5 comments about Powerful Profits From Blackjack (Powerful Profits Series).

1. I have all the blackjack books. While the mathematics are usually sound, and the theory is always accurate..these books never did what was most important....TURN ME INTO A WINNER!

   I requested my yearly statement back from the Grand for 2003 and they show me at a net loss of $105. Thats for the ENTIRE year! Now consider that I always hide Green Chips and Black chips whenever possible before cashing in at the table to conceal my true winnings, and consider the 33 night of free hotel stays, the endless free meals, the free shows, the free trips on the casino plesure boat etc. and I was a BIG winner in 2003! My first winning year ever.

   I owe all of that to Victor's Blackjack book. He offers a method of play that will actually allow you to win without counting cards, without risking getting barred from the casino, and without all of the mathematics involved in the card counting strategy.

   The wagering differential is the most amazing concept I have ever seen. I logged most of my play from 2003...I shoudl have logged it all, but I didn't. But from my records I only had 3 losing sessions in 2003 at the Grand.

   What more can I say. This book pays for itself.




2. I don't know what the other reviewers are smoking, but this is one of the worst Blackjack books I have read. Might as well take your 10 or 15 dollars and just throw it away. This book is almost 100% just random babbling, all words and no numbers. A HUNDRED AND NINETY PAGES INTO THE BOOK, BASIC STRATEGY IS THE ONE AND ONLY THING HE HAS ACTUALLY COVERED. I was disgusted when I looked at the page number and saw 190, realizing all this idiot had done was talk about what he was going to teach for over half of the entire book. He stretches five word sentences into page and a half long explanations to fill up space, and he does it quite well. This book is ridiculously stupid, I STRONGLY suggest reading almost any other book.



3. 
   My comment is not only about this great Blackjack book, but also about the reviewer identified as "munkmunk." All readers of that person's review of this book, or any other, should take note of what he says in the opening line to his review of "Playing Blackjack as a Business," by L. Revere, also posted here at Amazon. In that review, titled by "munkmunk" as "Sexist, thief, egomaniac?", the first line of his review says:
   
   "Not being "of age," and therefore not playing in a casino, I cannot say how much money one could make with these strategies."
   
   By his own admission, "munkmunk" is not of legal age to gamble. Therefore he is unable to understand the real world of the casino, and how and why strategies in this book, and the other by L. Revere, are applicable to those environments. Being so obviously out of touch with the reality of the world of Blackjack play in the casino, since by his own admission he cannot so legally play there being too young, this makes it plainly obvious that this young person merely has some anger of his own to grind, and seems to enjoy lambasting good books and the hard work by their authors. Amazon should perhaps be more careful, and not allow underage persons to so shamefully misunderstand books of these adult subjects.
   
   Additionally, we should all remember that the real world of the in-casino blackjack play is nothing like the "theoretical" world of the statistician, or mathematician. Furthermore, we should also understand that the minds of the very young often cannot grasp realities in either the "theoretical" or the "real world," and thus have significantly skewed opinions on something whose intended purposes obviously escape them, and whose principles are far too advanced for their undeveloped minds to as yet conceive.
   
   It should be obvious to everyone reading these reviews by the young "munkmunk" that they are a form of teenage angst, sadly directed at the authors of these good books on Blackjack.
   
   This book is a serious work about a serious subject, and extraordinarily well written -- but it is written for adults who will play in real casinos -- and not for angry children with a computer and nothing better to do than to express their ignorance in a public forum like these postings at Amazon.
   
   Read this book for yourself, and you will know why the other reviewers, including myself, have found this to be such a terrific, fresh, new look at a great old game.



4. 
   This book by Victor H. Royer is one of a great books about Blackjack. If you are serious about knowing the real truth of what Blackjack is all about, then you must have this book.
   
   Here you will find not only a terrific history of this great game, but you will find invaluable information about how the game is actually played in the casinos of the 21st Century. What you may have heard about Blackjack in the past, or perhaps read as recently as the last century, is no longer the case. What you see on TV about the various Blackjack card counting systems is also no longer possible under the majority of situations and circumstances, such as are the real truth of the modern casino.
   
   What you should know is Royer's tiered wagering method, and his new Modified Basic Strategy - MBS. If you want to give yourself the right chance to win money, then this is the book for you. It will pay for itself many times over in just your first trip to a casino.



