Regardless of how much of the K-O Preferred system you choose to incorporate into your play, the strategy tables should not be viewed as a completely new aspect of the system. Certainly this is true if you use only the insurance play made at a sufficiently high running count of +3 or more. But even in the Preferred version, the strategy matrices should be thought of merely as an extension of the basic strategy. Most of the decisions you'll make, even when counting. will be exactly the same as the basic strategy.

For whatever situation you find yourself in, you must be able to instantly recall the correct strategy entry. Two situations in particular illustrate why. First, when playing "head-up" with the dealer (you are the only player at the table), the pace of the game can be quite rapid. This is a situation that you should strive for, as it results in more hands per hour and, hence, more profits. However, you must be able to keep up with the dealer to take advantage of it. It's true that you can play slowly, and the dealer will eventually get into your rhythm and decelerate the pace, but this defeats the primary purpose of playing head-up.

A second time that instant recall is needed is when you're drawing to a multiple-card hand. Dealers expect you to complete your decision-making quickly once a hand is in progress, so you have to calculate your total and determine the correct play within a split second. Remember also that you can customize K-O with a chosen IRC, key count, or pivot point in mind One last piece of advice: Count every card you see up until your decision.

The more cards that are included in your RC, the more accurate your play will be. A quick example. Let's assume that the RC at the start of a hand is +5. You make a large wager and are dealt J,Q. But the dealer has an ace up. Should you take insurance? Well, you might think insurance is warranted since the RC at the beginning of the hand was +5, but making the insurance bet would be incorrect. The updated RC, which includes your jack, queen, and the dealer's ace, is +2; hence you should decline the insurance bet.