Practice Drills

In order to be successful at the blackjack table it is vital that you practice basic strategy, card counting and shuffle tracking so that they become second nature.

Following are some guidelines on how to practice these different strategies:

Basic Strategy

• Produce a set of flashcards; make one flashcard for each starting hand (put the player's hand and dealer's upcard on the front and the correct basic strategy play on the back). Run through the flashcards for about 15 minutes a day. Put aside the hands that give you trouble, then run through those hands until you got them right.

• Take a blank sheet of paper and recreate the entire basic strategy chart for every starting hand.

• Use a Basic Strategy Trainer (a modern software tool available on the Internet) to learn basic strategy.

Card Counting

• Take a deck of cards and peel off one card at a time face up. Each time you see a card think of its point value (do not say or mouth these values). Practice until you can recognize the value of each card instantly.

• Deal yourself one card at a time face up from a deck of cards, while keeping a running count. Begin the count with zero, then add or subtract the point values as each card is dealt. When the last card is turned over the total count should be zero in a balanced system or a predetermined number in an unbalanced system.
  When you are proficient at counting down a deck of cards one at a time practice turning the cards over two at a time. This is how you will count at the blackjack table, where cards tend to fall in pairs. To increase your speed, train yourself to recognize cards that cancel each other. Practice until counting pairs becomes a second nature.
  To improve your counting speed, practice turning cards over three or four at a time. Always strive to be accurate because speed without accuracy is worthless. You should be able to count down a deck in 30 seconds or less in this fashion.

• Deal yourself a six handed, face up game of blackjack while counting as rapidly as you can. Calculate the true count (if you are using a balanced system) at the end of every hand by estimating how many decks are remaining, and divide the running count by that number. Calculate the bet size at the beginning of every hand based on true count (or the running count when you are using an unbalanced system). Check the total point count at the end of the shoe to make sure you are not making any mistakes.

• Use modern software tools available on the Internet (Card Counting Trainer) to practice counting cards.

Shuffle Tracking

• Before you consider using shuffle tracking, make sure you have completely mastered basic strategy and a card counting system. The best way to practice shuffle tracking is the use of a computer software package like Casino Verite Blackjack.

Total Strategy

• Ask a friend to act as the dealer and deal out six hands for you (you act as the players). Get him to talk to you and use loud music and other noises to distract you (the best way to practice is to simulate real situations). Use basic strategy, keep a running count, and calculate the true count and the correct bet size on every hand. Play out the total shoe so you can check if you made any mistakes by verifying the total point count.

• Register to an online casino and pratice basic strategy and card counting using play money.