Blackjack Books.

BLACKJACK BOOKS

	Professional Blackjack by Stanford Wong, Publication Date: 03/01/1994, 352 pages Professional Blackjack is 350 pages of card-counting advice for beginners to experts. It presents the high-low and the halves. The high-low is the best combination of simplicity and power, and probably is the most popular system used by card counters. Halves is a level-3 system that yields almost perfect estimates of your advantage, information you need to determine your optimal bet size. The 1994 edition of Professional Blackjack contains 100 tables, not counting the tables in the appendixes. The tables give strategy index numbers for a variety of rules. The book also contains results of simulations for various sets of rules, so you can learn how valuable one rule is compared to another; for example, you can turn to page 185 and learn that to a card counter, double after split is about the same value as late surrender. The book is chock full of information. For example, have you ever wondered how much expectation someone gives up by standing on sixteen against an eight? For single deck, page 315 tells you that the various two-card sixteens each lose at a rate of about 53% if you stand and 43% if you hit, so the cost is 10%. For six decks, page 331 tells you the numbers are 51% for standing versus 45% for hitting, so the cost is 6%.

	Blackjack For Blood: The Card-Counters' Bible, and Complete Winning Guide by Bryce Carlson, Publication Date: 07/01/2000, ~240 pages This book has it all. It's mathematically accurate, highly informative, up-to-date, and beautifully written. In addition, Carlson's anecdotes of high-roller life in the casino fast lane make for a really fun, entertaining read. Carlson is both a mathematician and a successful high-stakes Blackjack player, and he presents the concepts behind card counting in an easy-to-understand way that is accurate, informative, and practical. This book is just chock full of priceless information. It presents the theory of card counting, basic strategy, game selection, camouflage, casino comportment, special "commando" tactics, money management, risk of ruin, etc., etc., as well as Carlson's own Advanced Omega II System, which all the experts agree is the strongest BJ system going. AOII is a level-2 card-counting system that I've found easy to learn and easy to use. And it works! It really gets the money. K-O and Hi-Lo don't come close. This book is the bomb! If you could only have one book on BJ, this should definitely be it. Highly recommended.

	Beat the Dealer: A Winning Strategy for the Game of Twenty-One by Edward O. Thorp, Publication Date: 04/12/1966, 240 pages This book started it all. Before this book, card counting wasn't very popular and the systems out there were way too basic. Thorp analyzed the game, ran computer simulations, and created strategies for making money while counting cards. This book is of historical importance because it is the first book written, as it is the oldest, with a viable counting system. A must have for your blackjack library. With that being said, much of the information is outdated so this won't be the book you buy if you want to learn a system of how to count cards. The appeal of this book is being able to relive the earliest stages of basic strategy and card counting and tells a story on how Mr. Thorp tested his theory in Vegas.

	Theory of Blackjack, 6th Edition by Peter Griffin, Publication Date: 06/01/1999, 270 pages The Theory of Blackjack is must reading for the advanced card counter. It is unquestionably one of the best books ever written on card counting. This book is a tool for those interested in the underlying mathematics of the game of blackjack. This book thoroughly explains the mathematics behind basic strategy and card counting techniques in a way that really makes sense. For those people who just want the numbers, many blackjack simulators are currently on the market and most of the simulators would give you the numbers in the book (the software is even better because you can customize the table conditions). So the main reason to buy the book would be for the explanations behind the math. Unfortunately, even for those who are mathematically inclined (for whom some of this book will still be beyond your grasp), Griffin often does not explain why particular statistical methods are appropriate presumably he assumes familiarity with the underlying mathematics. If you are a beginner to the field of pro blackjack, don't buy this book. Buy Stanford Wong's Professional Blackjack or some of the other card counting books on this list. If you are starting out counting cards you need to know this: card counting isn't easy. Most people think you just sit there playing blackjack and count the cards while putting in about as much effort as you do watching TV. This book shows some of the hard knowledge you will need to learn in order to be successful. The intimidating nature of the book may convince you that you don't have the talent, patience, or time to become a good card counter.

	Knock-Out Blackjack: The Easiest Card-Counting System Ever Devised by Olaf Vancura, Ken Fuchs, Publication Date: 10/01/1998, 200 pages This book introduces one of the simplest effective card counting systems. It's a good book for the blackjack player who wants to learn a powerful, yet easy to use card counting system. It has your typical introduction to the game, discussion of basic strategy, introduction to card counting, and some blackjack history sprinkled in. In addition, this book has a chapter that compares the KO system to other card counting systems. If you have tried to learn other system but failed then this may be the book for you.



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