TITLE:Turning the Tables on Las Vegas

AUTHOR:Edwin Silberstang

Andersen talks about his book

In most cases, we get to read about blackjack books that mainly focus on the basic strategies of the game as well as subject of card counting. The way these blackjack books are written may vary but the gists of all these blackjack books are one and the same. That is the reason why a lot of blackjack enthusiasts have become interested in the book “Turning the Tables on Las Vegas,” by Ian Andersen. The contents of this blackjack book are not similar to the contents of the typical blackjack books that we might have already read. The concentration of “Turning the Tables on Las Vegas” is the game’s psychological aspect.

“Turning the Tables on Las Vegas” was written under the pseudonym of Ian Andersen in 1976. “Turning the Tables on Las Vegas” is actually a nonfiction book but Ian Andersen has succeeded in making such blackjack book interesting by making it seem like a fiction. Most of the tactics that Ian Andersen describes in “Turning the Tables on Las Vegas” apply to such game as single-deck play. However, Ian Andersen also makes it a point that the tactics he mentions and explains in this blackjack book can be applied by readers in all types of blackjack play.

“Turning the Tables on Las Vegas” may have been released in bookstores in the 1970s, nonetheless, this blackjack book can still be considered as one significant book today. Perhaps, it is due to the fact that “Turning the Tables on Las Vegas” is the first blackjack book to discuss the game’s psychological aspect, this topic is most of time overlooked by experts in the field of blackjack as they tend to focus on the other aspects of the game.

Casinos in Las Vegas, Nevada have been existing since the 1970s and this is the reason why Ian Andersen has decided to write an introduction about such city in a brief manner. Aside from that, Ian Andersen also shares his point of view on card counting as he also provides strategy tables. In the chapter titled “Some Good News and Some Bad News,” Ian Andersen makes it a point to detail the situations that card-counters experience in most cases. Ian Andersen also relates his own personal experience of exerting his efforts to win in blackjack events as he would find himself losing against other players who were joining him at the blackjack tables.

In one chapter of “Turning the Tables on Las Vegas,” Ian Andersen relates his absence from the casino world in Las Vegas, Nevada for a total of six years. According to him, he used such time to reflect on his life as a card counter.

The last chapter of “Turning the Tables on Las Vegas” concentrates on the solutions to exercises that Ian Andersen has provided for his readers. At the same time, Ian Andersen has incorporated relaxation techniques in his blackjack book. This blackjack book is something we very much recommend to all blackjack players.

BEST PRICE: $37.92 + 3.99 Postage (NEW) at www.amazon.com

Turning the Tables on Las Vegas (Ian Andersen): This book seems to be the most respected source of information on how not to get barred as counter. He also gives a good treatment of the mechanics of card counting, including his own strategy.

Popularity: 3% [?]

TITLE:The Theory of Blackjack

AUTHOR:Peter A. Griffin

Back Cover

A master of Subtlety and disguise, Peter Griffin preferred his casino visits to be incognito. scenes such as below struck terror into the hearts of Nevada casino bosses for 20 years. Griffins winning where rumoured to run into thousands. At press time, Hollywood had no plans for a movie about his life.

“THE THEORY OF BLACKJACK is a fundamental contribution to our understanding of the game — unusually well written and amusing — a pleasure to read.”  - Ed Thorp Author of Beat the dealer

“An innovative masterpiece…must reading for every serious player.” Allan Wilson , Author of Casino Gambler guide

“Peter Griffin’s Sense of humour is refreshing and pointed, even while he presents the authorilative work on 21.” John Luckman, Gambler’s book club, Las Vegas

BEST PRICE: $5.95 + 3.99 Postage (NEW) at www.amazon.com

The Theory of Blackjack (Peter A. Griffin): Just as the title says this book in on the theory of blackjack. The book is very mathematically advanced and presumes a strong background in card counting. This book was not meant to help the typical counter’s game but reads more like a college text exploring the math behind card counting. For the person with an academic interest in blackjack you can’t sink your teeth much deeper into the game than this. For the casual player or anybody who hates math I would recommend lighter reading.

Popularity: 3% [?]

