Blackjack Books

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SPX

Well-Known Member
#1
#1
Just curious as to what books the guys around here would classify as "must haves."

I personally own a handful of books, ranging from those that I'm sure most around here would recommend (Bluebook II, Blackbelt in Blackjack, [with Million Dollar Blackjack on its way from eBay]), to those that some would call questionable (Blackjack: A Winner's Manual), to those that some probably would say deserve to be burned (Twenty-First Century Blackjack and couple of others).

But what would everyone here say belongs in everyone's BJ library?
 
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SPX

Well-Known Member
#3
#3
Canceler said:
It's surprising no one has asked about books before. Oh wait, they have...

Whats on your bookshelf?
most usefull book
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Yeah, search works, but sometimes I'm here to engage in back and forth discussions in which comments are made, replies are thrown back and forth, etc.

So you're right, if it was just the pure data that I was interested in I could've easily found it . . . but those conversations were not something I was a part of.

Besides, most posts on message boards of any topic are new takes (or perhaps not new takes) of the same topics that have been discussed over and over and over. This is nothing new, and besides, new titles are published all the time. Is it not possible that some new book may be on the market that wasn't there in the past?
 
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Canceler

Well-Known Member
#4
#4
SPX said:
Besides, most posts on message boards of any topic are new takes (or perhaps not new takes) of the same topics that have been discussed over and over and over.
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I’m afraid you’re right. I should be used to it by now. Okay, I’ll even pledge right now not to show my annoyance the next time someone starts a “What is the BEST counting system?” thread. :)
 
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shadroch

Well-Known Member
#5
#5
SPX said:
Yeah, search works, but sometimes I'm here to engage in back and forth discussions in which comments are made, replies are thrown back and forth, etc.

So you're right, if it was just the pure data that I was interested in I could've easily found it . . . but those conversations were not something I was a part of.

Besides, most posts on message boards of any topic are new takes (or perhaps not new takes) of the same topics that have been discussed over and over and over. This is nothing new, and besides, new titles are published all the time. Is it not possible that some new book may be on the market that wasn't there in the past?
Click to expand...

You can just as easily bump a thread,so the entire thread is available for discussion. Not saying you are doing anything wrong,just a suggestion.
 
S

SPX

Well-Known Member
#6
#6
Canceler said:
I’m afraid you’re right. I should be used to it by now. Okay, I’ll even pledge right now not to show my annoyance the next time someone starts a “What is the BEST counting system?” thread. :)
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Ha ha. Actually, I've always wondered if there is a single counting system that's consistently outperformed all the others. . . I've read up a bit on some of the multi-parameter counts and the advantage gained by attempting something so complex really seems negligible at best.

Anyway, no one's really "biting" at this thread anyway so I'm sure it will be dead and buried pretty soon. . .
 
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ukdave

Member
#7
#7
spx

You name some good ones, I like Arnold Snyder's stuff but three others which are musts haves in my humble view are:

- Blackjack Attack- Don Schlesinger
- Burning the tables in Las Vegas - Ian Andersen
- Professional Blackjack - Stanford Wong

Any serious student of this great game or aspring advantage player should use these as inspiration and a reference library

regards

UKDAVE
 
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mjbballar23

Well-Known Member
#8
#8
ukdave said:
spx

You name some good ones, I like Arnold Snyder's stuff but three others which are musts haves in my humble view are:

- Blackjack Attack- Don Schlesinger
- Burning the tables in Las Vegas - Ian Andersen
- Professional Blackjack - Stanford Wong

Any serious student of this great game or aspring advantage player should use these as inspiration and a reference library

regards

UKDAVE
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I definitely agree with all of these. Professional Blackjack is most useful for those using the hi-lo count. I just finished reading Burning the tables in las vegas and it was EXCELLENT. Anyone that is aspiring to play high stakes blackjack must read this book. Blackjack Attack is in my opinion the most complete blackjack book out there. I recently read Blackjack Blueprint and Blackjack Bluebook II and i wasnt very impressed. Each of these had maybe one or two good chapters that are worth reading but other than that you could find the rest of the stuff in any other blackjack book.
 
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BJinNJ

Well-Known Member
#9
#9
Of the 12-15 that I've read...

Beat the Dealer
Playing Blackjack as a Business
Professional Blackjack
Blackbelt in Blackjack
Blackjack Attack, 3rd. ed.
Casino Verite software

Haven't read Theory of Blackjack yet.

I like Blackjack Bluebook II for newbies, like myself.
Blackjack Blueprint is a 'current' replacement for Revere.

IMHO Blackbelt is probably the best all around book.

I gotta go practice! :)

BJinNJ :cool:
 
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SPX

Well-Known Member
#10
#10
mjbballar23 said:
I recently read Blackjack Blueprint and Blackjack Bluebook II and i wasnt very impressed.
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I'm surprised to hear anyone say that because I thought that Bluebook II had the most in depth discussion of Basic Strategy and non-counting ways to improve your game than any other book I've ever seen.

