Blackjack Trainer vs Blackjack Apprenticeship
Blackjack Apprenticeship is a membership site that teaches card counting through a video course, drills, coach-graded certification, and a members' forum. Blackjack Trainer is a free web app with graded courses, a training table, a betting calculator, and Ranked Play, plus a paid tier for the other counting systems, the trip planner, the Coach, and the session logbook.
Comparison
| Feature | Blackjack Trainer | Blackjack Apprenticeship |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $39/year or $4.99/month, founding price (2026-09-12) | $397 Starter, $597 Apprentice, $997 Elite for the first year; all renew at $299/year (2026-09-12, plans and pricing, store) |
| Free tier | Everything Hi-Lo: Basic Strategy and Card Counting courses, Counting Exercises, training table, betting calculator, strategy charts, Ranked Play | Strategy charts, a how-to-count guide, basic drills, mobile trainer app |
| Courses | Basic Strategy and Card Counting Courses. Each Lesson ends in a graded Checkpoint. Mistakes are priced in EV Delta | Video course |
| Drills / trainer | Training table with a persistent shoe, bots, count spot-checks, and bet-ramp grading. Counting Exercises for tags, speed, deck estimation, true count, and deviations | Drills and a mobile trainer app |
| Counting systems covered | Hi-Lo free. KO, Red 7, Hi-Opt I, Hi-Opt II, Omega II, Zen, Wong Halves with Premium, each with its own Course, exercises, and validated Index Plays | Hi-Lo |
| Index plays / deviations | Illustrious 18 and Fab 4 for Hi-Lo with live in-hand counts. Validated Index Plays for the other seven systems | Deviation training with coach-graded certification |
| Betting math (EV/hr, SD, risk of ruin, N0, optimal spread) | Betting calculator with EV/hr, SD/hr, risk of ruin, N0, optimal spreads, SCORE, Desirability Index, Certainty Equivalent, over a 256-config rule grid. Methodology published | Pro Betting Software (members) |
| Simulations | Measured house edge at 20M rounds per config. Back-Counting profiles at 20M rounds per config. Custom rules simulated in the browser at 2M rounds | Not listed |
| Trip planning | Trip planner with P(profit), P(down half), Trip Ruin, Walk-away Goal probability, and a P5 to P95 band (Premium) | Not listed |
| Back-counting | Path-simulated Back-Counting for all eight systems with Entry and Exit Thresholds and Shoe Abandonment | Not listed |
| Session logbook / results tracking | Casino session logbook with expected-vs-actual analysis, career and game ranking views, trips, expenses, CSV export (Premium) | Results tracker |
| Coach or mistake analysis | EV Delta recorded on every graded decision. Coach with casino readiness, error-adjusted real EV, weekly trends, leak list, session debriefs (Premium) | Coach-graded deviation certification |
| Community / video / coaching | None | Video course, members' forum, coach grading, bootcamps |
| Platform | Web, no install | Web plus a mobile trainer app |
What they have that we don't
Blackjack Apprenticeship sells things that are not software. It has a full video course with the founders on camera. It has a members' forum where counters compare notes on casinos and conditions. Its deviation certification is graded by a human coach, and it runs in-person bootcamps. We have none of that, and we do not plan to add video, a forum, or coaching.
What we have that they don't
Our Courses grade every Checkpoint, and each mistake carries its EV Delta, so a wrong play shows the expected cost rather than a right-or-wrong mark. The betting calculator publishes its method and runs across 256 rule configs. Back-Counting numbers are path-simulated at 20M rounds per config, not estimated. The engine models ENHC and double restrictions, with charts and Courses for European games. Ranked Play deals from a server-held shoe and ranks players by Ranked Net. The logbook compares each casino session's result against the expected value for its rules and spread. Seven counting systems beyond Hi-Lo have their own Courses, exercises, and validated Index Plays.
Who should pick which
Pick Blackjack Apprenticeship if you want a video course, a human to grade your deviations, a forum, or a bootcamp, and the first-year price of $397 to $997 (2026-09-12) fits. Pick Blackjack Trainer if you want graded interactive Courses, a betting calculator, and a training table for free, and you want the other seven counting systems, the trip planner, the Coach, and the logbook for $39/year (2026-09-12). Both teach Hi-Lo. Neither changes the odds of the game.
Sources
- plans and pricing (reviewed 2026-09-12)
- store (reviewed 2026-09-12)
Prices checked 2026-09-12.