Blackjack Books

[Bones920]

Any advice own which books to buy? I have an ok understanding of the game but would like to be getting the best of it. thank you

[istewart]

Sklansky.

[playersare]

it doesn't sound like you're a card counter or even a solid basic strategy player yet, so here are my suggestions:

for generic basic strategy, the best overall value might be the American Casino Guide by Steve Bourie. in my opinion, too many blackjack books on the market that are supposedly geared towards rank beginners delve into card counting halfway into the book for no good reason except to pad the spine thickness. a perfectly useful blackjack 101 book need not be more than 20 pages long (Basil Nestor's $5 Smarter Bet Guide is perfectly fine in this aspect), and I think the charts in the ACG are the easiest to read and many recreational players will never need to go beyond that to be happy (and not go broke either!) For $17, the AGC also includes $1000 worth of casino coupons which will easily pay for the book's cost and then some.

for the super budget deal you can just print out the strat charts for free at www.blackjackinfo.com and then practice drilling on their flash game simulator. give yourself 10 hours at that and you'll be playing better than 99% of the people who step into casinos anywhere in the world.

if you've mastered basic strategy already and are looking to increase your edge even more using card counting and other auxiliary skills, then I would read the following books in this order (my opinion):

1. Blackjack Bluebook II by Fred Renzey - enhanced basic strategy, hand interaction, front counts

2. Knock-Out Blackjack by Vancura/Fuchs - unbalanced count and preferred betting and strategy variation

3. Professional Blackjack by Stanford Wong - Hi-Lo count with full strategy indexes. the gold standard

[As Zehn]

Where do you play on-line or b & m?. Single deck or shoe games? What are the rules? What is your experience and bankroll? How involved do you want to get?

[Isura]

check out www.bj21.com if you are serious about the game. They have a "green chip" member section which is the blackjack equivalent of twoplustwo. The free message boards are also quite useful. Try Knockout Blackjack or Blackjack Bluebook II for basic card counting systems. Blackjack Bluebook II is better IMO, it has good coverage of basic blackjack concepts and basic strategy charts/explanations.

[Joe B.]

Blackjack Bluebook II

do i need to get the first one too if i get Blackjack Bluebook II ?

i just got Knockout Blackjack, is it good to get Knockout Blackjack too?

thanks

[playersare]

[ QUOTE ]
do i need to get the first one too if i get Blackjack Bluebook II ?

[/ QUOTE ]
I dont think the first edition is still in print. Blackjack Bluebook II should have everything that BB1 had and then some.

[ QUOTE ]
i just got Knockout Blackjack, is it good to get Knockout Blackjack too?

[/ QUOTE ]
it can't hurt but if you're happy with basic strategy and don't feel the need to whittle away at that remaining 0.5% edge that the casino still has (offset by the 0.25 - 0.33% you're getting back in comps), then you many not actually end up using it in the long run. more money has been lost by players who try and count cards and fail, than money that is saved by just sticking to basic strategy and succeeding.

[Joe B.]

thanks

so Blackjack Bluebook II is more about strategy then card counting..

is Knockout Blackjack more about strategy or card counting?

i really dont care about card counting. thanks

[playersare]

BBII is probably want you want then. non-counter strategies like hand interaction will cut the casino edge down without increasing your bankroll volatility. and if you do want to try something a little more advanced but not jump into a full fledged counting system, then Renzey's book has it covered as well. you want to make better decisions using just the cards dealt out in the current hand on the table? try the "magnificent 7" rules. you want to see if there's an advantage by only keeping track of the first deck out of a shoe? go for an ace/10 front count. ready for a simple unbalanced level 1 system? read the KISS chapter.

if you are intrigued by the KISS and Mentor count systems, then you might be interested in KO Blackjack at that point. but no other book on the market has the quality "in-between" content that the Renzey book has. Definitely read BBII first.

[Isura]

[ QUOTE ]
BBII is probably want you want then. non-counter strategies like hand interaction will cut the casino edge down without increasing your bankroll volatility. and if you do want to try something a little more advanced but not jump into a full fledged counting system, then Renzey's book has it covered as well. you want to make better decisions using just the cards dealt out in the current hand on the table? try the "magnificent 7" rules. you want to see if there's an advantage by only keeping track of the first deck out of a shoe? go for an ace/10 front count. ready for a simple unbalanced level 1 system? read the KISS chapter.

if you are intrigued by the KISS and Mentor count systems, then you might be interested in KO Blackjack at that point. but no other book on the market has the quality "in-between" content that the Renzey book has. Definitely read BBII first.

[/ QUOTE ]

My sentiments exactly. This book is beautifully organized in stages, so it is useful as you improve your skills and gets more advanced towards the end.