Blackjack

Professional Deluxe Card Shoe 6-Deck
$19.99
This is pretty simple and works well. It looks exactly as nice as in the picture: just a bunch of plastic, but it's sturdy and does the job well.

Beating Blackjack with Andy Bloch
$14.98
A top notch DVD. Andy Bloch is great at explaining and teaching in this video. The DVD takes you through Basic Strategy, card counting, betting and MIT style team play to make some real money. Today a number of casinos immediately put used cards back in a shuffling machine. These cards get mixed directly back into the shoe after a hand. Andy Bloch's betting strategy assumes that after every hand the used cards get put in a discard tray so you know how many cards have been delt. If the casino reshuffles the cards into the shoe at the end of every hand then Andy Bloch's betting strategy is pretty much useless and will not work. Overall the whole production is nicely put together and presented. Beating BlackJack is a fine addition to anyone's gambling library.

Professional Blackjack
$19.95
This is a no-nonsense how-to book on how to gain a mathematical edge over the house when playing blackjack. Wong is a solid writer, and relays the information in a direct and straightforward manner.

There are several counts outlined in the book. Do yourself a favor: learn the simplest count (the Hi-Lo), and learn it well.

A common mistake many beginning players make is to learn the most complicated count available, thinking that this will win them the most money. (In Professional Blackjack, this count is the "Wong Halves.") Don't bother learning this count. Complex counts are worth learning if (1) you are playing single decks almost exclusively where (2) the dealers deal fairly deeply into the deck. While such games existed when Wong originally published this work, they are rare to nonexistent now.

One criticism I have is that Wong gives the act short shrift. In order to gain an edge over the casino, you must learn to count. Wong imparts this message admirably, as far as that goes. But counting is a necessary -- but not sufficient -- condition to take what was until recently the casino's money out the door with all of your body parts intact. To do that, you will have to act like someone who is not counting. Developing an act is extremely important (and is another reason to choose a simple count. You shouldn't look like you are counting while you are counting; hence, choose a count that will allow your brain to do more than one thing at a time.)

I attempt to wrap up each blackjack book I review on two levels:

(1) The *current* practical value of the specific information provided in the book (e.g., basic strategy, counts, betting strategy, etc.)

(2) The *meta-value* of the information contained (meta-value: includes entertainment value, what the book teaches you in general about the game of blackjack, and the practical value of the book given the circumstances of the game at the time the book was written).

1 - The current practical value of this book is fairly high, if you stick to the Hi-Lo count. There is really no good reason (and a number of bad reasons) to learn the Halves count. Similarly, Wonging has now been around for a long, long time, and is unlikely to fool anyone for any length of time.

2 - The meta-value of this book is fairly high. It is one of the few books that in and of itself can turn a reader from a novice to a fair approximation of a professional player. And that is saying a lot. (I'm not suggesting that you should not read other books; only that I believe you could get away with reading this one alone.)

The Ultimate Edge

Blackjack: Play Like The Pros
$14.95
I have had this book now for 2 days and am almost done reading it. It is extremely well written and you just want to keep going from chapter to chapter. The book unlocks the secrets of black jack and the truth behind card counting to become an advantage player. I live 4 miles from a casino and cannot wait to try out some of these techniques........yes there is obviously a bunch of practice needed, but it seems well worth the effort. No freebies people.