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If
you think gambling in a casino can be a tricky business,
then you have a real shock coming. The situation is worse
outside the casino. It's not unusual for a group of professional
gamblers from Las Vegas to set up a special game for the
sole purpose of stripping some rich mark of all his money,
and they do it quickly, quietly, and smoothly. They politely
split the take and head for the next sucker. The mark never
has a chance because he is playing against every other player
in the game.
The amount of play in private games is staggering if you
consider it nationwide. Some of the Blackjack played outside
the casino is for fun and some is for keeps. Much of it
is honest but a significant portion is totally dishonest.
What this chapter will do is teach you everything there
is to know about the game outside the recognized casinos.
Not only will you find the strategies for two variations
of the home game, you will also learn about illegal underground
games and about fund-raising club games.
You will even learn about one of the greatest Blackjack
hustlers of all time: Lawrence Revere.
I got my first opportunity to play in an underground game
as the result of a college class I was teaching in my hometown
which I'll call University City. The class was the result
of an interview about my harness-racing career that had
been printed in a local paper. The article identified me
as a winning bettor and horse owner who had consistently
won over the years. The paper was even so kind as to print
a rough picture of me showing my unshaven face and disheveled
looks.
The next day my university was flooded with calls asking
about "the professor who gambles." They literally
begged me to offer a "how to win" course for gamblers.
I designed a course on gaming and offered it through the
adult-education evening program. The first class had fifteen
students in it and covered racing and other forms of gambling.
For the Blackjack portion, I was using Thorp's Beat the
Dealer as the text. |
