Review of Blackjack Essays
- Title:
- Blackjack Essays
- Author:
- Mason Malmuth
- Publisher:
- Two Plus Two
- Date:
- 1987
- ISBN:
- 1-880685-05-1
- Pages:
- 236
- Price:
- $19.95
January 8, 2001
Mason Malmuth is one of the most recognizable names in gambling for
writing an incredible volume of information on applying skill to
casino games. His book, Blackjack Essays, generally
represents some of his earliest forays as an author and serves as a
compendium of most of his contributions to the game of blackjack.
There are about 70 essays in this book dealing with a wide range of
topics. Almost every one represented a new area of inquiry when it
was written. Some now are well integrated into the corpus of general
blackjack knowledge, some have been extended and elaborated on in
other books, some represent the first foray into a still largely
unexplored area, and some are still largely the last word on a
particular topic.
The earliest essays in this book cover a concept Malmuth calls, "Card
Domination", which these days is more commonly called Shuffle Tracking.
This is still a good introduction to the topic, although the Blackjack
Forum series on Shuffle Tracking which appeared in about 1994 is far
more thorough. However, I've recently seen shuffles which are trackable
using Malmuth's methods.
Another topic Malmuth explores in great depth is that of bankroll
requirements or "Gambler's Ruin". Malmuth does a great job here
of discussing why early blackjack literary figures probably underestimated
the size of the fluctuations they would face. Of course, there was
still room to explore these ideas in more detail in, for example,
Blackjack Attack by Don Schlesinger. However, Malmuth's
writings on this topic are still
valuable today, they're just no longer the last word.
Malmuth provides what is probably the best currently in print description of
Front Loading, good information on how to improve the profitability
of casino trips, and, a Malmuth trademark, a thorough debunking of
several mistaken blackjack myths perpetrated by other authors. Malmuth also
provides some surprising results regarding biases, or "card clumping"
that receives further attention in other books, but aptly demonstrates
the author's intellectual honesty in this volume.
On some topics, like Malmuth's preference of shoe games to hand-held
games, and on his preference for more complex count systems, I disagree
with the author. However, in these cases I do not fault his conclusions.
Malmuth
presents his case in a clear, straightforward manner listing the "pros"
and "cons" of both sides of the issue and stating the reasons he believes
his side of the debate is correct. By doing this he forces a reader who
disagrees with him to articulate the reasons why, and, thus, does the
reader a service.
Even though this book was first assembled almost 14 years ago, and some
of its ideas have been expanded by other authors elsewhere, it still
belongs in every serious blackjack player's library. The ideas it
espouses are, at their worst, worthy of serious consideration. I
recommend it to anyone who has already learned and practiced a blackjack
card counting system. Anyone who enjoyed this book should also read
Gambling Theory and Other Topics, and anyone who enjoyed
Gambling Theory and plays blackjack seriously should certainly
read this book.
Capsule:
If you've learned and practiced a card counting system, have played in a
casino, and are looking for extra advice, Blackjack Essays
will likely be of considerable value. While it may not be the best
supplemental book for the blackjack card counter (Blackjack
Attack gets that honor), and some of its ideas are a bit dated
or covered more thoroughly elsewhere, I still recommend it as a more than
worthwhile addition to any serious blackjack player's library.
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