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Blackjack Insider Newsletter, June 2005, #65

A WORD FROM HENRY

This month's issue of BJI contains articles and reports on blackjack, tournaments, video poker and craps from some of the world's best players. The Finals of the Las Vegas Hilton's Million Dollar Blackjack Tournament was held last month. One player emerged as the champion and won a lump sum of one million dollars. Our LV Tournament Pro and also Dave "Hollywood" Stann were competing for the million dollars and they summarize their experiences in their respective reports. Many of you know "Hollywood" Dave as the smart-ass co-host and dealer of GSN's Celebrity Blackjack and also one of the contestants in the World Series of Blackjack. Every breathing blackjack player should read Eliot Jacobson's article on bankroll, risk-of-ruin, expected-value, standard deviation, and desirability index. Jean "Queen of Comps" Scott explains why many successful blackjack players have added video poker to their advantage play arsenal. Barfarkel attacked the blackjack tables in Vegas again. His report is loaded with playing strategy advice and fascinating stories including a dice session with dice controller Stanford Wong (yes, the blackjack master himself has been practicing and perfecting his dice control for over a year), plus his friend, The Grifter's, playing session with multi-billionaire Sir Richard Branson of Virgin Airlines. Dan Pronovost continues his series on dice control with an interesting article on monster rolls (should we be impressed when we see a monster roll or not?). Its summertime in Atlantic City and Alene Paone and Frank Scoblete update the latest blackjack and craps playing conditions there. Tournament expert Kenneth Smith makes three mistakes on a last hand of a blackjack tournament and isn't afraid to tell about it so that you don't make the same mistakes. Bill Burton's poker column this month is all about how to play those important pocket pairs. Kenneth Smith provides a summary of upcoming Blackjack Tournaments. And, we've got the scoop on a new blackjack mini-tournament that will be started at the Tuscany casino courtesy of our LV Tournament Pro. You can check it out on our Las Vegas Mini-Tournament page.

It was a pleasure to meet many BJI subscribers at the recent Gambler's Jamboree at Casino Windsor. In August I'll be teaching another Golden Touch Blackjack Course featuring Speed Count in Chicago. The class is filling up quickly so if you want to learn how to become an advantage player in one weekend of hands-on instruction, reserve your spot now by visiting www.goldentouchblackjack.com or calling 1-866-WIN-BJ21.

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 #65, June 2005.

Henry Tamburin

Editor

Mark your calendar. Next Tuesday evening, June 14 at 9pm (Eastern Time) my GTB partner, Don "The Dominator" LoRiggio will be featured on the History Channel's Breaking Vegas. Whether you're a skeptic about dice control or a seasoned veteran, this show should be very entertaining and worth watching! The show is titled "Dice Dominator" and it reveals LoRiggio's phenomenal success with dice control. I've played craps with Dom in casinos from coast-to-coast and on the show you will see how he sets, grips and throws the dice to control their outcome. Also featured is Frank Scoblete, an excellent dice controller and another partner in GTB, and the story of how Dom and Frank partnered to form Golden Touch Craps. See for yourself how LoRiggio defies the odds and dominates the dice.

IT'S ONLY A MILLION DOLLARS, ANYWAY … by Dave "Hollywood" Stann

"Who needs a million bucks? Not me, apparently! To be quite honest, I went to the final showdown May 13-14 with every intention of taking the whole enchilada - I had psyched myself up, studied for weeks ahead of time, and even got halfway to the money - but it was not, as they say, in the cards..."

Read the complete article.

PLAYING FOR A MILLION DOLLARS, NO SWEAT (YEAH RIGHT) by LV Tournament Pro

"I have been blessed to be one of the few players to qualify all three years to play for the million, but just qualifying is not enough. You can have two tickets to the Big Dance but if you don't have a date, why go to the dance?..."

Read LV Tournament Pro's complete article.

LAS VEGAS TRIP REPORT-April-May, 2005 by Barfarkel (aka LV Pro)

"I continued see-sawing back and forth until the key round arrived. In a plus three true count, I had two hands of $50 and the dealer turned up a seven. My first hand was a pair of eights, so I split them. Of course I got a third eight, which always seems to happen, so I re-split, doubling down on one of the three hands. My second hand was a six-five, so of course I doubled down. The dealer turned up her hole card - an eight for fifteen, and drew her hit card. It was a beautifully colorful red jack of hearts for a sweet bust! I let out a war-whoop..."

Read Barfarkel's complete article.

INTRODUCTION TO RISK by Eliot Jacobsen

"In this article we are going to discuss the fundamental ideas that every blackjack player should know before he plays a hand at the tables: bankroll, risk-of-ruin, expected-value, standard deviation, and desirability index. With a good understanding of these ideas, you will be able to make more accurate wagers at better games, reducing your risk while optimizing your return..."

Read Jacobsen's complete article.

WHY SWITCH FROM BLACKJACK TO VIDEO POKER? By Jean Scott

"I get questioned from both recreational players and also those who are always looking to play with an advantage over the casino about why Brad and I switched our main casino game from blackjack to video poker and I'm often asked for advice on how to make this change. This got me thinking about the reasons why we - and many others - became VP converts..."

Read Scott's complete article.

HAND LENGTH IN CRAPS: HOW IMPRESSIVE ARE THOSE MONSTER ROLLS? By Dan Pronovost

"The second common argument for dice control skill is reference to long hand length in craps. Hand length refers to the number of dice rolls a shooter has before relinquishing the dice to the next player (after sevening out on a point roll). 'Monster rolls' of 40 or more are often achieved and documented. What can these occurrences tell us statistically about dice control skill?.."

Read Pronovost's complete article.

ATLANTIC CITY BLACKJACK REPORT by Alene Paone and Frank Scoblete

"Card counters know that those 6-deck and 8-deck games usually need almost double dynamite to beat them. What is double dynamite, you ask? You have to increase your bet to twice the number of decks to have a decent edge at the games during high counts. That's 1-12 in 6-deck games and 1-16 in 8-deck games. So with $25 as the minimum bet in an 8-deck game, you'd have to go to $400 in high counts..."

Read Scoblete's and Paone's complete article.

THREE TOURNAMENT PLAYING MISTAKES ON THE SAME HAND by Kenneth Smith

"I was playing a Sit and Go tournament at Global Player last week, and I managed to position myself with a small lead going into the last hand. I also had the benefit of betting and acting last on the hand, so I had a good chance of winning the table. My bet amount was just right, but once the cards were dealt I managed to make three big mistakes playing the hand. Read on to see what I mean..."

Read Smith's complete article.

ALL ABOUT POKER- POCKET PAIRS by Bill Burton

"This month I want to continue with my discussion about starting hands with a look at pocket pairs. A "pocket pair" is when you are dealt two cards of the same value in your starting hand. You may also hear it referred to as a "wired pair." Although a pocket pair has instant values, some players tend to over value them..."

Read Burton's complete article.

BLACKJACK TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE

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

Read the complete article.