Has anyone read this book on playing BJ professionally?
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The reviews of this book stand out. Anyone read it?
In the past year-and-a-half, I've learned to count and play pretty well. For 2015, I'm now looking to add depth, subtlety, and mystery to my game, in order to stay undetected. Easier said than done and perhaps years in the making, but I feel like if I just settle for basic strategy and counting cards, that's just not enough. I don't have an act and approach yet...
Quote: Amleehttp://www.amazon.com/The-Blackjack-Life-Counting-Clandestine/dp/1935396331
The reviews of this book stand out. Anyone read it?
Is there a Kindle edition?
Quote: mickeycrimmIs there a Kindle edition?
Yes I think there is the kindle download option in the amazon link
Quote: MidwestAPYes I think there is the kindle download option in the amazon link
Yeah. It's seven bucks, and I just stayed up until 1AM reading it. Damn good book that reinforces my belief that I will remain a ploppie.
Yes, I have Kindle but my eyes strain reading large amounts of text on a screen (unless I am the writer but that's more for editorial purposes.)
I'll read it the old-fashioned way.
Quote: PaigowdanI have, believe it or not. Nat had a nice run, got burnt, returned to his business.
Any more details you care to share? Burnt in a bad losing streak or casino issues? And yes Dan, it is good to see you back here with your perspective on things.
Quote: MoscaYeah. It's seven bucks, and I just stayed up until 1AM reading it. Damn good book that reinforces my belief that I will remain a ploppie.
And what's even more cool, I stayed up, thinking I had to be at work at 9. Then, at 4AM, I got up to go to the bathroom and realized I had an eye doctor appointment at 7:15, half an hour from home.
Good times.
Quote: MidwestAPYes I think there is the kindle download option in the amazon link
Thanks. I'm a little backed up on my reading but I will download it.
Quote: EdCollinsOne of my favorite books on blackjack is Turning the Tables on Las Vegas by Ian Anderson. If you haven't read this one, I heartily recommend it.
I'm gonna have to get this one too. I just finished Blackjack Autumn and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Quote: darkozJust ordered it from Amazon. Should have it in a few days.
Yes, I have Kindle but my eyes strain reading large amounts of text on a screen (unless I am the writer but that's more for editorial purposes.)
I'll read it the old-fashioned way.
I don't think I have read that Tilton book yet. I know the book is relatively new, but what years does he cover in the book. I have been looking for some interesting gambling books that cover the last 5 to 10 years.
Seriously, this book is ALL YOU. I got the book last week and literally tore through it (300pp.) in about 48 hours. It captivated me and I found his story and writing so genuinely honest and heartfelt. It's the best narrative book I've read on the game thus far.
The years covered are essentially 2005-10. Briefly, Nathaniel attended a seminar by Semyon Dukach in 2005 and taught himself to count along with a partner. They got into it hardcore and devised their own style of small team play. Many interesting trials and tribulations along the way. I don't want to spoil it for anyone, but his decision to leave had a lot to do with not getting wiped out, but just complete and total burnout. I've only been actively playing Since Sept. of 2013 and found that I could relate to everything in the book (except the $200 units he was betting..haha. I can max out at about $20 for a starting unit).
He's a smart guy and seems very chill. I hope to meet him sometime so that I could tell him how much I enjoyed his book.
I'll end by saying this: the book is devoid of any BS-ing, glorifying the lifestyle, and promoting himself as some BJ god. It's very realistic and very understandable to all of us who have experienced the highs and lows of the game.
Quote: darkozJust ordered it from Amazon. Should have it in a few days.
Yes, I have Kindle but my eyes strain reading large amounts of text on a screen (unless I am the writer but that's more for editorial purposes.)
I'll read it the old-fashioned way.
The traditional Kindle models (NOT the Kindle Fire) shouldn't have this problem. It's not a "screen" as one would traditionally think; the pixels are actually little bits of physical matter (no light) that flip between on and off. You shouldn't have problems with eye strain reading from one.
Quote: DRichI don't think I have read that Tilton book yet. I know the book is relatively new, but what years does he cover in the book. I have been looking for some interesting gambling books that cover the last 5 to 10 years.
DRich, have you read Repeat Until Rich? I really enjoyed that one.
Actually, for any forum members who have read both, how does it compare? Axelrad played on a big team, so the experience would be a bit difference. He also had some experiences with internet poker in the book, was about to spoil some of the story here but anyway. His writing style was pretty unique and I enjoyed it.
This book sounds interesting; just added it to my list. Library even has the Kindle edition, so I can do it for free.
Quote: AcesAndEightsThe traditional Kindle models (NOT the Kindle Fire) shouldn't have this problem. It's not a "screen" as one would traditionally think; the pixels are actually little bits of physical matter (no light) that flip between on and off. You shouldn't have problems with eye strain reading from one.
