Knock-Out Blackjack
BLACKJACK
The Easiest Card-Counting System Ever Devised
Huntington Press, Las Vegas
Credits
Written by Olaf Vancura and Ken Fuchs. Published by Huntington Press.
- 1998
- Second edition, revised and expanded
Paperback, ISBN 0-929712-31-5
- 2016
- Third edition, with two added chapters
ISBN 978-1-935396-64-2
The system
The idea
Knock-Out (K-O) is a card-counting system for blackjack built to be simple: a player who knows basic strategy and can count up and down by ones can use it. It is an unbalanced count with one card-tag level, no side count and a rounded strategy matrix, so no conversion from running count to true count is needed.
Two levels
The book teaches two versions: K-O Rookie, an abbreviated system meant to be learned in a few hours that still yields a player advantage, and K-O Preferred, a professional-level system.
How it was tested
The authors tested the system on billions of computer-generated hands, and card-counting teams in the United States have played it.
By simulation
Simulated player edge, in percent, for K-O and the High-Low count under the same rules.
| Game | Conditions | K-O | High-Low |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 deck | DOA, no DAS, 65% penetration, 1–5 spread | 1.53% | 1.47% |
| 2 decks | DOA, no DAS, 75% penetration, 1–5 spread | 1.11% | 1.08% |
| 6 decks | DOA, DAS, S17, 75% penetration, 1–8 spread | 0.62% | 0.61% |
Reviews
K-O is a simple and powerful card-counting system that deserves serious consideration, clearly and entertainingly presented.
This is my new recommendation for the one book every new player should read.
K-O is a novel card-counting system, which, given its simplicity in design and execution, produces nearly miraculous results.
Software
Knock-Out Blackjack Training Camp was a Windows practice game for the K-O system by Dave Burdick (BurdickSoft), made in collaboration with Ken Fuchs and Olaf Vancura. Readers could also test themselves with an online basic-strategy quiz.
This domain
koblackjack.com was the home of Knock-Out Blackjack and the K-O system from 2000 to 2014. Today it is Olaf Vancura's personal site.