5. Gambling is an iffy proposition without some real knowledge. To learn one must play 100 times (+) and hope that LUCK is in the house or things can get depressin real fast or one can go to the source of knowledge. This book teaches the unitiated some fundamentals and strategies with wich to approach the table with a fair amount of confidence and with the right bankroll, for they say that without the proper amount of cash you are bracing yourself for defeat. Mr. Royer strikes as one of the good guides, he certainly knows his subject and his overall writing is quite enjoyable. After reading Mr. Royer's book I went to Las Vegas (my favorite!) and put into practice what I had learned from this book. I had my bearings about me and it lasted the better of 2 solid hours, in which in a 5 dollar table with the right conditions (Favoring the Player as much as possible, but of course!!)I won 185 dollars, after having lost and won my fair share of both. The point I am making is that without the book I definitely would have lost much more and not won anything. I gave him 5 stars for 4 did not quite do the job.
   I walked out a winner and realized that this is something I am actually enjoying. I always favored dices but Blackjack is a lot of fun!

1 comments about Princes of Darkness: The World of High Stakes Blackjack.

1. It is a novel to be entertaining. It is not a seroious black jack book, the card counting strategy showed is the traditional +/- balance count.
   It is a book nice to read but it will not add a lot to your black jack knowledge.
   Carlos

1 comments about How to play winning blackjack.

1. This book proved itself in minutes. It was definitely the best tool available for devising a strategy for winning at the blackjack table. It contains an easy to use chart that can be carried with you to remind you what to hit and when to hold. It really works. Truly amazing.

No comments about Bootlegger's 200 Proof Blackjack: A Survival Guide for Playing the Tables.

5 comments about Las Vegas Blackjack Diary.

1. It is just dated enough to not rate 5 stars. Things have changed alot since '94 when he performed his feat and kept this journal. There is even more competition among the casinos and even newer technology to aid the casinos. But on the whole it is a fascinating account of a professional black jack player(and sports bettor before this). He covers everything, and I mean everything, required in his pursuit. Even the hours and hours of work before he even left for Vegas. Understand that except for a just a couple of "how to" chapters, it is his daily journal. I was enthralled.



2. In contrast with the fantastic claims made in other gambling books, "Blackjack Diary" is a sober and engaging description of the lifestyle of a pro blackjack player.

   The book is brutally honest-the tedium of the daily grind of a card counter, the paranoia, the wild fluctuations, even cheating-all these problems are explained with painstaking detail. This is nothing like, for example, the flamboyant Ken Uston's "Million Dollar" Blackjack. Its often depressing-and clinically accurate (I've been there). Perry deserves great credit for presenting what is undeniably the truth about the existence of the card counter.

   A few criticisms of the book-Perry attacks several poor games and some of his pessimistic conclusions about counting in general do not emphasize this factor sufficently. While much of the action is mundane, Perry's prose does little to engage the reader-it often reads like a company's financial report.

   Finally, Perry has included a somewhat out of place criticism of shuffle-tracking-an advanced card-counting technique. I strongly believe that for the solo card counter with Perry's meagre initial bankroll such powerful techniques are absolutely essential for survival-I don't recommend Perry's pure counting approach in my own writings because-as "Blackjack Diary" confirms, it leads to psychological if not actual financial wipeout.

   That said, this is an absolutely essential purchase for those thinking of taking up card counting seriously.




3. The positives:
   -Very original idea
   -I like the set-up of the book, especially how it read just like a diary - as the name implies
   -While someone mentioned that it read like a financial report, I feel that this was a very important aspect of the book. Kudos to Perry for including and tracking every cent
   -This is a quick, light read - a perfect choice, especially for this subject
   -He knows the book's subject - and he knows it well
   -It's not like other gambling-related books - he doesn't try to sugarcoat anything or brag about wins. He's very honest and sincere
   -Simply, it's interesting

   The negatives:
   -Perry's writing just isn't that compelling
   -His random opinions on the NBA and sports betting read like "filler" and, to me, served no real purpose
   -I noticed quite a few grammatical errors and printing errors
   -Even though it's nonfiction, I expected a more dramatic ending. The books seems to just suddenly end.

   All in all, it's a pretty good read. If you're into blackjack (or just Vegas in general), you'll really take a liking to it.




