Theory of blackjack pdf

Rozell department of electrical and computer engineering, rice university, houston, texas 77251 1 introduction many statistical problems of practical interest are simply too complicated to explore analytically. It is part of table and card games offered in every casino around the world and it is the second most popular card gambling game, after poker. Its called sevenbet blackjack and it is deadly effective against all versions of blackjack played today. Take down blackjack performs just like its name it takes down every version of blackjack dealt today, including the online versions. A pioneer in modern applications of probability theory, thorps bestselling book, beat the dealer, mathematically proved that the house advantage in blackjack could be overcome by card counting.

This section has been substantially added to and goes beyond mere management of money but deals with the whole concept of managing your blackjack business. The complete card counters guide to the casino game. Thats great news for them, but it could have easily gone the other way. Every game has a set of rules that dictate the overall advantage the casino enjoys. Blackjack is played with anywhere from one to eight standard poker decks. Winning money at blackjack requires learning both a basic strategy to maximize the number of hands you do win page 15 and a card counting strategy to know. As a player, you must put all you have learned so far into practice. He is also the author of a guide to investment, beat the market. Probability theory, live book in bookstores, online, amazon.

By the second day he told me he had found two blackjack systems using game theory already developed for blackjack. This video is a supplement to blackjack basic strategy for infinite decks and blackjack house edge with infinite decks, two videos by the wizard of odds, michael shackleford. Peter griffin the theory of blackjack free ebook download as pdf file. These charts are organized by rule and rule variation. Thorp is a mathematics professor, author, hedge fund manager, and blackjack player. The game of blackjack blackjack or twentyone is a card game where money is wagered on the outcome of each hand. It is a comparing card game between one or more players and a dealer, where each player in turn competes against the dealer. This goes to show that card counting in blackjack is simply adding each cards tag as it is played, and it changes the amount you bet but not the rules of the basic counting strategy.

Nonetheless, an amazing amount can be said about this seemingly trivial game. Sevenbet blackjack is a real system used by ordinary people that beats all versions of blackjack found today. Strategies for the player blackjack is almost always disadvantageous for the player, meaning that no strategy yields a positive. You are about to become one of a handful of people who know about a new way of playing blackjack that is the safest way to make money ever created. Real world players who needed a quick on the spot solution could have obtained approximate p, and e, from several. You can dr aw as many cards as you like for each hand. We have the largest selection of gambling books in the world. Even though many of these questions have found no satisfactory answer yet, probability still remains the only theory that models. Use these blackjack strategy charts to learn the correct decision for every hand. Blackjack by peter griffin i saw that stanford wongs moderately difficult. It contains the most complete and accurate basic strategy. Betting with the kelly criterion jane hung june 2, 2010 contents 1 introduction 2 2 kelly criterion 2 3 the stock market 3 4 simulations 5 5 conclusion 8 1.

Blackjack mathematics, probability, odds, basic strategy. We get emails from people all the time talking about how they downloaded our blackjack charts, took them to a casino, and won some money. In the event the player draws 21 with more than 2 cards, the dealers blackjack is the winning hand. Any blackjack strategy is based on counting the cards played. The theory of poker is an expansion and total revision of the book sklansky on poker theory, written by david sklansky and originally published by gamblers book club of las vegas in 1978.

Unfortunately, a count that does 1 well does not do 2 as well, and vice versa. Blackjack strategy charts how to play perfect blackjack. Appendix a the theory of optimal betting spreads introduction the purpose of this appendix is to show that the theory of optimal betting spreads for the game of blackjack has a sound mathematical basis, and to clear up confusion resulting. Simplified, easytomemorize blackjack basic strategy charts with low house edge free pdf file easytomemorize blackjack basic strategy chart pdf choose a basic strategy for simplicity and accuracy in a blackjack game, the basic strategy is the set of actions that give you the best possible return, based on your total and the dealers. Unlike other strategies based on theory, take down blackjack was developed by blackjack pros who depend on their skills to win everyday. Probability guide to gambling probability theory guide. The wizard calculates the complete blackjack basic strategy and house edge, starting from a blank excel spreadsheet, without using computer programming. The theory of blackjack blackjack books and accessories. Peter griffin the theory of blackjack card counting. Edward oakley thorp born august 14, 1932 is an american mathematics professor, author, hedge fund manager, and blackjack researcher.

