Knock-Out Blackjack: The Easiest Card-Counting System Ever Devised, 3rd Edition

I have racked my brain trying to decide if I want to learn the K-O count or the High-Low. I figure, why waste my time learning one system if I will eventually move on to another, more advanced system? Just start with the High-Low from the beginning!But I have finally made my decision, and I feel this advice might help others trying to make the same decision. Is the K-O good enough to learn, or should you look elsewhere? Well, I'm no expert, but I have come to the conclusion, after reading much about counting systems, that it really makes no difference which system you use. The difference in expectation is very small, not to mention the potential for error in the more complicated systems like Omega II or APC. Even in a simpler level-1 count like High-Low, there remains that god-awful true count conversion (more room for error and delay). Of course, if you really want to play professional blackjack, you might want to eventually (or even right from the beginning) move to a balanced count system. But I have decided that while I want to play blackjack with an advantage, I never want the game to become a chore. I don't want to hate playing it. Therefore, it is not necessary for the recreational/casual player to learn anything more than an unbalanced count. Even if it's not the K-O system, you shouldn't worry about learning an advanced balanced count. The K-O system performs on par with all other similar systems, so the decision between which to learn is up to you (there is the Red 7 count and the Black Ace count, for example).Now, as far as this particular book goes, I think it is fantastically written and presented. I read another review that says the book is poorly organized, but I honestly don't understand where that person is coming from. The book presents the K-O in steps, and by the end you will understand it. (My only complaint is that there are a few incarnations of the K-O count, eventually all coming together to form the K-O Preferred system, and it is not always easy to know what exactly is involved with each incarnation.) It may be necessary to re-read it, but if you plan to seriously learn to count cards, then you should expect to read it several times anyway. Another complaint I saw was that the authors do not explain why they assign the values that they do to particular cards. But this is also simply not true. Vancura and Fuchs give you a chart that shows the player/dealer expectation when certain cards are removed from the pack, and it is on the basis of this information that they assign +1 to 2-7 and -1 to 10, J, Q, K, A.Anyway, if you are interested in learning a simple but powerful count that will perform well for recreational play, you definitely should read this book. It is wonderful. But not only that, the K-O is also considered a "professional" level count, so it cannot be written-off as a system not to take seriously. There is work to be done to learn it efficiently. And as Stanford Wong said in "Blackjack Secrets" (I believe it was that book), as long as you know a count that keeps track of low cards compared to high cards, then you are using a good system and do not need to move up to one that is supposedly more "powerful". (Of course, he wrote this before the K-O count was created, but I would still include it in his assessment). Besides, these systems that are "more powerful" are only theoretically so, and I think a lot can be said for the fact that because K-O is so simple, it may work more efficiently than even more advanced count systems.

First, let me say I am not particularly interested in gambling. My interest is in developing financial trading systems, but many of the gurus of finance are reportedly enamoured with blackjack and gaming theory. I picked up this book, suggested by Amazon, to gain insight into how the system was developed and the statistics involved. I have tried to read through card counting books in the past but found them far too complicated for my limited brain. I was extremely impressed with not only the Knock Out Blackjack system but in how the authors take us through an explanation of the game, the traditional strategy, and other card counting methods in a very clear and concise way. The K-O Blackjack system is very simple to learn and implement. There book contains plenty of examples and an extensive Appendix section in the back to ensure that all the points are grasped completely by readers. The K-O system is all about identifying the times when the player does or does not have a statistical advantage; loading up on bets when there is a higher probability of success and lowering betting or exiting a game when the odds are not in the player's favor. I was riveted to this excellent book and immediately saw ways to incorporate its principles of how to identify favorable conditions and its money-management strategies to my own investment models. But aside from my alternative interest, the K-O Blackjack system is surely the easiest system for anyone interested in learning a great card counting system to use to put the odds back in their favor in the casinos.

From never having played blackjack before, I learned basic strategy and started applying it on the $5 tables. After achieving a level of comfort with basic strategy, I was eager for a little more action and bought this book. I applied the basic concept before really learning the system and walked away with a big win the first time. So I was hooked in and learned the complete system. And moved up to larger bets. Within six months of starting to play just basic strategy, I was kicked out of a casino for "having play that was too strong." A pit boss, flanked by two security guards, told me after calling me to step away from the table, "You are not permitted to play table games here any longer. Get your chips from the table. These guards will escort you to the cashier."... Can I tell you, I am a soccer mom. I laughed to myself on my way out of the casino, thinking that I had just been rewarded a priceless conversation piece and a good reason to stay out of that smoky environment and pursue finer things. Here several years later now, I can report that I have amused numerous friends and acquaintances and groups of strangers describing that scene. And answering their subsequent questions. The story value alone was well worth the price of the book!!... Truth is, as you will learn if you dig very deep into advantage play, it is a complete grind. Don't expect to make a fortune, but do count on increasing your skill, having a little fun and amusing your friends with the stories you can later tell them.

Learned a new, easier, and more basic counting system that has equal efficiency than the one I used previously. Spot on.

LA méthode de comptage déséquilibrée qui permet de mettre tout de suite en évidence les moments fructueux du sabot. Attention, la traduction française est bourrée d'erreurs. Il faut lire cette version originale.

Well written, easy to follow. Works well as an easier method to count cards.

Arrivato in perfetto orario

Konnte von dem Buch sehr viel lernen. Alles sehr detailliert und verständlich beschrieben. Ideal für anfänger. (Ich kann es fortgeschrittenen auch nur empfehlen, dann sollte man aber die ersten paar Kapitel überspringen ...)