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Blackjack Insider Newsletter, May 2004, #52

A WORD FROM HENRY

As you read this, I am in Las Vegas playing in the LVH Million Dollar Blackjack Tournament. There will be 200 contestants playing for the one million dollar first place prize. As I mentioned last month, BJI writers Kenneth Smith, Rick Jensen and LV Tournament Pro also qualified for the big shootout. Perhaps one of us will walk away with the top prize. If that happens you'll be getting a special BJI update with the good news.

This month's newsletter is once again jammed packed with great advice for blackjack players. While I'm on the topic of tournaments, you'll find a schedule of blackjack mini-tournaments that are offered daily in Las Vegas by LV Tournament Pro including his picks as to which are the best. Kenneth Smith also analyzes three critical tournament plays made by contestants in the recent televised World Series of Blackjack. Have you ever spread to two hands or deviated from basic strategy and then gotten angry stares or nasty comments from your fellow players? If so you need to read Dan Pronovost's thought provoking and entertaining article on this. Planning a trip on one of South Florida's casino boats? If so Steve Bourie shows you how you can easily get $250 in special casino chips for only $200. Our blackjack expert JPG took a trip to Shreveport and reports on the excellent blackjack playing conditions that he found in several casinos including his recommendation on which casinos to play. Likewise Alene Paone and Frank Scoblete bring us up to date on blackjack conditions in Atlantic City including which casinos would be best to play our new Speed Count counting system. The last time that we published an interview about the controversial blackjack player known as The Grifter (or Zengrifter) I received angry emails from several players for doing so. Nevertheless, you'll read part 2 of his interview in this month's newsletter which includes a great inverse hand spreading camouflage technique for two deck games. Last but not least we have our schedule of blackjack tournaments courtesy of Kenneth Smith. Rick Jensen (Texas Tournaments) was also kind enough to provide BJI subscribers with a 5-15% discount code that you can use when you book a flight on American Airlines to Las Vegas during the period May-August 2004. You can find the discount code at the end of our Blackjack Tournament Schedule article.

Our next two day Golden Touch Blackjack (GTB) course featuring Speed Count will be held in Atlantic City in two weeks (May 22/23). The class is almost full but there are still a few openings so call 1-866-WIN-BJ21 right now if you want to attend. Next month I'll be teaching GTB in Chicago. You can check out the complete schedule of upcoming GTB courses by visiting the GTB web site (www.goldentouchblackjack.com), and also read the comments about the course from students that attended our recent Las Vegas course (www.bjinsider.com/gtb_course_feedback.shtml).

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 #52, May 2004.

Henry Tamburin

Editor

CARD COUNTER'S DILEMMAS WITH NON-CARD COUNTERS by Dan Pronovost

"Another source of conflict for card counters does not come from the 'pit': it comes from the other players at the table. For myself, I find this to be the most annoying form of heat that greatly interferes with my enjoyment of the game, and at times, my ability to leverage my maximum advantage..."

Read Pronovost's complete article.

THE IGT CASINO CHIP PROGRAM by Steve Bourie

"Because of the intense competition among South Florida's casino boats some of them are involved in a special promotional program that can provide some great savings for blackjack players. The program involves the In Good Taste (IGT) credit card which offers a discount on gambling chips purchased with the card..."

Read Bourie's complete article.

SHREVEPORT BLACKJACK REPORT by JPB

"I was fortunate to visit three of the major southeast gambling destinations this year: Shreveport, Biloxi/Gulfport, and Vicksburg. Despite the limited number of blackjack tables, Shreveport/Bossier City was my favorite of the three destinations. The blackjack conditions are good- favorable rules, decent penetration, and minimal heat..."

Read JPB's complete article.

ATLANTIC CITY BLACKJACK REPORT by Alene Paone and Frank Scoblete

"The sad fact for blackjack and other table game players is that the summer also spells much higher table game minimums. Those $5 games, rare in winter, are rarer still in the warm weather. Even $10 games are hard to find and the weekend is usually a $25 player's paradise. The fact is this: Atlantic City has actually lost about 2 million visitors in the last couple of years and the only way the casinos can keep making money is to get more from those who are still coming; to do that they must raise their minimums. In short, you pay..."

Read Paone's and Scoblete's complete article.

INTERVIEW WITH THE GRIFTER-Part 2 by LV Pro

"One of blackjack's more controversial and irreverent practitioners, known primarily as The Grifter and more recently Zengrifter, has granted part two of an interview in the hopes of providing us with a glimpse into 'the education of a card-counter,' and to set the record straight on some of the controversy that has arisen about him in blackjack circles..."

Read LV Tour Pro's complete article.

THREE PLAYS FROM THE WORLD SERIES OF BLACKJACK by KENNETH SMITH

"For this month's article, I've taken a few situations that arose on the recently televised World Series of Blackjack on GSN, and we'll take a look at how the players could have improved their chances..."

Read Smith's complete article.

SMALL OR MINI IS GOOD by LV Tournament Pro

"Does the word mini really mean small and of little significance? Or is it a word that when put in front of "tournament" takes on a whole new meaning? I think the latter which is why I want to address blackjack mini-tournaments this month..."

Read Tournament Pro'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.