4. You've read Stanford Wong, Arnold Snyder, Don Schlesinger, and all the other great stuff about how to beat the game and you have learnt how to count cards, maybe you can count down a deck to less than 30 seconds. You have gone to the casinos and put your knowledge to work, to practice and at the same time hope to make a few bucks at the end of you trips. And you know what, you got burnt many times, especially during the positive counts.
   That is what happened to me. At first, I wonder if I did something wrong until I read Stuart's diary. This book is must have addition to your BJ library, Stuart's real life experience, and especially his honesty put our BJ theory to practice. A 4 stars for his writings and 5 stars for practical side of BJ.



5. This is a great book. You really are at the table with the author, and wonder what he has been doing since. The anticipation and preperation for the trip even made me feel a little nervous when he went to the Golden Nugget for his first session.
   I personally liked the asides. He does a good job of conveying the isolation he feels at times. It makes me want to try the Golden Nugget buffet next time I'm in Vegas...and stay away from the Barbary Coast or Plaza casinos. You would have to be interested in blackjack to like all the book, but someone who has never gambled in thier life would enjoy most of it.

5 comments about Blackjack: Take the Money and Run.

1. Having never played blackjack at a casino I found this book highly informative and reader friendly. The author is very specific in his presentation of statistical analysis of the game and presents a plausible method for winning this game. However, the authors insitance that one leave the casino when they reach a certain level of winnings is clearly a gamblers fallacy and leads me to question the accuracy of his stated statistics. The truth is that the statistics should never vary according to an individual player's win or loss streak. A 65% probability is a 65% probability. The author claims to feel better when he leaves a winner. How bizarre this seems for a man who claims to be a "professional" gambler.

   His proposition is that somehow taking a break from the game increases one's odds of winning. Nothing could be futher from statistical truth. If in fact as he states that card counting gives a player a 1-2% edge then logic dictates that playing continuosly is the way to maximiz one's profits.

   One must test his propositions in order to feel comfortable using these card counting strategies.




2. Fantastic book!. Since I've bought it, I have stepped away from a Casino, always as a winner. I am not a proffesional gambler, but I love to win some extra money when I visit a Casino. I am looking forward to buy the rest of Mr. Tamburin's books. He deserves it.



3. Tamburin gives you the three steps (The Play, The Betting & The Card Count) necessary to win. He also gives you the easier approach and the better, harder approach. Explanation of the true count calculation was harder than it should have been, but otherwise an excellent book. Has greatly improved my game. I now win more than I lose.



4. I bought this book on in an airport and enjoyed it. I got me interested in learning how to play blackjack correctly, so, in that sense, it was great. It's relatively clear and geared toward the beginner. The mathematical focus of some sections made the strategies more easy to understand. The problem with this book, however, is that it sometimes rejects the correct play. If you are ahead in the count, keep playing. Leaving the table, even when you're losing, basically amounts to wasting all the effort you put into counting. Also, streak betting is just plain superstition. If you can count, this information is more valuable than the tendancy for streaks to indicate a favorable count. Finally, If somebody at the table doesn't make the correct plays, you don't have to leave. It is just as likely to help as to hurt you. It was ok, but I'm sure there are better books than this.



5. In his article "Splitting Tens," Tamburin explains the down side of splitting 10s by stating that, with a 1 dollar original bet, "In 100 tries I expect to win two dollars 64% of the time and lose two dollars 36% of the time and thus be ahead $56 ($128-$72). This is a net expectation of 56 cents per hand." Let's look at this. If we win $2 64% of the time, and lose $2 36% of the time, this means that we will either win or lose $2 100% of the time. What if we push on both hands? Impossible by these odds. What if we win one hand and lose the other? Equally impossible. Win one, push the other? Lose one, push the other? You guessed it. Both impossible! The numbers don't add up.

No comments about Blackjack: A Professional Reference : The Encyclopedia of Casino Twenty-One!.

2 comments about Quick Guide to Winning Blackjack, 2nd Edition: 30 Minutes to Beating the House.

1. like most blackjack books, its filled with basic info. but its a pretty decent book for someone who wants to learn the basic strategy, the rules and a little psychology advice when playing. for 10 bucks, its a decent enough pile of information, its a quick read and tells you what you need to know to play well. avery keeps trying to advertise his counting systems a little too much though. million dollar blackjack costs twice as much and has 100 times more info... and covers counting systems without shelling out an extra 100 bucks



2. Avery Cardoza does an excellent job of explaining the rules of the game and making Basic Strategy clear to the novice. His writing style makes the reader feel as though he's listening to a good friend. I would highly reccomend this book for the beginner-and if you want to learn how to count cards get Fred Renzeys' Blackjack Bluebook II. These two books combined will turn you into a very serious player!

