OK, one should understand that there is the task of technically learning how to count cards and then there is the next and more important task of learning how to be an AP.
I have not counted them but I am sure I have read over 50 books now and I must say that some good information has been found in most. I do not know of a single book that solves all of the need.
Learning to play advantage blackjack is a course of study, not a book to read. Think algebra I, algebra II, etc.
Blackjack Attack III is the encyclopedia of blackjack and is both a required read for AP and a reference document for many topics of interest as your skill and experience progress.
Good luck
Luck is nothing more than probability taken personally!
Yeah, you need to be careful here. If you spend any time posting on his forum, you’ll see this group takes everything very literally and likes to pounce when they see an opening. You can either spend a long time word smithing your posts to make sure they can’t catch you on some meaningless word they take out of context, or just have a thick skin and realize this is how AP pros are wired. I’ve chosen to go with the thick skin approach. Lol
I have a problem with the above question specifically because of its limitations on valuable resources. What I am talking about is what we all read on forums and what is there purpose. It is my opinion that NO one book could ever even come close to what is contained not only in the present times but also in the archives sections of forums. For example many people say that the book BLACKJACK ATTACK 3rd Edition by Don S is not the book someone starting out should read first, I agree with that point of view. But that is not the end of the story alone and should not be thought of in such a way. As a matter of fact, there is no book out there including BJA3 that could even come close to what you could find for valuable information in the archives sections of different forums, of posts by Don Schlesinger. Every conceivable blackjack topic from a beginner to an advanced player's questions is and has been answered by Don S. Someone even thinking that Don did not consider the beginner in his book, I could show them thousands of posts of his covering 3.5 decades that says otherwise. Speaking of archives sections in forums there is a treasure trove of gold from other masters of the game that can be found.
Last edited by BoSox; 08-15-2018 at 06:52 AM.
I believe that Stanford Wong 's Professional Blackjack would be a very good choice. The book that I first learned counting from is Humble and Cooper's Worlds Greatest Blackjack Book. While it is definitely not the world's greatest BJ book, I believe that the Hi-Opt I it includes is a great starting point. The count is very easy to learn. Level 1 count with only 8 cards counted and 5 cards neutral. You can then add index plays, Ace Side count, multi-parameter tables as you progress. If you find the side count difficult, it is easy to transition from the Hi-OptI count to Hi-Lo. If you find the Hi-Opt I count easy, it will also be easy to transition to Hi-Opt II. The flexibility of the Hi-Opt Count, and the way it is presented to implement in stages (Basic Strategy only, RC betting only, then TC, then Indices and ASC etc.) is easy to learn. The book also has some interesting bits on private blackjack, Lawrence Revere and junkets, but is overboard in its fear of cheating.
As a newer player...
* RCJH is correct: Basic strategy first. There is no point in counting if you are not going to take the time to learn what to do with the cards.
* ONE book is plenty to start. These books are textbooks and need to be tackled a such - it's not like reading graphic novels.
* While new players need to be aware of SCORE, Kelly, various counting strategies, etc., we are not ready to start really implementing them right away.We have all sorts of other things to master first.
* Players need to learn these first: All the game rules, basic strategy, a basic counting system (including deck penetration and estimation), wonging (both in and out), basic betting based on the count, and select indices.
* Different players will do better with different books. I play Spanish and am a mathematician. Katrina Walker's "A Pro's Guide to Spanish 21 and Australian Pontoon" was perfect for me. Of course, a traditional blackjack player would need something else.
* Quality is better than quantity. It's best to master one game and strategy, before branching into others.
Based on this thread, I did start reading a second book this afternoon.... I'm about to start Chapter Plus Three in Modern Blackjack. So far its a pleasant read with plenty for beginning blackjack players.
Bookmarks