Bryce Carlson - Blackjack for Blood: The Card-Counters Bible and Complete Winning Guide

BLACKJACK FOR BLOOD

Revised Edition

Copyright 1992, 1993, 1994, 1997, 2001, 2017 by Bryce Carlson

All right reserved

BLACKJACK FOR BLOOD

The Card-Counters Bible,

and

Complete Winning Guide

Bryce Carlson, B.A., M.B.A.

This book is dedicated to

my son Sean,

my wife Diane,

my mother Virginia,

and to the loving memory of

my father Jade.

Some Good News

and Some Bad News

The Bad News:

According to the casinos,

youve got about as much chance

as a lamb in a slaughterhouse.

The Good News:

The day of the lamb has come.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I could not have written this book, nor would my blackjack career have existed, without the contributions of the talented players and researchers who have come before me. If I have seen beyond the mountain into the valley of truth, it is because I have stood upon the shoulders of giants.

And foremost among these giants is Ed Thorp to whom I, and every other pro blackjack player, owe a huge debt for his masterful work Beat the Dealer; this is the foundation for everything we have built.

Julian Braun also deserves high praise for his detailed computer studies, which provided the first really accurate playing strategies.

And, of course, no acknowledgment would be complete without mention of the late Lawrence Revere. He could be crusty; he could be crude, and he played both sides of the streetbut he taught me how to play, and he showed me how to win.

These are the masters emeritus in the Blackjack Hall of Fame. Their works form the basis for the theory, analysis, and practice of scientific Twenty-One.

Thanks, also, to the many friends and colleagues whose insights, experiences, and suggestions have helped make this a far better work than it otherwise might have been.

And, I guess I also owe a debt to the pit bosses and casino managers who have made my blackjack career so challenging; dealing with these pit bulls is not only one of the most difficult aspects of professional play, it is also one of the most rewarding.

Lastly, a special thanks to Mons M., and Mlle K., for reasons they alone know, but without whose help my blackjack career might have ended late one night in a small town in the south of France.

PREFACE

My purpose in writing this book is to provide the reader with a comprehensive strategy for obtaining a winning edge at blackjack as it is commonly played in the casinos of Nevada and elsewhere, and also to entertain the reader with some sense of the glamour, excitement and drama that are a part of the world of the professional gambler.

For a Twenty-One game plan to be effective, it must address three fundamental and very different issues. First, it must show the player how to bet his money properly and how to play the hands accurately; without this you have nothing. Second, it must instruct the player on how to deal effectively with casino personnel; if the casino bosses wont allow you to play, it doesnt matter how well you play, you are out of business. And third, a professional approach to the game requires the ability to deal with yourself, to maintain control under pressure, and in situations loaded with stress. This may surprise you, but many fine players have lost everything because they were just unable to handle the stress of serious play. You may play wonderfully, and know every nuance of handling the casino bosses, but if you cant keep your own emotions under control, you are lost. Its just that simple.

If this is all beginning to sound like it might involve a little effort, well, there is good reason for thatit does involve some work! But if the time and effort necessary to master Twenty-One are viewed in perspective, they pale compared to the fantastic rewards the game offers to those who come prepared. And the most satisfying of these rewards is not monetary, although there is a whole lot of money to be made playing Twenty-One. To me, and I think to most expert players, the real satisfaction comes from the mastery of the game itself: to know you are a world class player, one of a handful of the very best, at a game played around the world, is very gratifying.

There have been many books, booklets, systems, and strategies written about the game of casino Twenty-One, and they vary in value from the worthless to the priceless, and in cost from two dollars to two thousand(!) dollars. From a purely theoretical stand-point, the best of these works have generally been written by highly-trained mathematicians and statisticians working in research laboratories with access to the latest in high speed digital computers. Several excellent Twenty-One strategies have been developed by these talented men, and their works have had a profound impact on the game. Unfortunately, however, because they have been researchers, and not professional blackjack players, their works have often lacked the practical insights necessary for survival in the casino environment. It is one thing to play blackjack on a computer, in the sterile atmosphere of a research laboratory. It is a very different thing to play blackjack in a casino, with your own money at stake, with a paranoid pit boss hawking your every move, a rock band blasting away in the background, and a pretty cocktail waitress jiggling her maracas in your face. Believe me, it makes a difference. Other works, written by active professional players, have handled the practical aspects somewhat better, but they have often been marred by serious mathematical inaccuracies and misconceptions.

Nowhere, to my knowledge, was a work to be found that dealt completely and accurately with all aspects of this fascinating game. That is what I have set out to do in this book; the results achieved by you, my readers, in actual casino play, will be the measure of my success.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

I awake to soft strains of Polynesian music and the soothing voice of a kimo-no-clad JAL stewardess welcoming me to Honolulu, Hawaii. As I look out the window, I catch a glimpse of Diamond Head silhouetted against the evening sky. And though I have been to the Islands many times, the sight of Diamond Head, guarding the entrance to this island paradise like some majestic, eternal sphinx, always fills me with wonder for the majesty and beauty of nature.

Two weeks in Hawaii. A few days enjoying the night life of Honolulu, then on to the golden sands and warm tropical waters of Maui, the trophy marlin off Kona on the Big Island, and, finally, the quiet beauty of Kauai. The Garden Isle. A place to relax, unwind, be lulled to sleep by the rhythm of the pounding surf. A place to remember that it is good to be young, and good to be alive.

The professional twenty-one circuit is international. Some of the best games are to be found outside of Nevada and Atlantic City. In the winter the Islands are delightful, and though Hawaii offers no casino-style gambling, it is the gateway to the Orient. And the Orient, particularly South Korea and Malaysia, have some of the best blackjack games in the world. For example, the Walker Hill hotel/casino in Seoul offers excellent rules, fine playing conditions, and a warm hospitality seemingly unique to the Far East.

After a couple of weeks of work in the casinos of South Korea, Malaysia, Macao, and elsewhere in the Orient, I like to lay over in the Islands, kick back for a week or two, spend some of my winnings enjoying lifeand plan my next adventure.

In the spring the Caribbean beckons. Aruba, Curacao, Nassau, and Paradise Island are a few of my favorites. In addition to their great natural beauty, with miles of brilliant alabaster beaches caressed by the clear emerald sea, hundreds of secluded turquoise lagoons, and an ideal climate, they all offer twenty-one in hotel/casino resorts of the most opulent splendor. And while the rules in some of these casinos are not the best, the playing conditions are ideal, and winning is both easy and enjoyable.