Blackjack, also known astwentyone or pontoon, is one of the most popularcasino card games in the world. Thorp and associates, newport beach, ca 92660, usa contents abstract 2 keywords 2 1. Lecture notes poker theory and analytics sloan school of. Blackjack is the american version of a popular global banking game known as twentyone, whose relatives include pontoon and vingtetun. The compleat card counters guide to the casino game of 21 6th edition, indexed peter a. Some blackjack tables will pay blackjack odds of 6 to 5. Much of blackjack s popularity is due to the mix of chance with elements. Lecture notes poker theory and analytics sloan school. Peter griffin the theory of blackjack pdf document. Peter griffin the theory of blackjack card counting gambling. Understanding splits if your first two cards are a pair, you can play two hands by matching the amount of your original bet on each hand. It is not a system based on somehow finding the perfect game and then jumping in at the right time. Oct 29, 2014 individuals who dont possessan acquaintance with thorps beat the dealer, wilsonscasino gamblers guide, or epsteins theory of gambling andstatistical logicwill probablyfindit inadvisabletobegintheir serious study of the mathematics of blackjack here. Blackjack is one of the only casino card games where the cards are not.

Count, but the theory understanding was simple to grasp. The ninecount blackjack strategy is the optimum way to maximum profits using the edge of knowing about the player advantage bet. With the basic strategy, you should never split 10s, 5s or 4s, always split 8s, and, in the other cases, split against an up card of 2 to 7, but not otherwise. Basic strategy cannot overcome the house edge even if you get lucky with it from time to time.

Blackjack strategy blackjack odds blackjack strategy. Blackjack playing is considered a useful test case for theories on. The enormous popularity of blackjack is obvious once you understand that blackjack is one of the few gambling games that are not solely reliant on luck. Remember blackjack is a thinking person s game and playing to the chart on the left will help you increase your chances of winning. Rozell department of electrical and computer engineering, rice university, houston, texas 77251 1 introduction many statistical problems of practical interest. Evidently, the book deals with theory of probability, a branch of mathematics. The main reason behind its wideworld popularity is that players are required to make multiple decisions with each hand, greatly affecting the outcome in. When the news that blackjack can be beaten by card counting became public knowledge in the early 1960s, the casinos almost went into hysteria. A markov chain analysis of blackjack strategy michael b. That book was directed primarily to professional poker players. The complete card counters guide to the casino gambling theories methods sixth by griffin, peter a. We speci cally look at the role of card counting in these decisions. Just as the title says this book in on the theory of blackjack. Ive done all of the hard work for you so you wont have to start from scratch, the way i did.

When confronted with two courses of action with identical expectations the. The house advantage varies slightly depending on the rules and number of decks, but a player using basic strategy faces little or no disadvantage in a singledeck game and only a 0. The complete manual the complete manual is available online and may be downloaded in the next five minutes if you like. The game of blackjack and analysis of counting cards ariell zimran, anna klis, alejandra fuster and christopher rivelli december 2, 2009 abstract in this paper, we examine the game of blackjack as the interaction of a gameplay decision and a betting decision.

Professional blackjackstanford wong pi vee press professional blackjack bystanford wong pi vee press. Blackjack, the face cards jack, queen, and king and the ten count as 10 points, and the ace counts as 1 or 11. For years blackjack experts have told the public that blackjack is a beatable game. The article addresses a variety of topics, including house advantage, confusion about win rates, game volatility, player value and comp policies, casino pricing. The complete strategy included only some brief sections on money management. Blackjack rules can vary by whether you can double after the split of if the dealer stands or hits on a soft 17.

