Blackjack Bluebook II - the simplest winning strategies ever published (2006 edition)
by Fred Renzey
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Book Summary Information
Author: Fred RenzeyEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2006-05-01
ISBN: 0615131042
Number of pages: 217
Publisher: Blackjack Mentor Press
Book Reviews of Blackjack Bluebook II - the simplest winning strategies ever published (2006 edition)
Book Review: A great student's textbook to improving your game step-by-step
Summary: 5 Stars
I've written very few reviews on Amazon but I thought it was worth my time to give back to Fred Renzey for his great book, Blackjack Bluebook II.
The fact is, the book reads like a high school textbook and that's a really good thing for people that really want to learn. It progressively starts with the basics, as well as simplest ways to tune your play and gradually evolves to more complex methods, going through more advanced strategy and intermediate modifications of play, all the way to a beginner's count. This evolves to an intermediate count and eventually an advanced count that rivals the capabilities of Hi Opt-II and Zen, all on the same foundation that Renzey started with.
What makes the book different from other books I've read is that:
1) It's readable. The book is almost conversational in nature. It's got just enough proof points in it without going all 'Grosjean' on you. (No offense to the mastermind that James Grosjean - another of my heros - is but I'm not the PhD Mathematician that he is, and I suspect, neither are you if you're reading this)
2) It explains why things are important, what the benefit is in terms of the 'percentage edge' you get with every concept you learn, and it gives you concrete visual examples/scenarios with pictures of hands, and a discussion of each.
3) It's evolutionary. Very rarely have I read a book that allows you to stop in the middle of the book and test your skills downstairs in the casino, then later read some more by the pool and learn additional tactics to evolve your game as you master the book's concepts.
What I also found very useful was the section rehearsing certain key hands versus dealer up-cards. Frankly, I think Fred Renzey should create a card deck of 'difficult hands' and sell them has 'flash cards' to people to learn and practice with. It's frankly better than dealing cards yourself on that Southwest flight into LAS. [grin]
I won't blow too much smoke up anyone's butts though: The section on Hand Interaction is a little much. I understand why he put it in there - after all, it appears to be the most opportunistic way to poach good hands at the table. But it takes a fair amount of balls to 'buy people's hands at the table' and 'fill up someone else's double down'. He advertises it as a differentiator for the book being that I'm sure he's correct that no one else has published much on this topic, but still, I don't consider this to be a real value: There's just too much superstition and too many barriers between players at the table to pull off some of the moves he recommends.
That being said, I think his KISS count is pretty damn cool and although I haven't mastered it and still play with another count, his numerical evidence for the strength of the Advanced version of KISS count relative to Uston or more conventional counts is impressive.
If you doubt the "student's text book" nature of Blackjack Bluebook II, consider that he dedicates a page or two to a list of bulletted 1-2 sentence summaries of every key point he's made at the end of each chapter. The only thing he's missing from making this ia true high school textbook is a "Test Your Knowledge" section where he quizzes you on important concepts after each section. [grin]
Renzey's chapter on "15 hands to play incorrectly to camouflage your intellect" has been invaluable. I've been trespassed from two casinos and drawn heat from the eye more times than I can imagine, and I've recently seen pit bosses "drop me as a concern" when I pulled a couple of these hands like a drunk conventioneer. I was just at the New York New York and I think they even thought I had a computer based on the shake I naturally have in my leg but the moment I doubled down on what looked to be a reckless hand and started to play some of these gems, they started to waive off the black suits.
I carry 3 Blackjack books with me whenever I go on a vacation or to Vegas and this is one of them. I consider Fred Renzey one of the people I would someday like to meet and shake hands with. Thank you for improving my play, Fred. Your book is worth much more than $16.50 on the basis of your authoring skills alone.
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Summary of Blackjack Bluebook II - the simplest winning strategies ever published (2006 edition)
A down-to-earth, comprehensive handbook on how to play and legitimately win at casino blackjack. It contains an extensive chapter on correct basic strategy, including a color-coded strategy chart--plus clear explanations of the proper plays for several hands that are consistently misplayed. Convincing visual scenarios are given to disprove prevalent blackjack myths which most typical players believe in--and steadfastly play by. It presents 3 different card counting systems ranging from entry-level to professional, and showcases the KISS Count--an easy-to-use, upgradable system for gaining a full-scale advantage in today's modern games. Also offers valuable, "outside-the-box" maneuvers for improving the performance of the common player, many of which have scarcely, or never appeared in print, such as: Profiting from Other Players' Hands, The Magnificent 7 Hands, Hi Card/Lo Card Layouts, The Ace/10 Front Count, True Fudging with Unbalanced Counts, and The "Nifty 15" Camouflage Hands. This book contains over 40 useful charts and 60 vivid hand illustrations.Blackjack Books
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