 
| ||
|
|
|
HOW AND WHERE IT BEGAN:
TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE
by Ralph "Silver Fox" Stricker
Ralph Stricker has been a successful professional blackjack player for many years. He is the developer of the Silver Fox Card Counting system and author of "Silver Fox Blackjack System
—You Can Count On It." Note: This is the system that BJI contributing writer Barfarkel uses and mentions in his BJI trip reports. In his articles for the BJI, Stricker describes his blackjack career, specifically how and where he started playing, teaching, and managing blackjack teams, as well some personal experiences that affected him along the way. He is one of the blackjack legends described in the book, "Legends of Blackjack."Note: This is a continuing story of Ralph Stricker’s life as a successful blackjack player and teacher. See prior BJI issues for the previous articles in this series.
After the last trip to Las Vegas, I received word that Art R. (pit boss at the Aladdin Casino) was going to be working at the Rio Casino & Hotel. He had been responsible for letting me and my team play at the Aladdin without any "heat," and he told us that when he goes to the next casino, we should come and play there. This seemed to good to be true.
I decided, however, to "test the waters" to see if our good fortune would be as good (or maybe even better) as it was on our last trip to Las Vegas. The same cast of players would make this trip: Harold N., Bert C., Silver R. and I.
After we arrived in Vegas, we checked in at two different motels off the "Strip." After eating a good meal and rested, I decided to send Silver R. to the Rio to check out whether Art R. was indeed there, and if so, what his position was there. (I sent Silver R. because he had known and worked with Art R. many years ago.)
While waiting for Silver R. to return from the Rio, Harold N. and I decided to play for small stakes to pass some time. We went to the El Rancho casino to play because Harold N. was one of their junketeers, and their executives and shift bosses knew him.
We played about an hour and a half and pocketed a little spending money to defray the costs of the trip. When we got back, Silver R. had returned and informed us that Art R. was indeed working at the Rio as the shift boss on day shift. We decided to wait until the next day to visit Art R. at the Rio and, hopefully, be able to play there without any heat.
In the meantime, we had dinner and went to play at the Mirage because the rules were excellent and "deck penetration" was very good. I played using Silver R as a BP and let Harold N. and Bert C. act as floaters, which meant I would call one of them to the table if the shoe/count were in our favor. I would also give a signal to Harold N. if I thought he had played long enough (I didn’t want any heat on him).
After about two hours of playing at the Mirage, we decided to call off the session. Unfortunately, we lost back what we had won earlier. We decided to stop for the day and just relax until the day shift.
The next day Silver went to the Rio to see Art R. to determine what his attitude was concerning allowing us to play there (as he did when he worked at the Aladdin). Silver came back and informed us that Art R. said,...
...enter your member login information below to read this article/newsletter...
Paid Members-Only Article
You have clicked on a link to a Blackjack Insider web page or article for paid subscribers. You must have a paid membership to the Blackjack Insider newsletter to view this content. About 1/2 of the articles in each issue of the Blackjack Insider are for paid members only, while the rest are viewable by everyone. Your purchased membership will allow you to read all Blackjack Insider articles for 12 months.
Enter your user name and password below (they were listed and e-mailed to you after you purchased your Blackjack Insider membership):
Forgot your membership id or password? Click here.
How do I get a membership?
A membership can be purchased online at our secure store with your credit card for only $19.95 per year. You will receive a user name and password immediately by e-mail which you can use to read the all past and future members-only articles for 12 months, as well as the regular free articles.
CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE A ONE YEAR MEMBERSHIP NOW... only $19.95
Do I have to buy a membership?
No. Blackjack Insider will continue to be published as a free monthly e-newsletter. But about 1/2 of the articles each month will be for paid members only. Subscribers without a membership can still view and read the non-members articles for free.
What happens after I buy a membership?
Immediately after you complete your purchase, you will receive a unique login user name and password. These are displayed on the final purchase page, and are e-mailed to you. When you click on a members-only article in our web site, you will be prompted for this user name and password (as shown above). Simply enter them, and enjoy the article! Note: make sure you turn on the checkbox above when you login, to save the user name and password so that you don't have to re-enter them every time you view members-only articles.
Why did you switch to paid memberships?
Blackjack Insider is a professional monthly publication with top-notch articles by world-reknown gaming experts. In addition, we have regular reporters that monitor game conditions and tournament schedules throughout North America. We use a partially paid subscriber model to enable us to continue getting the best content for our readers from leading authors on blackjack and gaming.
|
|
©2015, DeepNet Technologies. No material to be copied without express permission of DeepNet Technologies.
This site developed by
DeepNet Technologies, Ontario, Canada. Contact webmaster @ bjinsider . com
if you have problems.
This site is best viewed in a 800x600 graphics mode, or higher.