TITLE:The Pro’s Guide to Spanish 21 and Australian Pontoon

AUTHOR:Katarina Walker

Description

The best-kept secret in the international pro gaming scene is finally out: Spanish 21, and its Australian counterpart, Pontoon, is even more beatable than Blackjack. “The Pro’s Guide to Spanish 21″ will teach you how to play optimally, apply proven Blackjack card-counting techniques to Spanish 21, and do better than you ever did playing Blackjack. Topics covered include: basic strategy for 15+ rule variations, house edge, EOR, standard deviation, the Basic Hi-Lo counting system, optimal betting, indices, money management, camouflage, finding the best games, and much, much more. The author, gaming analyst/programmer Katarina Walker, is recognized as the world authority on Spanish 21 and Australian Pontoon. Foreword written by Don Schlesinger.

BEST PRICE: $22.27 + 3.99 Postage (NEW) at www.amazon.com

The Pro’s Guide to Spanish 21 and Australian Pontoon (Katarina Walker): This is everything you could ever need to know about Spanish 21, and Pontoon, as it is called in Australia. Included is a detailed card-counting strategy, the first ever in print for Spanish 21. Despite the removal of tens, Spanish 21 is indeed countable. Read the book, and play it now, before the other side reads it too.

Popularity: 3% [?]

TITLE:Professional Blackjack

AUTHOR:Stanford Wong

Description

This is one of the best if not the very best book on blackjack out on the market today. This book does not have colorful stories but has all the information you will need to get an edge at blackjack and win money from the casinos consistently. The rest is up to you(proper bankroll, camoflage, patience, and discipline). This book will give you basic stategy for six decks. It will teach you the hi-lo and also the halves count(a 2 level count). The book will tell you how much per hour you are expected to win due to differing rules when a specified hi lo bet scheme is used. There are also chapters dealing with double exposure and the over under side bet. There are also charts for taking advantage of special rules like 7-7-7 , 6-7-8 , or 5 or 6 card 21′s paying a bonus.Wong also discusses risk and includes many charts including expected values for hands and strategy changes for counts using the hi lo and for using the halves count. This book has no fluff it is packed with information. If you want stories buy another book but if you want to win money buy this one. This book has everything I mentioned and more.A five star book definitely worth more than the price.

BEST PRICE: $12.63 + 3.99 Postage (NEW) at www.amazon.com

The Pro’s Guide to Spanish 21 and Australian Pontoon (Katarina Walker): This is everything you could ever need to know about Spanish 21, and Pontoon, as it is called in Australia. Included is a detailed card-counting strategy, the first ever in print for Spanish 21. Despite the removal of tens, Spanish 21 is indeed countable. Read the book, and play it now, before the other side reads it too.

Professional Blackjack (Stanford Wong): Every book by Wong is truly outstanding but Professional Blackjack is his best, in my opinion. Wong introduces the “high low” count and gives complete index numbers for almost every rule variation imaginable, including many unusual rules I have never seen. In the back are several appendices of interesting statistics. This book is not for the beginner but the gold standard on card counting.

Popularity: 1% [?]

TITLE:Playing Blackjack as a Business

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AUTHOR:Lawrence Revere

Review by Nick Christenson

It has now been about 35 years since Lawrence Revere (a pseudonym) published his book, Playing Blackjack as a Business. At the time, this was the most comprehensive single source for someone to learn how to beat the game of blackjack. Since it was first published, a large number of blackjack books have been published, some good and some bad. So, how does Revere’s work stack up today?

Organized in the same way as nearly every other book on blackjack, Revere begins with some introductory remarks followed by a detailed basic strategy. This book focuses on one deck and four deck games. This made sense at the time the book was written, but both types of games are pretty rare these days. The amount of information Revere provides is remarkable even by today’s standards. For example, in his one deck strategy he differentiates between the proper play when one holds a 5-3 vs. a 6-2 against a dealer 5 or 6. Many of today’s players could still learn a thing or two from Revere on this topic, although similar information is available from Stanford Wong’s Basic Blackjack and Peter Griffin’s Theory of Blackjack.

The author then describes a very basic counting strategy he calls, the “Revere Five Count Strategy”. Basically, it tracks the number of fives in a single deck game. It is functional, but one may as well skip ahead to the “Revere Plus-Minus Strategy”, which is the same strategy that Ed Thorpe included in later editions of Beat the Dealer and Wong wrote about in his books as the “Hi-Low”. It’s a strong system that forms the basis of strategies used by many serious blackjack players even today.

