Burning the Tables in Las Vegas
Ian Andersen
305p, $27.95, ISBN 0-929712-83-8
Huntington Press

When I first got interested in blackjack (in the 1970's), one of the first books I read was Ian Andersen's Turning the Tables on Las Vegas. This was a fascinating book to me and still occupies an important place in my library. It is now out of print, so it was with great interest that I awaited the pubication of Ian's new book, Burning the Tables in Las Vegas. I was not disappointed.

The game has changed dramatically since the 1970's when Turning the Tables was written. It was in need of this update, but I am sorry that it is out of print. Burning will be of most use to high-rollers, but there is much in it for every serious (or wannabe serious) blackjack player. In 16 chapters and three Appendixes, Andersen covers much that is important about blackjack as it is played today.

Although Andersen assumes that the reader already knows how to play blackjack, he presents a generalized basic strategy and discusses how one should choose a counting system. He is a big believer that the simpler the count the better. Less chance for the player to give up his advantage by making a mistake. He is also a big believer in simplifying the strategy variations to a bare minium...for much the same reason.

He then discusses ways of getting away with playing big and counting... no mean feat given the extensive surveillance and counter-wary personnel in most casinos. One trick is to assume the mannerisms of the high-roller. High-rollers are cultivated by the casinos because they play-big. If a skilled blackjack player can appear to be a typical high-roller, then there is much he can get away with.

The book also covers how to milk the casinos for comps. One trick the author uses is to purchase a (refundable) first class air ticket from the city he purports to be from (the further away the better.) With any luck, he gets his supposed air fare comped by the casino and then is able to turn the ticket in for a full refund.

There is much more to this book, but most of all Burning the Tables in Las Vegas is a fun read. It is peppered with anecdotes which are both entertaining and instructive. You will enjoy this book.

Note: an excerpt from Burning the Tables in Las Vegas appeared in the Winter 1998 issue of ConJelCo's Intelligent Gambler. This issue is now available on-line at http://www.conjelco.com/ig.shtml.

(c) 1998, Charles B. Weinstock, All Rights Reserved.