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Thread: Jerry: First Books

  1. #1
    Jerry
    Guest

    Jerry: First Books

    Could someone give me a list of the beginner, intermediate, and advanced books that I should be looking at? I am not exactly new to basic strategy but want to be a more serious player.

  2. #2
    Parker
    Guest

    Parker: BJ Books

    > Could someone give me a list of the
    > beginner, intermediate, and advanced books
    > that I should be looking at? I am not
    > exactly new to basic strategy but want to be
    > a more serious player.

    Any of the following are good to start with:

    Blackbelt in Blackjack by Arnold Snyder

    Professional Blackjack by Stanford Wong

    Knockout Blackjack by Ken Fuchs and Olaf Vancura

    Blackbelt . . . covers the Red 7 and Zen counts, Prof . . . covers Hi-lo and Halves, and of course, Knock . . . covers the Knockout, or KO, system. All these books cover basic strategy, bankroll requirements, and other aspects of advantage play as well.

    Once you have mastered basic strategy and learned a counting system, consider:

    Blackjack Attack, 2nd ed by Don Schlesinger

    Theory of Blackjack by Peter Griffin

    Beyond Counting by James Grosjean

    Blackjack in the Zone by Rick "Night Train" Blaine

    These are just a sampling - I apologize in advance for offending anyone by leaving out their favorite book.

    You can never have too many blackjack books - I presently have upwards of 30, and will undoubtedly buy more.

    Avoid anything by John Patrick, Jerry Patterson, or John Scarne. Actually, Patrick's strategies are so bad that, combined with his hackneyed egocentric writing style, they make for some pretty humorous reading for the player who knows how the game really should be played.

    But don't even think of actually using his strategies in a real casino with your own money!

  3. #3
    LVBear584
    Guest

    LVBear584: One more to avoid

    Parker wrote:

    > Avoid anything by John Patrick, Jerry
    > Patterson, or John Scarne. Actually,
    > Patrick's strategies are so bad that,
    > combined with his hackneyed egocentric
    > writing style, they make for some pretty
    > humorous reading for the player who knows
    > how the game really should be played.

    Also avoid anything by Richard Harvey.

  4. #4
    Moose
    Guest

    Moose: One more to try..

    Jerry,

    look up "Million Dollar Blackjack" by Ken Uston. The strategies and counts given are really obsolete, but the book has amazing entertainment value with all the tales of the swashbuckling adventure.

    Welcome aboard!

    M.

  5. #5
    Loco
    Guest

    Loco: One slight disagreement

    > Avoid anything by John Patrick, Jerry
    > Patterson, or John Scarne.

    I agree that most of what Jerry Patterson has written is crap. However, the first edition of his Blackjack: A Winner's Handbook was actually a decent book. I picked up a copy of it almost 25 years ago, took his advice, and ordered a copy of Professional Blackjack from the Gambler's Bookstore. What's sad about Patterson is that I think that he knows that the systems he endorses are worthless, but that he promotes them because they appeal to casual gamblers, who are far more numerous than serious players.

  6. #6
    Parker
    Guest

    Parker: True

    Patterson was indeed orginally one of the "good guys," prior to his endorsement of the "Target" system. Ken Uston spoke highly of him in his books, and Don Schlesinger used to work with him.

    However, rather than trying to explain that pre-Target Patterson is okay, but new Patterson is bad, I simply advise people looking for books to avoid Patterson, since there are plenty of good books around, and besides, who wants to give money to someone who insists on promoting a bogus system?

  7. #7
    Moose
    Guest

    Moose: Patterson has truly fallen from grace.

    Although I have personally read Patterson's original Blackjack: a Winner's Handbook, it's the way he's turned his back on the truth just to schuck his snake oil.

    I wouldn't have any problem with someone selling a progression blackjack system and telling the truth, even if in a positive light, something like "This system will not put the odds in your favor in the long run, but if you go to the casino for two hours with $100 that you are prepared to lose, 80% of the time you will walk away a winner!" - then I'd have no problem with that.

    But when he starts bad-mouthing card-counting as invalid, and perverting the same math and science that was once his guiding light, then I have a problem.

    .. which is why I will never give a dollar again to anything Patterson. I'm sure if ol' St. Uston could, he'd climb out of the grave just to rescind his endorsement.

    M.

  8. #8
    Claymore22
    Guest

    Claymore22: I, too, got started with Jerry Patterson

    "A Winner's Handbook" was pretty good stuff, and I attended one of his schools before he went Target-mad. At "school," I got a solid foundation in the fundamentals of, first, BS, then, card-counting.

    When Jerry went "bad," it was actually in pursuit of what we now call shuffle-tracking--he actually did some seminal work in this method--in an effort to find a way to attack the proliferation of shoe games.

    But, alas, you all are right--he then ended up selling the Target system, which I will in no way defend (either the system or his decision to market it to the exclusion of all else--well, almost everything else... there's even a Target sys for craps and horse/sports betting, I think).

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