Big Book of Blackjack

by Snyder, Arnold

• ISBN13: 9781580421553
• ISBN10: 1580421555
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2006-03-01
• Publisher: Cardoza

Summary

Everything you ever wanted to know about blackjack is in this book, including the first encyclopedic history of the game with never-before-told stories of the game's most famous, and most infamous, characters. No other author could have written this book, because no other author has Arnold Snyder's vast knowledge and experience. This is the first book that tells the whole story-the good, the bad, the amazing, and everything in between. Book jacket.

Author Biography

In January 2003, Arnold Snyder who is one of the great legends of blackjack, was elected one of the seven charter members of the "Blackjack Hall of Fame." Snyder is a high-stakes professional blackjack player who has been writing about casino blackjack for over two decades. His first book, The Blackjack Formula (1980), revolutionized the ways professional card counters attacked the games. From 1981-2004, he was the publisher of Blackjack Forum, a quarterly journal on gambling for professional players. He has authored hundreds of articles on casino blackjack in dozens of publications in the past twenty years. He has appeared (in disguise) on the Travel Channel, and in The Hot Shoe, a 2003 video documentary on card counting.

Table of Contents

INTRODUCTION Blackjack: The War for the Money	13	(6)
SECTION ONE: THE MYSTERY HISTORY
CHAPTER 1. The Long, Slow Birth of the Most Popular Casino Card Game in the World	19	(14)
The Birth of Blackjack	20	(1)
In the Beginning...Vingt-Un, Napoleon's Favorite Game	21	(12)
Before the Beginning...Quinze, Like Blackjack with Bluffing
If You Cut Quinze in Half...Still Bluffing
And as for Insurance...
But Before Quinze...Trente-Un, and a Sixteenth Century Card Sharp
The Bone Ace Connection...where the Ace Equals One or Eleven
Vingt-Un Makes a Splash in Europe
CHAPTER 2 Blackjack in the Wild West, or How Twenty-One Became Blackjack	33	(10)
House Rules Change the Game Forever	33	(3)
Let the Games Begin...
The First Twenty-One Pro was a Woman	36	(3)
The Cheaters Thrived	39	(1)
Canfield's Prophecy	40	(1)
Twenty-One Becomes Blackjack	41	(2)
CHAPTER 3 Ed Thorp versus the World	43	(20)
The Real Story of Ed Thorp's Attack on the Casinos	43	(4)
Mickey MacDougall, the "Card Detective"	47	(4)
John Scarne, "The World's Foremost Expert on Gambling"	51	(12)
The Scarne/MacDougall Feud
Scarne Triumphs
Enter Edward Oakley Thorpe...
Scarne to the Rescue!
The Downfall of John Scarne
Jacoby Claims the Credit!
Meanwhile, Back at the "World's Foremost Gambling Expert"
The $100,000 Challenge
Scarne's Mysterious WWII "Ten-Card Count" Pamphlet
CHAPTER 4 Let's Get Ready to Rumble!	63	(14)
How Did It Get This Way?	63	(2)
More Mathematicians Get Involved	65	(1)
Beat the Dealer, Second Edition	65	(1)
The Griffin Agency is Born	66	(4)
Enter Lawrence Revere	70	(2)
The Birth of Team Play in the 1970's	72	(1)
Electronics Enter the Players' Arsenal	72	(1)
Enter Stanford Wong	73	(1)
Did Ken Uston Betray His Mentor?	74	(3)
CHAPTER 5 Big Boom on the Boardwalk	77	(12)
The Cops versus the Robbers	78	(1)
Atlantic City, Here We Come!	78	(2)
The "Experiment"	80	(1)
The Party's Over	81	(2)
Uston Continues His Media Hype	83	(1)