Revere then discusses what he calls the “Ten Count Strategy”, which I found to be unnecessarily complex and confusing, followed by his “Revere Point Count Strategy”, which is a level 2 counting system. Revere provides a great deal of information about how one would use these methods in real play. I don’t think either of these are worth using these days, but those interested in the history of the game may find their descriptions interesting. If I were going to learn a level 2 system, I’d probably use Bryce Carlson’s “Advanced Omega Two” from Blackjack for Blood. Most blackjack experts these days seem to believe that the added complexity of a multi-level counting system isn’t worth the extra effort.

After explaining these count strategies, Revere provides suggested strategy changes and betting strategies as the count changes for each. Again, a lot of material is presented. One has to be impressed with the author’s thoroughness. Revere concludes the book by hawking his “Advanced Point Count System”, for which one would have to pay extra and by denigrating most of the other blackjack systems on the market. His criticism, and his writing style in general, is harsh, but in my opinion most of what he has to say is fair.

The author spends very little time talking about avoiding heat in casinos. In fact, he manages to give off quite a “bull in a china shop” vibe about his whole attitude toward the issue. It’s not surprising that eventually he was “barred from playing in all Nevada casinos.” Moreover, given the amount of time that has elapsed between his original thoughts on the matter and the present day, it’s not surprising that most of what he has to say on the subject should be treated as history rather than recommendation.

If one wanted to learn how to count cards at blackjack, there are books that present this information in a more thorough, efficient, and easier to digest form than in Revere’s book. Still, given the bevy of bad books on blackjack available, a person could do a whole lot worse than to follow Revere’s advice. In the final analysis, though, I’d have to say that Playing Blackjack as a Business is more a curiosity these days, although a fairly interesting one, than a serious source of state-of-the-art blackjack information. I enjoyed reading it, but it’s no longer an important part of contemporary blackjack literature.

Capsule:
Lawrence Revere’s Playing Blackjack as a Business is one of the older books on beating the game of blackjack, and it still holds up fairly well today. It contains information on several card counting systems, and the analysis is both deep and sufficiently broad. In it’s day, this was an excellent book on blackjack. Today, though, enough good information is available from other sources to make Revere’s work mostly of historical interest. Blackjack fans are likely to be intrigued and may be entertained by this book, but it’s no longer required reading for the winning player.

BEST PRICE: $12.63 + 3.99 Postage (NEW) at www.amazon.com

Playing Blackjack as a Business (Lawrence Revere): At one time this was probably the best book on blackjack but it has since become dated. Revere has the best treatment of the basic strategy I have ever seen and explains clearly and mathematically his argument that you can make a lot of money at blackjack. Many of the tables are in color, which makes memorization easier. His book contains three count strategies but his more powerful Plus-Minus or Point Count you have to order separately.

Popularity: 1% [?]

TITLE:The Most Powerful Blackjack Manual

AUTHOR:Jay Moore

Jay Moore Comments

I have read my share of information on this topic, but none of these books worked for me totally. How about you? Have you found any that worked? Why don’t these books (even the best) work for most people? Although most of these books – and even some seminars presented by the casinos – are entertaining and extremely informative as well, but I can tell you why they don’t work: it takes more than just entertaining stories and a set of instructions to know how to make money at the Blackjack table.

Disregarding a few exceptions, most of the books did not pay attention to the fact that knowing the basics is only half of what is necessary to be a winning player, and they talk very little about the other half. The remaining 50% of the equation is to know yourself and to understand what real expectations constitute.

I will effectively demonstrate in The Most Powerful Blackjack Manual both elements to this equation, making it easy for you to put the whole picture together. As much as possible, I won’t leave any questions unanswered. Although, I know that it is almost impossible to give a final answer for everything, I will try to give an answer for everything.”

BEST PRICE: $7.35 + 3.99 Postage (NEW) at www.amazon.com

The Most Powerful Blackjack Manual (Jay Moore): Move over John Patrick you have some competition. Moore’s book tells us we can beat blackjack by using an incorrect basic strategy combined with a betting system. If you want my opinion stick to what the experts like Wong, Schlesinger, Braun, Griffin, and Snyder have been saying for years: start with a foundation in the basic strategy and then move onto card counting. It isn’t easy but if there were an easier way then everyone would be doing it. Meanwhile my heart goes out to the tree that was cut down to make this book.

Popularity: 2% [?]