No comments about Fundamentals of blackjack.

3 comments about Blackjack Ace Prediction: The Art Of Advanced Location Strategies For The Casino Game Of Twenty-one.

1. Publisher submitted early draft reviews and description:
   
   DESCRIPTION:
   
   The Art of Advanced Location Strategies for the Casino Game of Twenty-One! With a foreword by Michael Dalton. Cover art by Abigail Kamelhair. The winning blackjack technique known as Ace Prediction, Ace Tracking, Sequence Tracking or Key Carding remained the closely guarded secret of a handful of high-stakes professional blackjack players for more than 20 years. Ace prediction can be extremely profitable given the right conditions. Here it is folks -- the complete scoop on this mathematically valid and proven blackjack winning technique. Sequence trackers will find in this book the author's own formula for identifying the profitable games. The author begins the book by studying all known published references on the subject. Chapter 2 examines aspects of non-random shuffling. Chapter 3 is the author's own analysis of non-random shuffling using a statistical procedure provided by Ed Thorp. Chapter 4 tells how to identify and exploit weaknesses in casino shuffles. Chapter 5 offers practical advice on locating Aces in shuffled decks. Chapter 6 explains how to predict Aces during the game. Chapter 7 deals with the calculation of mathematical expectation using simple formulas. Chapter 8 gives advice on bet sizing, probability of ruin, return and risk. Finally, the tables at the end of the book will be useful for making your own analyses of shuffles. Intermixed in the author's exhaustive presentation are some exciting personal stories from the pits.
   
   REVIEWS:
   
   "David McDowell has written the best book of the new millennium on blackjack advantage play, by quite some distance. The book is a rare combination of creative innovation and intellectual rigour, qualities found in some of the more talented gambling authors but very rarely both together. In time I will believe it will be held up as a blackjack classic second only to Thorp's seminal "Beat The Dealer".
   
   "The book covers the art of blackjack sequencing, a dark art that even very few gambling professionals truly understand, let alone have mastered. The basic method involves memorizing a string of cards hoping that their order will be partially maintained by the shuffle. Under optimal conditions, this can give you an advantage a card counter could only dream of. The method is both completely legal [and] very difficult to detect."
   
   "Although writers like myself, David Morse and Arnold Snyder have hinted at the possibilities of sequencing, McDowell is the first writer to completely explain all of the fine detail required to predict aces successfully, and in a stroke render all other writings on the subject obsolete. Every piece of information you could possibly need to use this extremely powerful technique is contained within. There is no waffle, though the book also uses some entertaining stories by way of illustrating the techniques therein, and is surprisingly readable given the scientific and dry nature of the basic subject matter. The book is worth several hundred times its cover price, and is an essential purchase for the intelligent gambler, particulary those who like to travel, where ace prediction techniques can be used with devastating effect."
   --- John May -- author of the books Baccarat for the Clueless and Get the Edge at Blackjack
   
   "With his compelling Blackjack Ace Prediction, David McDowell, a relative unknown in the blackjack world, bursts onto the scene in impressive fashion. His scholarly approach to the subject, replete with enlightening illustrations and copious footnotes, is a joy to read. I have a feeling that the relatively small group of players already aware of the techniques that McDowell describes are not going to be happy that he has gone 'mainstream' with the information. This is a well-researched treatise, and I'm happy to recommend it to serious students of the game."
   --- Don Schlesinger - author of the book Blackjack Attack: Playing the Pros' Way
   
   "Thorp didn't want to publish on Ace location, and my chapter on the subject is short for the same reason. Nevertheless, here it is, 160 pages in plain English, and worth its weight in flawless diamonds. Blackjack Ace Prediction is the fire from the dragon's mouth, bound to burn unsuspecting tables around the world. This book is a total must-have for the serious blackjack player."
   --- Rob McGarvey - author of the book Aces and Faces Blackjack
   
   "If you are interested in how to beat casinos by analyzing non-random shuffling, you will find David McDowell's Blackjack Ace Prediction an interesting and enjoyable read."
   --- Ed Thorp - author of the best selling book Beat the Dealer.
   