An Expert Goes Down the Tubes	83	(1)
The Inside Scoop on the Campione Case	84	(3)
The Atlantic City Casinos Fight for the Rights of the Stupid	87	(2)
CHAPTER 6 Indians, Riverboats, Lawsuits, and Loot	89	(16)
The Michigan Indians Lead the Way	90	(5)
The Feds Put the Law on the Indians' Side
The Indian Casino Expansion Begins
Bye-Bye Welfare, Hello Wealth!
But the Indians Keep Coming
The Cowboys Challenge the Indians
Fast Fun in Phoenix	95	(1)
But More Casinos Open in Other States	96	(1)
The Wackiness in Windsor: Hyland's Team Arrested	97	(1)
Options, Options, Options	98	(1)
As the Industry Grew, So Did the Opportunities to Exploit It	99	(6)
The New Game Protectors
SECTION TWO: THE GAME, THE RULES, THE STRATEGIES
CHAPTER 7 Playing the Game	105	(16)
The Deal	106	(1)
The Basic Structure and Object of the Game	107	(14)
"Hard" Hands and "Soft" Hands
Playing the Hands
Insurance
Hitting and Standing
Busting
Doubling Down
Splitting, Resplitting, and Doubling After Splits
Surrender
No Hole Card
Multi-Action
The Dealer's Hand
Uncommon Rules, Bonuses, and Side Bets
CHAPTER 8 Playing the Game Right	121	(18)
The Basic Strategy	122	(12)
Why Basic Strategy Works...The "Odds"
What is a Half-Percent Advantage in Dollars and Cents?
How Basic Strategy Works...The Logic
The False Logic
Using the Basic Strategy Chart The Order of Decisions
How to Practice Basic Strategy
Simplified Basic Strategy	134	(5)
Insurance? Never! (Well...Maybe Sometimes...)
The Cost of Errors
CHAPTER 9 The Odd Truth About "Even Money"	139	(8)
The Value of a Blackjack	139	(4)
When the Dealer Has a 10 Up
When the Dealer Has an Ace Up
How the Casino Thinks of Even Money
How the Professional Player Thinks of Even Money
How Should You Think of Even Money?
A True Story	143	(4)
CHAPTER 10 Meet the Cards	147	(10)
Meet the Ace, the Player's Strongest Ally	147	(3)
When the Dealer Shows an Ace
What the Ace Means to the Player's Hand
A Brief History of Aces
Meet the 10, the Most Important Denomination	150	(2)
Meet the 9, 8, and 7, the Invisible Cards	152	(1)
Meet the 6, 5, and 4-the Cards from Hell	153	(1)
Meet the 3 and 2-the Trouble Cards	154	(3)
CHAPTER 11 How to Count Cards	157	(22)
The Red Seven Count	158	(11)
How to Practice Counting Cards
Setting Your Starting Count for Casino Play
The Red Seven Betting Strategy	169	(5)
Beating the Multiple-Deck Games
The "Trip" Bankroll
The "Total" Bankroll
The Red Seven Playing Strategy	174	(2)
Table Conditions	176	(3)
Keep It Simple
CHAPTER 12 Rules, Rules, Rules, and More Rules	179	(14)
So Why All the New Rules?	180	(3)
The Number of Decks in Play
The Soft 17 Rule
Doubling Down
The Pair-Split Variations
Surrender
The General Rule on Rules	183	(9)
The Alton Belle Massacre
Multi-Action
The I-Can't-Believe-It's-Not-Blackjack Games	192	(1)
CHAPTER 13 How to Beat "Over/Under 13"	193	(6)
CHAPTER 14 How to Beat "Royal Match"	199	(6)
A Bit of History	201	(1)
But You Don't Need to Count the Four Suits	201	(1)
The Simple Royal Match System	202	(5)
What's It Worth?
CHAPTER 15 How to Beat "Super Sevens"	205	(2)
CHAPTER 16 How to Beat "Lucky Ladies"	207	(4)
What's It Worth?	209	(1)
A Word about those Damnable Flux	209	(2)
Beware of the Big-Flux Bankroll Eaters!
CHAPTER 17 How to Beat "Spanish 21"	211	(4)
The Big Trick	211	(1)
Simplified Spanish 21 Basic Strategy	212	(3)
The Full Strategy
So How Do You Beat Spanish 21?
