Up until this point of my career, I was following Andy Bloch's instructional DVD, 'Beating Blackjack with Andy Bloch'. The DVD teaches you how to use basic strategy, count cards and implement it into a team strategy like the one used by the MIT Team.

According to the DVD, one player sits and plays the table minimum, keeping track of the count. When the count reaches the point where it is advantageous for the players, the counter will signal over his team mate, known at the Big Player (or Guerilla). The Big Player will then work out the True Count and bet accordingly. When the count is no longer advantageous to the player, the Big Player leaves the table and moves on to the next winning situation. Pretty much like we see in the movie '21'.

How much the Big Player bets is determined by the Team Bankroll.
First you need to work out your betting unit. The betting unit should be 0.1% of your team bankroll. As the bankroll goes up, your betting unit goes up, and vice versa. So if you have a bankroll of $100,000, your betting unit is $100.

Obviously, the higher the true count, the more your advantage, and this is reflected in your bets by using a betting multiplier. If you have a true count of 4, then your betting multiplier should be 3 (true count -1), and the Big Player should be betting $300.

That's team play simplified to the core tactics as explained in the Instructional DVD. Of course, as you read on, on this blog, you will see where this strategy has missed out a vital component that has bankrupted many wanna be card counters. The Spread. More on that later.