Million Dollar Blackjack

• #39 in Best Blackjack Books

21 Reviews

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This is my favorite book out of all the blackjack books I've read. (I've read The World's Greatest Blackjack Book, Blackjack for Blood, Beat the Dealer, Professional Blackjack and Playing Blackjack As a Business)

The counting systems mentioned in this book work. I've been using the Uston Advanced Plus/Minus count for over 5 years now and have an awesome winning record. The Uston Advanced Point Count is also outlined in this book (It's extremely complicated though.)

I would recommend this book to anyone who is serious about counting cards or anyone who wants a really entertaining read.

The most practical aspects of Kenny's book--namely, his discussions of basic strategy-- are confusing to follow. These concepts have been simplified in recent years in very simple summary charts. (One such chart can be found at Max Rubin's Comp City Web Site). Also, the information about card counting techniques is outdated by decades. Kenny's book is primarily valuable now as a historical text for those that are interested about the evolution of card counting and its application at different casinos around the world in the 70's and 80's.

Ken Uston (God rest his soul) was the KING of 21 during the 1970s and early 1980s. Million Dollar Blackjack is a masterpiece of the game, and the scene around it in Las Vegas and A-City during that time. Many casinos have knocked out single- and double-deck games, moving to 6 and 8 deck shoes. Uston did not have to deal with that back in the day; yet his stories about fighting off Griffin agents, pit bosses, and squirrly female dealers are the stuff of legends. The stories in this book pay for the price itself. As for the blackjack knowledge, the card counting pages are excellent, and while the comps information is 20 years too late, it still makes for interesting reading.

Million Dollar Blackjack is THE book on the subject. Ken Uston has won more money than anyone else has and has been known as "Mr. Blackjack" for this reason. Aside from this, the book is enjoyable, understandable, and makes learning ANY count method easy to learn. A good player can easily use his information to make the Hi Opt II or Zen Unbalanced counts their vehicle to riches. Flash cards make the memory work a breeze, and give every player a better than even chance to make money against even the difficult multideck games of today. You are taught to avoid certain games and evaluate each game before you buy in and go for the kill. Learn how you can travel for next to nothing and play 1 and 2 deck games that still exist today with good rules. Ken tells you how. Covers everything from playing the game for fun to making a living at it.

Buying this book used turned out to be quite a bit pricy ...but it proved worth the investment. The book was informative, entertaining, inspiring, and will serve as a useful reference down the road as well. Uston will teach you precise basic strategy, open your eyes to the wonderful world of card counting, provide you with many interesting insights into the game, and has plenty of thrilling gambling tales to make this work the most comprehensive blackjack resource I've ever owned. Whether you're looking for an introductory read, or an advanced analysis, this book has it all.

Million Dollar Blackjack is a great book, but not for the reasons you might think! Written decades ago many other blackjack books have since been written with stronger, easier to apply, and simply more effective card counting systems. So if you're looking for "the system" look elsewhere!

With that said, what MDB will do for you is introduce you to the fascinating history of card counting. Many people unfamiliar with card counting imagine it to be a solitary practice where a single player attemts to "take on" the casino. Ken (and others) viewed card counting as a business and developed a number of innovative (at the time) systems for team play to maximize profit, while minimizing financial risk! Some of the techniques they came up with (and revealed in MDB) are nothing short of genius!

The Verdict:
If you're trying to learn how to count cards or just become a better blackjack player there are newer books out there better suited for this purpose...But once you've read a couple of those books come back to MDB for a great read on how card counting evolved!

Book came highly recommended by a friend and has exceeded my expectations. Easy reading material. The book arrived the same week it was ordered. I would recommend purchasing used book(s) to friends and associates from Amazon.com. Thank you for the five star experience.

Although the book is designed more for the card counting player, there is still plenty of information for the beginning or casual player. On the other extreme: for those who are more ambitious the book details The Uston Advanced Point Count. The APC is considered one of the most powerful (and complicated) count systems ever. It is still every bit as applicable today as it was in the 70's when it was developed. Several other simpler count systems that Uston devised are also covered in great detail. Stories of how they won millions of dollars from the casinos are inspiring and enjoyable to read. If you're in it for the stories, pick up one of his other books: Ken Uston on Blackjack. It contains NO 21 strategy advice, but is chock full of their clandestine 21 activities around the casinos. Very fun and quick to read.

ive read quite a few books on the subject, most just repeat the basic strategy without telling you anything else. ken goes a step further here with flashcards to aid you in learning the basics. theres also a wide coverage for a few different counting strategies (without you having to pay extra for them) for different levels of your skill as well as fun little anecdotes about his heydey in team playing. its worth it alone just for the historical tidbits

This book is truly one of the best books ever writtn by a professional blackjack player in history! I will also recommend, Gregorian Strategy for multiple deck blackjack.

From the furtive glances of casino floormen to encounters with Griffin agents, Uston has experienced it all. His real-life adventures provide much insight into how the card counter should handle casino heat. Chapter 9 on determining betting strategy and the element of ruin was helpful to me. It stresses the importance of discipline.

I am looking for a copy of this book. Can anyone help me?

