Introduction: Blackjack: The War for the Money
Section I: The Mystery History
1 The Long, Slow Birth of the Most Popular Casino Card Game in the World
In the Beginning.. Vingt Un
Before the Beginning. . . Quinze, Like Blackjack with Bluffing
If You Cut Quinze in Half . . . Still Bluffing
And as for Insurance . . .
But Before Quinze . . . Trente-Un, and a Sixteenth Century Card Sharp
The Bone Ace Connection . . . where the Ace Equals One or Eleven
Vingt-Un Makes a Splash in Europe
Players Like to Make Decisions
2 Blackjack in the Wild West, or How 21 Became Blackjack
House Rules Change the Game Forever
Let the Games Begin . . .
The First 21 Pro Was a Woman
The Cheaters Thrived
Canfield's Prophecy
Twenty-One Becomes 'Blackjack'
3 Ed Thorp Versus the World
The Real Story of Ed Thorp's Attack on the Casinos
Julian Braun on 'System Smitty'
Mickey MacDougall, the 'Card Detective'
Thorp's Wins and Losses in his 1962 Test of Ten-Count
John Scarne, 'The World's Foremost Expert on Gambling'
The Scarne/MacDougall Feud
Scarne Triumphs
Enter Edward Oakley Thorp . . .
Scarne to the Rescue!
The Downfall of John Scarne
Jacoby Claims the Credit!
Meanwhile, Back at the 'World's Foremost Gambling Expert'
The $100,000 Challenge
Scarne's Mysterious WWII 'Ten-Card Count' Pamphlet
4 Let's Get Ready to Rumble!
How Did It Get This Way?
More Mathematicians Get Involved
Beat the Dealer, Second Edition
The Griffin Agency is Born
Enter Lawrence Revere
The Birth of 'Team Play' in the 1970s
Electronics Enter the Players' Arsenal
How Do You Use a Concealed Blackjack Computer?
Enter Stanford Wong
Did Ken Uston Betray His Mentor?
5 Big Boom on the Boardwalk
The Cops versus the Robbers
Atlantic City, Here We Come!
The 'Experiment'
The Party's Over
Uston Continues His Media Hype
An Expert Goes Down the Tubes
The Inside Scoop on the Campione Case
The Atlantic City Casinos Fight for the Rights of the Stupid
6 Indians, Riverboats, Lawsuits and Loot
The Michigan Indians Lead the Way
The Feds Put the Law on the Indians Side
The Indian Casino Expansion Begins
Bye-Bye Welfare, Hello, Wealth!
The Danger of Crooked Games
The Cowboys Challenge the Indians
Fast Fun in Phoenix
But More Casinos Open in Other States
The Wackiness in Windsor: Hyland's Team Arrested
Options, Options, Options
As the Industry Grew, so Did the Opportunities to Exploit It
The New Game Protectors
Section II: The Game, The Rules, The Strategies
7 Playing the Game
The Basic Structure and Object of the Game
'Hard' Hands and 'Soft' Hands
Playing the Hands
Card Handling Etiquette
Insurance
Hitting and Standing
Busting
Doubling Down
Splitting, Resplitting, and Doubling After Splits
Surrender
No Hole Card
Multi-Action
The Dealer's Hand
Uncommon Rules, Bonuses, and Side-Bets
8 Playing the Game Right
The Basic Strategy
Why Basic Strategy Works . . . The 'Odds'
What is a Half-Percent Advantage in Dollars and Cents?
How Basic Strategy Works . . . The Logic
The False Logic
Basic Strategy for Any Number of Decks
Using the Basic Strategy Chart
The Order of Decisions
How to Practice Basic Strategy
Simplified Basic Strategy
Insurance? Never! (Well . . . Maybe Sometimes . . .)
The Cost of Errors
The Costliest Common Mistake
9 The Odd Truth about 'Even Money'
The Value of a Blackjack
When the Dealer Has a 10 Up
When the Dealer Has an Ace Up
How the Casino Thinks of Even Money
How the Professional Player Thinks of Even Money
How Should You Think of Even Money?
