Many of you have read my articles in Blackjack Insider newsletter in issues going as far back as six years; however, you might find this article a little different.

Long, long ago in decades past at one blackjack tournament or another, I ran into this "Kid." He was a player that many of the regulars already seemed to know, and he always had an opinion about some last hand situation that had occurred somewhere at some table. He would sometimes circulate the problem around to all the better players for their opinion on how they would play it.

I thought to myself, "Here’s another one! These guys are here today and gone tomorrow! After they lose a few tournaments, they quit. I give him a year or two". Well, that was yet another great call by the Babe that could not have been more wrong.

This kid was obviously different. It quickly became apparent that his solutions to tournament problems were correct, and he kept coming back to play tournament after tournament, year after year.

During that period, I was very careful to keep my secrets on how to get the edge over my opinions in blackjack tournaments SECRET. After all, I had spent countless hours with my calculator, pencil, and reams of paper to answer all MY tournament questions to myself. Why give it away for free?

However, the times, they do change, and along came a writer who called himself or herself, "Tinkerbell." He or she was putting articles into my favorite publication of the time, "Blackjack Forum". The articles were complicated, last hand tournament questions, and "Blackjack Forum" was offering a year-long free subscription to whoever sent in the best answer to Tinkerbell’s problem of the quarter. (Blackjack Forum was published only four times a year.)

I thought that I could lock up some free subscriptions, which were rather expensive for only four issues, and teach myself something while doing it. Over a couple of years, after analyzing and responding to most of these problems, I had won 3 and ½ free subscriptions. (Maybe it was 2 and ½, I have forgotten). The thing that was irritating to me was that Kid had won the other half of that split subscription, because his answer was equally good. Worse yet; the Kid won one more subscription than I did, (I think). After all my years of tournament play, how could it get any more exasperating? I’ll tell you how! That darn Kid was about the nicest guy you ever want to meet!

The truth of it was that my responses were somewhere in the ballpark, whereas, he was using a computer to get more exact answers. I had visions of him printing out an answer every five minutes, while I spent 50 hours laboring over every part of every question. It turned out that the Kid loved the game as much as I did, and he was computer smart, while I was just an old fashion guy.

So what ever happened to him? Nothing! He is still doing the same kind of thing today. You know the Kid as Kenneth Smith, the guy with the best blackjack information web site in the world.

He also has a new e-book out titled, "How to Win Even More Blackjack Tournaments, Volume II". It is the best Blackjack Tournament Strategy book, anywhere. I was particularly ‘knocked out’ by the two-part chapter on "The Mythical Twelve Percent." but every chapter is loaded with valuable information that will make you aware of the different forces that can give your game slightly positive or a negative slants.

The most thorough tournament analyst ever wrote this book, and he is not a Kid anymore. If you have any interest in blackjack tournaments at all, it is a must buy. And guess what? You can get Ken’s new book right here at Blackjack Insider.

Now, if you should sit down at a future tournament table and look up to see that Ken Smith is sitting next to you, tell him you are going to beat him today, because you have studied his own book! And if you really want to throw him off his game, tell him ‘The Babe’ told you to do it!