Customer Reviews

Blackbelt in Blackjack : Playing 21 as a Martial Art

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

As a former Financial Analyst/Games Analyst for the Tropicana in Las Vegas, I used to spend a huge number of hours reading and studying blackjack. I did a lot of research work for the casino whenever they wanted to offer special promotions or make rule changes to table games, so I had to be familiar with a broad range of gambling theory. While gambling books range wildly in quality, "Blackbelt in Blackjack" was one that stood out in my mind. It offered simple - yet powerful - card counting systems such as the Red Seven Count. While other blackjack books touted more complex higher level multi-parameter systems, Snyder was one of the first to advocate simpler systems. He reasoned that while the more complex systems could theoretically make more money per hour, the higher error rate due to mental fatigue and complexity often more than wiped out the gains over simpler systems which resulted in fewer errors. Snyder is also refreshingly honest in terms of expected win rates and the chances of a beginning card counter succeeding. He understands that most players are not looking to turn professional - they have full time jobs and thus cannot be expected to devote all of their waking hours to blackjack. They want to improve their game, enjoy the intellectual challenge of taking on the casinos, and hopefully make a few bucks and earn some comps in the process. If this is you, "Blackbelt in Blackjack" is a great book. If you are a full-time professional and don't mind spending a huge amount of time learning more complex systems and want to extract the absolute maximum win per hour from a blackjack game, then this book may not be for you. My experience is that the former outnumber the latter by a significant margin. The book covers topics from the rudiments of basic blackjack play (including a set of 10 rules that will cut the casino's edge to about 1%) to basic strategy to card counting (including the Red Seven Count and Zen Count). He also discusses bankroll requirements, how to evaluate table conditions, and camouflage. Please note that even a relatively simple system such as the Red Seven can't be learned in a day - it will take many days of hard work to become accurate and comfortable enough to play in a casino.

If you want to learn card counting there are a lot of classic works that you should read, and this book is a great place to start.

Arnold Snyder, well-known blackjack author and expert, updated his 93 classic. An excellent book for those wanting info on balanced and un-balanced counts. His hi-lo lite is a model of simplicity, showing better results than more complicated strategy tables. A great book for anyone just getting into blackjack and in need of some expert advice.

This was probably the best introduction available to the art of card-counting. Unfortunately, the 1983 edition teaches concepts which are useless in today's casinos (such as "depth charging"). The game is no longer single-deck dealt to the bottom, but rather multiple decks dealt only partially, or (occasionally) single decks with bad rules dealt out only partially.

The two systems presented, "Red 7s" and "Zen", are still useful today, although "Hi-Lo" and "KO" are more widely used and (in the case of KO) more modern.

Nevertheless, if you are just beginning to learn the game, this was the best book. I look forward to seeing the 1998 edition, to see how well it has been updated.

Arnold "Church of Blackjack" Snyder is one of the best blackjack writers I've seen. His book takes you from beginning counting strategies up until the advanced ones that will bring you in for the win! This book helped me big time in the casinos, even after I could already play the game.

He even gives good camoflauge advice so the casino won't be able to tell you're counting the cards. I have two editions of this book, the newest one is of course the better but the first was what helped me. I recommend this to anyone who wants to learn a more advanced counting strategy for casino play. It will definitely help you.

I have read over thirty books on the subject of blackjack. The third edition of Blackbelt ranks right up there as one of the best. It is the most comprehensive, well rounded text that I have read. The beginning blackjack player will learn everything they need in this one source to become a proficient advantage player. The expert player will learn advanced techniques that are only mentioned in other books.

This is the best card counting guide I have come across! I'm a newer person in the card counting arena and own over 20 books on the subject. The book takes you from the "White Belt" to "Black Belt" level of card counting. The author, Arnold Snyder, is a member of the Blackjack Hall of Fame and his knowledge and expertise on the subject is matched by very few. I highly reccommend this book and wish it was the first book I purchased on the subject of card counting!

Despite drastic changes in the way the game is dealt in Las Vegas and other areas, very little seems to have been changed in the new edition of this classic introduction to educated blackjack play. There does seem to be more discussion of bankroll requirements, which is nice, but the major change is the addition of a section on shuffle tracking -- an extremely advanced technique which goes far beyond what a beginner would want to learn.

The new edition still includes information on old strategies which simply don't apply in today's environment, such as "depth-charging".

The book is still a good beginner's tutorial, but Snyder does a disservice to the beginner by keeping such outdated impressions and information in the new edition; and the added information on shuffle tracking will only be useful to the advanced player.

Unlike the majority of system sellers out there, Snyder is brutally honest about what card counters are up against when it comes to taking money from the casinos. Despite appearances, casinos are holding onto their case with both hands, and you'd better understand that if you want to get anywhere playing blackjack.

Most system sellers are interested in one thing: selling systems. Therefore, they are often less than honest about the hurdles you'll need to clear if you ever expect to make a dime playing blackjack. Reading much of what is out there, one would think that you could do a little practicing, withdraw a few hundred bucks from your bank account, play much as you currently do (enjoying the game as much as you do now), and become a millionaire in a few weeks or months.

If this is what you believe awaits you as an aspiring professional, good luck. To his credit, Snyder will disabuse you of any such notions, and in no uncertain terms. It's tough out there.

Snyder offers a number of counts, ranging from the very simple "Red Seven Count" to a fairly high level count he calls the "Zen Count." Given the preponderance of single-deck games today, there is no reason to learn a complex count. Snyder's discussion of bankroll requirements and how to structure your bets is very good.

One of the most important things about the book is the time Snyder takes to discuss the ways in which different players go about disguising what they are doing. This is critical. The specifics of how certain individuals hide what they do in the casino is interesting, but not what the reader should take away from this discussion. What is important -- nay, *critical* -- is that readers learn that as professional players, they will exert quite a bit of energy disguising what they are doing. It turns out that counting is a necessary, but by no means sufficient condition for winning money in casinos today. Snyder is refreshingly honest about this.

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 hi-lo lite is a solid, straightforward count. Learn it *well*, learn the few index numbers that Snyder provide, and you will be well on your way. The discussion about bet sizing is quite good.

2 - The meta-value of this book is very high. Snyder is honest about the difficulties involved in beating the game, and in this sense the book does not motivate the way, say "Playing Blackjack as a Business" does. However, Snyder's discussions on the "act" and the need for players to disguise what they are doing are just as important and relevant today as they were in 1983, when "Blackbelt in Blackjack" was first published.

The Ultimate Edge

Unlike many of the other blackjack books on the market, "Blackbelt in Blackjack" provides a no-nonsense guide to proven tactics that put the odds in your favor. The chapters begin with the basic strategy tables and lead up to advanced, but suprisingly simple, card counting methods. This book is great for beginners and intermediate players alike. If you want to become a more serious blackjack player, this is a great way to start

The book itself is full of information, but not as much as I was hoping. Snyder promotes his counting systems and doesn't go into as much detail on other topics as I had hoped. But it's still a good book.