cards
remaining to be played. It’s hard to describe until you try it for yourself, but I think
you know what I mean. I also did some mental calculations of dividing various
running counts by 1.5 and .5, etc. to get used to figuring the true count.
I further practiced by counting down two decks to check my accuracy; I can do it in

22 seconds which is more than ample for casino conditions.
But the practice I did most was with a program called “Blackjack Professor” which I
set up to reproduce the conditions and rules for the game at Station Casino St.
Charles.

The program he mentions is no longer available. My recommendation for
Windows software for practicing blackjack is Casino Verite.
Whenever I had a spare hour or so I played the game, which is dealt on a
head-to-head basis with no other players, utilizing my betting schedule and the other
techniques which I use in the casino. For example, if I had $10 bet and the count
jumped up considerably, as it will near the end of a shoe, I would not come out with
a $40 bet on the next hand, since I wouldn’t likely do that at the casino. I’d bet $20
instead and then go to $40 on the next hand, if there was a next hand. Conversely, if
I ‘pushed’ a hand and the count had dropped dramatically, I’d leave the bet out
there, just as I would do in the casino. By doing all that, I felt my results from
practice would be similar to what I could expect in the casino. Here are the results of
6 different sessions on the computer. Remember, I played each hand according to
the basic strategy variations and I bet according to the schedule above, though I
never spread to 2 hands because I was always alone at the table. The earnings per
hour are based on a rate of 60 hands an hour, a much more realistic figure than the
300 hands an hour I was able to play on my computer.
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This totals to 4603 hands which represents about 76 hours of casino time and a
profit of $490 or $6.44 an hour. From the program, I was able to extrapolate that my
average bet size is about $14, so my overall advantage for these 6 sessions works out
to be about .76% which is about half of what I would expect in a bigger sample size.
My big losing session saw me reach a low of about $1050 which is not surprising. The
lesson to learn from these simulations is that “the money in Blackjack comes in
chunks.” To anticipate a steady income from this game is a big mistake; you can
easily see how wild the swings are.
Actual Play
All the above is theoretical; what matters are real results from actual casino play. To
date I’ve played 7 sessions and here are the results, based on a $10 to $60 spread:
These actual playing sessions total 16.5 hours of play and a profit of $270 for an
hourly income of $16.36. I must add that the first two sessions were played before I
had fully developed my betting schedule and before I had put in a lot of practice
time. I will freely admit that those two losses were a ‘wake-up’ call that I needed to
spend some time practicing the double-deck game, even though double deck is
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MUCH more closely related to 6 decks than it is to single deck. Once I got ‘in the
groove’, my results are about as I expected. If we ignore those first two sessions, I’ve
won $790 in 12.5 hours for an hourly rate of $63.20. That number cannot be
sustained, but it’s very typical of how this whole thing works. Over the coming
months, I’ll probably win about 65% of my sessions and lose or break even in the rest.
The hourly income will drop to a more realistic $20 or so, assuming I don’t increase
the bank size. That’s not enough to retire on, but it is a nice part time job.
I hope the thought processes which I’ve tried to show in this lesson give you an
insight into how to structure a plan for your own play. I guess the only ‘sage’ advice
I have at this point is that you must practice a lot more than you play to be
successful at this game.
Our next set of lessons deals with the Double Deck game.
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Lesson 21 – Beating the Double-Deck Game – Part 1
At first glance, it would seem only logical that a smart player will do better at a
game that uses fewer decks, but that’s not always the case when you compare
double-deck games with six-deck games. A lot of variables come into play, not the
least of which are the rules of the games, the minimum bet size required and the
amount of scrutiny the games get from casino supervisory personnel. If you do not
count cards, it’s very likely that you’ll be better off avoiding the double-deck games
out there. I know some of you may be surprised by that comment, but I make it
based upon the fact that many casinos have less liberal rules on their double-deck
games, yet they require higher minimum bets. As a result, the casino’s overall edge
may be similar to that of their six-deck game, but you’ll have to bet more on every
hand for the privilege of playing. Because a non-counter cannot get a long-term edge
over the casino, you’ll just be betting more on a consistent basis and the casino will
eventually get your $$$.
Now don’t get me wrong here; if the rules are the same, a game using two decks
will have a lower casino edge than one that uses six-decks, yet the strategies are
almost identical. If the minimum bets are the same (or are at least within your
comfort level), then go with the 2-decker. That’s a key point, by the way. The proper
Basic Strategy for a double-deck game closely resembles that of a four- or six-deck
game, much more so than a single-deck game. The few differences between a
two-deck and six-deck game with the same rules (dealer hits or stands on soft 17,
double after split is allowed, etc.) lie mainly in splitting pairs and, since pairs are the
rarest hands you’ll get, the impact is negligible. I might be wrong about this, so check,
but I do believe that the only change is to split a pair of 7s against a dealer’s 8 in a
double-deck game. In a six-decker, you don’t do that. Not a hand you’re going to see
everyday, either way.

