2 comments about The Blackjack Zone: Lessons in Winning at Blackjack and Life.

1. Poker and Blackjack have gained enormous popularity in the last few years thanks to televised tournaments from Las Vegas, Atlantic City, and various Indian Gaming Casinos from around the country. This has also spawned a small publishing phenomenon of "how to" books in the field. The Blackjack Zone is one of those and has mathematician Eliot Jacobson [...] writing in a casual, humorous, and thoroughly "reader friendly" an introductory book on the game of Blackjack. Jacobson explains what Basic strategy is and how to use it; how to become an advantage player; how to choose the right game, dealer and casino; how to separate myths about Blackjack from the realities of the game; and how to think and act like a winner. An easy and informative read, The Blackjack Zone is especially recommended for anyone wanting to have the very best chance of coming out ahead in a game where the casino would otherwise have the edge.



2. This is a good book overall, lots of good info., discussions on BJ myths, stresses basic strategy. Fun to read, well written and recommended reading. It refers the reader to other books on counting. My only objection is that counting is almost worthless in todays shoe games and use of auto shufflers. For every counter that gets lucky and wins consistently with a razor thin edge (coinflip), many others go broke. The author states he is a full time counter, but also mentions his wife makes an above average income, while the back of the book lists the other things he does for income. So I doubt he makes a living playingblackjack. Even so, I liked the book.

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5 comments about Double Blackjack: The Best and Worst Deals made by the New York Mets in their years of existence.

1. the person who wrote the review above does not know what they are talking about. This is a great book but there is no part about tennis or topsy turvy day. Anyways who is the wizard of Roz. DONT PAY ATTENTION TO THE REVIEW ABOVE



2. This is a wonderful book written by Liebenthal and very detailed. What else can you say about the Mets for the past 43 seasons you come to suspect the worst from this team from the Ryan-Fregosi deal to the Kazmir-Zambrano trade? This book although short and just gives a lot what of "what ifs" what if the Mets never traded for Nolan Ryan for Fregosi or Amos Otis for Joe Foy; Who??, or have given Seaver the proper contract he deserved or trade Staub, McGraw? The list goes on and on about bad trades and also the bad free agent signings like, Vince Coleman, Bobby Bonilla (Biggest Bust ever) you can throw in the Brett Saberhagen deal in there too; despite a 14-4 start to the strike season of '94. The worst trade was the Juan Samuel trade to the Mets for Lenny Dykstra and Roger McDowell. (Definitely a killer move there) Also another bad move for the Mets was not giving Strawberry a contract to keep him as a Met instead he went on to sign with the LA Dodgers and went on to ruin his career with altercations with drugs and alcohol and spousal abuse. Liebenthal doesn't talk much about the brutal moves that Steve Phillips made with Mo Vaughn and Roberto Alomar (which at the time was a no brainer until his hall of fame credibility was almost shattered in NY with his shoddy defense and lackluster 240 batting average that they had no choice but to trade him to the White Sox so at least he would have retained some of that hall of fame status that he was when he played in a bandbox like Camden yards and Jacobs Field. Just imagine what Alomar's career would be like if he played mostly at a ballpark that was similar to Shea stadium. I guarantee that his career statistics would be a lot less attractive and he would've been one of those players that come and go. Liebentahl also talks about the great moves the Mets have made throughout the years of existence, like bringing in Gil Hodges to manage the Mets in 1968, the Tom Seaver move which only worked because Atlanta at the time violate a rule, which stated that no team was aloud to sign players still playing for a collegiate team at the time. So it came down to three teams Mets, Phillies and the Cardinals all put in a hat and Seaver pulled out the paper and it said Mets and the rest is history. Signing Jerry Koosman who was later trade to Minnesota in exchange for a youngster name Jesse Orosco, who later on became a big part of the Mets 1986 World Championship team. Also moves that brought in Rusty Staub and even though he was at the tail end of his career, Willie Mays. Liebenthal also talks about the great moves the Mets made bring in Keith Hernandez to the Mets from St. Louis and sending Neil Allen in return. Moves like drafting Strawberry and Gooden. The trade that sent Hubie Brooks, Floyd Youmanns to the Montreal Expos for catcher Gary Carter in the winter of 1984.Trading for Bobby Ojeda and Ron Darling. The list goes on and on. This book written by Liebenthal would intrigue any Met fan who is interested in wanting to know what the franchise was like from birth to its glory year of '69 and '86 to the most dismal years of the late '70's to early '80's and the early to mid '90's.



3. This book was written by someone who obviously is a loyal and dedicated Mets fan, and he clearly put a great deal of passion and effort into it.
   
   However, Mr. Liebenthal either relied too much on a faulty memory or did not do enough fact-checking, and this resulted in a number of errors, too many for someone claiming to be an "expert" on his topic.
   
   For example, the author states on page 1 that after being illegally signed by the Atlanta Braves and having his contract voided, Tom Seaver was awarded to the Mets in a lottery involving the Mets, Braves, and Dodgers. Actually, the Braves were forbidden from signing Seaver, and the lottery involved the Mets, Indians, and Phillies. Also, on page 88, he states that the Mets beat the Braves in Game 5 of the 1999 NLCS in 13 innings, when in fact the game went 15 innings.
   
