January Newsletter

[Bankerdude80]

Good stuff in the newsletter this month. Thanks Heavy.

[heavy]

Thank you, sir. Glad you enjoyed it.

[VINYLGIRL]

I agree with Bankerdude80, great newsletter. All I can say is I learn so much from every newsletter. I also order John Patrick's dvds last month (haven't had chance to watch them) and I also order a few craps books off of Ebay. I guess I was already preparing myself 2015. LOL Thanks Heavy

[heavy]

John's DVD's can be somewhat off putting for the ladies. John was always a breast man, and his Lonnie Anderson comments have ticked off more than one gal. However, deep down John is a prince of a guy - a real pussy cat with a heart of gold. Remind me in Biloxi to share a John Patrick story or two (that I got direct from John) with you.

[London Shooter]

I agree too. The January newsletter is one of the best I have read from Heavy. I especially liked the "What Axis Power Players Really Want" article and analysis.

[heavy]

One of our forum members asked me this morning (via PM) what books I would recommend on Pai Gow Poker and Baccaarat. Here's my response:

Try Optimal Strategy for Pai Gow Poker by Stanford Wong. Buy it used on Amazon for around four bucks. John Patrick has a decent Pai Gow book but it's largely unavailable. You might be able to buy it direct from John. He has a DVD on Pai Gow you can pick up through Amazon used for a couple of bucks. However, mostly John's going to talk about betting strategies - money management - discipline - etc. He's not going to go deep into the rules of the game.

On Baccarat - I don't think I've ever read a book on it. John Patrick has one. So does John May (professional BJ player mostly - one of the Stanford Wong crowd who (if I'm not mistaken) posts on BJ21 and other sites as the Green Baize Vampire). But if I were going to read a Baccarat book I'd probably read Lyle Stuart on Baccarat. Stuart was an old time New York book publisher and editor. A bit of a social and political crazoid, he was also a high limit gambler who won (and no doubt lost) huge sums of money in Vegas at craps and baccarat. Very entertaining writer. You can pick up his Lyle Stuart on Baccarat for about four bucks used on Amazon. While you are at it I highly recommend Winning at Casino Gambling by Lyle Stuart as an all around entertaining and informative read.

[Mad Professor]

Just to piggyback on what H said about "Winning at Casino Gambling" by Lyle Stuart; I will simply add if you want crystal-clear insight into how to adopt a winning attitude and maintain rock-solid discipline in the casino-context; that book is a MUST-READ.

In my view, no other book comes close.


MP

[London Shooter]

Thanks for the tip on this Lyle Stuart book lads. I'm always on the look-out for a new casino title to read and this will be the next one.

[TommyD]

MP & Heavy - great recommendation on Lyle Stuart's book "Winning at Casino Gambling". Found it used on Amazon for $4....great read. Love books like this that share the "old ways" layered with the common sense approach.

Can you guys (or anyone else) recommend any other books for the aspiring DI/Gambler? Besides MP's book.

TommyD

[heavy]

I've already mentioned John Patrick's Advanced Craps and The Dice Doctor by Sam Grafstein - in addition to MP's book.

If you want an early look at DI back when we were still fumbling around for a standard glossary of terms for what we did then read Yuri's Dice Control for Casino Craps. In that same vain, and understanding what you'll get based on the title, there's always Zeke Feinberg's "Pre-Set the Dice and Beat the Bastard Casinos." I don't think Zeke ever really knew why setting the dice improved his results, but he did have all of the popular sets down - just under different names. Reading these books was what led me to coming up with more consistent names for the various sets . . . V-2, V-3, X-6, All 7's, etc., back in the 90's.

Sharpshooter's "Get the Edge at Craps" book is pretty good. It was agented to Scoblete. You may have deduced by now that I have no use for Scoblete. Nor do I recommend any of his books - which I view largely as works of fiction. For the most part - entertaining but not real world.

Other craps books I have on my shelf and refer back to from time to time include Edwin Silberstang's "Winning Casino Craps," another one you can buy on Amazon for a penny plus shipping. I've got two copies of it around here and both are missing in action at the moment. I tend to misplace books and when I can find them I assume I've loaned them out and I just re-buy them.

"Beat the Casino" by Frank Barstow, which (like Lyle Stuart's book) also gets into blackjack, baccarat and roulette is another one I like. I also like Winning Craps for the Serious Player by J. Edward Allen.

Another book I have two copies of (one a gift from Shootitall many years ago and a second one I picked up myself awhile back when the first one went MIA for awhile) is "Craps - A Smart Shooter's Guide" by Thomas Midgley. It's really one of the better "beginner" books around - and has a lot to say to the more experienced player as well. Midgley was one of the first guys to talk about profiting from the cycles and patterns inherent in the game.

If you're into the history of Vegas there are several books out you might enjoy. "The Battle for Vegas" by Dennis Griffin gives a pretty good history of Vegas, focusing primarily on the police's efforts to root out the mob's influence in the city at a time when Tony Spilotro ran the city and Oscar Goodman kept him out of jail. Tony went on to be dead in the desert. Oscar went on to be mayor. Go figure.

I think "When the Mob Ran Vegas" by Steve Fischer is a better book on the same subject.

If you like biographies about Vegas legends then you'd like "I'll Do My Own Damn Killin'" by Gary Sleeper. This is the story of the war between Benny Binion and Herbert Nobel over control of gambling and "the rackets" in Dallas/Ft. Worth - a war that eventually saw Nobel dead and Benny loading his money in the trunk of his car and heading to Las Vegas. This book reads like a novel but it's all true.

That should get you started. No doubt others will have their own contributions to the reading list.

[Mad Professor]

Hi TommyD,

If you want a great feel for what it was like in the table-games pit back in the 70's, 80's, and early-90's; you can't go wrong with Barney Vinson's "Behind the Tables" series of books.

Barney dealt, supe'd, and shift-managed in many of the Strip joints back in the day, before becoming Table Games Manager at several different stores. I think you will appreciate his keen-and-often humorous insight.


MP

[Jazzycat]

All,
Fyi. Zeke Feinberg tends to recycle whole sections word-for-word from his previous books. I found this to be rather annoying and it also undermines whatever credibility he may have/have had.

[TommyD]

Thanks guys - found several to tide me over for a bit.

TommyD