Thanks for the info.
However I am a cheap bastard and never purchased nor will purchase a kindle. Turns out Kindle is included on my laptop with Windows 8.1 so I downloaded and read some books on my laptop Kindle.
Perhaps, that is not the proper Kindle venue and I am to blame for the eye strain but equally I am probably just too old school. I am beginning to understand more and more why my parents couldn't accept new tech.
Here is a conversation with my Dad a few years ago when he got a new cellphone:
ME: Dad, this one has a camera too. You can take pictures now.
DAD: Nah, too much work. I don't want to keep going to the store to develop the film.
Quote: darkozThanks for the info.
However I am a cheap bastard and never purchased nor will purchase a kindle. Turns out Kindle is included on my laptop with Windows 8.1 so I downloaded and read some books on my laptop Kindle.
Perhaps, that is not the proper Kindle venue and I am to blame for the eye strain but equally I am probably just too old school. I am beginning to understand more and more why my parents couldn't accept new tech.
Ah, understood. Yeah, reading on a traditional LCD screen is not great on the eyes. I got the cheapest Kindle available at the time and am pretty happy with the reading experience on it.
I was already familiar with the exploits of Ken Uston. His book Million Dollar Blackjack was one the blackjack "bibles" for us card counters in the early 1980s. In this book (How We Won $4,000,000 Part 1 and Part 2) he vividly describe his blackjack teams, how he became a Big Player, the signals they used, their methods, etc., etc.
Before this, of course, Uston describes everything in much more detail in his 1977 book, The Big Player.
And of course, twelve years ago or so, Ben Mezrich came out with Bringing Down the House - The Inside Story of Six M.I.T. Students Who Took Vegas for Millions. This book, a New York Times Bestseller, also described how the M.I.T. blackjack club formed their blackjack teams, traveling to Vegas, their methods, signals, study habits, winning (and losing) large amounts of cash, etc.
So to me, at least, there wasn't much new in The Blackjack Life. Different characters, different dates, different locations, sure. But overall I just thought it was the same story retold. It was easy reading and I finished it over the course of a single weekend, and I'm glad I bought it, but all the time while reading it I kept waiting for something "new" to happen.
Nothing ever did.
Furthermore, some of the stories I found hard to believe. A guy named Billy Blackjack, after but a single meeting, hands over $50,000 in cash to Nanthaniel? Just like that? Really?
Maybe, but I just didn't buy that.
But I am happy to add the book to my collection of blackjack books, bringing my total to 40, I think. (I don't really collect them any more... but I still have my collection of them. This is the first blackjack book I've bought in about ten years.)
I totally get what you're saying. I don't have 40 BJ books. I have like 5 or 6, so I am going to focus on reading a lot of the ones that are likely in your collection.
One of the things that Nathaniel references a lot in the book, as a huge part of he and his partner's playing strategy is back-counting two tables at the same time. So two guys literally with the option to Wong in to one of four different tables at any given point. Eventually, I just kept reading, but I can't imagine how this can be done on a long-term basis.
Have any of you guys ever done this? Most casinos' tables are far enough away where I would imagine it very difficult to back-count both simultaneously without being totally obvious. All I can picture is someone standing in the middle of the two tables, totally in the way, with their head on a non-stop swivel.
If I'm missing something here, please enlighten me.
Regarding the mysterious Billy Blackjack player that has hundreds of thousands of dollars and fronts Nathaniel 50k few questions asked, according to the book, this offer of $200 or $250k to invest in card counting popped up on a forum at some point in the mid-to-late 2000s. I wasn't in the game yet, but do any of your old school guys ever remember seeing this?
I'm not trying to discredit the story told in the book, I'm just curious.
His stories of spliting 10s on $2400 hands and doubling on A,9 make me sweat just thinking about it.
Yes I remember seeing it on another site I believe it was Bj21.Quote: AmleeHi EdCollins,
I totally get what you're saying. I don't have 40 BJ books. I have like 5 or 6, so I am going to focus on reading a lot of the ones that are likely in your collection.
One of the things that Nathaniel references a lot in the book, as a huge part of he and his partner's playing strategy is back-counting two tables at the same time. So two guys literally with the option to Wong in to one of four different tables at any given point. Eventually, I just kept reading, but I can't imagine how this can be done on a long-term basis.
Have any of you guys ever done this? Most casinos' tables are far enough away where I would imagine it very difficult to back-count both simultaneously without being totally obvious. All I can picture is someone standing in the middle of the two tables, totally in the way, with their head on a non-stop swivel.
If I'm missing something here, please enlighten me.