   More minor, but also glaring (to this reader) was the repeated misspelling of the name of former manager DAVEY (not Davy) Johnson.
   
   In addition, the author writes in a very cumbersome style, with unexplained assertions and questionable choice of words. Staying on page 88, he states that Todd Zeile's "moniker" (why not just say "name?") starts with "Ze, an interesting juxtaposition." Why is that an interesting juxtaposition? The author doesn't explain.
   
   On the same page, in describing Game 1 of the 2000 World Series, the author states that the Mets had a one-run lead and that reliever Armando Benitez "should have been able to hold the vanguard." HOLD THE VANGUARD?? What the heck does that mean? The closest definition of vanguard is "the forefront in any movement, field, activity, or the like." Why not keep it simple and just say "hold the lead?"
   
   Finally, the author strained my concentration with repeated cliches like "lidlifter" to describe the opening game of a series.
   
   Mr. Liebenthal obviously has plenty of knowledge of and passion for the Mets, but I wish I hadn't spent the money on this book.



4. I had high expectations about this book as a Mets fan. After all, the title says it all. Although I enjoyed reading it (a fast and easy read), I was taken aback by some of the poor research and mistakes. Most notably, the author blames Bob Ojeda for the tragic boat accident that claimed the lives of Tim Crews and Steve Olin. Bob Ojeda,who suffered from survivor's guilt for years, was not driving as stated by the author; and the only reason he didn't have his head taken off was that he was slouched down in his seat on the boat (having your head scalped is not a minor injury Mr. Liebenthal). The facts of that tragic night are so well known, it makes one wonder why the author would go beyond emblishment and venture into possible libel merely to smear a beloved Met. Read this book only as a guide and to bring back some memories, but don't rely on it for facts or accuracy. There are better sources.



5. I was highly anticipating reading this book, but found that it fell flat at only 94 pages. The author, in his introduction, states that he's going to write about the 21 best and worst deals the Mets had made. In his conclusion, he said he took poetic license and limited it to 18. Well, if you took each chapter by themselves and totaled them up, there are 32 total deals. The author says 18 because the chapters are essentially broken up. Chapter #1 is a high quality move, and what would be chapter #2 is really called low quality move #1.
   Now, I just mentioned high quality and low quality. This is the authors way of denoting if the deal was good (high) or bad (low). The author has a total of (if you count each chapter by itself) 14 good, 14 bad, and 4 that were in-between. Sometimes the author will talk about the player and how he fared before he played for the Mets, and then talk little about that players days as a Met. I found myself feeling that not much effort was put into making this book. The author states that has been a Mets fan since 1969. If that's the case, he would know how to spell their names! He spells manager Davey Johnson's first name D-A-V-Y, and spells Gregg Jefferies name with only one G instead of two.
   To save you time and money, here are the deals mentioned in the book, in order:
   
   High: acquire Tom Seaver through draft lottery
   Low: trade Tom Seaver
   High: acquire Tom Seaver (again)
   Low: Tom Seaver signs as free agent elsewhere
   High: bring in Casey Stengel as manager
   Low: bring in Jeff Torborg as manager
   High: acquire Donn Clendenon
   Low: trade Amos Otis
   High: bring in Gil Hodges as manager
   Low: trade Nolan Ryan
   High & Low: acquire Willie Mays
   High & Low: acquire Rusty Staub
   High & Low: M. Donald Grant is fired and replaced by Linda DeRoulet
   High: Team sold to Nelson Doubleday and Fred Wilpon
   High: Rusty Staub signs as a free agent
   Low: Frank Cashen retains Joe Torre as manager
   Low: Claudell Washington and Dave Kingman sign as free agents elsewhere
   Low: acquire Ellis Valentine
   High: acquire Keith Hernandez
   High: acquire Ron Darling
   High: draft Dwight Gooden
   Low: acquire George Foster
   High: acquire Howard Johnson, Gary Carter, and Sid Fernandez
   Low: Ray Knight signs as a free agent elsewhere; trade Kevin Mitchell
   Low: trade Lenny Dykstra, Roger McDowell, and Mookie Wilson
   High & Low: acquire Bob Ojeda (bad only because of hedge trimmer finger incident and future boating accident with Cleveland)
   Low: Darryl Strawberry signs as free agent elsewhere
   Low: acquire Vince Coleman
   Low: acquire Bobby Bonilla
   High: bring in Bobby Valentine as manager
   High: acquire John Olerud
   High: acquire Mike Piazza
   
   The author states on the back cover that "I know I have only scrached the surface of the Mets' transactions." I'm sure Mets fans out there will agree that there are a lot more deals that should have made this book.

5 comments about Blackjack: The Real Deal.

