I offer poker and blackjack training sessions, in person or by Zoom, FaceTime, Google Chat, Skype, telephone, etc. Contact me for more details at training@andybloch.com.
I offer poker and blackjack training sessions, in person or by Zoom, FaceTime, Google Chat, Skype, telephone, etc. Contact me for more details at training@andybloch.com.
Andy Bloch 
I assume you charge for this service? I’m interested in being trained, but I haven’t got much money… 😦
I do charge, but my blackjack DVD should be in your budget (if you’re interested in blackjack). I’ve just started offering autographed DVDs with a short phone consultation after. Also, I may in the future offer seminars or online webcasts which will be cheaper than private training.
what is the average time it takes to be ready to go into a casino and be successful with your system after watching DVD?
I recommend practicing 1-3 hours per day for 1 to 4 weeks. Really try to challenge yourself and simulate a real casino environment. Before you try it in a casino, have someone deal to you as you count, bet, and play, and stop every deck or two to double-check that you have the right count.
How hard is it to count cards? Most people aren’t as intelligent as you are being an MIT and Harvard grad.
I won’t say it’s easy, but you definitely don’t need to be an MIT graduate. If you can count up and down, you can count cards. You just need to practice until mistakes are rare, and memorize basic strategy.
Would someone new to blackjack be able to learn from this dvd?
Sure! You don’t need any blackjack experience, although the DVD assumes you know the basic idea of blackjack (highest total without going over 21 wins, player plays first before the dealer, etc.).
Ok thanks, how much extra to ship to the uk?
Shipping to Great Britain would be $6 extra by regular First Class mail.
Priority Mail (6-10 business days) is $16 extra.
Express Mail (3-5 business days) $37
Express Mail (1-3 business days) $51
Hey Anday, I e-mailed you about 3 days ago regarding blackjack coaching and still havent received a reply?
Hi Andy
Just saying hello through the back door…
Hi!
hey Andy what makes a great poker player in your opinion?
A great poker player never stops trying to improve his or her game. If you stop learning and adapting to your opponents, eventually your opponents will be better than you.
Note that a great poker player isn’t necessarily a winning poker player if he or she always plays against better players. To be a winning player, you just have to play against worse poker players.
Would you rather be a winning poker player or a great poker player?
Hi Andy I bought your DVD watched it for 2months practicing 1-2 hours daily well here is the good news bad news story. I have been asked to leave 9 casinos on east coast !! But the great news is I’m up over $195,000 and counting !!! I’m only 21 and now my Georgetown student loans are GONE!! I owe it all to you I thank you very much and 1 day we will cross and I will treat you to one hell of a night!!
Congrats! Thanks for your post. I’m always glad to hear that people are still making money card counting (not that I ever doubted it). To anyone thinking of trying card counting, take note that Vincent practiced daily for 2 months. You don’t necessarily need that much practice, but I wouldn’t recommend much less. Plus you might want to double check your plan with an experienced card counter so you don’t make a mistake like playing at a game with bad rules.
HI Andy, I just brought your DVD about 3 days ago and have been practicing non stop so far. Im pretty good at the counting part like going threw the decks I’ve done 6 decks without mistake in a pretty fast time but Im having trouble when the cards are dealt out in a game scenario. Any advice? & Im also having a little hard time with Basic Strategy.
There are some tricks you can use to make counting while playing easier. Some people find it helps to count in a foreign language, or using the alphabet, instead of numbers, to avoid mixing up the count with your hand total or the dealer’s up card or any other numbers. Keep practicing, focusing on playing while counting. Have someone deal to you and try to distract you by saying numbers, etc.
Some people find it’s easier to memorize rules for basic strategy instead of memorizing a chart. You can also use any of the common techniques for learning. You can make up basic strategy flash cards. Or try filling in a complete basic strategy chart from memory. After a few tries, you’ll find it a lot easier.
how much it will cost me ? i want to buy your dvd…im sean from the philippines…
Add $10 for shipping to the Philippines by US Postal Service “First-Class Package International”.
Hey Andy,
I really enjoyed your DVD. Just wondering, I found a casino with the best rules. 5 decks, 95% penetration, double down anytime, surrender anytime, resplit aces. However BJs pay 6/5. I know that its Ill advised to play a 6/5 game. But is it to a players advantage to play a game with these liberal rules?
