Golden Touch Blackjack Speed Count Course

The Bottom Line

Blackjack is a game of skill. By learning to count cards a player can gain the edge over the casino. Speed count is the easiest counting method developed to date. In two days you can learn how to get the mathematical edge over the casino. It is 70-95 percent as effective as the High/Low and KO counts. It can be used in blackjack games with any number of decks. If you are a basic strategy player looking to take the next step to gain the edge then speed count is for you. 

 

Pros

• Easiest Blackjack card counting method that you can learn.
• Gives you a mathematically marked cards verifiable edge over the casino.
• Can be learned in two days, not months or years.
• Speed Cout Book Available
• Course is on DVD

Cons

• Limited number of classes available around the country.

Description

• The full two day course teaches you the seven elements needed to get the edge over the casino.
• Speed Count is the easier to learn than other card counting metohd.
• Speed Count gives you 70-95 percent of the power of other counting methods such as Hi/Lo and KO.
• Utilizes a running count that does not require cancellation, division or multiplication.
• Teaches you how to get more comps at less risk.
• New optimal basic strategy (OBS) that provides built-in camouflage.
• Learn the count by actually playing in simulated casino sessions at the table.
• Predetermined bet sizes based on count make your decisions automatic.
• Teaches you money management, bankroll considerations for all levels of play

Guide Review - Golden Touch Blackjack Speed Count Course

I attended the two day course and was surprised with the ease in learning the speed count method. In the past I have studied the Hi/Lo count but had difficulty utilizing it in the casino. I switched to the KO method but found that I could not sustain it for long juice cards. I learned the speed count in two days and was able to easily use it at the casino. The course is very hands on. You learn by playing and practicing at the blackjack table with other students in a simulated game situation. If you can learn basic strategy then you can learn the speed count. The course also taught about the money management principals and bankroll considerations needed to succeed. It explained how to utilize the comp system to add to get even more from the casino. Because of the built in camouflage it is possible to play without even being detected as an advantage player.
The speed count was independently tested by two of the country’s top mathematicians who test casino games. Both verified that utilizing the speed count does give the player and advantage.
Using card counting can give you the edge when playing Blackjack but there are no guarantees. Card counters do not win every time they play. This course gave the students realistic information about the expectations of playing blackjack as well as the risks involved.
If you are serious about Blackjack this is the course for you.
If you are unable to attend a Speed Count course, the complete information is available in the Golden Touch Blackjack Revolution book and also on The Speed Count DVD.

 

Daily 3-Bet: ElkY FTW, Girl Fight, Dwan Cracks Phil

The PokerListings Daily 3-Bet is a series of three fiercely-contested one-on-one matches to settle the mid-afternoon poker news battle once and for all.
If you have an idea for a great 3-Bet piece, just drop us a note in the comments below.
It’s an all-NBC National Heads-Up Championship 3-Bet today with Daniel Negreanu making his Heads-Up picks, some hilarious Twitter trash talk and the best NBC HU clip of all-time.

1) Negreanu Predicts ElkY to Win NBC Heads-Up

His time?

So Daniel Negreanu may not be actually marked cards playing the NBC National Heads-Up Championship but that hasn’t kept the one-man media machine from taking an interest in the contest.
Negreanu posted his predictions based on the recently released draws for the heads-up tournament on Full Contact Poker today.
For the most part Negreanu was pretty conservative in his guesses and didn’t really offer any huge upsets.
His potential final four is pretty online heavy, however, with Chris Moorman, Andrew Lichtenberger and Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier as well as Liv Boeree.
Boeree might not be a bad choice actually as women have historically done very well in this tournament with Vanessa Rousso finishing second in 2009 and Annie Duke winning it all in 2010.
In the end Negreanu went with ElkY to win it all for the $500,000 first-place prize.
ElkY is a very solid pick considering he made the final four of NBC heads-up in 2009. Also, he's insanely good at poker. Check out the rest of Negreanu's picks on Full Contact Poker.

2) NBC Heads-Up Ignites Trash Talk on Twitter

Tweet-master Erik Seidel

With NBC Heads-Up set to start later today some of the contestants have already started to needle each other on Twitter.
Maria Ho, Gaelle Baumann, Chris Moorman and Justin Bonomo all had some choice Tweets but Erik Seidel razzing opponent Tom Dwan over the amount of time he spends in Macau was highlight-reel worthy.

