Blackjack Strategy: Tips and Techniques for Beating the Odds [Paperback]

Michael Benson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 2000

There is only one casino game in which a player, if he plays perfectly, can gain a mathematical advantage over the house. That game is blackjack. Blackjack Strategy teaches you everything you need to know to fatten your wallet and have a good time at the tables. At last, here is an easy-to-understand guide to blackjack's basic strategy and card counting. Michael Benson explains when to take a hit, when to stand, when to split, and when to double-down - and how all these decisions are influenced by the card count. Included are: a comprehensive list of blackjack rules, including those particular to specific casinos, regions, and foreign countries; how to avoid the surveillance techniques houses use to weed out card counters; inside tips from the professionals; a money management guide to maximize winnings and minimize losses; and 40 strategy charts. Blackjack Strategy is entirely up-to-date for today's casino play and, unlike many other blackjack guides, doesn't require a mathematician's skill to comprehend. (51/2 X 81/4, 176 pages, diagrams, charts)

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

There is only one casino game in which a player, if he plays perfectly, can gain a mathematical advantage over the house. That game is blackjack.Blackjack Strategy teaches you everything you need to know to fatten your wallet and have a good time at the tables. At last, here is an easy-to-understand guide to blackjack's basic strategy and card counting. Michael Benson explains when to take a hit, when to stand, when to split, and when to double-down - and how all these decisions are influenced by the card count. Included are: a comprehensive list of blackjack rules, including those particular to specific casinos, regions, and foreign countries; how to avoid the surveillance techniques houses use to weed out card counters; inside tips from the professionals; a money management guide to maximize winnings and minimize losses; and 40 strategy charts.Blackjack Strategy is entirely up-to-date for today's casino play and, unlike many other blackjack guides, doesn't require a mathematician's skill to comprehend. (51/2 X 81/4, 176 pages, diagrams, charts)

About the Author

Michael Benson is the author of sixteen books, including Craps Strategy and Essential Bowling.

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 176 pages
• Publisher: The Lyons Press; 1st edition (June 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1585740268
• ISBN-13: 978-1585740260
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.4 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,299,776 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good overview of the basic Blackjack strategy, May 27, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Blackjack Strategy: Tips and Techniques for Beating the Odds (Paperback)

Blackjack Strategy is a good overview of the game. The book starts with a brief history of the game and then quickly moves on to the "Basic Strategy" of Blackjack, i.e. minimizing your disadvantage.

The chapter on the basic strategy is enough to make you confident enough to tackle any Blackjack table without looking foolish. It will teach you when to hit, stand, double down, etc...

The next few chapters go on to describe a basic card counting strategy. It is easy enough to understand but if you are looking for some serious information on card counting this book will probabaly not be good enough by itself.

Overall the book was a quick read and easy to comprehend. If you are about to hit the Blackjack tables and want an understanding of the game and its strategies I would recommend reading this book before hand. This book is also a good reference with many tables in the appendix. You can easily read it in one sitting. If you are looking for a meaty book with ton's of detailed information you may want to look elsewhere.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Blackjack Strategy gives you what you need to get out there, August 13, 2002

By 

"aaamazon" (Livermore, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Blackjack Strategy: Tips and Techniques for Beating the Odds (Paperback)

This is a good book that can give beginners a good introduction to black jack and some of the casino rules. For non-beginners (people with some "know how") there is plenty of material to.

It gives you an overview of gambling/black jack history (very brief but interesting) and it tells you some of the "unwritten" rules that only people that visit casinos know. It provides you with fundamental rules, reference tables for different scenarios and advance techniques.

To the bottom line... I follow the book direction and it helped me to make enough money that my trip to Vegas was pretty much free. For my first attempt at black jack obviously I am happy, and I plan to read it again and check the advanced material for my next trip.

Finally, Black Jack is a lot more fun and intense than the roulette or the coin machines.