While the just-released book Advanced Advantage Play is about all table games that can actually be beaten with advantage play, there is plenty on blackjack, and the ideas included make it a must-read for any player that wants to improve their odds and take a whack at the casino.

High Points

A huge book of 490 pages

Written by a mathematics and computer science Ph.D.

Covers dozens and dozens of table games and side bets


Numbers presented are computer driven and most likely very accurate

Low Points

Writing is a bit dull and dry

There is a disconnect between lab conditions and actual casino play conditions

Price is hefty

Discription

Advanced Advantage Play was released March 25, 2015 by Blue Point Books in 8x11 size.

Guide Review - 'Advanced Advantage Play' by Eliot Jacobson - Book Review

Advanced Advantage Play is a huge book, 490 pages set in a softbound 8x11 size and filled with everything you could possibly want to know about casino table games and their possible susceptibility to Advantage play. The book covers table games, side bets and promotions. The author, Eliot Jacobson, Ph.D., was a professor of mathematics and computer science for over 25 years and began a second career as a casino consultant 10 years ago. During that time he worked on mathematical formulas for table games, game vulnerability, and produced a website where he compiled his articles on games, probability, and advantage play.

Virtually every side bet you can find in a casino these days is found in the book, with rules, odds, and a review of any chance a player has to beat the game.

I have no doubt the numbers presented by Mr. Jacobson are quite accurate. Of course some readers may misinterpret his work and assume they will be able to get perfect conditions and thus perfect numbers in a casino, which is highly unlikely.

This book is geared towards both players and casino managers, which does bring some issues with it. Firstly, you won't find a back-story or exciting events from the author's own play. That will irk some readers, but taken as a text-book, the book works well. And, if you expect nothing more than perfect numbers, you won't mind that the writing is again, a bit dry. If you want intrigue and real conditions, read Million Dollar Blackjack, or True Blackjack. If you want every game available and all the numbers as a reference source, then Advanced Advantage Play is for you.

Casino managers will see the advantage to owning this book, and the price won't scare them. However, the casual player might have an issue with the cover price of $49.95. Unfortunately, the author and/or Blue Point Books, don't have much of an imagination. Their website looks like something from the 1990's. The cover of the book is very generic, and while I think having it as a source is great, I wish it had been parred down a bit and presented as a lengthy 6x9 book available at a reduced price.

For instance, the first 10 pages are an introduction to the book and a very nice foreword by Bill Zender. That's great, but really, readers don't care about the into, they want to get to what they bought the book for. In addition, adding things like a promotion the Revel in Atlantic City offered (yes, the one that's already shut down) makes for interesting reading for about 5-percent of the audience. The rest don't care about the numbers for an event they missed at a casino that's closed.

Although I hope many people will purchase this very fine compilation of the author's web articles, I suspect this won't be the case. It will languish near the end of the list of blackjack books because the author is a mathematician first, but an artist and marketer second.

I also wonder why there is no Ebook edition? The author obviously reveres the web and new technology but doesn't offer a steep discount as a Nook or Kindle edition. This is curious.

What's Really Here

As for what you'll get with this book, each chapter presents information about an individual  game or situation where a skilled player could profit from the information provided - how to scout the games, how to know when a wager is profitable, and when it is not. Even for new games and side-bets like Buster Blackjack, the author offers tips and advice on how to distinguish a good game from a great one that the player can actually hold an edge on.

In addition, playing any game close to a break-even point offers the opportunity to also get full-value from the casino's player's club. Jacobson also goes into the player profitability provided by these clubs and other casino promotions.

For those who play just Blackjack, card counting is presented in great detail and new players are bound to get a good schooling in many aspects of the game.