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Blackjack
Autumn Review
by Henry Tamburin
Imagine what it would be like to spend two months doing nothing but play blackjack
in EVERY CASINO in the state of Nevada. Barry Meadow, in fact, did just that.
He left behind his business, his fiancé, his son, and with one suitcase and
an $8,000 bankroll, he drove 4,000 miles over 9 weeks to play blackjack in nearly
200 different Nevada casinos in 30 different towns. Along the way he recorded
his adventure of a lifetime and published it in his new book, Blackjack
Autumn: A True Tale of Life, Death, and Splitting Tens in Winnemucca.
Meadow is no newcomer to the gambling world. He is well known for his horse
racing expertise. He publishes two newsletters on thoroughbred and harness racing,
and he has authored several booklets and manuals on how to make money at the
track. He is also a skilled blackjack card counter and this is his first effort
at writing a book on blackjack.
To begin let me say that this book is much, much more than a diary. It's
a blackjack primer that will show you how card counters win. It's a travelogue
of cities and towns in Nevada, some of which are not even on the map. It's a
directory of blackjack playing conditions for casinos in Nevada. It's a book
that reveals the real world of gambling with all the emotional ups and downs.
And above all it's an educational, entertaining and often humorous book. Once
I started to read it, I couldn't put it down.
What makes this book unique is Meadow's wit and his ability to narrate his journey
and adventures in vivid detail. He writes about his gaming sessions from a card
counters perspective but you don't have to be a practicing card counter to understand
and appreciate what Meadow is doing. His descriptions of the different characters
he meets at the blackjack tables is sometimes touching and sometimes hilarious
(you'll thoroughly enjoy reading about the Cloud Man). Ditto for the different
towns and cities some of which were "glitz and glamour" and others
nothing more than "an unattractive place filled with trailers, dogs, rusted
car hulks, gutted sheds, boarded up buildings, and abandoned shacks".
Here's a sample of Meadow's wit. On his visit to the MGM Grand in Las Vegas
he says; "The MGM grand is truly that, 5005 rooms worth, everything about
this place is big, big, big. It is possible to enter the hotel and disappear
for years before finding your way out". On the oppressive heat in
the Nevada desert he writes: "It's so hot outside I hear the radio announcer
say it's 'four twenty nine' and I don't know whether he's telling me the time
or the temperature. Lizards are dropping from heat exhaustion. 'It's a dry heat'
say the natives, although so is the inside of an oven and I don't think you'd
want to spend an hour there". Then there is his encounter with a chain
smoker at the tables. "I went next door to the Casino Royal, which offers
$1 blackjack. I sit down at a vacant spot in a two-deck game next to an older
chain-smoking woman. I hope to win a few hands quickly, then leave before I
am saddled with emphysema. I do and am able to depart before my lungs collapse".
But this is, after all, a book about blackjack and one man trying to beat the
casinos at their own game. Meadow accurately describes his playing sessions,
how much he bets, the memorable wins and crushing defeats, and keeps a score
on how much he is ahead and behind during his adventure. Every would-be card
counter must read this book to appreciate the negative emotions that sometimes
befall blackjack players when the going gets tough. For example in one nightmarish
playing session Meadow writes after he changes tables: "I sit at a head-up
$25 table blackjack table and lose my first six hands. A new dealer arrives,
reshuffles the deck, and we begin. This time I lose my first 5 hands, meaning
I have lost my first 14 bets at this casino. I finally win a hand, then let
it ride and the deck is equally positive with the same result - one victory
all deck. In less than 15 minutes, I have lost $1,800". Or the time
Meadow attacks the blackjack tables at Circus Circus Casino in Reno. He can
do no wrong at the table and "the money is rolling in. Just as suddenly,
it rolls out, heading directly from my wallet into the vault of Mr. Circus himself.
By the time the slaughter stops, I have bought in for $1,200 and have only about
$250 left." But he also writes about his memorable winning sessions (his
biggest win was just under $3,000). The final accounting after his Odyssey is
over shows Meadow was an overall winner.
This is a refreshingly entertaining, educational, and hilarious book that I
recommend to anyone who has ever placed a bet on a blackjack table, or for that
matter, in a casino. The copy on the book jacket states "You'll never forget
Blackjack Autumn." And guess what? They are right.
The book is available here
at amazon.com.
*******************
Henry Tamburin is one of America's premier casino gambling writers and the author
of his latest book Henry Tamburin On Casino Gambling - The Best of The
Best plus 6 other best-selling books. For a free catalog call
1-888-353-3234 or visit his web site for casino players at http://www.smartgaming.com.
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