Practice Drills

If you skipped the Basic Strategy Chapter, you should go back and read the practice section at this point as it also applies to card counting. This starts at page 60 and continues for six pages. If you skipped the REKO Chapter, you should also read the practice section of that chapter starting at page 78. The practice drills discussion will be continued here.

Three new skills are required when using FELT. Deck estimation, true count calculation, and index memorization.

We have already discussed counting practice with physical decks. It is also useful to keep a deck of cards around where you will see it often. This will get you used to the exact height of a deck. You might also keep around stacks of 2, 3 or more decks. It is best to use real casino decks that have been used a bit. Casinos used to give them away in the good old days. Ebay is a good source now.

In the old days, we used flashcards for index practice —generally 3x5 index cards with a Blackjack hand on the front (e.g., 16 vs. ten) and the correct index on the back. I have not included sample flashcards here, as I am suggesting software for the reasons previously stated.

Software Counting Drills

Casino Vérité Blackjack counting drills should be used exactly the same as with REKO, with one exception. Counting two cards at a time is more difficult and more important. Spend more time counting two cards at a time with both real cards and software.

Flashcard Drills

The Flashcard Drills can be used exactly as with REKO. However, now that you must deal with two different index values (0 and 6), you should also use the Index Test in the Count Box. When this test is selected, a hand will be displayed and you must respond with the index number. Hands with Indexes should also be set when running an Index Test.

Discard Tray Drills

From the main menu, select Tools, then CVDrills and click on the Discard Tray Drills button. These drills are used to test your

 © 2009 Norman Wattenberger