Haha, that's hilarious. You definitely had the right company! If you'd been with me, you would have looked around only to find my half way down the street running as quickly as possible! When the going gets tough, the toad gets going!!Originally Posted by shadroch
A Review of "... Free Waters"
I own nearly every English language book ever published on the subject of Blackjack.
I even have reprints from the archives of the Special Collection at the University of Nevada at Las Vegas.
There are a handful of excellent books and there are numerous mediocre books that are unworthy of comment.
this book belongs in neither category.
This falls under the heading of (inky)kindling or (dead) fish wrap.
Supposedly, Mr W. is telling the truth about his BJ experiences.
That is dubious at best.
I spent (wasted) my time reading the first 1/3 of the book.
As boring as his book is, and it is largely an autobiography
of someone who has nothing interesting to relate.
There are endless errors when it comes to Blackjack.
e.g. He states that the PROPER Basic Strategy is to HIT 13 vs. a dealer 2.
He profoundly overbets, e.g. thinking that a True Count of +2 or +3 (Hi-Lo)
in a second-rate 8 decker is sufficient reason for jubilantly shoving out big bets.
He even talks about making "extra bets" at a T.C. of +1 early in a 6 decker.
At one point he states that "... Six and a half decks remained."
A Running Count of +9 [The True Count should be "floored" to +1]
The author states that it was time to "triple" his bet.
He had just hit a 16 vs. 10 at a positive count, adding, nonsensically,
"It was positive so I just knew that I'd get a Face Card."
He attacks a $25 game with a $500 trip bankroll, and moves to a $50 game with $750.
Fifteen Units ! Whiskey. Tango. Foxtrot. [W. T. F.]
He claims that on a Carnival Cruise Line there were 25 BJ tables.
Is that correct ?
He claims that about a decade ago the Sandia casino had
followed the "trend" of offering bottled water to the patrons.
In the 1980's water was ubiquitous, from Caesars Palace to filthy rural truck-stops.
Has anyone ever experienced otherwise ?
At one point he describes the first time he played BJ where he plays
heads-up and pushes the dealer's BJ and somehow is incapable of
rendering a running count of -4 .
I decided not to give all the page numbers, but nearly all of my citations are found between pp. 59 and 97
Most distastefully, he tells a tale of how he cheated in a BJ tournament. And so he did. Unabashedly.
My opinion, unsolicited, is that this book is To Be Avoided . . .
. . . by anyone who lacks BJ expertise or is simply gullible.
Last edited by ZenMaster_Flash; 05-21-2013 at 02:16 PM.
Enuff sugar coating. Tell us how you really feel?
I don't think this book was written as a text book to teach anyone how to play BJ. This is the tale of a mans experiences in and around casinos. I found it quite enjoyable, even though I did notice an error or two. Take the stick out of your posterior and read it for what it is meant to be. A fun read about some casino experiences. Not so tome on when to bet what on every hand.
I didn't appreciate all his plays, and suspect a few tales are exaggerated, but who really cares? It is true he has nothing to teach an experienced AP, but so what?
He has a nice writing style and made me interested in mundane things like living alone after sharing a home with a family for so long.
I don't get why he focused so much on smoking, but even that section flowed fairly nicely.
Let me die in my sleep like my Grandfather.
Not screaming in agony like his passengers.
^+1
The book isn't meant to teach anyone how to play the game. It's a comedy book about experiences. Yes there are blackjack errors in it, but the point of the book was to be funny and tell stories. What business is it of anyone's how someone else plays blackjack?
Zen,
You better believe that you will be sitting at the table at times with people you are scared of,,I play a fair amount in Detroit,,,need I say more. At those times it is far better to leave a table, because some people are GOING to have an influence on your AP plays!
Ouchez
I did not plan on telling of this incident that recently went down at a BJ table. I was playing my usual game, heavy indices and another feature I use when called for-- that seems to irritate some people, I take some guff for it but generally let it slide. This particular session was different, a gent playing with 2 friends, for sure at least 20 years younger and a bigger guy, shaved head, sorta badazz wanna be I figured, told me 3 times in one shoe that he would "knock me cold", for doing this particular play I use, not even an indice play, but an offered feature of the game there,,,well I was quiet when he said it, and he may have thought his display of disrespect was going to be overlooked by this much older guy,,,but that was something I could never let slide,,,I quickly ran through my mind different combat scenarios, this was indeed what I knew was coming at one time or another in my BJ career, not that I wanted it, but,,, an all out fight on the casino floor, at a BJ table, because I have always said, never take it outside!
So here I am, the moment of truth, be a man, or be a puzzy,,,I am ready to go all out, win or lose, my honor rides on this moment,,the Azz get's up from the table and turns to look at his smart phone, when he looks up, I am standing inches from him, arms crossed, looking into his eyes, I say,"three times you said you would knock me cold, I am here and let's do it"! He looks shocked, and stammers "No, No, I did not mean that, let's just forget it", two more times I repeat the challenge, since he threatened me 3 times, each time "No,No, just forget it", so I go get a coffee and come back and continue play, only to be asked by the pit, why I threatened to beat up the player,,,the tough guy sobbed to the pit while I went to get coffee!
I am getting very near the point of thinking I have had enough of all this Bull-Sh#t.
Glenn, you tell good stories, you clearly are an original, and I think Zen Master Flash is just not in a good mood this evening.
Ouchez
Last edited by Ouchez; 05-22-2013 at 04:29 AM. Reason: spelling
I welcome all critiques of my book, ZenMaster_Flash, whether they are good or bad. Richard Munchkin gave me a similar review, focusing on the 20% of the book that was instructional or factual, not the 80% that was humorous. I told him it was like someone reviewing the Bible by saying, “The weather conditions were always horrid and the main characters were poorly dressed. Also, the food and beverage choices at the last supper leave something to be desired.” Did you laugh at the stories even once? If not, I'll give your money back...and thank the heavens that I wasn't born with your sense of humor.
I learned many things while counting cards in the early goings...proper money management being the most critical. My game is much better now, but the book is factual because of how the 864 casino visits happened, not for how they SHOULD'VE happened.
Glen
P.S. You forgot to mention that I misspelled Adam Sander's (sic) name in "The Puppies" story. Two professional editors and I missed it in several rounds of editing.
Last edited by glenwiggy; 05-21-2013 at 09:00 PM.
Agreed... way over. I enjoyed Glen's post as well-written light entertainment. Pity some responders went off track.Reminded me of the time I lolled when a Hell's Angels biker hit his 16 V 6 and busted with a face. "So you think me losing is funny, eh, ahole?" he fumed. "You goin down, boy."
I moved tables and forgot about him. Hours later in the carpark, I get to my car and suddenly notice I am surrounded by 43 bikers ready to clobber me with iron bars, machetes and tyre levers. Oh and jimmy bars.
Instinct kicked in and I kicked the biggest, meanest tthrree of them closest, before - with my usual lightening speed - decked another 19 before they knew what was happening. The remainder fled to save their sorry asses.
To this day, the local cops have this famous unsolved case here: 37 Hells Angels beaten to death in casino carpark. I know I can trust you to keep this quiet.
Kat,
Damn, you are one "NBK"!!You almost topped Shad's story, but we all know little Puerto-rican boys are far more of a threat than Nasty Bikers
But then again, it is not about winning or losing confrontations, it's all about respect for oneself and others.
Friend,
Ouchez
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