On GWAE this week – listener email

Years ago, I purchased a blackjack course called The Bobby Singer Method. In the early 1990s, with the help of a friend, I studied and mastered it in a few months. The course is structured in three parts: Basic Strategy, Card Counting, and Money Management. The basic strategy and card counting (high-low) is the same as I’ve seen elsewhere and still see and hear about today; however, the money-management as far as I know is where it differs from conventional standards in one simple way. There is no conversion to a true count but instead a dollar amount is assigned to the count for each of three locations of the deck (early, middle, late). The assigned dollar amounts are based on the player’s bankroll.

Players must multiply the plus count by the assigned number at each deck location. For instance, with a $1,000 BR, the assigned numbers are $1 early, $2 middle, and $3 late. Therefore, for a +9 count mid-deck, the player bets $18. I had no problem implementing this system many years ago and am thinking of getting back into card counting and would like to revisit the system.

My question is, does this system seem viable to you or should I not waste my time re-studying it and stick to a more conventional one? Also, have you ever heard of Bobby Singer and, if so, is he well-respected within the blackjack community?

Some possibly pertinent information:

My friend and I become partners and started with a $1500 bankroll. We traveled to Atlantic City five days a week and played five 45-minute sessions. After about 2 months, we lost roughly 30% of our bankroll. At that point, my friend suggested we postpone our endeavor since, as he explained, summer was coming and Atlantic City would be “too crowded.” I knew he was not being honest and was simply looking for an excuse to dissolve the partnership. Mainly, I believe, he was bored as he did most of the driving (an hour each way from Philadelphia) and then just stood around watching me play. He also might have needed his share of the BR for his other gambling activities. I didn’t blame him but was disappointed as I really wanted to see this through. I also never formed a negative opinion of Mr. Singer’s method since we did not give it enough time to prove or disprove itself.

The Bobby Singer Method was sold on television through infomercials during the mid-1980’s. I bought mine in 1985 for I believe $150.

Thanks for responding, Larry. I didn’t know he was still around as late as the 2000’s. If you have any suggestions of what other systems to look at, I’d appreciate it.