Five Common Beginner Mistakes Part 2

You'll never be a successful poker player if you don't wrap your mind around the fact that every mistake you make costs you money.
This article, the second of two, details three more common mistakes beginners tend to make.If you missed it bring yourself up to speed with part one of this article.
Part one went over searching for coin flips and overplaying your hands; although these are both costly mistakes, they're by no means the only ones that cost beginners money at the felt.
Not only should you take steps to avoid making these mistakes; you should try to force your opponents into making them.
3) Drawing on Dangerous Boards
When you play a drawing hand, you're playing to hit your draw, and stuff the pot when you do. You don't play a drawing hand to hit, and check.
Therefore, once you hit your draw (flush draw, or straight draw) you're committed to putting money into the pot infrared ink
. This money will be anywhere from a small amount to your whole stack.
When you pay for a draw on a dangerous board, sometimes hitting is the worst thing that can happen to you. The simplest example of this is drawing to a flush on a paired board.
Once you hit your flush, anyone willing to put big money into the pot has a very decent chance of having a full house.
There is nothing worse than paying to draw dead, and chunking off your stack when you think you just hit a good card. When there is a real chance that hitting your draw will leave you with the second-best hand, you want to keep the pot as small as you can.
Unless you can somehow get a read that your hand is best, you never want to assume or hope.

The man who needs no introduction.

2) Playing on Scared Money
Doyle Brunson says "The key to No-Limit ... is to put a man to a decision for all his chips." In other words, you have to be willing to put your opponents all-in, and make an all-in call yourself at any time.
Many beginners are playing poker on a short roll, or without a roll altogether. Because of this, these players are playing under the knowledge that they simply cannot afford to lose the money they have in play.
This is known as playing on scared money. If you're unable and unwilling to risk your entire stack, your opponents will use that fear to run over you.
To play poker successfully, you have to disassociate the money in play with the money in your checking account. Losing a full buy-in at a No-Limit table should be no more difficult to you than buying a hamburger.
Obviously you would have preferred not to have spent the money, but you got to do what you got to do.
Until you're truly able to disconnect from the money you need to put in to play, it's not possible to play trick cards No-Limit poker correctly. Play games within your roll, and go into the game with the correct mind-set to play proper poker.
Remember, making money is a byproduct of winning at the game.
You do not go to a poker table with the intent of making money; you go with the intent of playing a high-quality game. Money is just the way players keep score.
1) Illogical (or Transparent) Bet Sizing
If the bets you make give your opponent an obvious picture of the hand you're holding, then your opponents will never make any mistakes. If your opponents are never making mistakes, you're not going to be making any money.
Lots of beginners will think of only one aspect of betting, ignoring all the others. As a result, their bet sizing becomes a detriment rather than an asset.
Imagine if you have a decent hand, such as two pair on the flop. You're first to act, and have to decide how much to bet. Lots of beginners will only think of the first aspect of bet sizing.
"I want my opponents to call my bet so I can make money on the hand, so I should make a bet small enough to make sure they call me."

Isaac Haxton plays while wearing his predator suit.

You bet $10 into a $60 pot. You successfully completed your single objective, but now you're giving all your opponents 7-1 odds (or better once other players make calls in the hand) to draw against you.
In reality, your bet size has to be small enough to get a call, yet large enough that you cut down the pot odds to anyone drawing to a hand better than yours.
Another example of this is a beginner with a strong hand will make a bet to protect that hand, but size it so irrationally large that they will never make any money on the hand. A common scenario:
$1/$2 game; beginner player is dealt pocket aces in the big blind. One player limps, a second player raises to $10 and everyone folds to the beginner; the beginner moves all-in for $145.
There is $15 in the pot, and he just raised to $145. It is almost never a good idea to raise over 9.5 times the pot. Yes, he protected his hand and won the pot, but he extracted the absolute minimum amount of value from it.
Anytime you play a hand in a way that extracts less value than possible, you make a mistake and lose money. With pocket aces your opponent is a serious dog to your hand. You could possibly be ahead by a margin of as large as 8-1.
This means you want your opponent to call your reraise. You want to make a raise small enough for them to call, yet large enough to maximize their mistake.
If all goes well, your opponent will think you're bluffing, and move all-in after you. If you move all-in first, chances are that will never happen.
You need to size your bets in a way that maximizes the mistakes of your opponents.
If you'd like to learn more about bet sizing, PokerListings writer Dan Skolovy wrote a great article on the topic. Read it here.