Regarding the mysterious Billy Blackjack player that has hundreds of thousands of dollars and fronts Nathaniel 50k few questions asked, according to the book, this offer of $200 or $250k to invest in card counting popped up on a forum at some point in the mid-to-late 2000s. I wasn't in the game yet, but do any of your old school guys ever remember seeing this?
I'm not trying to discredit the story told in the book, I'm just curious.
His stories of spliting 10s on $2400 hands and doubling on A,9 make me sweat just thinking about it.
Quote: AmleeOne of the things that Nathaniel references a lot in the book, as a huge part of he and his partner's playing strategy is back-counting two tables at the same time. So two guys literally with the option to Wong in to one of four different tables at any given point. Eventually, I just kept reading, but I can't imagine how this can be done on a long-term basis.
Have any of you guys ever done this? Most casinos' tables are far enough away where I would imagine it very difficult to back-count both simultaneously without being totally obvious. All I can picture is someone standing in the middle of the two tables, totally in the way, with their head on a non-stop swivel.
If I'm missing something here, please enlighten me.
LOL. That's a very good point. No, I don't think you're missing anything. I agree that has got to be VERY hard to do, for any length of time.
I'm not saying it can't be done or that it wasn't done, but it sure isn't very believable to me. (Of course, it makes for a better story, this way, doesn't it!)
Wouldn't that person be noticed by someone... a security guard, a pit boss, a floor manager, a waitress... someone.. anyone, after a short length of time? He's just standing there, doing nothing but observing two different blackjack tables, and keeping an accurate count on each table? Really? And no casino floor person ever questions him as to what he's doing?
Wow. Pretty amazing. I'm sure I couldn't pull that off, even after graduating from Ninja School. :)
it's really not THAT difficult. Takes a little bit of time. often count two tables at a time unless I'm tired. You're only counting two tables for a deck or two, in that time frame chances are one or the other has gotten to +1 and is worth concentrating on, or one has dropped to where you're better off not tracking it and you're looking for another shuffle. It only really gets tough in the semi uncommon instance when they both show promise simultaneously. Or if the game selection and pit layout is right you can count a shoe while playing double deck. Again you are rarely counting two tables, your DD table shuffles frequently or the shoe you were tracking doesn't shoe promise. It's a bit difficult at first or if you don't play that frequently I imagine it would be tough to get down.Quote: EdCollinsLOL. That's a very good point. No, I don't think you're missing anything. I agree that has got to be VERY hard to do, for any length of time.
I'm not saying it can't be done or that it wasn't done, but it sure isn't very believable to me. (Of course, it makes for a better story, this way, doesn't it!)
Wouldn't that person be noticed by someone... a security guard, a pit boss, a floor manager, a waitress... someone.. anyone, after a short length of time? He's just standing there, doing nothing but observing two different blackjack tables, and keeping an accurate count on each table? Really? And no casino floor person ever questions him as to what he's doing?
Wow. Pretty amazing. I'm sure I couldn't pull that off, even after graduating from Ninja School. :)
Quote: theOmega623I have not read this book but I will check it out. If you enjoy books on blackjack & you are looking to improve your game, I strongly recommend purchasing 'Blackjack for Blood' by Bryce Carlson. It was a terrific read for me & the system he provides is very powerful & quite a challenge to learn. One of the best!
I agree...but I also liked and recommend Best Blackjack by Frank Scoblete. The great thing about BOTH books is that they both keep things in perspective for the real world. They share many insights, theories, ideas, suggestions, tips, counts, experience, and even some amusement. The books make both a great read, and a great refresher on counting and betting. Thanks to both of these books (that share tips and tricks...and yet let you decide with what tools to use.) I learned a vast amount of info from both. If I had to ONLY choose two books to keep, then these two would be the ones! I could go on and on...but why? Let them speak for themselves.
Or go out there and buy every book that brags about one system and promises you riches. Pfft. Bryce and Frank keep it real...like a G.
(Just my two Ace's..err..I mean cents.)
Quote: Edge21I agree...but I also liked and recommend Best Blackjack by Frank Scoblete. The great thing about BOTH books is that they both keep things in perspective for the real world. They share many insights, theories, ideas, suggestions, tips, counts, experience, and even some amusement. The books make both a great read, and a great refresher on counting and betting. Thanks to both of these books (that share tips and tricks...and yet let you decide with what tools to use.) I learned a vast amount of info from both. If I had to ONLY choose two books to keep, then these two would be the ones! I could go on and on...but why? Let them speak for themselves.
Or go out there and buy every book that brags about one system and promises you riches. Pfft. Bryce and Frank keep it real...like a G.
(Just my two Ace's..err..I mean cents.)
Frank will be glad to hear you treasure his book. He's on here from time to time.
http://themoth.org/?s=Gambler