Also, I thought the Ace/10 Front Count was very interesting and it gave me a lot of ideas that I may one day try out.
 
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SPX

Well-Known Member
#11
#11
BJinNJ said:
Beat the Dealer
Playing Blackjack as a Business
Professional Blackjack
Blackbelt in Blackjack
Blackjack Attack, 3rd. ed.
Casino Verite software

Haven't read Theory of Blackjack yet.

I like Blackjack Bluebook II for newbies, like myself.
Blackjack Blueprint is a 'current' replacement for Revere.

IMHO Blackbelt is probably the best all around book.

I gotta go practice! :)

BJinNJ :cool:
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Thanks for the input! I've heard that Blackjack Attack is good but extremely complex. I think I'll eventually read it but it will probably be too much for me. (I've also heard similar things about Blackjack for Blood.)

I've seen Blackjack Blueprint at the bookstore and have thumbed through it a few times. I may pick it up at some point.

I actually bought Blackbelt in Blackjack the other day so it is the book that is getting most of my attention right now. Lots of good info in their. As someone who has not yet fully taken the counting plunge I think it's a good book that can take you from nothing to a skilled player.
 
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mjbballar23

Well-Known Member
#12
#12
books

SPX said:
I'm surprised to hear anyone say that because I thought that Bluebook II had the most in depth discussion of Basic Strategy and non-counting ways to improve your game than any other book I've ever seen.

Also, I thought the Ace/10 Front Count was very interesting and it gave me a lot of ideas that I may one day try out.
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Dont get me wrong, Bluebook II does give a good discussion of basic strategy and a few other things but i didnt feel like it made me a better player. This was probably the 4th or 5th blackjack book that i read and i felt like i already knew most of what the book talked about. But like i said earlier, most books usually have 1 or 2 chapters that are really useful and new while the rest is just basic stuff. However if you are new to counting, most books will be able to get you started and provide a lot of useful information to help you understand the game.
 
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Kasi

Well-Known Member
#14
#14
SPX said:
I've heard that Blackjack Attack is good but extremely complex. I think I'll eventually read it but it will probably be too much for me. (I've also heard similar things about Blackjack for Blood.)
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Don't be so pessimistic lol. I'm sure you could handle either. You don't have to understand everything anyway (I still don't lol) - you'll still benefit from the concepts.
 
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SPX

Well-Known Member
#15
#15
Kasi said:
Don't be so pessimistic lol. I'm sure you could handle either. You don't have to understand everything anyway (I still don't lol) - you'll still benefit from the concepts.
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I'll put it this way. . .

I have always been TERRIBLE at math. About 10 years ago when I was in high school I failed Algebra (though I did do markedly better at geometry). So once you start throwing numbers around my mind just shuts off because I don't know what the hell you're talking about.
 
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Kasi

Well-Known Member
#16
#16
SPX said:
I'll put it this way. . .

I have always been TERRIBLE at math. About 10 years ago when I was in high school I failed Algebra (though I did do markedly better at geometry). So once you start throwing numbers around my mind just shuts off because I don't know what the hell you're talking about.
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See and I failed geometry lol.

I don't even think there is that much math in Blackjack for Blood as far as I can remember. It's just the book to read if you want to learn the Omega system.

Anyway, understanding the math is not necessary, thank God, - it's just there if you want it. Lots of good tables anyone can understand. Lots of good conclusions in plain English lol.

Keep it on your list anyway - you can't go too far wrong lol.
 
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SPX

Well-Known Member
#17
#17
Kasi said:
See and I failed geometry lol.
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Well I've often heard it said that many people are good at one or the other. I don't think I could say I was GOOD at either, but at least geometry made some sense and I did make passing grades. Algebra was just heiroglyphics that meant nothing to me.

Kasi said:
I don't even think there is that much math in Blackjack for Blood as far as I can remember. It's just the book to read if you want to learn the Omega system.
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I'm sure I will pick it up along with several other books, if only to be familiar with it. I'd read it "for academic purposes only."

Kasi said:
Anyway, understanding the math is not necessary, thank God.
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Like you say, thank God.
 
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BJinNJ

Well-Known Member
#18
#18
Blackjack for Blood

is a very good book too. Most BJ books discuss basic
strategy and then move on to one or more counting systems.
This makes most BJ books seem redundant. But each book has
some unique info that other books don't. If you get a couple
of chapters of new info/ideas, that book is better than most.

BJ for Blood has some great stories in it. Dr. and Mrs. Js Perfect
Parlay is one of my favorites. That degree of success, or better,
is my goal. Unfortunately I'm an East Coaster. :rolleyes:

Uston has some great stories in Million Dollar BJ, too. Not to mention
his team play methods/advice, which is xlnt. Haven't read his other
books.

Don't be afraid of the math in BJA3. You can skip the details in
favor of the general concepts and results, unless math comes to
you and you're a bit anal-retentive, like me.
Then you'll have some things to keep you occupied for a while. :)

BJinNJ :cool:
 
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