 
| ||
|
|
|
HOW AND WHERE IT BEGAN:
LACK OF DISCIPLINE LEADS
TO DESTRUCTION-Part 7
by Ralph "Silver Fox" Stricker
Ralph Stricker has been a successful professional blackjack player for many years. He is the developer of the Silver Fox Card Counting system and author of "Silver Fox Blackjack System—You Can Count On It." Note: This is the system that BJI contributing writer Barfarkel uses and mentions in his BJI trip reports, and in his book, "You’ve Got Heat." In his articles for the BJI, Stricker describes his blackjack career, specifically how and where he started playing, teaching, and managing blackjack teams, as well some personal experiences that affected him along the way. He is one of the blackjack legends described in the book,
"Legends of Blackjack."Editor’s Note: This is a continuation of a story about M.R., one of Ralph Stricker’s Big Players (BP). The period was mid-1990.
I mentioned in my article last month that I would describe a betting scenario that enabled me to play almost undetected. I have to go back in the past when blackjack and card counting were still in its infancy. One of the pioneers of card counting systems was a man named Charles Einstein. (I will refer to him as "Charles" because we became very good friends.) Charles was a writer for the San Francisco Chronicle, writing sporting articles. He was also the author of a book about Willie Mays, whom he considered one of the greatest baseball players ever. Charles also developed the counting system known as Hi-Opt I. It was the pre-cursor to the famous counting system known as Hi-Opt II. Hi-Opt 1 was more effective in single-deck play rather than in multiple-deck play. When Charles developed his count system, there were only single-deck games being dealt in casinos.
Charles also published a method that he referred to as "Rhythm Betting." It was based on his writing as a baseball journalist, where the "home team" won more at home than on the road. Therefore, Charles determined that if you lost the last hand, you did this, and if the player won the last hand, you did that. It sounds confusing, but no one knew whether it worked because of single-deck play or because not enough trials were ever done to really prove the system. However, Charles swore by his system and believed it worked.
I had done a radio show in Los Angeles and Charles was listening. He called me at my hotel later and asked if he could come and discuss blackjack with me. I was delighted to meet him and spend some time with him. He eventually had Harry Jupiter, a writer at the San Francisco Chronicle write an article about me. We became friends and later, he moved to New Jersey and lived in Atlantic City.
I never subscribed to his system, but I believed it could be used as "cover" play for blackjack. I worked on developing this modified system and named it "Cycles & Circumstance."
I will not go into details in using the system as I have only shown it to a few people who signed agreements not to divulge it. Essentially, I incorporated it with card counting and this is what I taught M.R. (my BP) when he was playing on his own. M.R. used it at Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun casinos and played 3-5 years before he got sloppy. As the saying goes "Familiarity Breeds Contempt."
Previously, I had warned M.R. of...
...enter your member login information below to read this article/newsletter...
Paid Members-Only Article
You have clicked on a link to a Blackjack Insider web page or article for paid subscribers. You must have a paid membership to the Blackjack Insider newsletter to view this content. About 1/2 of the articles in each issue of the Blackjack Insider are for paid members only, while the rest are viewable by everyone. Your purchased membership will allow you to read all Blackjack Insider articles for 12 months.
Enter your user name and password below (they were listed and e-mailed to you after you purchased your Blackjack Insider membership):
Forgot your membership id or password? Click here.
How do I get a membership?
A membership can be purchased online at our secure store with your credit card for only $19.95 per year. You will receive a user name and password immediately by e-mail which you can use to read the all past and future members-only articles for 12 months, as well as the regular free articles.
CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE A ONE YEAR MEMBERSHIP NOW... only $19.95
Do I have to buy a membership?
No. Blackjack Insider will continue to be published as a free monthly e-newsletter. But about 1/2 of the articles each month will be for paid members only. Subscribers without a membership can still view and read the non-members articles for free.
What happens after I buy a membership?
Immediately after you complete your purchase, you will receive a unique login user name and password. These are displayed on the final purchase page, and are e-mailed to you. When you click on a members-only article in our web site, you will be prompted for this user name and password (as shown above). Simply enter them, and enjoy the article! Note: make sure you turn on the checkbox above when you login, to save the user name and password so that you don't have to re-enter them every time you view members-only articles.
Why did you switch to paid memberships?
Blackjack Insider is a professional monthly publication with top-notch articles by world-reknown gaming experts. In addition, we have regular reporters that monitor game conditions and tournament schedules throughout North America. We use a partially paid subscriber model to enable us to continue getting the best content for our readers from leading authors on blackjack and gaming.
|
|
©2015, DeepNet Technologies. No material to be copied without express permission of DeepNet Technologies.
This site developed by
DeepNet Technologies, Ontario, Canada. Contact webmaster @ bjinsider . com
if you have problems.
This site is best viewed in a 800x600 graphics mode, or higher.