Blackjack books

[E-town-guy]

I just finished reading Kevin Blackwood's book and thought it was a really good intro to the game. I've been studying the Hi-lo counting system and hope to make a venture to the casino in the next while. I was wondering if anyone could suggest any books that I could read now to improve my knowledge of the game overall or the hi-lo counting system. I was personally thinking about buying Stanford Wong's book Professional Blackjack as it covers the Hi-Lo.
Right now I'd be mostly playing shoe games but eventually I hope to build up my bankroll to a decent amount, $10,000 perhaps, and then I'd look into switching to the Hi-Opt II system.

 

[BAMA21]

Blackbelt in Blackjack is very good. He covers a lot of topics, including three different counting systems (Red 7, Hi-Lo- Lite, and Zen). But there is a lot more in there about betting strategy, surviving in the casinos, shuffle tracking, etc.

 

[lagavulin62]

I have to ditto on bama's advice. am now about halfway through "blackbelt" and it's the best I've read so far. it's a good 2nd or 3rd book because it goes into many aspects of the game besides counting that you need to learn, while at the same time he keeps it practical to use for the novice and doesnt wear you down with all the detailed formula's. got to warn you, once you start applying all the other skills.........risk or ruin, profit formula,,etc.... you may be a bit depressed about your chances in this game. but he gives advice and solutions for coping with these roadblocks. I highly recommend the book.

wong's book is very informative, a bit too detailed in parts. this is more of a reference although it did open my eyes to a few things. highly recommended too but this is not something you have to read cover to cover.

mike

 

[BJStanko]

Theory of Blackjack
Blackbelt Blackjack
Million Dollar Blackjack

Great books!

 

[E-town-guy]

What do you guys think of the book Blackjack Attack? Someone recommended it to me, but mostly for its information on the Illustrious 18.

On that same topic how do you get the Illustrious 18 specific for your counting strategy and set of rules? For example, I know it states to stand on 16v10 and 15v10 at times but if the table I play at offers surrender would you still do that???

Thanks again!

 

[KenSmith]

Blackjack Attack is an excellent resource, but I don't recommend it until you have a pretty good grasp of card counting. It's certainly not an introduction to the process, but instead is a compendium of information about risk of ruin, optimal play, and technical details on which games are best.

As for your other question, surrender has its own appropriate set of index numbers that would apply to a particular counting system. In the examples you note though, certainly you should surrender 16vT or 15vT instead of standing on them. When hitting is preferable to standing with those hands, then sometimes surrender is appropriate, while other times hitting is appropriate.