Customer Reviews

Playing Blackjack As A Business

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

As a Las Vegas pit boss for over 25 years, I can tell you Lawrence Revere's book "Playing Blackjack As A Business" is simply the best ever written. I had the privilege of asking Mr. Revere to leave our casino on two occasions. Not only was he the best, but he was a master of disquise. His book was and still is the "Bible" of blackjack couting, basic straegy and money management. Today, there are many "wan-a-be" card counters but only a select few can test pit bosses like myself. They usually give themselves away by being too greedy and tripling their wagers on a plus 10 deck or spreading their wagers to two or three spots. Or, they might take insurance with a stiff hand, surrender always correctly or double that A-7. We simply tell the dealer to shuffle up or cut the shoe in half and even the most moronic card counters get the hint and leave. But, Lawrence Revere was a 21 legend and wrote a book that was simple enough for anyone to understand. I highly recommend it to anyone who takes the game of blackjack seriously. Just using his basic strategy and money management tips will improve your game immediately.

I was introduced to this book in 1972 whilst applying for a casino job in Tehran, of all places, and a few years later when I began playing serious BJ myself, I would have given it 4 stars but with some reluctance because, aside from the good parts, it also contains a lot of gamblers superstition and questionable advice.

Revere's book was a breakthrough in that it was written for the player who wanted a clear and concise book on "how to win" rather than Thorpe ("Beat the Dealer")desire to demonstate how terribly clever he was. Unlike say Allan Wilsons "Casino Gamblers Guide" (see my review) the text is poorly written but, most importantly and memorably it did have excellent colour-coded strategy charts - it was this feature more than anything else which I believe made the book such a success.

On the debit side I would agree with the 2-star reviewer below that LR's agenda was to sell his much-touted "superior strategies", the mastery of which according to him, would double or triple your win-rate. I fell for this sales pitch and sent him another $200 (a lot of money at the time) - plus an extra $50 for the "no-hole card strategy", which consisted of a scrap of typed paper containing half a dozen numbers and no explanatory notes. His so-called "advanced point-count" was highly over-rated and his promised "after-sales service" non-existent. Besides, I soon discovered that going from a simple one-level count to an "advanced" multi-level count produces marginal gain at best, esp in multi-deck games. After expressing my dissatisfaction by letter, LR wrote a curt one-line reply on a businesscard..! Such was his brusque manner.

Most of LR's strategies and experience refer to the now rare single-deck game - sure you can still find them but if you bet more than a quarter and appear to know what you are doing you will certainly get "heat" and probably have the deck broken on you. He appeared to have very little if any experience of even 4-deck games let alone the now much more common 6 or more decks. His very conservative bet-spread was also based on a single deck game and would have been useless applied to 4 or more decks, but this fact was glossed over.

In Revere's day (the 60's and early `70's), the game was far easier to beat - more and better decision options, much deeper penetration, and much less scrutiny ("heat") for counters than is the case today. In this respect the 5-star review below by the "Las Vegas pit boss of 25 years" is inexplicable and totally unrealistic. LR also virtually ignored the fact (as do most other BJ books written for the US market) that in most of the world the dealer doesn't take a hole card - this apparently "minor" rule change makes a big difference to the basic strategy when playing against a dealers 10 or Ace.

I don't doubt that Revere was quite successful at the tables, but nowhere near as much as he makes out. In his day single-deck BJ was (relatively-speaking) easy to beat, there were very few counters, and dealers and pit-bosses weren't as paranoid about counters as they were to become, largely as a result of this book. I would wager that LR made much more money selling his books and strategies than he ever did from playing.

I don't know whether Revere's heirs (he died in the late `70's) are still selling their expensive "advanced strategies" but if they are - send me your money instead - I'll give you far better value and advice. Unless newer editions of his book have corrected these deficiencies, then this book is all but useless for the modern "tough" multi-deck casino environment.

