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Historically,
the trend in blackjack card-counting books is to first describe.
the basic strategy, then proceed with the "good stuff."
Wise men have said, "Lead, follow, or get the hell
out of the way." Who are we to argue? Here we choose
to foray along the path forged by our esteemed predecessors.
At this point, readers unfamiliar with the rules of blackjack
are advised to consult Appendix I. Those unfamiliar with
the jargon of blackjack will find Appendix II helpful in
defining terms such as "hard" and "soft,"
among others.
Although you may be tempted to skip over this chapter and
go straight for the "Knock-Out, “so to speak, we urge
you to reconsider. The basic strategy is, after all, the
foundation for any card-counting system. Indeed, especially
for the Knock-Out system, a complete knowledge of the basic
strategy is essential. Because of the unbalanced nature
of the Knock-Out system, most of the gain from using K-O
comes from making proper betting decisions, as opposed to
playing decisions. With the K-O system, you will be making
basic strategy plays at least 90% of the time!
What exactly is the basic strategy? The basic strategy is
a system that maximizes performance without keeping track
of the cards. Under the best of conditions, the expectation
one achieves while using the basic strategy is nearly 0°Io,
making blackjack almost an even game. The basic strategy
consists of a set of rules that the player should always
follow. It's an objective system that assumes that the cards
in play are from a freshly shuffled pack (of one or more
decks). This is the optimal method of play with knowledge
of only the cards the player is holding and the dealer's
upcard (and perhaps information about the dealer's downcard,
for example, when the upcard is an ace and the dealer doesn't
have a natural, we know that there is a non-ten in the hole).
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