of it, counting, adding hands, true count calculation, deck-depth estimation, cover play, betting strategy, indexes, dealer error recognition — all at one time.
Ř Sheer boredom. Practice with cards becomes dreadfully boring in a very short period of time. The result — you don't spend enough time at it.
I supply software at www.qfit.com. Now you might say that I advise the use of software because I sell Blackjack software. Actually, I sell Blackjack software because I advise its use. The remainder of this chapter will discuss the use of Casino Vérité Blackjack (CV) practice software to practice Basic Strategy.
Flashcard Drills – Add up Hands
Drills are not as much fun as playing the game, but are more efficient at exercising specific skills.
First, we need to make certain that we have the correct strategy selected. From the main menu, select Strategies, then Playing Strategies Simple. You should have the Complete Basic Strategy selected in the Basic Strategies folder. Click OK to exit. If you wish to practice the simpler Basic Strategy, select Composite Basic Strategy instead.
Now select Tools then CVDrills from the menu. Then click on Flashcards. The Flashcard drills are listed in the upper left of the setup screen. We will start with the Add up Hands drill. This is a simple drill that displays hands and asks you to add the cards. Sounds trivial, but it is harder than it looks when you speed it up, particularly when there are multiple aces that may count as 1 or 11. Even Blackjack dealers make errors. In the middle of the screen, set Cards to Two to Five. Then hit Launch. You will be presented with one hand at a time. Simply ignore the dealer card in the upper left and add the 2 to 5 player cards. Type the sum and hit enter. For a soft hand, like ace,4, enter S15 for soft-15. At the end, you will receive a score based on speed and accuracy.
If your accuracy is poor, you might wish to start with two-card hands first. Change Cards on the setup screen to Two. If your accuracy is perfect, slide up the speed control on the setup screen. Following is a picture of the Add up Hands drill.
© 2009 Norman Wattenberger
