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BJ Quick-Eye is a practice tool for blackjack players.

Here is the original instruction sheet for this interesting card counting tool. It is no longer available.

The BJ Quick-Eye was Copyright (C) 1982 by CRN Enterprises, El Monte, California

INSTRUCTION SHEET

Fellow Blackjack Players:

The BJ Quick-Eye was designed as a practice aid for blackjack players.  It can be helpful to both card counters and hole-card players alike.

Basically, the BJ Quick-Eye provides a means for quickly passing a standard playing card before the user’s eyes.  It attempts to recreate the fast card movements encountered while playing blackjack in a casino.  With continued practice on this device, the player will be able to determine the values of fast moving cards more accurately.  In casino play this means increased frequency at “catching” the burn and bottom card, greater ability at seeing hole cards when playing against sloppy dealers, and fewer counting errors caused by inaccurately determining the values of fast moving cards.  In short, it should improve a person’s playing accuracy, and with that increase their win rate.

The BJ Quick-Eye is easiest to use when set up on a table with a smooth surface and where you can sit upright with your legs under the table.  The table top should be smooth to allow the cards to glide freely off the lower portion of the slide.   Lighting is very important and should be kept consistent at each practice session.   Lighting variation can be used for practice at a future time to enhance your card seeing capabilities in dimly lit casinos.

With the BJ Quick-Eye assembled as per instructions, adjust the slide to approximately a 30 degree angle from horizontal and tighten the thumbscrews.  Place a deck of cards on the table at one side of the slide.  Look down the tube and toss one card at a time face up on the upper portion of the slide.  Try to determine its values as it passes through your line of sight.  Your other hand should be positioned near the bottom of the slide to rake the used cards back into a pile.  With a little practice a 52 card deck can be gone through in less than 60 seconds.  To increase or decrease the speed of the cards, change the angle of the slide.  Always loosen the thumbscrews before attempting to adjust the slide.

Some helpful hints:

To reduce arm fatigue, a thick book or block can be used under the deck of cards to position them nearer to the upper portion of the slide.  For variation, cards can be tossed on the slide either lengthwise or crosswise.  Face cards are easy to distinguish while 8’s and 9’s are tough to tell apart.  It helps to make up a special deck with very few face cards and excess 8’s and 9’s.  If you want a challenge, try blacking out the index numbers with a marking pen and use only the pips for card identification.  Or try blocking off half the card to simulate seeing a burn or bottom card the way it appears in a casino blackjack game.  Two cards can be glued together in such a way that only a small portion of the bottom card’s index is visible.   These can be used to practice counting two card combinations under conditions similar to those encountered in a casino.

A card speed at which most of the card values can be determined, but a few need to be guessed at, is the right speed for practicing.  The object is to stay a little ahead of the speed at which you are 100% correct.  If you should progress to a card speed which requires the slide to be used in a near vertical position, perform the following:  At the slide end of the tube, block off part of the opening with masking tape.  A 1″ (inch) wide strip, placed horizontally across the upper portion of the end of the tube is very effective.

Good luck!

The BJ Quick-Eye can be folded together for easy storage, or quickly disassembled for packing in a suitcase.  The original price of this product was $39.95* plus $2.50 for postage and handling.

Photo Credit: CRN Enterprises