Million Dollar Blackjack
by Ken Uston
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Book Summary Information
Author: Ken UstonEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 1998
ISBN: 0897460685
Number of pages: 331
Publisher: Carol Publishing Group
Book Reviews of Million Dollar Blackjack
Book Review: A "don't miss"
Summary: 5 Stars
Terrific book containing a number of different counts, practice tips, and stories about the early days of professional blackjack. The book is in large measure a training manual, but the technical parts are punctuated with three autobiographical vignettes. The practical advice is good, but don't bother learning the Advanced Point Count. It is quite difficult, and not even close to worth the effort today.
Million Dollar Blackjack contains a wealth of background info about the game, and the autobiographical vignettes are great. The first vignette details how Uston initially got involved in professional blackjack, and some of his early experiences playing in Las Vegas. The second describes his experiences with a blackjack-playing computer called "George" (Keith Taft's invention, actually called "David.") One quintisential Ustonism: he writes, "[The computer] needed some alterations to make it practical, but there was no question in my my mind that Jerry [Uston's pseudonym for Keith] had a viable money-making tool." The "alterations to make it practical" to which Uston referred was the fact that the cards were imput using four buttons located in the toes of shoes. Everyone else mastered the shoes; Uston required a special keypad created just for him for card entry. "...needed some alterations" indeed!
The last vignette describes the game in the very earliest days of legalized gambling in Atlantic City, which is easily worth a book unto itself. It is a great story.
Although an argument remains about how good a blackjack player Ken Uston really was, there is no doubt that he was the world-renouned expert in one thing: relentless self-promotion. Virtually all professional blackjack players have heard of Uston, and a large number of non-pros have as well. Kenny sure could sound his own horn, and this book was no exception.
"Oh Lord, oooh you are so big. So absolutely huge. Gosh, we're all really impressed down here, I can tell You."
-- Michael Palin as the Chaplain in Monty Python's The Meaning of Life
I attempt to wrap up each blackjack book I review on two levels:
(1) The *current* practical value of the specific information provided in the book (e.g., basic strategy, counts, betting strategy, etc.)
(2) The *meta-value* of the information contained (meta-value: includes entertainment value, what the book teaches you in general about
the game of blackjack, and the practical value of the book given the circumstances of the game at the time the book was written).
1 - In practical terms, the Uston book provides accurate basic strategies for multiple-deck games (for all intents and purposes, the only strategy worth learning given the games available today). Forget high-level counts and a side count of aces -- learn the high-low count provided. Spooking info is obsolete, as is all of the early surrender info re: the Atlantic City game. Betting strategy (Kelly betting) is excellent.
2 - The meta-value of this book is through the roof. It is extremely entertaining, and simply reading this book will teach you more about the game of blackjack than 99.99% of the players out there. Moreover, you will have a solid insight into how professional blackjack players think. Invaluable for anyone who dreams of playing blackjack for a living.
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