Blackjack in literature and film

Blackjack is one of the few games of chance in which strategic thinking, observation and discipline could be more important than happiness. So far, many different strategies have been developed to minimize the house advantage and make a big win. The most successful Blackjack strategy remains the card counting, which still awakens the interest of players and mathematicians from all over the world. That is why it is hardly surprising why so many books and films are devoted to this topic. Here I present the top 5 blackjack books and all the films worth seeing in which blackjack scenes occur.

“The World’s Greatest Blackjack Book” is the most read book about the popular card game 21. Although it was written more than 30 years ago, this 432-page work is still part of the so-called compulsory literature for every Black Jack player who has an advantage against want to have the dealer. The first part of the book is the basic principles of the game. The next part informs readers how Black Jack players can beat the house by counting card. According to the two book authors Lance Humble and Carl Cooper, the HI-OPT 1 counting system is the best card counting strategy. Furthermore, “The World’s Greatest Blackjack Book” not only discusses the Blackjack game in a conventional game library, but also the private game outside of a casino.

If you want to familiarize yourself not only with one, but also with different card counting methods, you should take a closer look at the last revision of the Jerry L. Patterson book “Blackjack: A Winner’s Handbook”. His work was published for the first time in 1977, but has been published three times since then. The current publication dates from 2001, so that the topic of online blackjack is also being discussed here. In addition to the card counting strategies, a retelling system and the author’s theory about the so -called mixed distortions are also described here. The book also deals with the idea “Target 21” developed by Eddie Olsen, which actually represents an alternative game strategy without counting card.

The “Blackjack Bluebook” was first written by Fred Renzey in 1996, but two years later the revised edition with the subtitle “Featuring: Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced Level Strategies for the Game of 21”. The 188 pages are divided into 3 sections (A, B and C), which provide information about the different levels of play. In the first part you can find the blackjack rules as well as all information about the house advantage. Then the blackjack myths are discussed and the difference between fact and fiction is explained. Various game strategies are presented in the third part. This Blackjack Buch also considers card counting as one of the most popular strategies. There is also a quiz here. This gives readers the opportunity to test everything they have learned from this book.

Now follows a Blackjack Buch, whose target group is primarily the experienced players. If you are just starting this game, you should rather choose another book that deals with the rules. “Blackjack Attack: Playing The Pro’ Way “was released for the first time in 1997. His author Donald “Don” Schlesinger studied mathematics in the City College of New York and has been dealing with mathematics of gambling for almost three decades. The book starts with an introduction by Standord Wong and Arnold Snyder. The most important topics viewed here are: “Back-Counting the Shoe Game”, “Attacking the Shoe” and “Floating Advantage”.

One of the biggest names in the Black-Jack world remains Edward O. Thorp, whose book “Beat the Dealer” is one of the New York Times bestsellers. His work was released in April 1966 and since then more than 1,000,000 books have been sold. Thorp developed a light card counting strategy in which you don’t need a photographic memory to beat the dealer. It is the so-called Hi-Low system, which is also known as the name Plus / Minus System. How this strategy actually works, you can Experience on this page.

The next Blackjack Book, which is on the bestseller list of the New York Times, is called “Bringing Down the House: The Inside Story of Six Students Who Took Vegas for Millions”. This is the history of the famous with Blackjack team, which has worked in the past two decades of the 20th century. With the help of counting card, its members beat numerous casinos in the USA. A whole series of blackjack films is based on this story. The Canadian film by Pierre Gill “The Last Casino” was first published in 2004, in which three students use the card counting method of their math professor to beat the casino dealer. A year later, the teaching DVD was created “60 Minutes to Winning Blackjack”. The interested parties are familiarized here with the basics of the game and the art of counting card. A member of the co-team took part in this project and the DVD even contains an interactive practice task. In 2008 the US film adaptation of the MIT-Blackjack team history of Columbia Pictures was also published. This time the title is “21” and famous actors such as Kevin Spacey, Jim Sturgess, Kate Bosworth and Laurence Fishburne took part. Many scenes from this film can still be seen in the BBC Doku about the Blackjack game “With Black Jack to Millionaire” (Making Millions The Easy Way, 2009).

The best Hollywood film in which scenes with cards appear, but is the one in a total of four categories with the Oscar Drama von Barry Levinson „Rain Man“(1988). In the main roles, Tom Cruise (Charlie Babbit) and Dustin Hoffman (Raymond) can be seen, who win a lot of money with blackjack together in a casino. Dustin Hoffman won the Oscar for “best leading actor” and the Golden Globe for “Best Actor” for his representation as an autistic. The American comedy “Hangover”, which celebrated its world premiere in 2009, contains many allusions to “Rain Main” and won the Golden Globe Awards 2010 with the “Best Film-Comedy or Musical” award. “Hangover” tells the story about four men who drive to the bachelor party in Las Vegas and win $ 80,000 with the help of counting.

FAQ – the most common questions and answers

I hope I was able to give you a good overview of the films and books on this page that address the card game Blackjack. Here you can find Below is a FAQ area, in which I will answer the most common questions for you again.