Bring down the house... A book review

I've got a rare moment of me time, the hot wife took the boy the visit a friend, so I thought I would post on a book that I started reading recently. It's called Bringing Down the House, and it's the story of the MIT blackjack card counters who taught themselves elaborate card counting techniques and used them to legally take the casinos for millions of dollars.

While I find the book interesting, because I love playing cards, it hasn't made me want to go up to the casinos and try out the techniques :) Which, I wouldn't put past myself... ya know, I'm impulsive like that...

It's a true story that is told from one of the players perspectives and really goes into the details of how these MIT students, and former students, would sneak thousands of dollars across country to avoid being noticed and would use group techniques to take advantage of the odds in blackjack. There are many variations of card counting out there, but this group had a real slick operation. What it boils down to is they would sit counters at the tables, who would just bet the minimum amounts and then wait until the deck was in their favor, with more high cards than low cards left. Then they would signal other players in who would not always count, but bet according to the percentage of higher cards left in the deck. The more high cards left, the more they bet, because the odds were more in their favor. Not a bad way to make a living... And while it wasn't exactly appreciated by the casinos all the time, it was perfectly legal.

I'm not a good blackjack player, I mostly play poker. But it has helped me in that it has made me realize that I need to be more aware of the odds of hitting a card I need. Coincidentally, some of the MIT card counters have gone on to become professional poker players. Andy Bloch comes to mind.

Other than that, I don't get much from the book, but it is an interesting read so far. I would recommend it if you like gambling or card playing technique at all.

Nick

Book Review of the... well, forever.

I will very rarely do book reviews, because, well... I just don't read a lot. I have ADD when it comes to reading. Unless I have to read a book for school, I probably won't read it on my own. So it's a good thing I've spent the past decade in school, or I would have missed out on some good books.

One in particular I was forced to read for one of those feel good classes in college. You know the type... you get together and talk about how you can be a successful student, and you swear to do your homework, yadda yadda yadda. So in this class we were given The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey to read. I'd never heard of Stephen Covey before this class, and I was positive this book would be a waste of my time. But I read it anyways.

I don't consider myself a touchy, feely type person. I've spent a good portion of my life trying to suppress those emotions and "be a man". But honestly, by the time I finished the first habit, I felt so much better about my life that I was hooked into this book. I would read it for hours at a time.

For example, Habit 1 is - be proactive. Covey goes on to explain that:

Proactive people recognize that they are "response-able". They don't blame circumstances, conditions, or conditioning for their behavior. They know they choose their behavior. Reactive people, on the other hand, are often affected by their physical environment. If the weather is good, they feel good. If it isn't, it affects their attitude and performance.

While it's obvious that we control our own behavior and attitude, sometimes we need to be reminded of that. If someone says something negative to you, or about you, it's so easy to get caught up in that and be in a bad mood because of it. We all do it. But what Covey explains in his book is that only we can control our behavior, not other people. If you're in a bad mood, it's because of you, not because of someone else.

It's just simple things like this that Covey lays out in his book. They make so much sense when you read them, and when you make an effort to apply them to your life, it's hard for it not to turn out for the better.

I love this book, and I try to keep it in the back of my mind when negative things pop up, or even when I'm dealing with personal relationships in my life. Unfortunately I gave my copy to someone (whom I don't think read it...) but I'm hoping another copy will find it's way back to me. It's definitely a book I could read over and over, and I would highly recommend it to others.

Nick