There are indeed only a handful of changes in strategy between the 6-deck and
the 2-deck game. In a 2-deck S17 game: Split 77v8, Split 66v7, and Double 9v2. If
the game is H17, also double A3v4.
My point is that you can move back and forth between DD and 6D games and not
worry that you’re playing improperly, but the big question is whether or not you
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should. We’ve already covered the non-counter situation, so let’s turn our attention
to those of you who do count. Even in this situation, the double-deck game isn’t
necessarily the hands-down choice and I’ll show you why as we go along.
For whatever reason, many casinos treat their double-deck games as “premium”
games, so they have higher minimum bets, may have less liberal rules, less favorable
penetration and are usually watched more closely by the “pit critters”, as we lovingly
call them here. Some casinos seem to think that counters are showing up in droves
at their DD games and carting off chips by the box load, but that’s not necessarily the
case. I know of some games that are very easy to beat, but they are few and far
in-between. The reality is that beating the double-decker takes extra effort and
some sharp play by the counter. But you came here for answers and I have them.
The primary advantage to playing a double-deck game is the volatility of the

count. Unlike a 4- or 6-deck game, the running count, which is converted to the True
Count (count per remaining deck) in a DD game can rise or fall quickly, but it’s gone
almost as fast, due to the shuffle. That’s obviously good when the count is negative,
but no fun at all when the count is “up”. Things happen quickly in a DD game and the
wise counter takes advantage, but it requires good skills at converting to the True
Count and almost needs some ability to anticipate what’s going to happen, while
remembering that we never make guesses when counting.
The Key: Penetration
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. In my Blackjack School lessons, I tell you that you’re wasting your time if you
play at a 6-deck game where less than 65% of the cards are dealt before the
shuffle. In a DD situation, 65% penetration is very acceptable, 75% is fantastic and
80% or more is phenomenal. What you’ll more likely find is penetration in the 50%
range. Yep, they put together two decks and then use only one of them! I hate it
when that happens.
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But penetration is really important, so it’s something you need to become familiar
with. If you play a DD game where the dealer hits A-6, you may double on any first
two cards, double after split, etc. and you use a 1-8 betting “spread” (I’ll explain it
later on) and the casino deals only 50% of the cards, your long-term edge as
determined by simulations that I ran on Statistical Blackjack Analyzer will be about
0.64%. If the penetration deepens to 60%, the player advantage goes up to 0.95%
and at 75% penetration it’s 1.47%. That’s not bad, you know.
Let’s recap this so it stays with you:
Impact of Penetration on a Double-Deck Game
Percent Penetration Theoretical Player Edge
50% 0.64%
60% 0.95%
66% 1.14%
75% 1.47%
A “trick” I stress in my lessons is to leave the table when the True Count drops to -1
or lower, if at all possible. That can be fairly easy to do in 6-deck games and not so
easy to do in DD games. Therefore, you have to pretty well accept the fact that
you’ll be playing in all counts, which makes the penetration factor even more
important. We call this “play all” and the figures above were calculated under those
conditions. By the way, you need to remember that simulation software plays
Blackjack perfectly and we humans don’t. That’s why I use the term, “theoretical”
player edge; that’s about as good as it will ever be, but figure 10% less for purposes
of reality.
Getting Started
If you have never played DD games as a counter, you need to do some basic planning
first. While they aren’t a world apart from 6D games, here are some differences to
consider:
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 Many, though not all, DD games are dealt facedown and that requires you
to count the cards in a different way.
 Because it will be difficult to leave the table when the count drops, you’ll
need to learn more “negative” Basic Strategy variations.
 Many DD games require the dealer to hit soft 17 (I’m going to assume that
throughout this series), so there are some Basic Strategy changes needed.
You can get them at www.blackjackinfo.com
 With penetration being such a crucial factor, you should first check your
local game to see if it’s even worth the trouble. Verify the rules while
you’re there.
So, start doing your homework on this and I’ll be back next time with a plan for
how to bet in this game.
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In Part 1 (lesson 21), I tried to demonstrate that the real key to winning at this game
is finding one where the casino deals more than 50% into the decks before shuffling.
Admittedly, you can make a few $$$ in a game where only one deck of the two is
dealt, but it’s certainly not easy and your earnings really are limited. Shallow
penetration can be overcome, somewhat, by using a bigger bet spread (like $5-$60
instead of $5-$40, for example) but please notice that I said “somewhat”.
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. First of all, many DD games have higher minimum bets, so you may find
yourself at a $10 table and the 1-12 spread will require you to make a $120 “top” bet.
That will require a pretty hefty bankroll, far more than the $3000 minimum I
recommend in my Blackjack School lessons for the $5 minimum bet, six-deck game.
The second and probably the biggest problem is that the casinos aren’t stupid. They
know their games can be beaten by card counters who use big bet spreads and I
think it’s fair to say that most aren’t going to allow you to spread $10-$120 for long
periods of time, unless they are just totally convinced you’re some sort of wild-assed
gambler. Hey, some people can pull that off; I know, because I’ve done it and I’ve
seen it done by others.
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,which is 2 decks, the dealer hits A-6,
you may double on any first two cards, including after splitting pairs and no
surrender is allowed. Even if you can find a game where 60 cards of the 104 are dealt
(57% penetration) a 1-8 bet spread that consists of betting one unit at a True Count
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(TC) of 1 or less, two units at 2, four units at 3, six units at 4 and eight units at a TC of
5 or more will yield an overall “initial bet” advantage of only 0.58%. (See Part 1 for
how this is calculated.) A 1-12 spread where a TC of four has us betting 8 units, ten
units at 5 and twelve units of 6 or more under the same conditions has an initial bet
advantage of 0.81%. 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.
The reason for the small gain is simple: The penetration is just so shallow that you’ll
seldom be making a 10- or 12-unit 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. We lessen the impact of that quite a bit in the six-deck games by leaving the
table when the TC drops to -1 or lower, but we pretty much agree that tactic isn’t as
feasible in a double-deck game and you’ll generally have to play through all the
counts, negative and positive. It’s costly. Sure, you could “ramp” your bets more
quickly so the top bet is out at a TC of, say, 4, but that’ll have you bouncing bets all
over the place and it’s sure to draw a lot of attention, if not “heat”. I think I can show
you a better way to go and, a little later on, I’ll show you a tactic that can really make
you some $$$ at even this mediocre game.
Betting With the True Count
For each increase of 1 in the true count as figured by the Hi/Lo counting method,
the player’s advantage increases by about .5% in the average Blackjack game. If the
casino has an edge over the basic strategy player of .41% (2 decks, double on any
first two cards, double after splitting pairs, dealer hits on A-6 and surrender is not
available), it takes a True Count (TC) of just about 1 in order to get “even” with the
house. Being even means that the player who utilizes proper basic strategy will win
as much as s/he loses – in the long run – at a True Count of one. A TC of 2 gives the
counter an edge of .5% over the house; a TC 3 gives the player an edge of 1% and so
forth. These are conservative numbers because beyond a TC of about 2.4 (the point
at which you should make the insurance bet) in a double-deck game, the value of
each increase of 1 in TC is actually worth a little more than 0.5%.
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t is the edge that a player has on the upcoming hand that determines their
bet. Counters bet only a small portion of their capital on any one hand, because
while they will win in the long run, they could lose any given hand. By betting an
amount that is in proportion to their advantage (called the “Kelly Criterion”), they
are maximizing their potential. A lot of people misinterpret the Kelly Criterion by
assuming that the amount bet is in direct proportion to the advantage. They think
that if you have a 1% edge, you should bet 1% of your “bankroll” and that is incorrect.
What they are forgetting is the doubling and pair splitting that goes on in the course
of a game, which increases the risk or “variance” of a hand. For a game with rules
like those listed above, the optimum bet is 76% of the player’s advantage. Here’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:
True Count Advantage % Optimum Bet
-1 or lower -0.91% or more 0%
0 -0.41% 0%
1 0.09% x 76% 0.07%
2 0.59% x 76% 0.45%
3 1.09% x 76% 0.83%
4 1.59% x 76% 1.21%
5 2.09% x 76% 1.59%
6 2.59% x 76% 1.97%
7 3.09% x 76% 2.35%
8 3.59% x 76% 2.73%
9 4.09% x 76% 3.10%
10 4.59% x 76% 3.49%
By using this table, you can determine the optimal bet for any bankroll; just
multiply the figure in the last column by the amount of the bankroll. Thus, for a
bankroll of $5000, the optimal bet for a true count of 2 is .0045 X $5000 = $22.50.
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Some Practical Considerations

