On a rival site earlier in the month, you referred me to BJA3 - I assume this is the 3rd version of BJA - I bought BJA when it first came out and it has less than 300 pages, you referred me to pages 400+ for a compostion dependent strategy for 16 vs 10 - is this info anywhere in the original book?
is there than much more info in the later versions of Bja that it is worth getting if I already have the original
> On a rival site earlier in the month, you referred me
> to BJA3 - I assume this is the 3rd version of BJA
Correct.
> I bought BJA when it first came out
In 1997??? And that's it???!!! You should be profoundly ashamed of yourself. :-)
> and it has less than
> 300 pages,
And a puke-mustard-colored cover that's falling off. :-)
> you referred me to pages 400+ for a
> composition dependent strategy for 16 vs 10 - is this
> info anywhere in the original book?
No.
> is there than much more info in the later versions of
> Bja that it is worth getting if I already have the
> original?
I'm going to be kind and pretend you didn't ask this and that you've just been in a coma the past ten years! :-)
Maybe the following will help:
Second Edition
Since I wrote the above lines, over three years ago, much has happened in the
world of casino gaming, in general, and the dissemination of blackjack information,
in particular. Among the many developments, as mentioned, I now have my own Web
site, ?Don?s Domain,? on the pages of AdvantagePlayer.com. So, it is all the easier
for you to get in touch with me should you have a question requiring an immediate
answer. Of course, with the rapid expansion of the Web have come further projects and
innovations in the fields of blackjack research and software creation. There seems to
be no end to the creativity and resourcefulness of today?s students of the game.
This revised edition of Blackjack Attack is my attempt to keep the material in
the book fresh, current, and as accurate as possible. To this extent, here are some
of the improvements and new features you will find in the second edition: a very
thorough revision of the entire text, with special care taken to correct any typos, errors,
or omissions from the first edition; inclusion, in the highly regarded Chapter 10, of the
entire set of 8-deck charts, to complete the ?World?s Greatest Blackjack Simulation?;
addition of a new Chapter 11 [now Chapter 9 ? D.S.] ? the SCORE article ? which
first appeared on Arnold Snyder?s Web site in March 1999; a brand-new Chapter 12
[now Chapter 13 ? D.S.], reflecting the latest cutting-edge research in the areas of
optimal shoe-departure points and risk-averse strategies; chapter titles added to the
tops of all odd-numbered pages, for easier referencing; a revised bibliography and
an expanded, more complete, index; finally, a completely new cover, of the highest
quality, sporting an entirely new look and design!
I hope you will enjoy this second edition of Blackjack Attack: Playing the Pros?
Way.
Don Schlesinger
New York, June 2000
Third Edition ? Hardcover
There is much to be excited about in this third, ?Ultimate Weapon,? edition of
Blackjack Attack. As the subtitle suggests, I have tried to cram in the pages of this one
volume an incredible amount of highly sophisticated blackjack information. To that
end, I have eagerly sought the advice and collaboration of some of the keenest minds
in the area of blackjack research, and together, we have broken new ground in several
ways.
Here, then, are the major additions and improvements to be found in this third
edition: First and foremost is the complete revision of the Chapter 10 charts, by Norm
Wattenberger, to include optimal betting ramps, unit sizes, SCOREs, and much, much
more; a light piece, ?More on SCORE,? appended to the SCORE chapter, as we seek
ways to distinguish between the ?original? concept of SCORE and the ?generic?
meaning the term has taken on; the complete version of the Optimal Departure study,
which began in the second edition of BJA, but was completed in a subsequent issue of
Blackjack Forum; four brand-new risk of ruin equations, encompassing goal-reaching
and time-constraint concepts, and an enlightening testing of the formulas? accuracy,
through the computer simulations of Norm Wattenberger; an entirely new Chapter 12,
as a mythical blackjack team takes a ?Random Walk Down the Strip,? utilizing John
Auston?s genial software application, BJRM 2002; a three-part Appendix, courtesy
of the amazing Cacarulo, with more than 100 pages (!) of precise expectation tables,
basic strategy charts (the most accurate in print), and effects of rules variations on
basic strategy expectations; finally, a new cover design, an enlargement of the book?s
format, and, for collectors, an elegant hardcover edition, which will be followed by a
softcover version.
We learn to ?never say never,? but, with this ?Ultimate Weapon,? I believe I have
furnished virtually all of the tools that the traditional card counter must have at his
disposal to levy a full-blown attack on the casinos. I?m sure you?ll let me know if I?ve
left anything out, but, for now, this third edition of Blackjack Attack contains just about
everything I know about the game of blackjack. I suggest, as one reviewer observed
(speaking of the second edition), that you ?don?t leave home without it.? Enjoy!
Don Schlesinger
New York, February 2004
Third Edition ? Softcover
It?s been eight months since the publication of the hardcover edition of BJA3, and,
frankly, I couldn?t be more pleased with the excitement that the book has generated in
the blackjack community. I wrote, in my Preface to that third edition, that it ?contains
just about everything I know about the game of blackjack,? and intimated that there
might not be any further revisions of the book. But, there was a softcover version
of BJA3 in the offing, and I am pleased to announce that it contains a major addition
of historic proportions: a brand-new Appendix D, featuring completely revised and
expanded tables of effects of removal, for playing and betting, which improve on
the work of the legendary Peter Griffin. We have Zenfighter (more about him in the
appendix) and Cacarulo to thank for this monumental study, which I trust will be of
immense value to blackjack players and researchers everywhere.
The book you now hold in your hands is the most voluminous reference work on
casino 21 in existence, comprising 576 total pages and over 400 tables and charts.