A True Story
But Not All Mathematicians Are Dumb!
10 Meet the Cards
Meet the Ace, the Player's Strongest Ally
When the Dealer Shows an Ace
What the Ace Means to the Player's Hand
A Brief History of Aces
Meet the 10, the Most Important Denomination
Meet the 9, 8, and 7, the Invisible Cards
Meet the 6, 5, and 4—the Cards from Hell
Meet the 3 and 2—the Trouble Cards
11 How to Count Cards
The Red Seven Count
How to Practice Counting Cards
The World's Fastest Card Counter
Setting Your Starting Count for Casino Play
The Red Seven Betting Strategy
Beating the Multiple-Deck Games
The 'Trip' Bankroll
The 'Total' Bankroll
The Red Seven Playing Strategy
Table Conditions
Keep It Simple
12 Rules, Rules, Rules, and More Rules
So Why All the New Rules?
The Number of Decks in Play
The Soft 17 Rule
Doubling Down
The Pair-Split Variations
Surrender
The General Rule on Rules
The Good Rules
The Great Rules
The Alton Belle Massacre
The Double Down Dilemma
The Bad Rules
The Miserable Rules
The Non-Basic Rules
Multi-Action
The I-Can't-Believe-It's-Not-Blackjack Games
13 How to Beat 'Over/Under 13'
A Brief History of Over/Under
Some Sample Hands:
The Over Count Values
14 How to Beat 'Royal Match'
A Bit of History
But You Don't Need to Count the Four Suits
The Simple Royal Match System
What's It Worth?
Nevada Casinos with One-Deck Royal Match Games
15 How to Beat 'Super Sevens'
Super Sevens Payout Schedule
16 How to Beat 'Lucky Ladies'
Lucky Ladies Two-Deck Pay Table
Lucky Ladies Six-Deck Pay Table
What's it Worth?
A Word About Those Damnable Flux
Beware of the Big-Flux Bankroll Eaters!
17 How to Beat 'Spanish 21'
The Big Trick
Simplified Spanish 21 Basic Strategy
The Full Strategy
So How Do You Beat Spanish 21?
18 How to Beat 'Super Fun 21'
The Big Trick
Super Fun 21 Basic Strategy (Compared to the Traditional Game)
Beating Super Fun 21 with the Red Seven Count
Who Invented Super Fun 21?
19 How to Beat 'Double Exposure'
The Big Trick
The Basic Theory
The Simplified Basic Strategy
The Red Seven Betting Strategy
The Red Seven Playing Strategy
Some Basic Strategy Practice Hands
The Double Exposure Quiz
Who Invented Double Exposure?
20 How to Beat 'Blackjack Switch'
The Gimmick
The Big Trick
The Rules of the Game
The Switch
Defining the Dealer's Upcard
Defining the Player's Hands with the WLPC System
Some Sample Hands
The Two-Hand Set Power Ratings
When Switching Does Not Change the Power Rating
When to Switch a Chance/Chance for Another Chance/Chance
When to Switch a Loser/Loser for Another Loser/Loser
When to Switch a Winner/Winner for Another Winner/Winner
When to Switch a Winner/Chance for Another Winner/Chance
The Rules on Switching Blackjacks
Blackjack Switch Quiz
The Blackjack Switch Basic Strategy
Beating Blackjack Switch with the Red Seven Count
21 How to Beat Those Weird California Games
No House Bank
How Much Does That Commission Cost?
Target = 22
No Bust
Wild Cards
Dealer's Options
How Can the Average Player Beat the California Games?