First and foremost, it isn’t practical to bet in units of less than $1, so a betting
schedule must be rounded off. Secondly, it is more appropriate to bet in units of $5
or $10 so that you’ll look like the average gambler, plus it cuts down on the
calculations you need to make. Further, it is impossible to refigure your optimal bet
while seated at the table, even though it should be recalculated as the bankroll
varies up and down. Finally, it just isn’t possible to play only at games where the true
count is 2 or higher so you will have to make a lot of bets when the house has an
edge. 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.
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. That concept,
however, presents two problems. First and foremost, the “pit critters” are going to
know you’re a counter after about ten minutes of play and they’ll likely ask you to
leave. An even bigger problem is that you’d be making your maximum bet when you
had a tiny advantage of only 0.09%. Such a small edge virtually guarantees that you’ll
lose many of those hands so you could hit a losing streak that would wipe you out if
your top bet were, say, one-fiftieth of your bankroll. But, if you can get away with it
(as I know some players in Europe can), you have to make sure your bankroll is much
bigger than just 50 times your maximum bet. A bankroll of 200-300 max bets would
be more appropriate in that case.
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. If your minimum
bet is $10, then a 1-8 spread will make your top bet $80, no matter how high the
count gets. Depending upon when you’d like to get your top bet on the table, that is,
at which True Count, it’s then a simple matter to calculate just what size your total
bankroll should be. Let’s say you wanted to bet $80 at a TC of 5 or more. The
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optimum bet for that count is 1.59% of your total bankroll, so if you divide $80 by
0.0159, you get $5031 as the proper bankroll. Now remember, you won’t be making
every $80 bet at that count because it’s your “top” bet and some will be made at a
higher advantage, but $5000 is a good number and one that I’ll recommend.
Just a quick note here: That $5000 represents the total amount you should be willing
to commit to this adventure, but it’s not what you’ll carry with you on a trip to the
casino. For most trips, a “session” bankroll of 20 top bets or $1600 should suffice,
but there will be a time when even that’s not enough. We’ll talk about that
later. With a $5000 bankroll, the betting schedule could look like this:
0 or lower $10 $0
1 $10 $3.50
2 $25 $22.50
3 $40 $41.50
4 $60 $60.50
5 $80 $79.50
6 $80 $98.50
7 $80 $117.50
8 $80 $136.50
9 $80 $155.00
10 $80 $174.50
Please notice that “Optimum Bet” means the best bet for that count, were you
able to make it. Because our top bet is purposely capped $80, this schedule uses it at
a count of 5 or more. But, if you’re able to get away with a higher bet, the $5000
bankroll supports the bets shown: $100 at a TC of 6 and so on. If you do that, though,
your “session” bankroll should be bigger than the $1600 previously recommended.
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The Bet Schedule Examined