Needless to say, its creation involved a prodigious amount of work, not only for the
author and his collaborators, but also for the publishers and proofreaders, who, once
again, have made a Herculean effort to get everything ?just right.? It would be hard
to describe the level of detail into which we all entered as we fine-tuned the text of the
hardcover BJA3, searching for the inevitable gremlins that are typos, omissions, and
stylistic inconsistencies. Doubtless, we haven?t found them all, but it is unquestionably
true that the present incarnation of BJA3 is the most accurate and most painstakingly
proofread version of them all, and I am extremely proud to sign my name to what is
perhaps the final edition of Blackjack Attack: Playing the Pros? Way. I hope that you
will enjoy it.
Don Schlesinger
New York, January 2005
Don
> Correct.
> In 1997??? And that's it???!!! You should be
> profoundly ashamed of yourself. :-)
In my defense, given the deteroriation of most blackjack games, it is hard to make a case for needing to keep up with every nuansical detail - the basic issues of blackjack have long been solved - when you come up with Don's way to beat the 6:5 single deck - let me know.
But being that I have very extensive library of gaming books, including hard to get out of print stuff - a significant enough collection that I have enumerated it in my will, I will buy the latest version to maintain my library value
You catch more flies with honey than vinegar - never slam someone who has actually been a customer because they have not bought all your wares, rather thank them for having been a customer and explain to them NICELY why your lastest product is a must have.
> In my defense, given the deteroriation of most
> blackjack games, it is hard to make a case for needing
> to keep up with every nuansical detail - the basic
> issues of blackjack have long been solved - when you
> come up with Don's way to beat the 6:5 single deck -
> let me know.
Some people enjoy nuances. I can't speak for you. BJA3 bears no resemblance to the first edition. To me, they're different books altogether.
> But being that I have very extensive library of gaming
> books, including hard to get out of print stuff - a
> significant enough collection that I have enumerated
> it in my will, I will buy the latest version to
> maintain my library value.
Tell you what I'll do. Order the book from Viktor and Bettie, here at RGE. Read it at your leisure. If you don't feel it was worth the extra purchase -- beyond just maintaining the value of your library -- I'll refund your money, and you can keep the book anyway.
> You catch more flies with honey than vinegar - never
> slam someone who has actually been a customer
Surely, you don't consider what I wrote to you "slamming," do you? You saw all the smiley faces and knew I was teasing you, right? You obviously don't know me very well at all, if you thought that anyting that I wrote to you qualifies as "slamming." Believe me, if I ever slam somebody, I don't write the way I wrote to you! :-)
> because they have not bought all your wares,
Here, you need to understand soemthing fundamental: I think you will delighted to have purchased BJA3. But, if you decide not to, I promise you that my life will go on. :-)
(By the way, in the back of my mind is the possibility that you may actually not be a card counter. If that is, indeed, the case, then I might understand why you don't see the need to buy the latest edition.)
> rather thank them
> for having been a customer
Thank you for having been a customer.
> and explain to them NICELY
> why your lastest product is a must have.
My latest product is a must-have, because it contains a ton of information not found in the first edition, it's the most beautiful BJ book your library will own, it's the most praised BJ book in the last, oh, 20 years or so, and ... I really need the royalty! :-)
Don
Sorry, I missed the nuance (the smiley faces). If you read some of the threads on that other site, you would know that I am more comp hustler than card counter, so your suspicions are correct, but I am interested in every nuance of basic strategy, just as composition dependent stuff, because that is real easy to employ, dosen't cost anything, does not require me to change my bet relative to a changing count, estimate remaining decks, remember indices. On top of which I play a lot of video poker and I have to remember a whole bunch of strategies for all the different versions there - my head can only so much.
But I am really serious about how bad the BJ games are getting - I see there are some posts above re: Caesars that I have not read yet - what they did is a real horror - but there are still people playing these games (I saw it firsthand, watched did not play) - I can even forgive the drunk 20 years olds playing the game where they have near naked beautiful girls dancing above the tables, but what about the sober guy playing the other games they changed (with no eye candy) with the same bad rules and playing with black chips - I want to give that guy a lobotomy.
Thanks for your response and of course I will order the book from your site (I had every intention to) and I would not have thought of even ordering from that other site because I understand the rivalry and that wouldn't be nice of me - meaning if I didn't get if from you, I would have gotten it from Amazon as opposed to you know who - not because I have a problem with them, I am member - but I think it would have been in poor taste.
Some people enjoy nuances. I can't speak for you. BJA3
> bears no resemblance to the first edition. To me,
> they're different books altogether.
> Tell you what I'll do. Order the book from Viktor and
> Bettie, here at RGE. Read it at your leisure. If you
> don't feel it was worth the extra purchase -- beyond
> just maintaining the value of your library -- I'll
> refund your money, and you can keep the book anyway.
> Surely, you don't consider what I wrote to you
> "slamming," do you? You saw all the smiley
> faces and knew I was teasing you, right? You obviously
> don't know me very well at all, if you thought that
> anyting that I wrote to you qualifies as
> "slamming." Believe me, if I ever slam
> somebody, I don't write the way I wrote to you! :-)
> Here, you need to understand soemthing fundamental: I
> think you will delighted to have purchased BJA3. But,
> if you decide not to, I promise you that my life will
> go on. :-)
> (By the way, in the back of my mind is the possibility
> that you may actually not be a card counter. If that
> is, indeed, the case, then I might understand why you
> don't see the need to buy the latest edition.)
> Thank you for having been a customer.
> My latest product is a must-have, because it contains
> a ton of information not found in the first edition,
> it's the most beautiful BJ book your library will own,
> it's the most praised BJ book in the last, oh, 20
> years or so, and ... I really need the royalty! :-)
> Don
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