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Blackjack Insider Newsletter, Sept. 2004, #56

A WORD FROM HENRY

We welcome poker expert Bill Burton to our staff of excellent writers. Bill will be writing a monthly "All About Poker" column for BJI to help you become a winner at the poker tables. If you remember, Barfarkel was having a disastrous trip to Sin City, down $1,475. In part two of his trip report, you'll read if he was able to stem the tide and turn a profit. We've also got the latest blackjack conditions from Wendover (where you'll be surprised what JPB discovered) and from Atlantic City (where single deck games have been implemented as reported by Alene Paone and Frank Scoblete). Our Las Vegas reporter, LV Tournament Pro, also reports on playing conditions at Monte Carlo, Aladdin, and Luxor and offers his thoughts on watching a fellow player getting backed off. LV Bear gives his perspective on the cost to casinos for their abuse of skilled players (must read). And if tournament blackjack is your thing, don't miss Kenneth Smith's article on a critical look at progressive betting. Finally we've got a summary of blackjack tournaments courtesy of www.blackjacktournaments.com.

Next month Barfarkel's long awaited book, You've Got Heat, will be available and we will be offering a special discount to paid-subscribers of BJI (stay tuned for the details). In the meantime you can get a sneak preview of the book by going to www.youvegotheat.com.

Last Golden Touch Blackjack Course for 2004! Frank Scoblete and I will be teaching the next Golden Touch Blackjack course featuring Speed Count in Las Vegas on September 25 and 26. We're shutting the doors after 50 students for this session, but there are still a few spots open. For details on the course, including a $100 discount for BJI subscribers (mention this if you register by phone), visit www.goldentouchblackjack.com.

A reminder - if you come across an unfamiliar blackjack term in one of our articles or reports, see our Blackjack Glossary: www.bjinsider.com/questions_glossary.shtml

E-mail subscribers can also read each month's issue online at our web site: BJI Issue #56, Sept. 2004.

Henry Tamburin

Editor

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BJI Archives... all past issues, and search too!

Did you know that all past BJI articles are available online at our web site for your viewing pleasure? The full archive of past issues is available about midway down the page at: www.bjinsider.com/newsletter.shtml.

In addition, you can search our archives by keyword or general terms: www.bjinsider.com/questions.shtml.

ALL ABOUT POKER by Bill Burton

"Poker has been experiencing an explosion in popularity over the last year or so. The televised coverage of the World Poker Tour on the Travel channel and ESPN's broadcast of the World Series of Poker has sparked the interest of the "kitchen table" poker players as well as some people who have never played poker before. When Chris Moneymaker won the 2003 World Series of Poker after gaining entry by winning a $40 satellite online poker tournament, it fueled the Poker frenzy to a new height. The new interest in Poker has reached heights exceeding those in Blackjack after Thorp released his book Beat the Dealer in the 60's that proved that Blackjack was a beatable game..."

Read Burton's complete article.

LAS VEGAS TRIP REPORT - July 2004 (Part 2) by Barfarkel (aka LV Pro)

"During dinner, Bigplayer laid out the plan of attack for the evening. The three of us would take over a $5 or $10 shoe table, each of us playing two spots. BP and Mimi had a temporary two-man shared-bankroll team arrangement, and I would be free to bet however much (or little) I wanted. Bigplayer would max out at two hands of $400 each. BP would track the shuffle, Mimi would be the big bettor and I would take my cue on how much to bet by looking at BP's bets..."

Read Barfarkel's complete article.

WENDOVER BLACKJACK REPORT by JPB

"After seeing most of the "real" single deck blackjack games across the country being removed or worse yet, being replaced by the "6 to 5" blackjack games where the house advantage is about five times that of real blackjack, I assumed that the days of real single deck blackjack (where blackjacks pay 3:2) were long gone. But in August I stumbled on a haven for real single deck blackjack. Not only are there 50-100 real single deck blackjack tables, but these are good single blackjack games that allow doubling any two cards and at a majority of the games, resplitting aces was allowed..."

Read JPB's complete article.

ATLANTIC CITY BLACKJACK REPORT by Alene Paone and Frank Scoblete

"Single decks are in Atlantic City! Single decks! Shout it from the rooftops! Go into the streets and sing! Then buy a ticket for Tunica, Mississippi!.."

Read Paone's and Scoblete's complete article.

LAS VEGAS BLACKJACK REPORT - KNOW WHERE YOU ARE AT by LV Tournament Pro

"You always need to know where you are especially in Las Vegas. You know the slogan, "what happens in Las Vegas stays in Las Vegas." Well guess what? That's precisely what's going to happen to your money, it's going to stay in Las Vegas if you don't pay attention where you play blackjack..."

Read Tournament Pro's complete article.

TOURNAMENT STRATEGY - A CLOSE LOOK AT PROGRESSIVE BETTING by Kenneth Smith

"Stanford Wong's "Casino Tournament Strategy" has long been the standard reference book for avid tournament players, and it remains the single best source of information about tournament strategy. Wong's advice has held up remarkably well for its age, since the book was published in 1992. Of course, advances in blackjack tournament strategy didn't stop when the book was published..."

Read Smith's complete article.

COST TO CASINOS FOR THEIR ABUSE OF SKILLED PLAYERS by LVBear

"Sometimes casino personnel behave in such a ridiculous manner. Some small-minded pit critters and their low-level supervisors frequently seem incapable of understanding the big picture of a casino's operations, and through their actions, cost the casino far more than they save it by abusing skilled players..."

Read LVBear's complete article.

BLACKJACK TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE

"Check out the schedule of major blackjack tournaments by region in our Blackjack Tournament Report..."

Read the complete article.