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Theo L. (theol) - Reviews

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21: The Inside Story of Six M.I.T. Students Who Took Vegas for Millions (aka Bringing Down the House) (Audio CD) (Unabridged)
Review Date: 5/27/2011


This tells the story of "normal" MIT kids who get rich by playing blackjack. There is backstabbing and intrigue. There is the feeling that anyone could do what these kids did. It is interesting and holds your attention.


American Roulette: How I Turned the Odds Upside Down---My Wild Twenty-Five-Year Ride Ripping Off the World's Casinos
Review Date: 10/30/2011


This is an interesting history of ripping off casinos by cheating. It could be shorter since many of the rip offs are very similar to previous ones detailed in the book. The book is easy to read and is told from the point of view of one of the cheaters.


Annie Duke: How I Raised, Folded, Bluffed, Flirted, Cursed, and Won Millions at the World Series of Poker (Audio CD) (Abridged)
Review Date: 2/5/2011


This is read by Annie Duke and it follows her life from growing up until about 2005. It alternates between her personal life and some of her poker tournaments. There are a few parts that are for newer poker players and she lets you know which tracks to skip if you already know the "beginning stuff".

It will probably help most beginning to intermediate poker players. It is also an interesting insight into Annie's life.


The Art of Betting on Baseball
The Art of Betting on Baseball
Author: A. Roman
Book Type: Paperback
  • Currently 1/5 Stars.
 1
Review Date: 1/14/2018


Do NOT waste your time with this book. There are so many spelling and grammatical mistakes that if the content made any sense, you might not trust it. However, the content also is useless. All of the author's "insights" are anecdotal. He doesn't give any data, just anecdotes. What would be useful would be a log of the author's bets along with his thinking and then the results along with a conclusion of why he was right or wrong. It would be interesting to know how successful the author has been, yet none of that is included.


BeatWebCasinos.com: A Shrewd Player's Guide to Internet Gambling
BeatWebCasinos.com: A Shrewd Player's Guide to Internet Gambling
Author: Bill Haywood
Book Type: Paperback
  • Currently 2.8/5 Stars.
 2
Review Date: 6/21/2011


Unfortunately the book is over ten years old, so a lot has changed since the book was written. With that said, the book still has some parts that are excellent and hold up well against time.

The parts that are outdated and have changed are: the web casinos that are in business today and how they administer bonuses.

The parts that are still relevant are: records that should be kept (for your own knowledge and for corresponding with the casino reps), gambling addiction, discipline needed to make money from the web casinos and how web casinos make their money.

I recommend reading the book for the relevant parts that I mentioned above. You can skim over or skip the outdated parts and his specific anecdotes about how he made money.


Best Blackjack
Best Blackjack
Author: Frank Scoblete
Book Type: Paperback
  • Currently 3.4/5 Stars.
 4
Review Date: 2/1/2012


Great information for card counters. Also, the narrative of the author's personal experiences are humorous and very well written. When I read some of it to my girlfriend, she even commented that she might like to play blackjack with me at a casino. I highly recommend this book. The only problem that I had was with the binding - not very good - pages falling out with just one reading.


Busting Vegas: The MIT Whiz Kid Who Brought the Casinos to Their Knees (Audio CD) (Abridged)
Review Date: 7/9/2011


This has the same theme as his previous work, but it has a few different tricks. Also very good.


Comp City: A Guide to Free Casino Vacations (2nd Edition)
Comp City: A Guide to Free Casino Vacations (2nd Edition)
Author: Max Rubin
Book Type: Paperback
  • Currently 4/5 Stars.
 2
Review Date: 5/27/2011


The ideas presented here are totally different from many gambling books. This book doesn't present some scheme for making money gambling - it instructs how to get comps from gambling. You have to be willing to lose some money gambling in the process of getting the comps. I have not yet tried out the techniques in the book, but I plan to. (5/27/11)

I just got back from a short trip to Las Vegas. Some of the stuff actually works. I deposited a large amount of "front money" into a casino cage to draw markers against, and I was immediately issued some meal comps to keep me happy before I even started gambling. I tried to make it look like I was betting more than I actually was - that worked rewarding me with more food comps. I tried to hide some of my chips to make it look like my winning sessions were actually losing sessions - it worked (but not to the extent that I was trying. I don't think that I was sneaky enough - they partially caught on). I think they felt alright about giving a losing player more comps. All of my meals the whole trip were comped (all I paid was the tips). This really works, and I am going to do it again next time I go to Vegas. (7/9/11)


The Complete Book of Bols Bridge Tips
The Complete Book of Bols Bridge Tips
Book Type: Paperback
  • Currently 4.8/5 Stars.
 2
Review Date: 7/9/2011


This is great! Various expert players present their tips. Some of the tips are opposite of each other, so you can choose which expert tip to follow. Each one is relatively short and presents the concept and gives an example. We need more books like this.