I first read this book in 1975 in my quest to become an accomplished card counter. At that time and even today it is the best book I read on learning the fundamentals of card counting. The part of the book on learning Basic Strategy and its importance are the best of any book available on the marketplace even today in 2001. At that time the author Lawrence Revere was selling his Advanced Point Count System and other BJ systems. He overrated his Advanced Point Count System. He had used Juliet Braun a computer programmer with IBM to compile all the data in devising this system. What he says about the Advanced Point Count System is way overrated and the majority of top expert BJ authorities believe the simple point count system as being the best because of its simplicity. Other than that the book is a classic and very well written. It is a must for anyone who wants to learn to be an expert card counter and I would rate it as a five star recommendation.

Other than the Hi-Opt Ken Uston method, this is one of the best blackjack systems available. Definitely for the serious player. The book starts with simple counting and progresses through several systems each more powerful, which is the great thing about the book, because a player learns in stages, which makes it easier. The greatest thing about the book, it not only teaches you counting and betting strategies, but also how to apply them to different hands. In case you are not aware, after reading the book and perfecting the point-count system, there are 2 additional systems you must learn to truly master the Revere method. These are available at the website. I recommend this for the serious player only, as much time will be needed to master the complete system. Also, this is geared toward single deck play. For the more common multiple deck games, you should read the book, then learn the 2 multiple deck systems from the website (Oh, these systems are very expensive!). The book also stresses that you must play perfectly to win, and that when you do play perfectly, you will not always win. This is a must for any gambling book. Any book that promises quick winnings or riches is not worth reading.

Although Revere's counts aren't as good as some others out there today, this book was the authority on blackjack when it was published. And you know what? It still pretty much is. This is a great book for beginners. The numbers were done by Julian Braun of IBM so the basic strategy is second to none. This book is a must for any player, beginner or advanced!

I've used this book for years as a reference before going anywhere I play Blackjack. Mr. Revere provided color coded, easily understood charts and tables for single and mulitple deck games. He gives basic strategy for each as well as several simple to advanced counting strategies. His rules regarding bet size, betting and playing time are rules to survival at the tables. I may not be getting kicked out of casinos, but I leave with their money 4 out of 5 times and the losses are pocket change compared to the winnings. Mr. Revere has since died, but his knowledge of blackjack is as true today as it was over 20 years ago.

This book is the end-all resource on Blackjack. Not only does the book teach Basic Strategy for single and multiple deck shoes, it teaches 3 different methods of counting. The systems are sound and the book isn't geared toward mathematicians or professional gamblers so that the average person feels stupid after reading it. I have purchased many books on Blackjack and this book is like owning 3 books in 1. It'll teach you the basics, putting these basics to use in a counting situation, and how not to get caught. Well worth the investment.

This is a very good book. Of the five bj books I've read, I'd say that Frank Scoblete's "Best Blackjack" and Fuchs and Vancura "KO" are the best. This is next. The others I read were not as good.

Of all the games in a casino, there is only one that offers the player an opportunity to gain an advantage over the house. That is blackjack. This book will show how to do it. Several years ago I was booked on a family trip with a cruise liner. In anticipation, I bought the book off the shelf after reading the back cover. I took it home and followed L.R.'s instructions about practice & strategy to the letter(I had a couple of months before the cruise). On the cruise I used the strategy and it worked. It worked so well that the pit boss decided to replace the dealer late into the last night of the cruise, just so he could try to trip me up with fast dealing and incessant talking. It was just like an old time movie. I smoked the guy! I only go gambling once avery few months, just because I don't want to get addicted, but I always study my charts and practice before I go. The cost of the book? Less than 1 bet if you are serious!

This book is well written and covers basic through advanced play in a way that should be easy for any level of player to follow. Especially insightful and useful are the charts on strategy. Some people argue some of the concepts in this book are out of date; however, if studied and mastered you should find they still hold true depending on the rules of the particular casino your are playing. It is a worthy complement to other books on the subject written more recently. The more you know and the more you have mastered different stategies the better you play will be. This is a great resource.