   "David McDowell's Blackjack Ace Prediction is the most authoritative book on the subject. Many will consider his work as the final chapter in advantageous blackjack play - as the cat has finally been let out of the bag."
   --- Michael Dalton - author of the Encyclopedia of Casino Twenty-One and editor of the Blackjack Review Network
   
   "Blackjack Ace Prediction offers a scholarly treatment of the subject with pragmatic potential for increasing profits for the serious blackjack player. David McDowell, the author, and Michael Dalton, the publisher are to be congratulated for this important addition to our knowledge of blackjack."
   --- Lance Humble - senior author of The World's Greatest Blackjack Book
   
   "Blackjack Ace Prediction is a winner. It will, no doubt, prove to be the best work on ace tracking published to date."
   --- Steve Forte - author of the book Read the Dealer and the Gambling Protection Series videos
   
   "Does shuffling a deck of cards put them into random order? Not exactly. This book explains how to follow particular cards through the shuffle to have a much-better-than-guessing chance of predicting when they will be dealt. This skill is particularly valuable when used to predict aces at blackjack. David McDowell discusses the work that has already been done on ace prediction by other people, and makes his own contributions to the topic. All in all, an interesting work."
   --- Stanford Wong - author of the book Professional Blackjack
   
   "McDowell's book is well researched and represents a wonderful compendium of all the important work relating to non-random shuffling and its effects on the game of blackjack. Probably the best book on Ace prediction today, and an interesting read to boot."
   --- Robert Hannum, Ph.D. - Dept. of Statistics & Operations Technology, University of Denver
   
   "David McDowell provides an interesting example of how the game of blackjack can still be exploited by the knowledgeable player. He does an excellent job integrating statistical inference with advantage play theory, and interesting gaming stories. This book is a must read for any player interested in assaulting the casinos by locating and tracking those valuable aces."
   --- Bill Zender - author of the book Card Counting for the Casino Executive
   
   "[Blackjack Ace Prediction] is the most comprehensive work on the subject I have ever read. As an advantage player and gaming risk consultant I have an extensive advantage play library. I have one shelf with books that, in my opinion, are the very best at covering their chosen subject - I have made room for one more. I don't think this book will do too much damage to AP's - it is brilliant, but like Grosjeans book and Arnold's Cookbook, you have to read it - casino people are unlikely to put in the effort; that's why they're casino people."
   --- Michael Barnett - Surveillance Technology, Perth, Western Australia



2. Blackjack Ace Prediction by David McDowell is NOT what it's cracked up to be. Not by a long shot. It promises to reveal a surefire method for beating casino blackjack by using the powerful underground technique of Ace sequencing. It promises to do that -- but it never quite delivers. The flavor is there. The aroma is there. The smoke is certainly there. But the beef is nowhere to be found. Blackjack Ace Prediction by David McDowell will NOT get the money. In fact, utilizing the Ace sequencing system presented in the book, you'd be lucky to be playing even with the house. The problem is in McDowell's fuzzy math. His basic approach is sound, and Ace sequencing when done properly DOES work. But McDowell does not really know how to properly do it. And the math he provides to back up his inflated claims is riddled with logic holes big enough to drive a Hummer through. He makes many fundamental logic errors in his probability calculations that reveal he does not have a grasp of the basic math of advantage play. He has clearly bitten off far more than he can chew. The real mystery for me is why this book has apparently been glowingly endorsed by some of the most renowned names in blackjack, such as Ed Thorp, Stanford Wong, and Don Schlesinger. People of this caliber not only know the relevant math, in some cases they actually WROTE it, which makes their endorsements of Blackjack Ace Prediction all the more incomprehensible. Go figure.



3. I have studied Computer Engineering, Mathematics and law; I also gamble for a living. That said, this is the most challenging gambling book I have ever read. The concepts in sequence tracking are a hundred times as difficult as card-counting (which are trivially easy for anyone who has done it).
   
   The mathematics explaining why certain ideas work become progressively more complicated. By the time you are halfway through the 129 pages of the main book, each line of mathematical analysis requires concentrated effort to follow. I did not check for errors at that point, but I saw no fallacies in the first 70 pages.
   
   Despite the difficulty of the material, these techniques look promising from a mathematical point of view. Unfortunately, there are fewer than 400 people in the U.S. with the mathematics and general gambling skills required to benefit from it. It is a fascinating book, but incomprehensible to most people.
   
   If you are thinking about buying it, you should be able to 1. Easily count cards, and 2. have a good understanding of slug tracking. If you cannot master those first two areas, this book will be beyond you.