The theory of blackjack by peter griffin this is the classic blackjack book on the mathematics of the game and includes a complete discussion of basic strategy and card counting systems including single and multiparameter. Find materials for this course in the pages linked along the left. Whats more you can start using this 100% proven blackjack. Blackjack strategy charts for the specific tables you play on. The book is very mathematically advanced and presumes a strong background in card counting. Study theory of probability in blackjack with mathematics of true odds, house advantage, edge, bust, basic strategy charts, card counting, systems, software. I had around 10,000 books in my personal library when i lived in romania. This guide, written by casino math professor robert hannum, contains a brief, nontechnical discussion of the basic mathematics governing casino games and shows how casinos make money from these games. Pdf cognitive models of blackjack playing are presented and investigated. The book is not really an introduction to the game. Blackjack, the most popular of all table games, offers the skilled player some of the best odds in the casino. Ed thorp, author of beat the dealer peter griffins sense of humor is refreshing and pointed. Reduce the value of your hand by one point to 16, and the chart says to stand when the dealers up card is a 6 or lower.

Blackjack is an extremely popular card game that is enjoyed by players in both online and landbased casinos. Sevenbet blackjack is not a theoretical system that only works sometimes. Individuals who dont possessan acquaintance with thorps beat the dealer, wilsonscasino gamblers guide, or epsteins theory of gambling andstatistical logicwill probablyfindit inadvisabletobegintheir serious study of the mathematics of blackjack here. Basic strategy is the first step to beating blackjack with card counting. Generally considered the bible for serious blackjack players, peter griffins classic work provides insight into the methods and numbers behind the development of todays cardcounting systems. Pdf a comparison between cognitive and ai models of blackjack. Easytomemorize blackjack basic strategy chart 1 hour. Professor peter griffin was the inexperienced player who wrote such a book. May 20, 2019 the theory of blackjack by peter griffin. For many years, peter griffins theory of blackjack and stanford wongs basic blackjack were the players best resources for the correct basic strategy for any number of decks and rules. The object of the game is to win money by beating the dealer. Betting with the kelly criterion university of washington. Count, but the theoryunderstanding was simple to grasp. Blackjack betting strategies are quite popular, especially since the game has been featured in hit movies like rain man, 21 and the hangover no matter what the game, there is one universal rule.

Mathematicalandeducational explorations,paulus gerdes historical modules for the teaching and learning of mathematics cd, edited by victor katz and karen dee michalowicz identi. Examining the count analyses for both betting and play efficiency in the theory of. Modern blackjack is a free 540page webbook covering blackjack from the basic rules to advanced topics like shuffle tracking, holecard play, and team play. The game of blackjack and analysis of counting cards.

The compleat card counters guide to the casino game of 21. Generally considered the bible for serious blackjack players. Peter griffin died from cancer at the age of 61 on oct. The probabilities of events predicted during the game are calculated on the basis of the played cards the cards showing from a certain moment. A powerful strategy that reveals exactly how to exploit a flaw in the blackjack game to make thousands of dollars, safely. Rather it is for those players who already have a basic understanding of the game. Probability theory is a formal theory of mathematics like many others, but none of them raised so many questions about its interpretations and applicability in daily life as this theory does. Thorp is the author of beat the dealer, which mathematically proved. Griffin professor of mathematics and statistics, california state.

Page 2 of 9 hung 1 introduction gambling in all forms, whether it be in blackjack, sports, or the stock market, must begin with a bet. The theory of blackjack by peter griffin is considered as one of the classics in the world of blackjack. Modern blackjack free version blackjack card counting. Looking at the blackjack chart, the blackjack strategy card tells us to stand whenever you have 17 points or more in your hand, regardless of what the dealer is showing for an up card. Blackjack basic strategy charts the encyclopedia of blackjack. Peter griffin the theory of blackjack math professor to blackjack. This requires counting certain favorable cards showing for the dealer and for the other players, as well as in your own hand. Inside easy money blackjack, youll discover proven methods that work i know because ive tried and tested them, remember. Silverthorne dianes thirtyminute blackjack strategy. Another, more tractable, principle to reduce fluctuations also appears in the theory of blackjack. This book was not meant to help the typical counters game but reads more like a college text exploring the math behind card counting. The theory of blackjack is a fundamental contribution to our understanding of the game unusually well written and amusing a pleasure to read. The ultimate counting method the total efficacy of a blackjack count depends on its correlation with 1 the true advantage or disadvantage of the remaining cards in the decks for betting purposes and 2 the playing efficiency that it provides.