 
| ||
|
|
|
TIME FOR A LIFE-CHANGE, INCLUDING
A NEW PLAYING TECHNIQUE
by Ralph Stricker
Ralph Stricker has been a successful professional blackjack player for many years, developer of the famous Silver Fox Card Blackjack System, and one of the blackjack legends described in the book,
"Legends of Blackjack." 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. You can purchase a copy of Stricker’s "Silver Fox Blackjack System" through Gambler’s Book Club in Las Vegas. If you want the book autographed, send a check for $32.95 made payable to Ralph Stricker (price includes priority mailing in US), and mail to Ralph Stricker, 500 Adams Lane, Ste.14R, North Brunswick, NJ 08902.In 1986, I decided it was time for a "life change." I was tired of the same old routine of blackjack team play and playing "hide-and- seek" with the casinos (to avoid detection). I was also getting tired of dealing with the different personalities of the players on my blackjack teams, especially listening to their complaining, etc. Playing and counting solo was not an option because I was afraid of being barred from too many casinos. I needed a change.
Coincidentally, during this time I went on a trip to Florida to do a few radio shows on the topic of gambling and blackjack (what else). I was also scheduled to teach three blackjack classes and then spend three or four days doing nothing but just enjoying myself in sunny Florida.
In between teaching blackjack to students, I met someone (who knew my background in blackjack) who raised the question as to why I don’t move to Florida permanently. He figured if I moved there, I’d be closer to the casinos in the Bahamas, Aruba, and the Dominican Republic. He was a real estate agent and during our conversation, he told me that he had a nice condominium for sale at a good price. Moving from N.J. to Florida was the last thing on my mind during this time (1984 and 1985 were memorable years for me because I lost my mother and my son in a span of one year).
The more I thought about moving to Florida, the better it sounded because moving to a different part of the country started to peak my interest. I had lived in the Cayman Islands for three years and really enjoyed the sun year round. I finally asked him to show me the condominium. The condo was beautiful and located in Plantation, a suburb of Fort Lauderdale, FL. The real estate agent happened to own the condo and he offered it to me at an excellent price. It only took me a day to decide to purchase it; however, the deal was contingent on the sale of my condo in N.J.
Back in those days, it didn’t take long to sell a condo in N.J. and I was able to sell mine quickly. I then made plans to move to Florida. I drove from N.J. to Florida in one of my cars (my sporty 280ZX Turbo), and one of my blackjack team members drove my station wagon (which I used for team play). After we arrived in Florida, I paid for an airline ticket for my team member so that he could fly back home. The movers arrived with my stuff a day later and moved my belongings into my new condo. I was excited about the move and looked forward to just relaxing for a while.
I should have known better because it didn’t take long before I was asked to do a radio show (on WIOD). The results from that show was more than I had expected and I wound up spending a lot of my time teaching three, two-day classes (four hours each class for a total of 8 hours). That’s when I decided that I wasn’t going to do any more shows for a while.
Besides teaching winning blackjack strategies to players, I was enjoying the other side of my life, which was music. I went to all of the local jazz spots to listen to some of the best musicians, some of whom were famous. Just when I thought that I could now relax for a while, I received a phone call from a big-name junkateer, Harold N. I made an appointment to meet him in his office to find out what he wanted. He proposed to...
...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.