First of all, I hate this schedule for a lot of reasons. The main one is that it’s a dead
giveaway to any “pit critters” (PCs) that know the generally accepted bet spread
needed to beat a double-deck game is 1-8. And here you are, playing away, hour
after hour with a minimum bet of $10 and you never bet over… what? $80! Well,
duh. Gosh, is 80 eight times 10? Even the thickest PC knows that. Don’t forget that
they’re “hawking” these games anyway, so we don’t want to make it easy for them.
I’m firmly convinced that a lot of counters are getting 86’d at good DD games
because they’re betting $25 at a minimum and $200 at a maximum; 8 to 1, the magic
number for a DD game. We need to change that for our game.
The other reason I hate this betting schedule is, it’s “clunky”. By that I mean it
requires some fairly precise bet levels and precision betting is another sign of a
counter. This one goes from $10 to $25, which is fine if you’re playing at a $10 table.
I don’t have a problem with that. But then it goes to $40, which is three red chips on
a green chip. It actually makes you look like you’re betting more than if you were to
just go to two greens ($50). After the $40, you go to $60, which isn’t too bad,
because it’s a 50% “parlay” if you won the previous hand and the dealer didn’t color
you up to all green when s/he paid you on the last hand. But the dealer will
constantly be taking away reds and giving you greens in an attempt to make you bet
more per hand, not to mention trying to eliminate the difficulties s/he’s having in
continually breaking down your bet if you’re at a casino where they have to separate
the colors before paying you. Clunky! Precise, to be sure, but it will definitely slow
down your game and actually help the casino to toss you out. You don’t need that.
But what’s the alternative? Let’s look at some possibilities.
The Betting Schedule Simulated
To test this betting schedule and to find some alternatives to it, I ran a series of
simulations on Statistical Blackjack Analyzer (SBA) using the rules of our “core”
game: 2 decks, double on any first two cards, double after splitting pairs, dealer
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hits on A-6 and surrender is not available. What got changed from simulation to
simulation will be shown in the explanation for each.

The SBA software is no longer available. For simulations, I use the newer, faster,
and more powerful CVData.
Simulation #1 – Basic Strategy for the play of the hands, Player’s Bet as shown in the
schedule above according to the Hi/Lo count, never left the table regardless of how
low the count got (“play all”). Penetration was 60/104.
Simulation #1: Results
Initial Bet Advantage: 0.59%
SCORE: 13.31
Estim. Payoff per 100,000 rounds played is $10,325.65,

with an estimated standard deviation of $8950.40.
Average st. dev. per round: $28.30
Av. std. per round per unit: 1.13153
Average bet per round: $17.42
Comments on Simulation #1 –
This will serve as our “baseline” game and it’s easy to see you’d really be wasting
your time at it. The primary reason is the shallow penetration, just as I showed you
in Part 1. The SCORE is a measurement called “Standardized Comparison Of Risk
and Expectation” that was developed by Don Schlesinger and others and is
thoroughly explained in his book, “Blackjack Attack”, which every serious card
counter should own. For our purposes here, it’s an effective way of comparing the
value of each game or bet schedule or whatever that we will be examining: the
higher the SCORE, the more $$$ you’ll make. As a side note, a SCORE of 40-50 ought
to be the minimum one should look for in the games they’ll be playing.
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The other numbers are pretty much self-explanatory (yeah, right!) and are calculated
by the SBA software. I’m basically tossing them in for the “math boyz and girlz” out
there, but the 100,000 rounds of play number is one you need to understand. This
number has caused more card counters to quit the game, convinced that it cannot
be beat, than any other factor out there. What it says is this: Were you to play
100,000 hands of this game (at 100 hands per hour that’s 1000 hours of play!) your
expectation is to win roughly $10,000. However, that $10,000 result can fall within
one, two or even three standard deviations from a reality point of view, so if you
experienced a one standard deviation event to the loss side of the ledger, your result
would be a profit of $10,000 minus $8950 or $1050! That’s about a buck an hour.
Should you be really unlucky (about a 1 in 50 shot), you’d actually end the 100,000
hands of play with a loss of your entire $5000 bankroll, plus a couple of grand extra,
should you care to toss it into the pot. And this could happen even if you play each
hand perfectly, never over-bet, don’t lose count at the table, etc. Some people use
stats like this to justify their idea, “It’s all luck, not skill” and they couldn’t be more
wrong. But don’t get me started. We have some way to go before we rest this night
and, as “The Duke” would say: “We’re burnin’ daylight, Pilgrim.” Plus, I’ll talk about
“risk of ruin” later.
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Simulation #2 – Everything is the same, except the most important Basic Strategy
variations are used to play the hands (These are the “Illustrious 18” that are
explained in “Blackjack Attack”, the most important being taking insurance at a TC of
2.4).
SCORE: 30.51

with an estimated standard deviation of $9187.70.
You can quickly see that the average bet remains the same, but the potential profit
has increased by nearly 60% and that’s due to making better plays with the cards
you’re dealt. It should point out that you cannot expect to get a big advantage at
this game playing only Basic Strategy and by just varying your bets according to the
count, like you can in a six-deck game. While the “Illustrious 18” will get most of the
$$$ for you, it’s a series of variations that are based upon “high” counts and it
ignores low-count plays such as hitting 12 against a dealer’s 4 and others like that. I
agree with the concept because you’ll be betting minimums in those situations,
consequently the potential gains aren’t all that big, but later on I’ll show you what
you can do with variations in the -6 to +10 range and then you can learn what you’d
like.
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Simulation #3 – In this one, I want to “de-clunk” the original betting schedule