CHAPTER 18 How to Beat "Super Fun 21"	215	(6)
The Big Trick	216	(1)
Super Fun 21 Rules	216	(1)
Super Fun 21 Basic Strategy (Compared to Traditional Game)	217	(1)
Beating Super Fun 21 with the Red Seven Count	218	(3)
CHAPTER 19 How to Beat "Double Exposure"	221	(8)
The Big Trick(s)	221	(2)
The Basic Theory	223	(1)
The Simplified Basic Strategy	223	(1)
The Red Seven Betting Strategy	224	(1)
The Red Seven Playing Strategy	224	(5)
CHAPTER 20 How to Beat "Blackjack Switch"	229	(18)
The Gimmick	230	(1)
The Big Trick	230	(1)
The Rules of the Game	230	(13)
The Switch
Defining the Dealer's Upcard
Defining the Player's Hands with the WLPC System
The Two-Hand Set Ratings
When Switching Does Not Change the Power Rating
The Blackjack Switch Basic Strategy	243	(1)
Beating Blackjack Switch with the Red Seven Count	244	(1)
The Red Seven Betting Strategy	244	(1)
The Red Seven Playing Strategy	244	(3)
CHAPTER 21 How to Beat those Weird California Games	247	(12)
No House Bank	248	(1)
How Much Does that Commission Cost?	249	(4)
Target = 22
No Bust
Wild Cards
Dealer's Options
How Can the Average Player Beat the California Games?	253	(6)
SECTION THREE:HAVING FUN IN A COMBAT ZONE
CHAPTER 22 Like it or Not, You Are the Enemy	259	(10)
Play versus Work, Us versus Them	260	(2)
The Field of Battle	262	(2)
The Customer is Always Suspect	264	(2)
A Glossary of Surveillance Terms	266	(3)
CHAPTER 23 Winning is Dangerous	269	(10)
Story #1	269	(1)
Story #2	270	(2)
The Moral
Survival Tips	272	(3)
"Barred" versus "Backed Off"	275	(4)
CHAPTER 24 Cheating? At Blackjack?	279	(20)
Blackjack's Sordid Past	279	(1)
Why Cheat?	280	(1)
What Will it Cost You?	281	(1)
Payout "Errors"	282	(2)
Cheating in Single-Deck Games	284	(7)
Dealing Seconds
Stacking a Blackjack
Marked Cards
Other Peeking Scams
Preferential Shuffling
Cheating in Multi-Deck Shoe Games	291	(3)
The Short Shoe
My Experience with Short Shoes	294	(5)
Cutting the High Cards Out of Play
What If the Dealer Cheats to Help You?
What If You Suspect You've Been Cheated?
CHAPTER 25 The Eye in the Sky	299	(6)
The Important Things to Know About Surveillance	300	(5)
Should You Be a Refusal?
The Pros and the Cons
Should You Get a Player's Card?
The Pros and the Cons
CHAPTER 26 Team Play	305	(4)
Why Form a Blackjack Team?	305	(1)
Why Not Form a Blackjack Team?	306	(1)
Guidelines for Forming a Team	307	(2)
CHAPTER 27 Hole Cards, Devices, Shuffle Tracking, and Nevada-Style "Justice"	309	(14)
The Peek Freaks Win in a Nevada Court	311	(1)
But "Video Front Loading" Gets the Shaft	311	(3)
The Anti-Device Law is Tried and Found...Vague
More Nevada Justice	314	(1)
"Tell" Play Tested in a Reno Courtroom	315	(2)
Shuffle Tracking	317	(6)
SECTION FOUR: ODDS, ENDS, AND OTHER WEIRD STUFF
CHAPTER 28 The Blackjack Hall of Fame	323	(16)
Julian Braun	326	(1)
Al Francesco	327	(1)
Peter Griffin	328	(1)
Tommy Hyland	329	(1)
Lawrence Revere	330	(1)
Max Rubin	331	(1)
Arnold Snyder	332	(1)
Keith Taft	333	(1)
Edward O. Thorp	334	(1)
Ken Uston	335	(1)
Stanford Wong	336	(3)
CHAPTER 29 Twenty-One Questions	339	(10)
CHAPTER 30 Poetry	349	(10)
A Visit from St. Who?	345	(7)
Aces (or 42,08%)	352	(1)
Charge of the Count Brigade	353	(2)
Do Not Go Gentle into That Back Room	355	(1)
The Griffin	356	(2)
Prowl	358	(1)
CHAPTER 31 Blackjack Reality versus Blackjack Hype	359	(3)
APPENDIX	362