Lance Humble & Carl Cooper
Hi-Opt I – A simple, Level I, balanced strategy built on the Einstein count developed by Charles Einstein in the late ’60s, found in The World's Greatest Blackjack Book, Doubleday, 1980 by Lance Humble and Carl Cooper. Lance Humble (Igor Kusyszyn) is a retired professor and still plays occasionally. The indexes were created by Julian Braun. Hi-Opt I used to be the most popular count for single-deck games, but has waned in popularity. Some people side-count the aces for greater strength, greatly increasing difficulty. Bill Zender’s Card Counting for the Casino Executive suggests that casinos use Hi-Opt I for single-deck games when attempting to identify card counters.
Hi-Opt II – A more complex, Level II, balanced strategy developed by Humble and Braun. Found to be more powerful than some Level III card counting strategies. Hi-Opt II can be found in the HiOpt II Report. This strategy was developed primarily for single-decks. It works with shoes, but needs an ace side-count to perform well. It also comes with other side counts and multi-parameter tables for those who need additional power.
Card Tag Values
|
Strategy |
A |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
T |
|
Hi-Opt I |
0 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
-1 |
|
Hi-Opt II |
0 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
-2 |
Specifics
|
Hi-Opt I |
Hi-Opt II |
|
|
Strategy Type |
Balanced |
Balanced |
|
Level |
I |
II |
|
Betting Correlation |
.88 |
.91 |
|
Playing Efficiency |
.61 |
.67 |
|
Insurance Correlation |
.85 |
.91 |
|
Ease of use |
6.5 |
4 |
|
Ace-Reckoned |
No |
No |
|
Compromise Indexes |
No |
No |
|
Suit Aware |
No |
No |
© 2009 Norman Wattenberger