presented above by making it less precise and by using as few $5 chips as
possible. We can’t get around using “reds” if we’re at a $10 table because nothing
will kill you quicker than betting $25 in negative counts and then spreading only to
$80 or so in positive counts, so the minimum bet has really got to be the minimum:
$10, period. But what will happen if we ramp-up a little faster by betting $50 at 3,
$75 at 4 and topping out somewhere between $80 and $100 at 5? This will require a
bigger bankroll if our average bet is $90 at a TC of 5, about $6000. What I’m
suggesting here is that you not bet the same amount each time the count’s at 5 or
more. In some places, the dealer will call out, “checks play” if you bet $100 or more
and that will attract some attention, but in a lot of places that won’t happen and, in
fact at $100 per hand, you may be the small bettor at the table! Only you know your
local game, but keep it in mind and check what they do the next time you go.
Another approach is to play two hands as the count goes up, but so many casinos
now have a “no mid-shoe entry” rule that precludes it, I’m reluctant to add it into
what is already a very long lesson. Plus, I’ve already covered that in the series,
“Playing Multiple Hands”, which is archived at The GameMaster Online if you think
that’s how you’d like to proceed.
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Here’s the schedule I used for this simulation, otherwise everything is like #2:
0 or lower $10 $0
1 $15 $3.50
2 $25 $22.50
3 $50 $41.50
4 $75 $60.50
5 $90 $79.50
6 $90 $98.50
7 $90 $117.50
8 $90 $136.50
9 $90 $155.00
10 $90 $174.50
I made the top bet $90, but remember that it’s an average; sometimes you’ll bet $80
and other times you’ll bet $100. Our “risk of ruin” has gone up, no doubt, but let’s
see if it’s justified.
SCORE: 35.33

with an estimated standard deviation of $10,557.60.
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Hey, not bad! We’ve just about doubled the estimated profit and it would take a
two standard deviation event to put us at a loss, but even then it would be only (!!)
$2000 or so. It’s obvious that this is a better betting schedule, but can you pull it off?
You’re now using a 1-10 spread at least part of the time and that’ll require either a
good “act” or short playing sessions. Basically, we’re dragging a $20/hour profit out
of the game (assuming 100 hands per hour) and to some people that’s a nice return
on a $6000 investment. To others it’s a pittance and I understand that; we all want
different things.
Before I let you go, I want to show you what this simulation looks like if you are able
to avoid playing when the TC drops to -3. It’s tough to do, I know, but definitely
worthwhile, if at all possible. Develop an overactive bladder or any other trick to
avoid playing the negative decks and you can make some nice $$$ at this game!
Simulation #4 – Everything is the same as # 3, except you leave when the count
drops to -3 or lower.
SCORE: 67.41

with an estimated standard deviation of $11,527.45.
Wow! This puppy makes you want to run out and find a game, doesn’t it? But hold
on, pardner. First of all, you need to remember that it’s going to take you longer to
play 100,000 hands because you’ll be away from the table quite a bit. How often?
Well, SBA can tell us that because it keeps track of the “dropouts” and they are
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considerable. This simulation played 10,946,376 “shoes” and it left 4,912,246 when
the count dropped. That’s just about 45% of the time, which is a big number. So, it’ll
likely take you twice as long to play the 100,000 hands and that’ll cut the hourly win
to $15, if you consider an “hour” to be time in the casino. If you consider it to be
time on the table, it’s another matter. But who’s going to figure it that way?
You actually make more per hour under the conditions of Simulation #3 because
you’re “on the green” almost all the time but you make more per hand played
when you use the tactics of Simulation #4. Like so many other things in life, you
pays yer money and you takes yer choice.
Here’s some homework. Decide on a betting “schedule” you’d like to use, then
make up a set of flashcards to help you memorize it. Just put the various True Counts
on the front (1 or lower, 2, etc.) and then put the proper bet on the back. Go through
them until you know what you should be betting for each count.
In the next (and last lesson on Double Deck) we’ll wrap up with basic strategy
variations.
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Double Deck Basic Strategy Variations
Beating the double-deck Blackjack game requires that you first find a game that
offers decent penetration and a minimum bet that will allow you to spread your
bets from 1 to 8, yet still stay within reasonable money management principles
based upon your total bankroll. Another “arrow in your quiver”, so to speak is to
vary the play of your hand according to the count.
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 use the count to help you play each hand more
accurately, too. If you’ve studied my course up to this point, you know one of the
key factors in playing a winning game of Blackjack is to leave the table when the True
Count drops to -1 or lower, but that tactic isn’t very practical at most double-deck
games because fewer rounds of hands are dealt before the shuffle, as compared to a
six-deck game.
Consequently, you have to sit through a lot more “negative” decks, but the good
thing is that a shuffle is never too far away. Yet, at the same time, we all know the
casino’s edge increases as the count drops, so we want to neutralize the effects of
that as much as possible. Because you’ll likely be sitting through many more negative
counts at a double-deck game, what we need to do is learn the plays for hands like
hitting 12 against a dealer’s 5 and so forth. We also want to avoid doubling and
splitting pairs in low counts and we’ll hit instead. But we don’t want to guess at
important plays like that, so we’ll need to learn Basic Strategy variations for “lower”
numbers, like -2, -3 and so forth. A realistic range for most double-deck games is a
True Count of -6 to +6 and that will cover 85% of all the hands you’ll ever play,
assuming 50-60% penetration.
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. In his book,
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“Blackjack Attack“, Don Schlesinger devoted a chapter to what he calls “The

Illustrious 18” that are, in his opinion, the most important Basic Strategy variations.
I’m not big on reproducing other authors’ original works, so I’ll refer you to the book
for a complete listing if you feel you’d rather not memorize all of the variations I’ve
listed here. Another idea worth considering is to not learn the indices below -2, with
the rationale that you’ll likely be betting the minimum in such a count, so any playing
mistakes will, in the long run, cost you very little. Or, you might want to learn only
the indices where you’ll be placing extra bets on the table, as in doubles and splits,
with the idea that, if I’m going to be putting more $$$ on the table, I’m sure as hell
going to play the hand correctly.
But I’m of the opinion that if something about this game can be learned, it should be
learned. (Okay, I know I’m a fanatic for this stuff, but what can I do?) If double-deck
games will be where you’ll spend most of your time, then it’s probably worth the
effort to memorize all the indices presented here. But if this isn’t your primary
game, a range of -2 to +6 with some judicious editing will probably suffice. Don’t
forget that most of these indices are similar to those for a six-deck game, so you
won’t be starting from scratch. Learn those numbers you think are important for
where and how you play.
Rather 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. Don’t worry if you have a problem understanding
it, because I’ll explain it all at the bottom.
Basic Strategy Variations Matrix

