Customer Reviews

Beat the Dealer: A Winning Strategy for the Game of Twenty-One

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The basic strategy can be learned in just a few days of practicing. The high/low method of counting can be learned just as easily. When you combine the two, and vary your bets accordingly, the house no longer has an advantage.

I used the basic strategy and the high/low count methods taught in THIS BOOK only, and stuck strictly to the strategy one weekend. I started with $250.00 betting $10 per hand and won over $20,000 in 17 hours. By the end I was playing three hands at a time of $250 minimum on each hand. I was amazed at how well the strategy worked for me.

The book is wonderful and entertaining even if you don't plan to play any. The stories are great. Highly recommend it.

This book explains the history of how card counting started and details the strategy that he used. I think the book is interesting cause it is not just a manual on how to count cards it also tells a story on how Mr. Thorp tested his theory in vegas.
If you like this book I would also recommend getting "Bringing the house down" which is a book about some people that utilized Mr. Thorps techniques to win a lot of money if vegas.

One of the best books written on blackjack!
This is the book that started the whole counting craze!
A must read for all serious players.

The fact that this book, which was originally published in the 1960s, is still ranked so high in the bestseller lists says something about its historical value in the gambling world.

If you've ever had any interest in card counting (which accounts for many people since the successful ride of "Bringing Down the House"), this book is definitely worth picking up -- especially at its small price.

Much of the information is outdated, but to actually relive the earliest stages of basic strategy and card counting is pretty freakin' cool. For the blackjack enthusiast, this book won't disappoint.

This book is of historical importance because it is the first book written, as it is the oldest, with a viable counting system. A must have for your blackjack library. I also recommend, for modern games, Gregorian Strategy for multiple deck blackjack.

This book started it all. Before this book, only a very few people knew about card counting, and most only had primitive systems. Thorp analyzed the game, ran computer simulations, and devised two effective strategies for beating the casinos at their own games.

Can you run out and use these systems today against the casinos? Sure, but over 30 years have gone by and there are now simpler more effective systems. But if you are naturally gifted at doing complex calculations in your head quickly, I think the 10 count system would still be wickedly effective.

Buy it for the theory and the stories. Then go out and buy a newer book with simpler more modern counting systems.

If you are looking to learn blackjack for the first time or even if you are an intermediate player, I would not recommend this as the book to read. You should read Frank Scoblete's BEST BLACKJACK which teaches a much simpler and easier to learn card counting system. Also, Scoblete's book is a lot more fun. But Thorp is the genius who invented card counting and his book is a must as background.

The cover of the book brilliantly displays a variation of the game called double exposure, among other names. Both of the dealer's cards are exposed for the players to see. This may seem like a great advantage to the player until you consider that pushes loss. This, along with whatever other restrictions may be placed on the players by the house for knowing what the dealer has, such as doubling only on 10 and 11. Also, when the player has a 19 looking at a dealer's 20 the player will have no choice but to hit a hard 19. Beat the Dealer explains the importance of rule variations. Take it from a dealer, read this book.

The cover of the book brilliantly displays a variation of the game called double exposure, among other names. Both of the dealer's cards are exposed for the players to see. This may seem like a great advantage to the player until you consider that pushes loss. This, along with whatever other restrictions may be placed on the players by the house for knowing what the dealer has, such as doubling only on 10 and 11. Also, when the player has a 19 looking at a dealer's 20 the player will have no choice but to hit a hard 19. Beat the Dealer explains the importance of rule variations. Take it from a dealer, read this book.

So the book supposedly is the genesis of card counting and I guess that makes it a "must have" for degenerate gamblers. But has anyone else noticed the cover? You have the player on the cover's left side taking a hit after both of the dealer's cards have been turned over. I would like to think we could all develop a pretty coherent strategy for winning against a dealer hand if we could hit after seeing what he has. Sadly, this book is just like the cover: all nonsense.