I am very pleased and proud to announce the release of a DVD version of The GameMaster's Blackjack School. For those who aren't familiar with my "school", this is a series of 19 written lessons that can teach you how to play a winning game of Blackjack.

When the state of Missouri legalized casino gaming in 1994, I developed a course of instruction that would show people how to get an edge over the casino Blackjack games. This course, which was taught by me at my house, originally cost $400 and that included all of the training materials, four "classroom" sessions of about 2 hours each, which were spread out over a four-week period and one playing session where I went to a local casino with my graduates in order to assess their skills in the heat of battle, so to speak.

In 1995, I was one of the founders of Rolling Good Times Online (rgtonline.com), the Internet's first gambling "E-zine" and that was when I began converting my course into a series of written lessons for presentation as a free, Web-based "school". Those lessons have remained pretty much unchanged over the years and they now been licensed to appear on more than 100 other Websites.

From the feedback I've received over the years, I know that this course of instruction has helped many people win at the casinos and that's very gratifying. But at the same time, I'd often get e-mails from people who didn't quite understand just what I was trying to describe in the lessons. While the World Wide Web allowed me to reach unprecedented numbers of people from all over, it was still in the form of the "written word" and that has its limitations, both from a teaching and learning perspective, not to mention language differences. To teach someone a skill through writing alone, you'd better be a darn good writer, which I'm not and from a learning point of view, the old saying goes something like this: "I read and I forget; I do and I remember."

It has always frustrated me a little that I couldn't demonstrate to everybody the skills needed for this, exactly like I used to do in my "live" classes, but even the marvelous technology of the Internet doesn't permit me to do that. At least not for free, anyway. Videotaping the course was always in the back of my mind, but it's expensive to produce, not conducive to easily and quickly finding specific material ("Gee, is the part I want in fast-forward or rewind?") and, if you live in Europe, you need a different type of tape than what we use here, plus your computer probably doesn't have a video cassette recorder/player attached to it, regardless of where you live.

But now we live in the age of digital video cameras and that wonderful medium, the Digital Video Disk or DVD. Thanks to the amazing talents of my friend and business partner, Jay Thompson, who is the very creative Creative Director of the GameMaster Group, we have translated the Blackjack School into a home study course that anyone with a computer and a DVD player can use with ease. Not only can I demonstrate the skills you need to develop, but we have also made all of the tests and other study materials available as free downloads on our Web site. Plus, with the availability of the Web site literally at your fingertips, we can update anything that needs updating, so this will never be obsolete and as you go through the course, you can e-mail me directly with any questions, which I'll personally answer.

It's not free like the written lessons, but I host it and you'll soon discover that no one will ever mistake me for a great actor, so that helped keep the price down. We literally shot this in the spare room of my house, so the "blackjack" table will shake a little and, if you listen closely you'll hear the thunder of an approaching storm in one of the lessons. But because of Jay's great graphics and all of the demonstrations we run, at some point you'll also realize: "Hey, I can learn this." And that's what it's really all about, showing you how you can learn to play a winning game of Blackjack.

Can you just watch this once and become a Blackjack "pro"? No. Can I guarantee that you'll win every time you play after completing the course? No. But the price is reasonable, especially when you consider that you're investing in a skill you'll probably be able to use for the rest of your life. And, it's fun!

The price is only $50 (US) per copy and a shipping charge of $3 (US) to any address in the world. To order, click here: DVD Order Page

The GameMaster's Blackjack School is a comprehensive skills training course with a major emphasis on Basic Strategy and Card Counting. Some of what we will show you:

• How to memorize the proper playing strategy for the game of your choice
• How to learn the Hi/Lo method of counting Cards
• How to count cards in the casino
• How to recognize when you have the advantage
• How to bet in a way that is based upon proven mathematical principles

• Understanding the Basic Strategy Matrix
• Creating a custom Basic Strategy Decision Chart
• Using flashcards to help you learn
• Goals to measure your progress

• Basic Strategy Reconstruction Exercise
• Basic Strategy Decision Exercise
• Card Practice Exercises
• Multiple-card "soft" hands
• Checking your progress

• Why Counting Works
• Learning the card point values for the Hi/Lo count
• The single card count-down exercise

• Counting by pairs
• Counting at the Blackjack table
• How to practice at home
• Increasing your speed

• The True Count
• Deck Estimation
• Optimum Bet Size
• Learning Your Bet Schedule

• Multi-card Soft Hands Test
• True Count Conversion Exercise
• Basic Strategy Decision Test
• Evaluating Penetration
• Blackjack Myths
• How to Know You're Ready