Double Deck, H17, Da2, no das, no surrender
See the matrix. (Use your back button to get back here.)
Using the Matrix
(GM Note: The Basic Strategy for this game is available from BlackjackInfo.com: 2D,
H17, DA2, NDAS Basic Strategy)
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It’s a lot easier to use this matrix if you’ve memorized the Basic Strategy for this
game and if you haven’t yet done that, you really should learn it before you get
into this advanced mode of play. For each player hand and dealer’s up card
combination you will see either a specific action, such as hit, stand, double, etc., or a
number. The number is an “action point” based upon the True Count and it keys the
variation. As to what the proper variation is for a situation may get a little confusing,
but if you study the hand in question, you can usually figure it out. A good example
of this is A,7 versus a dealer’s 2. In the matrix, you’ll see the number 2 in that spot,
so do you hit or stand or do something else? Well, “something else” is the answer, so
you should double, just as you do with A,7 vs. 3, 4, 5, and 6. Logic plays a role here,
so if a play sounds illogical, it’s probably the wrong one. Would you really hit A,7
against a 2? Of course, you might stand, but that’s already the Basic Strategy play, so
doubling is all that’s left. Consequently, what this is telling you is that you should
double A,7 against a dealer’s up card of 2 when the True Count is 2 or more. If the
True Count is less than 2, use the Basic Strategy play, which is to stand. Against a 3,
Basic Strategy says to double A,7. But the index for that is -2, so that’s telling you to
double A,7 vs. 3 only if the True Count is -2 or higher. If it’s not, then you should
stand. Let’s talk about another variation that may cause some confusion: 8, 8 vs. 10.
The notation in that box is “Stand@6”, so if the True Count is 6 or more, you will not
split the 8s, but stand instead.
The general rule for understanding the Basic Strategy Variations Matrix is this: If the
number in a slot is 0 or a minus, then that play is a Basic Strategy move that you
should make as long as the count is higher than the number shown. For example,
with A,4 vs. 4, you will double as long as the count is 0 or higher. If the count is
minus, just hit. In the case of 9 vs. 4, you’ll double as long as the count is -3 or higher
(remember that -1 is “higher” than -2).
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I don’t want you to leave without me telling you the most important variation of all,
which is the Insurance bet. You hopefully know that proper Basic Strategy tells us
to never take insurance (even when you have a ‘natural’ and the dealer’s up card is
an Ace, in spite of what everybody else tells you), but in a double-deck game, the
insurance bet becomes profitable at a True Count of 2 (actually 2.4 if you can achieve
that degree of accuracy) or higher.
Learning the Basic Strategy Variations
Once you’ve chosen the Basic Strategy variations you want to learn, you should
make a set of flash cards for them. Exactly how to do that is explained in Lesson 14
of “The GameMaster’s Blackjack School” and I cannot over-emphasize their value.
Make up a set and carry them with you, or at least study them intently before each
playing session if double-deck Blackjack isn’t your “primary” game.
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Lesson 24 – Understanding the Surrender Option

I can well remember the good ol’ days in Atlantic City when casino gaming first
began there. The one casino that was open at the time (Resorts International) had to
offer a Blackjack game where the rules were established by the Casino Control
Commission and that included a weird rule called ‘surrender’. At least we thought
it was weird until we figured out what a huge advantage it gave to the player who
used it correctly!
Most players dubbed surrender as a sucker bet. One time at a table, some other
player summed it all up when he declared: “Surrendering is nuts! Why give up half
your bet when you could just as easily win the hand?” To a degree, he was right.
What I mean by that is it’s true that a player could win or lose any one given hand,
but he didn’t carry the thought far enough. If you play thousands of hands, giving up
50% of the bet on some of them is actually the cheaper alternative to playing it
out.For those of you who aren’t familiar with surrender, it’s a player option that
some casinos offer. When allowed, you may elect to give up half the amount
you’ve bet rather than play out the hand. For the mathematically inclined, you can
see that for those hands where your expectation is to lose more than 50% of your
bet, surrender is a good deal. (Ignoring pushes, an expected loss of over 50% means
you are more than 75% likely to lose the hand.) There are two types of surrender:
early and late. Those terms refer to whether or not a dealer checks to see if s/he has
a blackjack (when an Ace or 10 is showing) before you may make the surrender
decision. In A.C., the type of surrender was ‘early’ which meant that you could give
up half your bet before the dealer knew if s/he had a ‘natural’. That came about
simply because state regulations didn’t allow ‘peeking’, so a dealer didn’t know what
his hand was until all the players had made their playing decisions.
These days, the most common form of surrender is the ‘late’ version where the
dealer checks for a natural and, if s/he doesn’t have it, then you may
surrender. This is worth a lot less, since if the dealer does have a natural, s/he takes
your bet before you can surrender. But, in spite of that restriction, surrender can still
be of some value to you, if you use it properly.
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Let me show you an example; assume a 6-deck game with double after split allowed
and the dealer must stand on A-6. If I have a hand of 9, 7 and the dealer is showing a
10, my ‘expectation’ is to lose 53.7% of all the money I bet in that situation. If I
surrender, I’ll lose 50% of all the money bet in that situation. A modest improvement,
but better nonetheless. This makes figuring the basic strategy for surrender very
simple. If the expectation is to lose more than 50%, you should surrender
instead.The appropriate use of surrender varies depending on whether the dealer
hits or stands on soft 17. I provide both sets of strategies here:
For 6-deck games where the dealer STANDS on all 17s:
Surrender against a dealer 9, 10, Ace.