The Complete Idiot's Guide To Gambling Like a Pro (3rd Edition)
Review Date: 7/9/2011


The parts by Stanford Wong are clearly better than the parts by Susan Spector. Wong presents a mathematical approach. Spector seems to emphasize luck and hot streaks.


Following the Law the Total Tricks Sequel
Following the Law the Total Tricks Sequel
Author: Larry Cohen
Book Type: Paperback
  • Currently 4/5 Stars.
 2
Review Date: 5/27/2011


This is a sequel to The Law of Total Tricks also by Larry Cohen. There are a few clarifications and some slight modifications to "The Law" from the first book. If you liked the first one, then you'll also like this one. If you haven't read the first book, you could read this one first, but I would read this one second.


The Frugal Gambler
The Frugal Gambler
Author: Jean Scott
Book Type: Paperback
  • Currently 3.4/5 Stars.
 9
Review Date: 7/9/2011


If you are into slot machines (and promotions related to them), then this book is deinitely for you. If you find them boring, then you'll probably give it a rating similar to mine.


Gambling Times Guide to Blackjack
Gambling Times Guide to Blackjack
Author: Stanley Roberts
Book Type: Paperback
  • Currently 2/5 Stars.
 1
Review Date: 2/4/2012


Out of date. It was written when there were only casinos in Nevada and New Jersey. It it a compilation of articles from Gambling Times Magazine. The chapter about playing blackjack tournaments doesn't say anything about strategy or how to play differently than blackjack against the casino. Also, the author, Stanley Roberts, periodically plugs other books that he wrote.

Read more current books.


Guerrilla Gambling
Guerrilla Gambling
Author: Frank Scoblete
Book Type: Paperback
  • Currently 2.8/5 Stars.
 6
Review Date: 7/9/2011


Some of the stuff just postpones the inevitable (the casino almost always has an advantage). But the section on craps actually works. I just got back from Las Vegas where I placed odds bets on other people's pass line bets. Doing this gives the casino 0 advantage since they pay true odds! The croupiers were a little confused since I didn't have a pass line bet and was just placing odds with someone else's bet, but they always accepted the bets, and always paid off when they won. (7/9/11)


I Am America (And So Can You!) (Audio CD) (Abridged)
I Am America (And So Can You!) (Audio CD) (Abridged)
Author: Stephen Colbert
Book Type: Audio CD
  • Currently 3.7/5 Stars.
 37
Review Date: 7/9/2011


Amusing. Better to listen to this than nothing in a car ride.


Laws of Duplicate Contract Bridge effective March 31, 1987
Review Date: 5/27/2011


It is the laws of duplicate bridge from over 20 years ago. It is boring to read, but it was practical at the time. If you are a director, then I would have a copy of the latest laws.


Mensa Guide to Blackjack (Mensa)
Mensa Guide to Blackjack (Mensa)
Author: Joshua Hornik
Book Type: Paperback
  • Currently 4/5 Stars.
 1
Review Date: 7/9/2011


This is really good. It gives advice on how to change basic play based on the count whether it is positive or negative. I just got back from a trip to Las Vegas where I tried it (I already counted cards). I am pretty sure that I did better with the modifications than if I were not using the modifications. The author does note, however, that counting is the main thing, and that even the MIT team didn't use the adjustments even though they knew about them. (7/9/11)


More Frugal Gambling
More Frugal Gambling
Author: Jean Scott
Book Type: Paperback
  • Currently 3.7/5 Stars.
 3
Review Date: 7/16/2011


There is a lot of stuff in here about playing slots. If you are into that, then this is a great book. There is also some good information about getting comps, finding good deals, and "strategic" tipping.


Phil Gordon's Little Green Book : Lessons and Teachings in No Limit Texas Hold'em
Review Date: 7/16/2011


This is a great book. I read it once from the public library and decided that I had to own it. There are many short concepts with Phil's ideas about them. Easy to read, but probably should be re-read later also.


Table Talk
Table Talk
Author: Jude Goodwin
Book Type: Paperback
  • Currently 2.5/5 Stars.
 1
Review Date: 5/27/2011


Cartoon book that pokes fun at bridge and some characters that you'll encounter playing bridge. You won't learn anything about bridge in this book.


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