This was my first blackjack book and I like it a lot. Contains great practical advice for team play, playing single and multiple deck games, camouflage and borderline techniques such as front loading and spooking. Combine this with stories from his team and you have THE book on blackjack.

This book is simply the most comprehensive book out there on the game of blackjack.

The advice on risk of ruin and betting has been improved singe then and there are simpler and better counting systems out there now but this book is still must reading.

I read this book many years ago when it was first published. The stories of his casino experiences are worth more than the price of this book. The strategies offered are solid and useful even in today's casino environment, though I've never been able to handle more than the simple point count system in real play.

For anyone that plays blackjack at any level, this book is a masterpiece. If you only want to cut your losses without having to invest extra time or thought, or just want a background on the history and game of blackjack, or want to learn what it is the pro's know, this book is for you.

The stories are a little dated. The advice is solid. I learned the Basic Strategy in just a few days.

I read this book after reading "Playing Blackjack as a Business." Uston's stories of the early days in Atlantic City and his work with hidden computers were just great.

This is like two very different books intertwined. The majority of the book is a "how-to" book. There are different counts, flash cards, and lots of advice around how to learn and practice the various techniques. In retrospect, one criticism I have is that Uston doesn't help much when it comes to deciding which of the many counts in the book to learn. The hardest count (Uston APC) is very hard, and has a side-count of aces. I wish I had known when I first read the book that this count is just not worth it when playing multiple decks. (I first read this book when I was in college.)

The other part of the book is the stories he tells, and these are great. Just great. You get a real feel for what it must have been like to live that kind of life. I now know that the author was a bit of a blowhard, and took credit for some things that others had done (and assigned blame to boneheaded things he did), but he's the one who took the time and effort to write the book, so he gets to shade history, I guess.

Four stars instead of five because there is no way to decide which count to count. Otherwise, a great book and a great read.

Terrific book containing a number of different counts, practice tips, and stories about the early days of professional blackjack. The book is in large measure a training manual, but the technical parts are punctuated with three autobiographical vignettes. The practical advice is good, but don't bother learning the Advanced Point Count. It is quite difficult, and not even close to worth the effort today.

Million Dollar Blackjack contains a wealth of background info about the game, and the autobiographical vignettes are great. The first vignette details how Uston initially got involved in professional blackjack, and some of his early experiences playing in Las Vegas. The second describes his experiences with a blackjack-playing computer called "George" (Keith Taft's invention, actually called "David.") One quintisential Ustonism: he writes, "[The computer] needed some alterations to make it practical, but there was no question in my my mind that Jerry [Uston's pseudonym for Keith] had a viable money-making tool." The "alterations to make it practical" to which Uston referred was the fact that the cards were imput using four buttons located in the toes of shoes. Everyone else mastered the shoes; Uston required a special keypad created just for him for card entry. "...needed some alterations" indeed!

The last vignette describes the game in the very earliest days of legalized gambling in Atlantic City, which is easily worth a book unto itself. It is a great story.

Although an argument remains about how good a blackjack player Ken Uston really was, there is no doubt that he was the world-renouned expert in one thing: relentless self-promotion. Virtually all professional blackjack players have heard of Uston, and a large number of non-pros have as well. Kenny sure could sound his own horn, and this book was no exception.

"Oh Lord, oooh you are so big. So absolutely huge. Gosh, we're all really impressed down here, I can tell You."
-- Michael Palin as the Chaplain in Monty Python's The Meaning of Life

I attempt to wrap up each blackjack book I review on two levels:

(1) The *current* practical value of the specific information provided in the book (e.g., basic strategy, counts, betting strategy, etc.)

(2) The *meta-value* of the information contained (meta-value: includes entertainment value, what the book teaches you in general about
the game of blackjack, and the practical value of the book given the circumstances of the game at the time the book was written).

1 - In practical terms, the Uston book provides accurate basic strategies for multiple-deck games (for all intents and purposes, the only strategy worth learning given the games available today). Forget high-level counts and a side count of aces -- learn the high-low count provided. Spooking info is obsolete, as is all of the early surrender info re: the Atlantic City game. Betting strategy (Kelly betting) is excellent.

2 - The meta-value of this book is through the roof. It is extremely entertaining, and simply reading this book will teach you more about the game of blackjack than 99.99% of the players out there. Moreover, you will have a solid insight into how professional blackjack players think. Invaluable for anyone who dreams of playing blackjack for a living.

The Ultimate Edge

This is the bible. Oh, there are more recent books that have simpler and better strategies. Even Ken Uston himself said his strategies were too complicated before his death. Not that they aren't effective, just too complicated.

But this book has it all. Strategies up the whazoo, instructions on how to learn and practice, betting strategies, his stories of play, how his teams worked, experimentation with computers during play, and legal battles. This book combined it all in one and earns my rating of "Greatest Blackjack Book Ever."

this book was entertaining, cool storys of kens adventures.
the info on blackjack is a little out dated. (but there will always be 52 cards in a deck, so counting systems should still be useful in todays games.) even though casino rules have changed, it is very possible to change basic strategy to suite the game. then choose a count system to advance your self to a better player.

Don't waste your time with this book. Most of it doesn't apply to today's casinos around the world. Plus it requires thousands of hours of practice at home to become proficient.