Black paying 6:5 costs the player about 1.4% (exact amount depends on the number of decks). I doubt that those other rules make the game favorable. (I can’t tell for sure because I’m not sure what you mean by “anytime.” Can you double on any number of cards? Or just any 2 cards? Can you double after split? Early surrender or late surrender?) Here’s a list of almost all blackjack rules you might come across, and the value: http://wizardofodds.com/games/blackjack/rule-variations/
Blackjack paying only 6:5 also reduces a good amount of the advantage that card counting gives you, because tens and aces are no longer as favorable for the player.
Hello Andy, how long did it take you to become a professional at blackjack?
Hi Ryan! Once I was invited to join the MIT Blackjack team it took me a couple of months to get good enough to play on the team, and a few months later I was making more from the team than I was at my regular job.
hello Andy , do you have any idea what to do when dealer puts cards back in the shoe after every hand , how to count the numer of the remaining decks?
I think you’re referring to the continuous shuffling machines, when after a few rounds (sometimes every round) the dealer puts the discards into a shuffling machine that is continuously shuffling the cards. You’d have to use almost the whole shoe as the number of decks remaining, and you may have to reset your count to 0 every time the cards are put back in the shoe. This makes counting much less favorable. You won’t have much of an edge at all, but if you want to play to earn comps and don’t want to get kicked out then it could be worthwhile to play such a game.
Hey Andy, i’ve been playing a six deck hand shuffle for a few days now where they only play through 4 decks and then reshuffle. i’ve only gotten a favorable count a couple of times and even then i could only play one or two hands before the reshuffle. Is this just bad luck?
First off, I recommend practicing at home before heading to the casino. This would give you a good feel for how often the count gets favorable. Reshuffle whenever the count gets to around -6.
Second, you should look for a casino (or a dealer, as it can vary from dealer to dealer) that has better penetration (deals deeper). I recommend looking for 1.75 decks or less cut off.
Third, you should be quicker to move away from a table if the count doesn’t go up right away. If you can, watch a round or two after a shuffle, or more, and only sit down if the count is positive. If the count goes negative right away, go count another table. If it hovers around 0, you can continue counting. This way you’ll be able to count more tables. When you get good at counting, you can count 2 tables at once.
any training on single deck or double deck training
Sure! If you’re playing alone, single deck (if you can find a game with decent rules that deals more than one round) or double deck can be better than a 6 deck game. There’s going to be a few basic strategy changes, and you’ll probably need to modify your betting strategy to avoid “heat”, but otherwise the technique is basically the same.
Andy
Thank you for your response. Any chance you can tell me what the few changes are. I have been practicing your technique with friends and I am very optimistic.
The basic strategy changes will depend on the rules and number of decks. Here’s a good blackjack basic strategy chart generator for a wide range of rules and decks:
http://wizardofodds.com/games/blackjack/strategy/calculator/
Also, how do you avoid “heat” in double deck game?
In a single or double deck game, it’s usually more obvious that you are varying your bet with the count, especially since there’s usually no mid-shoe entry, so you can’t “call in” a big player like I showed in my DVD for a 6-deck game. You may need to bet more off the top, reduce your bet spread, bet erratically (but still tending to bet significantly more when the count is in your favor), or anything you can do to hide that you are varying your bet with the count. Act drunk. Act like a gambler pressing his luck. Etc.
Hello again Andy,
I have been counting cards for over a year now and it has been quite lucrative. However, I have found a casino in here in California that allows the player to bank the game. Which gave me the idea to bank at Negative counts, this has worked for me very well I have made more EV per hour banking than traditional advantage play. So my question is… Is there any data, software or math that has analyzed Player Banking Blackjack?
I don’t know of any software specifically geared towards that, but I would think that some regular blackjack software could be helpful. Or, try writing your own. It’s not too hard of a programming exercise nowadays since computers are fast enough that you don’t have to worry much about optimizations.
I just got certified as a blackjack dealer out of state, but was only taught to deal out of a 6 deck shoe. Turns out I need to learn how to deal single & double decks by hand, pitch cards, & pay 5 to 6 rather than 3 to 2. Can your dvd teach me these things?
My DVD teaches you how to play and beat the casino, with enough practice. It doesn’t teach how to deal blackjack.
6 to 5 shouldn’t even be called blackjack.