Guerrilla Gambling (Paperback)

by Frank Scoblete (Author)
Key Phrases: guerrilla gambler, guerrilla poker, guerrilla craps, Alan Tinker, Las Vegas, Atlantic City (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Guerrilla Gambling: How to Beat the Casinos at Their Own Games! offers players not only winning strategies but also wonderful techniques for getting more comps for less risk. It teaches you how to take advantage of the casinos without the casinos taking advantage of you.

Product Details

• Paperback: 339 pages
• Publisher: Bonus Books (October 25, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1566250277
• ISBN-13: 978-1566250276
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (57 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #236,714 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars He's got the right idea, May 15, 2005

By	Corey Preuss "Corey P." (Milwaukee, WI USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

After reading this book about 4 or 5 times over, I've come to the conclusion that this is a decent book, and I emphasize decent. It isn't anything extraordinary or amazing, it is a solid book that teaches you how to gamble smart. The common misconception that people have when buying gambling books is they think they are going to get some magical betting system that will gaurantee them a win every time they step into a casino. Sorry guys, but that's not going to happen. The sooner you you realize that, the better.

What Scoblete does is he teaches you the basic fundamentals of all the general games(and some that I've never even heard of) and provides the best possible strategies for all of them. His sections on blackjack and craps are the best. So if those are your games(which they should be if you're a serious gambler) then I would highly recommend this book to you. Some people laugh at his 5 count pass and come strategy, but after playing it and researching it, I found that it actually works. What is most misunderstood about this system is that it doesn't help you win so much as it helps you avoid losing by not betting during cold streaks. All the math jockeys out there will tell you that you can't predict when streaks will occur, that a seven can come up at any time no matter when you bet, and by using this system it will not mathematically improve your odds, and they're right. BUT, at the same time, it will not reduce your odds of winning either since his system incorporates the use of craps' basic strategy anyway by betting the pass line and come and taking the odds. It merely stretches your bankroll so you can play for a longer period of time and, as a result, rake in more comps.

Finding a biased wheel IS the only way to beat roulette and it has been proven that biased wheels DO exist by testimonials I have heard from casino managers from several Las Vegas casinos. But it sounds like too much work for a game that is so hard to beat. Especially when you can just walk ten feet away and play craps for better odds. The chapter on the 'Day in the Life of a Guerrilla Gambler' is entertaining but I wouldn't go as far to say that you could make an entire movie out of it(like some of the other reviews have suggested), considering it's only 35 pages long and the average movie script is about 200 pages long. But Scoblete is an outstanding writer. The chapters on comps, gambling myths, bankroll management, and the ten commandments of gambling are very good. The chapters on roulette, baccarat, pai gow and video poker are adequate.(I didn't even bother reading the chapter on slot machines.)

There are two reasons why I gave this book 4 stars in stead of five. The first reason is that he has a 27 page chapter on all of the junky carnival games people play(caribbean stud, sic bo, super pan nine, etc). He explains each game in light detail, tells you the optimal strategy for it, and then follows it up by telling you to avoid playing these games at all cost. It just seems like a waste of a chapter. If you're suppose to avoid these games in the first place, you don't need to waste your time learning them. The second reason I gave this book 4 stars is because it has a terrible poker section. Scoblete makes it painfully obvious that poker is not his game of choice, plus poker is way too complex of a game to be taught in a simple sixteen page chapter. His poker section is only for severe amateurs. If you want to become a poker pro, I would suggest Doyle Brunson's SUPER SYSTEM and David Sklansky's THEORY OF POKER.

In conclusion, if you want to learn how to play quick and smart at all of the general casino games, this is a very good book and I would definitely recommend it(pro or amateur), especially for its price. I know this was a long tutorial, but I thank anyone and everyone who had the discipline to sit and read the entire thing, and I hope you found my input useful.

24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Beginning of A Gambler's Education Starts Here, June 14, 2001

By	"[e-mail]" (New York, New York) - See all my reviews

Frank Scoblete is the best known and most honored of today's gambling writers. He understands all the games,has a firm grasp of the math behind the casinos' edges and thoroughly understands the proper strategies to employ for each and every casino game. This book should be the first gambling book you read as it explains in detail how the games are played, then goes into how the casino achieves its edge, and, finally, how to employ the correct strategy to either reduce that edge or get the edge for the player.

Since this book covers every game, you might want to pursue other reading when you are done with it. I would recommend that blackjack players get Scoblete's "Best Blackjack" and "Knockout Blackjack" by Fuchs and Vancura; roulette players should get Scoblete's "Spin Roulette Gold"; Caribbean Stud, Three Card Poker and Let It Ride players would do well with Scoblete's excellent book "Bold Card Play"; slot players must read "Break the One-Armed Bandits" by Scoblete and "The Slot Answer Book" by John Growchowski; video poker players should get Scoblete's "Victory at Video Poker"; baccarat players will love Scoblete's "Baccarat Battle Book" and John May's "Baccarat for the Clueless." Craps players must read Scoblete's craps trilogy: "Beat the Craps Out of the Casinos," "The Captain's Craps Revolution," and "Forever Craps."

I have in my library over fifty gambling books. I believe that "Guerrilla Gambling" is the best book ever written on the subject of casino games. However, Scoblete's followup books on individual games are often the best book in their individual categories with few exceptions.

If you have never read a casino games book but you want a firm grounding in the games, Scoblete is the author to read. He is first rate and deserves his position at the top of the gambling hierarchy.

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best Gambling Book Ever Written, March 12, 1999

By A Customer

In my opinion this book is the one indispensable book to read before you go to a casino. I read it before I go to the casinos because it gets me thinking in the right way. Scoblete is a dynamic writer and probably the best gambling writer of all time. This book covers all the games and has some of the best strategies I have ever encountered. What really makes the book special arehis stories. I loved his last chapter "A Day In The Life of a Guerrilla Gambler" where he recounts his adventures on a single day in Las Vegas. You must get this book if you want to be prepared to take on the casinos.