Player’s hand of 9,7 or 10,6:
(Don’t surrender a pair of 8s. Split them instead.)
Player’s hand of hard 15: Surrender against a dealer 10.
For 6-deck games where the dealer HITS Soft 17:
Player’s hand of hard 15: Surrender against a dealer’s 10, Ace
Player’s hand of 9,7 or 10,6: Surrender against a dealer 9, 10, Ace.
Player’s hand of 8, 8: Surrender against a dealer Ace.
Player’s hand of hard 17: Surrender against a dealer Ace.
Late surrender adds to the player’s edge by a modest .1%, but I like it when I have a
big bet out there and I get a 10 for my first card, as expected, and then get the last 6
in the deck as my next card. Who hasn’t done that before?
If you count cards, the surrender option is an even better deal as the count goes
up. If you’ve read and studied my lessons up to this point, you know that in a ‘high’
count situation, the proportion of 10s and faces (and Aces) in the remaining deck(s)
versus ‘little’ cards is much greater, so the odds of getting such a card have increased
considerably. This is where the value of surrender goes up.
Most surrender available these days is ‘late’ surrender, which means that the dealer
checks the hole card if s/he is showing an Ace or 10. If s/he has a ‘natural’, your
entire bet is lost and surrender isn’t an option. Knowing that the dealer doesn’t
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have a Blackjack makes surrender, to some people, a stupid play, but let’s examine
the situation a bit closer. Just what kind of hand can the dealer get with a face card
showing? First of all, the dealer is going to bust only 23% of the time when s/he is
showing a 10 or face as an up card. Secondly, s/he is going to end with a total of 20
or 21 41% of the time! And you think you’re going to beat her with your 16? When
the dealer is showing an Ace, and does NOT have a Blackjack, s/he still is going to
end with a total of 19 or more 46% of the time and will bust only 17% of the time.
That’s why surrender is valid, even if the dealer doesn’t have a Blackjack.
Now, as the count goes up, both you and the dealer have a better chance of getting
10s and Aces. Thus, it’s more likely that you’ll get a 10 card if you hit. So, if you have
a hand of 15 and the dealer is showing a 9, s/he has a better chance of having a 10 in
the hole and it’s more likely that you’ll hit with a 10. Time to bail! When the true
count is 2 or more, surrender your 15s against a dealer’s 9. Against an Ace, surrender
15 at a true of 2 or more, if the dealer stands on A-6. If the dealer is required to hit
A-6, surrendering 15 is a basic strategy move. Another good one to remember is to
surrender 14 against a 10 at a true of 3 or more.
The use of surrender is, from my experience, interesting from a ‘camouflage’ point
of view. As you are hopefully aware, we card-counters prefer to keep our skills
concealed since, for some sick reason, casino personnel don’t like counters.
Surrendering is actually a fairly sophisticated playing technique, so it’s fair to say that
the ‘average’ gambler doesn’t use it. Yet, I want to look like an avaerage gambler in
order to conceal my abilty to beat the game. But I use surrender when it’s offered
and it really helps when the count is high, I have a big bet out there and I surrender a
15 against a 9 (or a 13 against a 10 – true of 8), because it makes me look like a
‘chicken.’ Most casino personnel think surrender is a ‘sucker’ play anyway, so when
they see you giving up half a $200 bet, they think you’ll never make any $$$ at the
game. That’s just what I want them to think.
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This is the final lesson of my Blackjack School, at least for the time being. However,
I’m always coming up with new ways to beat the game and I usually write a new
article on the topic once a month. So, to stay in touch, be sure to visit our original
site, The GameMaster Online on a regular basis.
215
这是我二十一点学校的最后一课，至少暂时是这样。然而，我总是想出新的方法来打败这个
比赛，我通常每月写一篇关于这个话题的新文章。所以，要保持联系，一定要定期访问我们
的网站-游戏大师在线。
（译者注：到此翻译完成，没翻译的部分看以后更方面的情况在决定是否继续。）
216

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Blackjack School –Table of Contents

Blackjack School – A Free 24-Lesson Class on Card Counting

Welcome to the GameMaster Blackjack School

Sometimes you just need a place to start.

欢迎来到 GAMEMASTER 二十一点学校

Lesson 1 – Basic Strategy

Basic Strategy Matrix :

This resource can also be downloaded for printing purposes.

Player’s Hand Decisions

5 thru 8 Always Hit

9 Double 3 thru 6, o/w hit

10 Double 2 thru 9, o/w hit

11 Double 2 thru 10, o/w hit

12 Stand 4 thru 6, o/w Hit

13 thru 16 Stand 2 thru 6, o/w Hit

17 or higher Always Stand

A,2 Double vs 5&6, o/w Hit

A,3 Double vs 5&6, o/w Hit

A,4 Double vs 4 thru 6, o/w Hit

A,5 Double vs 4 thru 6, o/w Hit

A,6 Double vs 3 thru 6, o/w Hit

A,7 Double 3 thru 6, Stand vs 2,7,8 Hit vs 9,10, A

A,8-A,9 Always Stand

2,2 Split 2 thru 7, o/w Hit

3,3 Split 2 thru 7, o/w Hit

4,4 Split vs 5 & 6, o/w Hit

5,5 Never Split, treat as “10”

6,6 Split 2 thru 6, o/w Hit

7,7 Split 2 thru 7, o/w Hit

8,8 Always split

9,9 Split 2 thru 9 except 7; o/w Stand

10,10 Never Split

A,A Always Split

Lesson 2 – Learning Basic Strategy

Player’s hand Decisions

(Indicate proper play under “Decision”)