1. Blackjack: The Real Deal is right on the money! Its basic strategy section increased my understanding of the game and brought my winnings up an average of 30%. J. Phillip Vogel's style is easy to read, straight forward, logical and based on statistical facts, not luck or superstition. (Mathematics don't lie.) What's more, he covers casino etiquette, money management and other handy tips. I think quite a few gamblers could use this book, whether or not THEY think so. I see he is also coming out with a craps book that, personally, I can't wait to read!



2. The review by Booklist--a very respected source of book reviews--caused me to buy and read Blackjack: the Real Deal. Relatively new at the game and wanting to improve my chances to win, I was impressed by the information in this book. Now I'm on my way to Vegas and to try out my new skills. I recommend this very logical and readable book to anyone interested in improving their game !



3. Blackjack:The Real Deal was by far the most informative and logical black jack book I have purchased. I've been going to Atlantic City for some time now, and I have never won so often in my life. I've read many other books on this game and this was the only book that was written in a way that I found easy to understand, and, beyond a shadow of a doubt, WORKS!! J. Phillip Vogel goes into such topics as casino etiquette, betting stratogies, and easy to read charts telling you when to take a card, split your cards, and so on. Since I have read this book, my winnings have increased by at least 45%. My recommendation would be to defanitely buy this book, read it, and be ready to "WIN"!!!



4. I enjoy reading about gambling almost as much as I like playing it, and I have found Vogel's work to be an excellent source for any player, especially a novice. His basic strategy methods are right on the money when you compare them to every recognized strategy, any he even includes a basic section on card-counting which is important for beginner players. Some of his discussions on trends and probability will probably confuse some players who are less-than-mensa material, but he tries somewhat successfully to make them read easy.

   The basic breakdown of the book is a separation into what he terms "The Successful Six" which is generally a breakdown of the six most important weapons in a gambler's arsenal: proper bankroll, knowledge of the game, self-control, strategy, understanding probability, and patience. All of this information is highly useful, and it is presented in a thorough, enjoyable manner.

   As a semi-professional gambler myself, I would recommend this book to any gambler, and call it essential reading to any novice.




5. This is the only blackjack book needed. J. Phillip Vogel covers everything needed in order to beat the casino. He includes basic strategies, easy to read charts and even card counting. No gambler should play without reading this first.

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5 comments about Beat The House: Sixteen Ways to Win at Blackjack, Roulette, Craps, Baccarat and Other Table Games.

1. The systems really work, that's why I gave it 5 stars, but it's too full of syrup to be a really enjoyable read.



2. I had gotten this book from the library about 6 years ago. After running it through the paces of a computer program, I did find that his systems do work.
   The systems are based on what goes up, must come down. Well, in real life, that is not always true, at least in your bankrolls time frame. You must use money management. Also, I have found that you MUST run several progressions at the same time. It helps you ride out the ones that have gone a bit long losing.
   I found his talk about poss. rigged casinos a bit dated. This was also written before online gambling, which would have been nice. He mentioned several times about the minimum table limits being too high, but they aren't too high online. Too bad those games were avoided because of this.
   His talk of God and other things eternal I thought was well done, and did not go on. Plus, you can skip right over it to the systems. Would like to compare notes with others sep2034athotmail.



3. The author takes the old D'Alembert system (he doesn't even spell it right)and lists various bet choices in casino games where you can try it. What's remarkable is that he recommends NOT trying many of the variations he suggests in the book. He then goes on to admit that this system, which has been proven over and over to fail (like any other progression), actually doesn't work in a real casino, and then tries to blame casino cheating! That, combined with his religious rantings that have nothing whatever to do with the subject at hand, lead me to seriously question this guy's grip on reality. In fact, one wonders why someone who is so worried about Satan and evil is encouraging gambling in the first place. His "Mathematical Analysis" sections contain neither math nor analysis. Send me your money instead and I'll recommend much, much better books.



4. This book looks interesting at first but after reading and re-reading it and studying and testing the various systems offered I can honestly say the book is worthless and you will lose a lot of money if you try Lembeck's systems at a casino, which the author admits he doesn't even do himself. Furthermore his assertions of "rigged" tables and that "you must stay invisible" and hop from table to table to place each bet are as ludicrous as his systems. The casinos have enough of a mathematical edge to all their games that they have no reason to rig anything, and I personally have sat with pad and paper at the roulette and baccarat tables hundreds of times taking notes and openly playing systems in full view of the players, the dealer, the pit boss and eye in the sky; short of using a computer or cell phone, the casinos could care less what you do at the roulette and baccarat tables because they are not worried about you beating them with a system, at least that has been my experience where I gamble in CT.



5. I bought this book based on its claim to provide mathematically sound analysis of gambling games, based on stock market strategies.
   
   Reading it led me to the conclusion that the author does not have even rudimentary knowledge of probability, expectation or house percentage. His "analysis" consists of doing sets of 100 rolls of dice on his kitchen table!
   
   He then goes on to the inescapable conclusion (to him) that the casinos are "cheating", since his schemes don't work there.
   
   I was so disgusted that I took the time to complain to the publisher, and ended up corresponding to the author himself, who repeated those claims. I even took the time to do a trivial analysis of his "half-peak" system, together with some extensive computer runs, just to show him how bad the systems are.

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