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Blackjack Insider Newsletter, Oct. 2005, #69

A WORD FROM HENRY

It's Halloween time and we have a treat for you. Viktor Nacht and Max Rubin invite BJI subscribers to join them on Saturday, October 29th from 8PM-Midnight in Las Vegas for the first annual Halloween Blackjack Ball. For details see Viktor's invitation (many BJI writers, including me, will be attending). Barfarkel hit Vegas again in September and we have all the details in his Las Vegas Trip Report (meet Barfarkel at the Halloween Blackjack Ball). The Global Gaming Expo is an annual industry wide convention held in Las Vegas. Our BJI reporter John Grochowski attended the September event and reports what's new in blackjack (including Bally's new MPLite system). Alene Paone and Frank Scoblete report on the latest blackjack conditions in Atlantic City including which casinos offer the best blackjack and craps games. To coincide with the explosion of tournaments throughout the country we've got three blackjack tournament champions contributing their expertise this month. Our new writer, 'The Babe', offers tips on how to outperform the competition; Kenneth Smith shows how to determine what a tournament is worth, and Ken Einiger explains how to quickly determine when you are going to be on the button for the all important last hand. You are playing Texas Hold'em and you've made it to the River. Do you know how to bet? Our resident poker pro Bill Burton offers tips on how to play The River. And last but not least, Kenneth Smith provides a summary of upcoming major blackjack tournaments.

Speaking of blackjack tournaments, the majority of BJI writers, including me, will be competing in the inaugural Ultimate Blackjack Tour. The taping of the tournament will take place next week in Las Vegas and will be shown on TV at a later date. It might turn out that the finals will consist of all BJI writers! You never know. Wish us good luck (better yet, good cards).

We have a special arrangement with the publishers of the number one gaming publication for casino players, Casino Player magazine, for a 10% discount off the regular 1-year and 3-year subscription for BJI subscribers. This offer is also valid for their sister publication Strictly Slots magazine. You won't find a lower subscription price anywhere for these great magazines so take advantage of this special offer (a one year subscription to either magazine makes a great holiday gift). Existing subscribers can also save 10% by renewing on the special BJI link. Just click here to take advantage of the savings.

LV Tournament Pro reports that the details for the new $2 Million Dollar Blackjack Tournament are still being reviewed by the host casino and he is not at liberty right now to discuss the tournament. As soon as he is allowed to, he will report on this exciting new blackjack tournament in the BJI.

Enjoy this issue of BJI and good cards!

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 #69, Oct. 2005.

Henry Tamburin

Editor

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HALOWEEN BLACKJACK BALL by Viktor Nacht

"Viktor Nacht and Max Rubin ghoulishly invite you to join them on Saturday, October 29th from 8PM-Midnight in Las Vegas for the first annual Halloween Blackjack Ball. In attendance will be a mix of blackjack VIPs, celebrities, and authors, as well as many professional and serious recreational players..."

Read Nacht's complete article.

LAS VEGAS TRIP REPORT (Sept. 2005) - Part 1 by Barfarkel (a.k.a., LV Pro)

"I got up early in order to get a $25 minimum double-deck table at the Wynn before they raised the table limits. Losing, losing, losing….I was in for $300, then another $200, then $300 more and another $200. Then things finally turned around. In a short time, I recouped my $1k in buy-ins and won $500 besides. The key hand was a blackjack on a $150 max bet in an astronomical count. Whew, that's more like it. Now I'm only down $1k for the trip, and it shouldn't be too much of a problem to get even and then get into winning territory from here on out..."

Read Barfarkel's complete article.

ATLANTIC CITY BLACKJACK REPORT by Alene Paone and Frank Scoblete

"The Borgata is still doing well. Summer games are more expensive than the winter games but this casino does have a pretty good mix, especially during the week. Comps are somewhat tight here because the hotel is always crowded. The youths (or "youts" from My Cousin Vinny) like this place and its newness attracts the throngs and thongs. Sexy waitresses all over the place..."

Read Paone's and Scoblete's complete article.

BLACKJACK AT THE G2E by John Grochowski

"Practically front and center on the display floor, at the Bally Gaming and Systems booth, a couple of tables were set up for 21. That could only mean one thing: a system to track how much we bet, and perhaps how well we play. I stepped up to a table, and asked for a demonstration of Bally's MPLite system. The "MP" stands for Mindplay, although Bally no longer uses the full MindPlay name..."

Read Grochowski's complete article.

TOURNAMENT STRATEGY: OUTPERFORMANCE AND THE RABBIT! by 'The Babe'

"Winning a major blackjack tournament can be an overwhelming task, but winning just one round is not so difficult. Take it one step at a time, use the following tips and you may find you are holding the winner's check sooner than you think..."

Read The Babe's complete article.

TOURNAMENT STRATEGY: WHAT'S A TOURNAMENT WORTH? By Kenneth Smith

"So, how do we go about assessing the value of blackjack tournaments? Unfortunately, we can't easily rely on the most obvious measure, which are actual financial results. So far, most blackjack tournaments have chosen a much more top-heavy prize structure than a typical poker tournament, so the variance is much higher. It's quite possible for a highly skilled player to play a large number of events and rarely finish in the money. Even when a player makes the final table, the difference between first place and last place is often the turn of a single card, but the financial difference is usually huge. That means that any method of estimating event value using monetary results is probably badly flawed..."

Read Smith's complete article.

TOURNAMENT STRATEGY: HOW TO CALCULATE WHEN YOU ARE ON THE BUTTON ON THE LAST HAND by Ken Einiger

"When you sit down at a tournament blackjack table for the first time, it is a good idea to know exactly what to do and what you may encounter. Here are some pointers to help you..."

Read Einiger's complete article.

ADVANTAGE CRAPS: DICE CONTROL IS ALL ABOUT THE NUMBERS by Frank Scoblete

"In a random game of craps, the casino has the edge. Dice controllers try to alter the game's probabilities with their throw in order to switch the edge over to themselves. This can be done by reducing the appearance of the 7 (it appears once every six times on average) and/or by increasing the appearance of other numbers. The dice controllers set the dice in certain ways to show certain numbers..."

Read Scoblete's complete article.

ALL ABOUT POKER-Playing The River by Bill Burton

"The river is the last community card in Texas Hold'em. If you have been playing properly you will not see the river card unless you have a strong hand that is a favorite to win or you have a draw to a winning hand. Once the river card is turned over, you know exactly what you have. Playing decisions on the river are easier than during other rounds but they do require some thought..."

Read Burton's complete article.

BLACKJACK TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE

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

Read our tournament schedule.