Section III: Having Fun in a Combat Zone
22 Like It or Not, You Are the Enemy
Play versus Work, Us versus Them
The Field of Battle
The Customer is Always Suspect
A Glossary of Surveillance Terms (with thanks to Cellini)
Buzzards
Squirrels
Scorpions
Headstones
Peek Freaks
Rat-Holers
Sluggers
Heat-Seekers
Nursers
Average Annual Salaries for Las Vegas Strip Casino Personnel
Know Your Enemy: The Dealer
Know Your Enemy: The Floor Person
Know Your Enemy: The Pit Boss
Know Your Enemy: The Shift Boss
Know Your Enemy: The Casino Manager
Know Your Enemy: The Surveillance Agent
Know Your Enemy: The Security Guard
23 Winning is Dangerous
Story #1
Story #2
The Moral
Survival Tips
How to Rat-Hole Chips
'Barred' versus 'Backed Off'
But Isn't Barring Illegal Discrimination?
24 Cheating? At Blackjack?
Blackjack's Sordid Past
Why Cheat?
What Will it Cost You?
Payout 'Errors'
Three Simple Rules To Avoid Payout Errors
Cheating in Single-Deck Games
Dealing Seconds
Four Simple Rules To Avoid Seconds Dealers
Stacking a Blackjack
Three Simple Rules To Avoid Blackjack Stackers
Marked Cards
Other Peeking Scams
Preferential Shuffling
Three Simple Steps To Avoid Preferential Shuffles
Cheating in Multi-Deck Shoe Games
The Short Shoe
My Experience with Short Shoes
Two Simple Rules To Avoid Being Short-Shoed
Cutting the High Cards Out of Play
What If the Dealer Cheats to Help You?
What If You Suspect You've Been Cheated?
25 The Eye in the Sky
The Important Things to Know About Surveillance
Should You Be a Refusal? The Pros and the Cons
Should You Get a Player's Card? The Pros and the Cons
Four Tips to Keep the Eye From Identifying You As a Pro
26 Team Play
Why Form a Blackjack Team?
Why Not Form a Blackjack Team? How to beat the blazing bull.
Guidelines for Forming a Team
27 Hole Cards, Devices, Shuffle Tracking, and Nevada-Style 'Justice'
Hole Card Play: Warps, Front Loaders, Spooks
The Peek Freaks Win in a Nevada Court
But 'Video Front Loading' Gets the Shaft
The Anti-Device Law is Tried and Found . . . Vague
More Nevada Justice
'Tell' Play Tested in a Reno Courtroom
Shuffle Tracking
Section IV: Odds, Ends, and Other Weird Stuff
28 The Blackjack Hall of Fame
Julian Braun
Al Francesco
Peter Griffin
Tommy Hyland
Lawrence Revere
Max Rubin
Arnold Snyder
Keith Taft
Edward O. Thorp
Ken Uston
Stanford Wong
29 Twenty-One Questions
30 Poetry (with apologies..)
A Visit from St. Who?
Aces
The Charge of the Count Brigade
Do Not Go Gentle Into That Back Room
The Griffin
Prowl
31 Blackjack Reality versus Blackjack Hype
APPENDIX
Comprehensive Basic Blackjack Strategy
Spanish 21 Basic Strategy
Super Fun 21 Basic Strategy
Double Exposure Basic Strategy
Blackjack Switch Basic Strategy
Acknowledgments and References
Index
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Four divine beasts. With Spanish 21, hitting becomes more attractive because you have less chance of busting (remember, there are fewer 10-value cards), and if you hit to 21, you automatically win. Therefore, some of the traditional 'stand on stiffs' becomes 'hits' in Spanish 21, when your stiff hand contains four, five, or six cards. How to 'Beat the Dealer'? Slotomania auto coin collector. Blackjack card game attracts players who want to win big and prove to themselves that they are smart and able to 'beat the dealer'. The main idea of the game is to get as closer as possible to the 21 points without going bust which means not to exceed 21.
How To Beat Spanish 21 Blackjack
- The Spanish flu has been a subject of study ever since it first struck, mostly due to how fast and deadly it was. In spite of all of our efforts trying to understand it, though, for the longest time, we had no idea about what caused it or what kind of virus it even was.
- Not to mention the fact that Spanish is continuing to grow in traditionally non-Spanish speaking countries. Let's take the United States, for example, where Hispanics account for 18% of America's population, and are projected to make up 28% by 2060, according to the United States Census Bureau.
