Frits Dunki-Jacobs - Betting On Blackjack: A Non-Counters Breakthrough Guide to Making Profits at the Tables

BETTING
ON
BLACKJACK

A Non-Counters Breakthrough Guide
to Making Profits at the Tables

FRITS DUNKI-JACOBS

Copyright 2004, 2001 Frits Duki-Jacobs. All rights reserved. This book, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced in any form without permission from the publisher; exceptions are made for brief excerpts used in published reviews.

Published by
Adams Media, an imprint of Simon & Schuster, Inc.
57 Littlefield Street, Avon, MA 02322. U.S.A.
www.adamsmedia.com

ISBN: 1-58062-951-2

Printed in Canada.

J I H G F E D C B A

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Dunki-Jacobs, Frits.
Betting on blackjack / Frits Dunki-Jacobs.
p. cm.
ISBN 1-58062-951-2
eISBN: 978-1-4405-1912-3
1. Blackjack (Game) 2. Gambling systems. I. Title.
GV1295.B55D86 2003
795.4'23--dc21 2003008273

This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information with regard to the subject matter covered. It is sold with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering legal, accounting, or other professional advice. If legal advice or other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent professional person should be sought.
From a Declaration of Principles jointly adopted by a Committee of the American Bar Association and a Committee of Publishers and Associations

This publication is designed to provide an independent viewpoint and analysis of the subject matter. The publisher and the author disclaim all legal responsibility for any personal loss or liability caused by the use of any of the information contained herein. Questions on how to obtain the software developed for this analysis may be directed to Fritsdj@hotmail.com.

This book is available at quantity discounts for bulk purchases.
For information, call 1-800-872-5627.

DEDICATION

A s time has marched on for me over the years, my obsession to finish this work has been tolerated by so many who are close to me in one regard or another. Many thanks go to my sister, Joanna, who gave me a base of operation for my numerous research trips to Nevada in the early nineties; to my nephews, Sean and Zach, for being my strategy testers after many experimental evening sessions; and finally to my parents who always kept me aware of the fact that too much indulgence of anything is usually not appropriate or healthy. And yes, that statement rang so loud and clear with respect to gambling; how those words have always echoed in my mind and protected me when my tendencies to play more than might be responsible would start to get me restless. Thanks also go to my good friends Gary C., Craig, Gene, Matt, and Todd, whose constant support and friendship have carried me through some of the toughest times in my life; without them, this work may have never have been written and completed.

Special thanks go also to Bill Jelen of MrExcel.com, who was always there when I needed that all-important immediate assistance in design modifications to the various analytical betting models that are the basis for much of this book.

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

W riting this book is something I felt strongly about for a few reasons. My first intention was to bring all the knowledge I accumulated over the years into one meaningful documentinformation that I felt needed to be sorted out. My second was to help the average John Q. Citizen understand some issues, not just about the game, itself, but about the psychethe emotional roller coaster most of us ride when playing this crazy gameand how to control and understand oneself before entering the battle. Its quite frustrating seeing my fellow players get upset, lose their cool, and surrender their money because of a total lack of discipline and self-control, not to mention that in my estimation 99% of the players have no clue about proper playing and betting strategies in any situation, whether its 21 or any other casino game. The last reason I wanted to write this book is that many of my friends have asked me to get these techniques into a medium they could study, and I figured now is the time.

Much has been written about this game. There are so many books on 21otherwise known as blackjackthat its hard to count them all. Most of them deal with understanding how to count cards, which is a legitimate and important topic for blackjack aficionados, but I wanted to do something different. I wanted to show readers what the actual probabilities are in winning this game without getting way too technical, and how to apply those probabilities to a winning strategy. Ive read so many books on blackjack that discuss indices, the true count versus the running count, and so on. Ive tried to count cards according to systems developed by the various recognized experts in the field, and all I succeeded in doing was getting a severe headache playing the game due to the amount of concentration and focus I had to put into play at the tables. I do believe that each one of these authors has done important work on the counting topics; however, I firmly believe that counting cards adds only a slight edge to the game over the long run. Furthermore, I believe the methods I employ assist me in deriving greater satisfaction playing the game rather than wrestling with it, not to mention giving me the same amount, if not more, profitability at the end of the day.

It is my sincere hope that after you read this book you may see in yourself the same mistakes Ive made and will learn how to correct them as I have. I also want all those who read these pages to know that I really think this game can be beatennot by the sheer mathematics and probabilities that exist, but with all the discipline and patience you can muster. These are the two essential ingredients you must have in order to even think about gambling and winning on a regular basis.

A BIT OF PHILOSOPHY

I f you are like me, youre probably fascinated with the idea of making money the easy way, right? Maybe, or maybe not. Well, Im not ashamed to say that was one of my primary motivations for analyzing the game of 21 for the last twenty-five years. My secondary motive was that I wanted to walk into any casino or resort and make a serious run on the tables anytime I wanted and be better at the game than the average Joe Schmoe. I dont know, call it vanity if you like, but theres nothing better or more exciting than cleaning up at the 21 tables! Theres nothing like having a group of people hovering around the table, envying your skill, luck, and, of course, your heaping and ever-increasing bankroll. However, getting to that point took a lot of time, money, and anguish. As the old clichs go: Nothing easy is worth having, and No pain, no gain! Yes, youve heard them all. I believe Ive suffered enough pain for at least ten men, but, hey, nobody twisted my arm to get into this game either! The bottom line is, if you really want to be good at 21, youve got to suffer a bitbut not too much, because the words written here will potentially take a lot of the pain away. However, nothing replaces preparation, skill, strategy, patience, and discipline but mostly patience and discipline, which are the real keys!

Im writing these pages to offer the intermediate to serious player some insight into the game of 21, also known as blackjack, that goes way beyond the beginners ABCs. Imassuming at this point you know the basics of the game and