Customer Reviews

Winning Casino Blackjack for the Non-Counter -

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(4)
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1 star:		(2)

 

 

Nothing more than an advertisement for his expensive mail-order non-counter strategies. The strategy he claims to present in this book is misrepresented as a non-counting strategy, when in fact it is (he basically says estimate the number of high cards remaining by watching which cards have been played, which is the definition of counting). If you want the actual non-counter strategy, you have to shell out $50 for a mail-order packet. Stay away.

Save your money. Page after page of advertisement for the Cardoza School. If you want to purchase ads, buy this book. The author stops short of giving useful information to hawk his own courses. I quote from page 90:
"Those readers desiring to further their edge over the house in blackjack...must learn either a counting system or the advanced non-counter strategy. See the back of the book for information..."
Buy the book to learn to buy the course. That's all you will learn. This book does not offer any unique information.

Winning Casino Blackjack For The Non-Counter is an introductory book on playing casino blackjack. With its simple easy to understand style, any reader can learn a great deal about the correct way to play each hand and how manage their money wisely. The information about optimal basic strategies will all but eliminate the house advantage for this game. The money management and betting strategy Mr. Cardoza outlines assures that you will be able to stay in the game a long time and capitalize on winning opportunities when they occur.

This title was first printed in 1981 and revised in 1992. The 1992 edition now in its fourth printing, is almost doubled in size from the original edition. For less than three red chips, investing in this book may be the the best bet a player can make in blackjack. After running through how the game is played and the most often found rules variations, Mr. Cardoza explains the general strategic concepts involved in playing hands. It is here that his straightforward writing style is the most helpful to readers.

Without getting hung up in a lot of mathmatics and statistical analysis, Mr. Cardoza presents a clear case for the playing decisions players must make compared to the dealer's up card. Having waded through several of the more "scientific" books, I believe that Mr. Cardoza's conclusions are solidly based on the same statistical analysis as the "scientific" ones but his conclusions are so much easier to understand.

He provides charts showing the hitting, standing, double down and pair splitting plays for each dealer up card. There are charts for single deck and multiple deck games. There are charts tailored to rules variations for games in Northern Nevada, Las Vegas Downtown, Las Vegas Strip, Alantic City, and Europe.

He also includes plays for double down after splitting pairs, late surrender, and early surrender. Pick the place you are going to play, learn the chart for that game, and you have practically eliminated the house edge.

The heart of the book is the betting strategy. It is dependent on your observation of how many low value and/or high value cards have been played. Mr. Cardoza offers five guidelines on how to have an edge over the casino through these observations. You're not counting the cards but you do have to pay attention to the game.

Pay close attention to the money management chapter. Any experienced player will tell you that you need to be able to stay in the game until winning situations (when the player has an advantage) occur. The sections on bankrolling, minimizing losses, and maxinizing gains is especially helpful.

This book is a good starting point for recreational players and tourists. The information is solid and beginning players that don't want to count will be helped many times over the price of the book.

When I made my first trip to Las Vegas over 10 years ago, I was lucky enought to find this book in the bookstore, insightful enough to buy it and terrified enough of losing money to read it and put it into practice. Since that time I've play tens of thousands of hands of blackjack in casinos all over the Western Hemisphere. I've also bought and read lots of other books on Blackjack. This one is without question the best.

It gives good introductory information on how to play winning blackjack. It covers basic strategy, money management and other fundamentals in a clear, concise way. He explains the strategy in such a way that it's easy to understand and REMEMBER. And he leaves out a lot of the non-sense and self promotion garbage you get in a lot of other books.

Even though I have a rather large library of blackjack books now, I still find myself throwing this one into my bag to read as a refresher on the plane trip to Vegas.

It's not meant to be the be-all-end-all book on blackjack and it shouldn't be judged as if it were. There will come a point, if you get serious enough about the game, that you'll want a more advanced book. This is the best book I've found however to give you the "blocking and tackling" fundamentals of blackjack.

This is an awesome book for those who want to win at Blackjack but don't want to learn the math behind card counting. You won't win every hand (if you did, you should write a book). But, this book explains how to win overall at the tables in plain and simple english. It goes into the basics of the game, terminology, the strategies and ideas behind playing against the dealer, has charts on what to do based on different casino rules, and touches on how to and how much to bet. I've seen different charts and strategies but the ones in this book did the best for me. A must read for every Blackjack player who wants to win at the tables.

After reading, playing, and re-reading, I got it. This book spells out the rules which, if applied rigorously, allow you to slow the bleeding tremendously and perhaps win consistently. I have been in black for my last 4 outings.

This is a good reference for non-counting BJ player.

Winning Casino Blackjack for the Non-Counter is a great strategy book for blackjack beginners. It gives comprehensive charts detailing which moves to make, but more importantly, explains the charts in understandable language.

I've tried other blackjack books, but they all just gave charts with no explanations. This one explains each move so you understand exactly why you make it, which makes it easier to remember at the casino!

This is the first blackjack book I ever used and it was a great starting point. Since then I've gone through a few more books and at my times at the casino, I made a killing! I highly recommend this book for anyone looking to start playing this game.

Those who know basic strategy and count cards will not benefit much from this book, except possibly as a refresher, but for those starting out it is invaluable. It is better to become familiar with the rules of blackjack before you step into a casino, rather than learn at the tables, and this book is a great way to start. Basic strategy, something every blackjack player should know, is covered thoroughly. All reputable blackjack writers acknowledge the need to know basic strategy cold, which you can do if you study this book.

I have accumulated quite a library of Blackjack books and what I like about this one in particular is it does a better job than many of explaining basic strategy. Many books on the subject only provide a series of confusing charts without going into exactly how each dealer upcard affects the decision the player needs to make.

The author takes you through each upcard and player's total and explains precisely WHY hitting, standing, doubling or splitting is the best move. Once a player understands exactly whats at work here, it makes a somewhat complicated basic strategy a lot easier to memorize.

Obviously a book for beginners, it also makes an excellent refresher for those looking to master the game better. Plus the book's simple, easy-to read style avoids over-complicated formulas and explanations. I highly recommend it!