A decent spread is obviously still a necessity, to uphold the fundamental logic of betting more when you have the advantage and less or not at all when you don’t. But we can’t put out the big spreads achievable in multiple-deck games and some blackjack odds table - like 12:1,14:1, or more. It’s just impossible to suddenly put that much money out onto the table and get away with it for any length of time. In fact, spread like that on single-deck and you’ll be escorted to the door more quickly than you can say the words, "positive expectation" and can play blackjack .

So use the true count in the same way you would for multiple-deck, only top out at four to six units depending on circumstances such as scrutiny from pit personnel, length of time you expect to be at the table, etc. Hopefully, this will keep you below enemy radar or at a minimum buy you enough time to do some damage and move on.

Deviations for Single-Deck
I’ve mentioned a few times earlier how single-deck blackjack is more of a finesse game than its multiple-deck counterparts. For that reason, de­viations from Basic Strategy play a somewhat more significant role. The tables below highlight a few more deviations that the single-deck player might want to add to those presented in Chapter Eight.

As we all know by now, single-deck blackjack is a unique animal called blackjack . First and foremost, the game has to be offered. Second, the rules that apply shouldn’t negate too much of the achievable advantage. A third point, worthy of mentioning yet again, is how closely single-deck blackjack is scrutinized. And last, but certainly not least - although not related to single-deck only but definitely applicable - the earnings po­tential for many variations to Basic Strategy is negligible, specifically those with very high thresholds or those that apply when betting the table minimum. For all of the above reasons, I minimized the follow­ing data in a number of ways. For example, indices for pair splitting were not considered because in some casinos doubling after splitting is allowed, while in others it isn’t. That would mean having to learn two sets of numbers - for pair splitting alone - to be completely accurate in all cases. Another example is omitting some soft doubles - more specifically, those pertaining to doubling on Soft 20. Think about it for a moment: would we really want to double a Soft 20 at a single-deck game while under scrutiny? Probably not - unless your idea of a good time is getting backed off or barred. Mine isn’t, so I’ll pass on those as well.

And, of course, if I’m playing game called blackjack in the bac pit, my "act" is nothing short of an art form.
You notice the gleam of a spinning roulette wheel behind us, and we wander over to the nearest table - one packed with a crowd of onlookers. The electronic display shows that the last nine numbers that have come out have all been red. On the table layout, there’s a mountain of’, chips on black. Happens every time. A bunch of one color comes out, and the opposite color fills with chips. One guy even has several purple crammed on one corner of the betting square. A young man with a baseball cap is saying to his buddy how black has to come out. Unfortunately, nothing could be further from the truth of particular casino blackjack. As we now know, in no other casino game beside blackjack (and poker) does past history influence the future. The tenth spin has just as good a chance of being red again as it does black, since there are as many red numbers in the roulette wheel as there are black. Yet everyone at the table seems convinced that sooner or later a black number will come out. And they’re right. Only there’s no way of knowing when "sooner" or "later" will be - unlike blackjack, of course, wherein a preponderance of low cards usually results in a preponderance of high cards at some later point in the deal.

So the second decision you must make for yourself is whether you want to graduate from the comfort level and reach a point of expertise. This doesn’t mean that you have to become a professional gambler. Although there are many books which suggest that’s what you will have to do, that is far from the truth. To become an expert at playing slots and doesn’t mean you have to become a professional gambler, or even an author of gaming books. It simply means that you take the time to learn more than the average Joe, and give yourself the ability, and the knowledge not merely to lose what the average player loses, but to actually join the very elite club of players who win.

It is possible to win, you know. And no, you don’t have to trust to blind luck, and you don’t have to stumble around in the dark like that blind hog still looking for his acorn. People like me, who write books on gambling, are sort of like your seeing-eye dog. We lead the way. We point to the right things, and show how to do it the better way. This doesn’t mean it is the only way, or even the right way. It simply means that from all our years of dedicated research, of playing, of living this life, we have acquired more than the average Joe’s amount of knowledge, and are now able to apply it to suggestions and recommendations which we consider valuable. At least I do. Speaking for myself, I am writing this book, and the other books in this series, for the purpose of imparting to you the knowledge about blackjack rules it took me more than two decades to accumulate. I am well aware that the learning curve can be difficult to overcome, while the comfort factor is easily reached. Therefore, I seek to simplify the information and make it as clear as I can, with as much impact as is possible to impart to it. By investing your time in reading this book, you have shown that you have the desire to improve yourself as a slot player, and reach a level of expertise.

This doesn’t mean that you must be, or should be, a miser. Playing too carefully is also a prescription for disaster. I have already mentioned that “scared” money flies away quickly. Don’t play that way. To win, you must play aggressively and with a sufficient bankroll to justify your level of action. All of this is covered in the other Keys to Winning. Discipline is the glue that holds it all together. Once the glue stops holding, it all falls apart.

Unfortunately, making a commitment to self-discipline when going to the casino is very easy. Keeping to it once you get to the casino is very hard. So hard, in fact, that the vast majority of people who arrive at the casino completely convinced they will not allow this experience to get the better of them do just that. They let it get the better of them. And fast. You’d be surprised. Very often as soon as they walk through the door. Suddenly, they see all the excitement, all the games, all the flashing lights, the sounds of money and chips—the entire atmosphere captivates them. In the door they go, and out the door go all of their well-meaning and carefully conceived plans, their sense of discipline, and all their other senses as well. It happens to just about everyone, even hardened veterans of the casino lifestyle. All of us are human beings, and we are not perfect. We have failures, and lack of discipline is the worst. We see it everywhere around us. Schools no longer teach discipline. Rowdy and disruptive students are no longer punished. They are “counseled” instead. Same with children. The outcome is that we are producing a society where none of the adults have any idea of what discipline is. When they are faced with it, as when they enter the workforce, or the armed services, they are in complete shock. No wonder, then, that most people who go to casinos can’t understand what discipline really is, and how it applies to their gaming success or financial failure.

To be continued…