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Blackjack Insider Newsletter, Nov. 2005, #70

A WORD FROM HENRY

The Ultimate Blackjack Tour kicked off their first tournament with blackjack players playing with well-known poker stars in a new elimination-format blackjack tournament. Read about it in my Inside the UBT article and 'The Babes' Blackjack Heaven article. The conclusion of Barfarkel's September trip to Sin City and his efforts to get even after a disastrous start are detailed in his Las Vegas Trip Report. LV Tournament Pro visited the Venetian and Aladdin casinos and reports on the current blackjack playing conditions there. Alene Paone and Frank Scoblete report on the current best places to play blackjack in AC and offer their views on why blackjack revenue is decreasing, while craps is increasing. Howard Schwartz, owner of Gambler's Book Shop in LV, gives his opinion on the top 8 important blackjack books and why. Ken Smith's tournament strategy article is another 'must read' because it clearly demonstrates the decision making processes that you should go through when trying to determine how to bet and how to play the all important last hand. Sid J. Basheipoa offers 10 sound tips on how to win more of your sport bets (great article if you are a newbie sports bettor). If you've wanted to play poker online, but don't quite know how to get started, Bill Burton will help you in his article How to Open an Online Account. Finally, Kenneth Smith provides a summary of blackjack tournaments in November including the very important satellite tournaments for the upcoming World Series of Blackjack on GSN.

The Suit's Q&A column will appear in the December issue. If you have a question you'd like The Suit to answer, send it to questions@bjinsider.com.

Kudos go to Viktor Nacht and Bettie Paige (www.advantageplayer.com) for hosting the Halloween Blackjack Ball last month. If you didn't attend, you missed a terrific party.

There will be an All Star Gaming Expo in Las Vegas on Dec 2 and 3 at the Fiesta Rancho featuring leading authorities on gaming (Bob Dancer, Jeff Compton, Anthony Curtis, Jean Scott, Fezzik, Blair Rodman and more). For details go to www.fiestacasino.com then click on Fiesta Rancho and then Promotions.

There are a few seats left in this weekend's Golden Touch Blackjack course, which I am in teaching in Tunica/Memphis. Call 1-855-WIN-BJ21 or visit www.bjinsider.com.

Why not give the gift of winning this holiday season? It's easy-just go to our Online store and purchase one of our top rated books, strategy cards, or training software (on super discount until Christmas, too!). Some suggestions that make excellent holiday gifts are:

• Frugal Video Poker training software
• Poker 678 Hold'em Strategy cards
• Ultimate Blackjack Strategy cards
• Golden Touch Dice Control Revolution!
• Play To Win (blackjack tournament primer)
• 2006 American Casino Guide

There's more - check it out at our BJI Store.

I wish all my US subscribers a Happy American Thanksgiving!

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 #70, Nov. 2005.

Henry Tamburin

Editor

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INSIDE THE ULTIMATE BLACKJACK TOUR by Henry Tamburin

"I was invited to play in the first Ultimate Blackjack Tour (UBT), which was held in October in Las Vegas. Although I am sworn to secrecy not to reveal who won I can give you an overview of this unique tournament..."

Read Tamburin's complete article.

BLACKJACK HEAVEN by 'The Babe'

"All you blackjack players, Listen Up! Now is the time to take the game you like to play and move it into the world of tournament competition. Tournament Blackjack is set to explode. Why now? . . . THE ULTIMATE BLACKJACK TOUR!..."

Read The Babe's complete article.

LAS VEGAS TRIP REPORT (Sept. 2005) - Part 2 by Barfarkel (a.k.a., LV Pro)

"I was losing big time. In for $500, in for $800, then $1,000, I finally wound up buying in for a total of $1,600. There were several times when I lost max bet after max bet, which accounted for most of the early deficit. Gritting my teeth, I slowly fought my way back. I almost made it too. In the last forty-five minutes, I recovered all but $200 of my many buy-ins. Fatigued and bleary-eyed, I finally called it a night. Counting cards for hours on end is real work..."

Read Barfarkel's complete article.

LAS VEGAS BLACKJACK REPORT: A SAD STATE OF AFFAIRS by LV Tournament Pro

"So when I ventured out to the new modern day Las Vegas Strip to check blackjack conditions at the Aladdin (soon to be "Planet Hollywood") and the Venetian casinos what I found was not something to get excited about. In fact what may happen if you play blackjack at either of these casinos is the feeling of being turned upside down so that all your hard earned cash will fall into the hands of the new and greedy casino managers with their "screw the player" mentality..."

Read LV Tournament Pro's complete article.

ATLANTIC CITY BLACKJACK REPORT by Alene Paone and Frank Scoblete

"Blackjack revenues are down in many areas of the country - and they are severely down in Las Vegas in the past several years, despite an abundance of some of the highest edged games in the country. Players are flocking away from blackjack, not towards it. The reverse is happening at craps..."

Read Paone's and Scoblete's complete article.

THE 8 MOST IMPORTANT BLACKJACK BOOKS AND WHY by Howard Schwartz

"After 27 years as an editor, librarian for gamblers, Marketing Director, and now owner of Gambler's Book Shop (Gambler's Book Club) in Las Vegas, I've formed some opinions about the best books ever in more than three dozen categories of books in the store. Of course, it's my opinion and I don't expect everyone to agree, but having met and known many of the players and writers, there's some basis for my opinion so here goes anyway. Understand though, I truly believe blackjack players often have fragile egos. One man's favorite can be on another man's bottom of the barrel..."

Read Schwartz's complete article.

TOURNAMENT BLACKJACK STRATEGY: A GAMEMASTER SEMIFINAL DECISION by Kenneth Smith

"When Friday afternoon rolled around, the semifinal round kicked off. I led for much of the round, and by the next to last hand, two of the other players were already eliminated, having lost all their chips. Three of us remained, and I still led. However, things didn't work out for me on that hand, and I lost the lead going into the critical last hand. Even worse, I was on the betting button for the last hand..."

Read Smith's complete article.

TEN TIPS ON HOW TO BECOME A SUCCESSFUL RECREATIONAL SPORTS BETTOR by Sid J. Basheipoa

"People are motivated to bet on sports for a variety of reasons. Some people enjoy the thrill of the game, others are recreational bettors and still others place wagers on games in hopes of turning a profit. One thing is certain though, betting on sports can be hazardous to your bankroll if you don't know what you are doing..."

Read Basheipoa's complete article.

ALL ABOUT POKER-HOW TO OPEN AN ONLINE ACCOUNT by Bill Burton

"There was a time when playing poker online was new and many players were hesitant about giving it a try. However, over the last year the number of online poker players has grown ten fold from the year before. At any given hour of the day there are millions of players worldwide logged on to the Internet playing on various poker sites. The better players are making a lot of money from the inexperienced players, who have not learned how to play winning poker. In fact the majority of online players play for entertainment only and they have no clue how to play poker correctly..."

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.