John Mays' Lima System

John Mays book mentions his Lima counting system but does not go into any detail. Can I find details of the Lima counting system anywhere?

I think he knew a guy who developed the system fully, who was called Pete Moss. Pete no longer seems to be on the scene, but Eliot maybe able to point you to some of his writings.

Btw there is a significant typo in that section, as the BC and PE values got reversed somehow in the printing process. Lima is still however the dominant level-1 system for play of the hands.

I wouldn't recommend anybody use it in actual play with full indices, unless they have access to lots of deeply-dealt single-deck 3:2 blackjack payoff games, which currently exist nowhere in the known universe.

I know Pete Moss, and I recall in 1997 driving with him to Reno, that he kept extolling this system he had come up with. That was the last I heard of his system or its power. But at the time he certainly had a convincing argument. Sorry, I don't know anything more about this.

One thing about Pete, he is without a doubt a genious. If he said something was true, or was powerful, there was never a question. He chose his words carefully, and researched the hell out of something before he presented it to anyone else. A world class poker and backgammon player, he described himself as a "serial compulsive". I miss him but trust he is doing well in whatever he current "serial" is.

--Eliot

I know Pete Moss, and I recall in 1997 driving with him to Reno, that he kept extolling this system he had come up with. That was the last I heard of his system or its power. But at the time he certainly had a convincing argument.

I remember Pete kept on promoting the idea of secondary counts, an idea which never really caught on. My guess is that he intended Lima to be used in conjunction with a secondary system.
Lima is a good system for the play of the hands. Conditions were better in '97, but my guess is that he would agree with me that it's BC is too weak to be used by itself against a range of generic conditions. Fortified with a count that has an impressive BC it would be very strong.

One thing about Pete, he is without a doubt a genious. If he said something was true, or was powerful, there was never a question. He chose his words carefully, and researched the hell out of something before he presented it to anyone else. A world class poker and backgammon player, he described himself as a "serial compulsive".

That explains his disappearance, there's more money in poker and lots more money in backgammon (lots of rich fish).