P D Dec P D Dec P D Dec

8,3 A ____ 2,3,6 4 ____ A,4,2 3 ____

6,6 4 ____ 9,9 7 ____ 7,6 3 ____

5,4 6 ____ 10,3 3 ____ 8,2 A ____

7,7 7 ____ 9,8 7 ____ 8,8 10 ____

9,6 8 ____ A,7 2 ____ 10,7 2 ____

7,5 3 ____ A,4 5 ____ 9,3 3 ____

A,2 5 ____ 6,4 10 ____ 7,4 A ____

3,3 4 ____ A,4 5 ____ 6,3 7 ____

9,2 10 ____ 10,8 6 ____ A,6 5 ____

5,5 9 ____ 6,8 7 ____ A,9 6 ____

A,7 6 ____ 9,7 8 ____ 10,4 5 ____

6,3 4 ____ A,2,5 6 ____ 9,9 9 ____

5,2 2 ____ 3,6 4 ____ 2,4 2 ____

10,2 3 ____ 7,8 9 ____ 6,5 2 ____

9,9 7 ____ 10,3 3 ____ 7,7 2 ____

10,4 9 ____ A,4 4 ____ 3,4 5 ____

6,5 9 ____ 10,5 7 ____ 4,4 6 ____

S=stand 停牌 H＝hit 要牌 P＝split 分牌 D＝double 加倍

8,3 A ____ 2,3,6 4 ____ A,4,2 3 ____

6,6 4 ____ 9,9 7 ____ 7,6 3 ____

5,4 6 ____ 10,3 3 ____ 8,2 A ____

7,7 7 ____ 9,8 7 ____ 8,8 10 ____

9,6 8 ____ A,7 2 ____ 10,7 2 ____

7,5 3 ____ A,4 5 ____ 9,3 3 ____

A,2 5 ____ 6,4 10 ____ 7,4 A ____

版本03 blackjackschool 21点黑杰克学校下载与翻译2018年9月华光Tom

版本03 blackjackschool 21点黑杰克学校下载与翻译2018年9月华光Tom

8,3 A 2,3,6 4 A,4,2 3

6,6 4 9,9 7 7,6 3

5,4 6 10,3 3 8,2 A

7,7 7 9,8 7 8,8 10

9,6 8 A,7 2 10,7 2

7,5 3 A,4 5 9,3 3

A,2 5 6,4 10 7,4 A

3,3 4 A,4 5 6,3 7

9,2 10 10,8 6 A,6 5

5,5 9 6,8 7 A,9 6

A,7 6 9,7 8 10,4 5

6,3 4 A,2,5 6 9,9 9

5,2 2 3,6 4 2,4 2

10,2 3 7,8 9 6,5 2

9,9 7 10,3 3 7,7 2

10,4 9 A,4 4 3,4 5

6,5 9 10,5 7 4,4 6

8,3 A 2,3,6 4 A,4,2 3

6,6 4 9,9 7 7,6 3

5,4 6 10,3 3 8,2 A

7,7 7 9,8 7 8,8 10

9,6 8 A,7 2 10,7 2

7,5 3 A,4 5 9,3 3

A,2 5 6,4 10 7,4 A

3,3 4 A,4 5 6,3 7

9,2 10 10,8 6 A,6 5

5,5 9 6,8 7 A,9 6

A,7 6 9,7 8 10,4 5

6,3 4 A,2,5 6 9,9 9

5,2 2 3,6 4 2,4 2

10,2 3 7,8 9 6,5 2

9,9 7 10,3 3 7,7 2

10,4 9 A,4 4 3,4 5

6,5 9 10,5 7 4,4 6

A,6 2 5,2 10 A,2,4 6

4,4 6 8,8 8 10,2,A 3

10,10 5 A,A 7 8,2 10

8,6 7 8,3 10 6,6 6

7,9 10 5,5 10 5,4 2

10,2,A 3 A,5,A 3 A,7 3

A,2,2 6 2,2 7 3,3 2

2,6 4 A,5 4 7,8 7

9,A 6 6,6 2 9,9 7

10,6 3 3,7 9 2,5,4 2

7,7 6 3,3 2 10,4 6

A,A 9 5,5 9 9,3 5

2,2 2 A,6 3 A,2 6

9,4 4 10,6 7 9,8 7

A,3,4 9 6,6 3 A,4,A 2

A,4,2 6 9,4 2 7,5 3

8,8 10 A,4 10 2,2 6

5,5 8 6,4 9 3,3 7

A,8 6 8,3 A 6,6 2

5,2 2 9,9 10 2,9 10

A,4 6 7,5 4 9,7 5

2,3,4,A 6 7,7 9 5,4 3

A,A A 9,3 7 7,4 10

A,6 2 5,2 10 A,2,4 6

4,4 6 8,8 8 10,2,A 3

10,10 5 A,A 7 8,2 10

8,6 7 8,3 10 6,6 6

7,9 10 5,5 10 5,4 2

10,2,A 3 A,5,A 3 A,7 3

A,2,2 6 2,2 7 3,3 2

2,6 4 A,5 4 7,8 7

9,A 6 6,6 2 9,9 7

10,6 3 3,7 9 2,5,4 2

7,7 6 3,3 2 10,4 6

A,A 9 5,5 9 9,3 5

2,2 2 A,6 3 A,2 6

9,4 4 10,6 7 9,8 7

A,3,4 9 6,6 3 A,4,A 2

A,4,2 6 9,4 2 7,5 3

8,8 10 A,4 10 2,2 6

5,5 8 6,4 9 3,3 7

A,8 6 8,3 A 6,6 2

5,2 2 9,9 10 2,9 10

A,4 6 7,5 4 9,7 5