Winning Blackjack Without Counting Cards

by David S. Popik

Book Overview

David S. Popik has played Blackjack from his Army days to the present. In the service he was a fairly consistent loser during his early days of play. Gradually, he honed his skills, observed the playing of thousands of hands and, as he explains in this book, developed a basic stratagem for play. The skills he learned in Army play served him well in professional games in Las Vegas and Atlantic City. The basic tenets of play apply to all casinos, but...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0806509635
• ISBN13: 9780806509631
• Release Date: October 2000
• Publisher: Citadel Press
• Length: 104 Pages
• Weight: 0.30 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.3" x 5.4" x 8.2"

Customer Reviews

Forget the Math

Yes...forget the math. As we know, you cannot make a progressive betting strategy pay off "in the long run". Playing blackjack can, and should be a series of short runs. With David's approach to progression, you can make money. I say "can", not "will". The key is money management and quitting when you're up. I've tried David's system in a combination of simulated play (using a reliable simulator...you know, the one counters train with) and actual table play. I've logged 240 sessions, with almost 11,000 hands played. I'm up 500 units. While that's not the "long run", I feel I can make the system work with David's 3 to 1 approach and good money management (loss limits, pull plateaus, discipline and reasonable win expectations). Heck, I wish I were bankrolled enough to use $100 units. If I can make 2.4 units per hour as an average over, say, 100 hours...well, I'd sure be doing it. Why does it work? Probably because it's the real world, and the player controls when he leaves or stays. There is some real world reality to streaks and clumping. Why do I give it a 4 and not a 5? I think the math contains some fuzzy logic (as a previous reviewer points out). It could be about a twenty page book...but then, would it have any credibility? I liked it and would recommend it to casually serious non-counting players.

Simply the best gambling book I have read

This book is fantastic. It is an easy read and a logical system based purely on mathematics. It does require some discipline, but when followed the system has proven to be profitable and substantially easier than learning to count cards. Will be useful to the occasional player as well as the consistent player.

Simple, Powerful Stuff! It works! READ THIS BOOK

After listening to my friend explain his card counting methods -- I was impressed (actually amazed at his winnings) but discouraged to think I'd have to spend that much time and energy to beat the dealer at a game of Blackjack.So I found a book for the non-counter by Donald Dahl titled Progression Blackjack. A worthwhile read, but while using his strategies playing online, I quickly saw that the systems were "missing something."Then I read "Winning Blackjack Without Counting Cards" by David S. Popik! It's a real eye opener! He simply and powerfully shows that BJ is not a game of chance when certain rules are adhered to.... But MORE than that, he teaches a truly brilliant system for consistently beating the house! It's so simple a 12 year old couldn't lose with this strategy. The book's about an hour's reading time (or a little more to carefully go over all the numbers -- the author carefully documents all his findings)In my first game online after reading this book, I won over $500 in less than 2 hours. Don't miss this one!

I have won 4 straight days

I am winning with his betting strategy, based on extensive research evidently by the author. I recommend it highly, need at least a 300 dollar bankroll, and be prepared to stay at the casino for as long as the system takes.

Radically different and successful!

This book, unlike the standard, much publicized books on progression betting, places bets based on probabilities of winning and losing streaks. The bets are placed at specific intervals rather than just teasing the odds and leaving the same bet out as the odds continue to diminish against winning.