Review of Blackjack Autumn
- Title:
- Blackjack Autumn, A True Tale of Life, Death, and Splitting Tens in Winnemucca
- Author:
- Barry Meadow
- Publisher:
- TR Publishing
- Date:
- 1999
- ISBN:
- 0-945322-08-8
- Pages:
- 255
- Price:
- $27.95
July 25, 1999
Barry Meadow, horse-racing newsletter publisher and sometimes blackjack
card counter, finds himself at a point in his life where he can make
a sort of blackjack Odyssey, except with Nevada highways
and casinos replacing the Mediterranean Sea. Given this opportunity,
he decides to embark on an eight week quest to play blackjack in
every casino, hotel, bar, and outhouse in the entire state of
Nevada that offers it.
His chronicle of this adventure is titled Blackjack Autumn.
Much like Stuart Perry's Las Vegas Blackjack Diary, this
book is written as a narrative of the author's experiences counting
cards and playing blackjack over an extended period of time. As with
Perry's work, we hear about the ups and downs, the wins and losses,
the good and bad experiences, and the loneliness of being alone in a
wilderness of green felt.
Of course, there are some significant differences. Perry is trying hard
to obtain the maximum edge that he can, he plays at only those casinos
that he has previously scouted to have the best games, and he maximizes
the amount of time he devotes to his temporary vocation. His narrative
emphasizes the mathematics and detail of the game itself. Meadow seems
much more interested in the novelty of the experience. Unlike Perry,
he doesn't bother to scout
games, and, in fact, he knows he'll be going to a lot of places with
very bad games. Further, he'll be spending more time driving than
gambling during his trip. We hear more about the time Meadow spends
away from the table.
I'm not sure precisely what it is, but for some reason I got more emotionally
involved in Perry's ups and downs than I did with Meadow's. I suppose
part of the reason for this is that Perry suffered some more protracted
downswings than Meadow did. Certainly, we can't blame Meadow for this,
and I'm happy for him that, by my rough estimate, he ended up quite a ways
to the right on his expected distribution curve. At the same time, though,
I felt Perry's self-doubt, loneliness, and exhaustion more keenly
than I felt his counterpart's sorrow, although Meadow experienced plenty
during his quest.
In my opinion, the book works best as a travel guide to the small town
casinos of Nevada. The author did a great deal of research to locate
some of these places, and he gives the reader a pretty good idea of
the flavor of each of his stops. He provides more detail than, for example,
Bourie's
excellent Casino Guide. If anyone wanted to recreate
Meadow's experience, they would be foolish not to consult Blackjack
Autumn before embarking on such a journey.
As a blackjack aficionado, I found this book fascinating, although
Meadow's excessive use of pop-culture similes and metaphors got on my
nerves after a while. It's a
better narrative and more compelling story than Las Vegas Blackjack
Diary, even though I don't think it packs as much emotional
punch. In general, though, I think you have to be strongly motivated
by the gambling experience to feel rewarded by either book, although
Blackjack Autumn probably has more appeal for those who
are not hard core
gamblers. I give it a recommendation, although not monstrously
enthusiastic one, for serious blackjack players, gambling aficionados,
and those who may want to know what it's like to play blackjack in
Tonopah.
Capsule:
This narrative of one man's quest to beat the game of blackjack in
every casino in Nevada is compelling enough and novel enough to overcome
some relatively minor shortcomings in the delivery. Those who enjoyed
Stuart Perry's Las Vegas Blackjack Diary will probably also
enjoy this book, and, in fact, Blackjack Autumn is probably
more compelling for those who are not hard-core blackjack fanatics even
though it may not provide quite the same emotional impact.
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