Book of the Week: Beat the Dealer
10 Aug 2013
A This American Life episode about Blackjack inspired me to read Beat the Dealer by Edward O Thorp. The first edition of this book brought card counting the masses. This edition details the developments after the first edition. Blackjack Blackjack is the only casino game where you can statistically beat the casino. I thought analyzing blackjack would be easy, but there are variations in rules concerning soft hands, doubling down, insurance, splitting, etc. Each casino has different rules, which can make some casinos more favorable to play at than others. Beating the Dealer Information gained by keeping track of played cards lets you know when you have a statistical advantage. The problem is how to keep track of played cards. One way is to assign points values to each card and keep a running sum. As you get to the end of the deck, you become more certainty about the remaining cards. Play can be broken down into 3 levels.
- Standard play - how to play without counting
- Card counting - keep track of played cards to vary bets
- End play - take advantage of remaining cards
One of my goals in life is to get thrown out of a casino for playing blackjack. Purchase Beat the Dealer on Amazon.com or check it out from your local library.