Super entertaining, really cool to see the lengths that casinos are willing to go to prevent losses, even if some of the scenarios might have been dramatized a bit.

Fun quick read

Genius characters but no genius story lines

Read this book after seeing the film adaptation, 21. It would have been a great story if not for the author's reputation of stretching the facts. And the writing style? I guess his blackjack skills are better than his writing.

For once, the review quote on the book is correct – this tale of MIT card counters giving Vegas a run for its literal money is as entertaining as any fictional thriller! That may be because…much of it IS fiction!

You know how most movies that are “based on a true story” or “inspired by true events” have very little to do with said events? Well this book goes one step further – it started making stuff up even before the movie came out! As detailed on the Wikipedia page, most of the more salacious and eye-popping events never happened. In fact, the local newspaper did a deep dive a decade after the book came out and found that so many things were made up that they classified the book as fiction. The author learned nothing though – he later published an even more imaginary prequel to this book based on an earlier MIT card counting team! Further into the future, his book about the founding of Facebook was made into the movie “The Social Network,” though it’s been said that it’s also of questionable veracity.

I didn’t know too much of the above before I read the book because I deliberately wanted to avoid major spoilers. To learn of it fills me with disappointment because the underlying, basic story is genuinely interesting and entertaining. It’s a shame the author felt like he had to dress things up by inventing stories and putting in hearsay rumors, because he honestly didn’t need to. I was thoroughly entertained reading about this guy’s initiation into a team that resembled a secret society exploiting legal loopholes and mathematical probabilities in a choreographed dance to bank gratuitous sums, allowing them to hang with AAA talent and live like royalty.

As for the book itself, the author wisely decided to focus on pacing at the expense of detail. Whereas the main team has around 10 people using two charts of code words, the book keeps its attention on the main character and perhaps 3-4 secondary characters, all of whom are introduced very early in the book. By not getting bogged down in detail or forcing the reader flip back and forth between the narrative and consulting reference tables, the author is able to maintain the frenetic action that recalls the high stakes nature of the game, the lifestyle, and the industry. While I am usually a stickler for details and like it when artists add little callbacks and fourth-wall breaking winks to the audience, I enjoyed the story as it was. There is a time and place to be exhaustive with facts, but the author didn’t set out to write that type of book. In an interesting addition, the book is sprinkled with little interviews with former team members, consultants and industry professionals to add insight and a little perspective on events that otherwise would be difficult to add in the main narrative flow.

Skimming through the reviews here, it seems that most reviewers are angry about either the semi-fictional status of the book (which I’ve addressed above) or what they perceive as subpar writing. For my part, I didn’t see the defects in dialogue that others have pointed out, though it may very well be that I was too entertained to slow down and carefully pick apart the text.

RATING: 4 stars (“I enjoyed reading it, but it might not have made a lasting impression on me.”)
I was honestly entertained by this book. It’s a fast, fun read that exposed a side of gambling that I didn’t know about before, and it makes me wonder why poker got all the attention in the 2000s if blackjack is actually winnable. Perhaps poker makes for better TV with the group dynamics and various personalities. Regardless, I got way more than my money’s worth out of this. Just think of it as fiction and it’ll be a blast.

TL;DR
Entertaining and fast paced novel best enjoyed if thought of as a work of fiction rather than one very loosely based on a true story.

Ben Mezrich has done it again. He's one of the premier non-fiction storytellers in the world today and this is just another shining example of his talent.

I loved watching the movie 21 when it was released a number of years ago now, and am shocked by how different the movie is to the book. Often there are differences, but this is almost like two separate stories. Between the two, I'd say read the book.

As the book that the film "21" was based on, it was pretty insightful to read a lot of the explanations that were omitted in the film (due to obvious time constraints). It's a great real-life story (or as real as the book claims to be), but the writing style, pacing, and narration turned me off a little. The writing style made it hard to follow the story, especially with the switching back and forth (which would have worked well had it been executed deftly), and the narrator's voice gave off an air of arrogance.

I've played blackjack, made petty cash money this way. Not, howeve,r in a casino and never knew how to count cards. Can see the allure for students, vast sums of money, cash to throw around, but never would I have had the cool these young people did. I would have been a quivering mass of jelly, would have been seen through in a minute. Going through airports with large sums it money, through security, no way! Of course this couldn't happen now, security has gotten much tighter. Also, didn't expect the mention of the Victorian casino in Elgin, which is fairly close to my house.

Entertaining, a quick listen. The narrator was Johnny Heller and though I enjoyed the tone of his voice, he was at times a mouth slurper. I give him two stars.

He aquí un libro interesante. Muy interesante. Narra la historia de un un grupo, o más bien un comando de estudiantes del MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) que se dedicaban a forrarse en los casinos de las Vegas durante los fines de semana. La historia está contada por un escritor amigo de uno de los miembros del comando. La idea general de cómo desvalijar a la banca es relativamente sencilla: En el Black Jack es posible ganar a la casa. Si además cuentas con la ventaja estratégica de saber qué cartas quedan dentro de la baraja, y de si abundan más las cartas altas o bajas, entonces tienes casi asegurada la victoria. Para ellos, los comandos se distribuían por los casinos con varias funciones: Unos eran los contadores de cartas, que jugaban pequeñas cantidades pero iban contando cuántas cartas quedaban en el taco de seis barajas que se usa para repartir. Cuando vieran que quedaban más cartas altas que bajas, avisaban a los jugadores de verdad, que empezaban a apostar cantidades muy altas. Como la probabilidad estaba a su favor, la gran mayoría de las veces les empezaban a sacar grandes cantidades de dinero a los casinos.
La historia cuenta cómo los casinos se defendieron de este grupo, que siempre actuó de manera legal (no hubo trampas, sólo recuento de cartas, lo que estaba permitido). Se aprecia lo fácil que es empezar a bordear la frontera de la propia integridad física cuando uno amenaza con dejar a un casino sin unos pocos miles de dólares. Durante muchos meses este grupo rodó por los distintos casinos de los EE.UU. durante los fines de semana, ganando millones de dólares; y al final se nos relata el resultado de la batalla entre ellos y los casinos que querían mantenerles alejados de allí de cualquier manera.
Es una historia realmente curiosa y muy interesante. Recuerda mucho a la historia de los Pelayos o a los Eudaemons. Engancha desde el primer momento y no deja respiro al lector hasta el final. Me lo he pasado pipa leyéndola. Mi nota, Muy buena.

I read this book first in my college days - when we were frequent gamblers and it was so intriguing and I thought just maybe we too could be professional gamblers - why not, right! Today, it was a great re-read with a new perspective as a career woman for over 15 years and one that takes much less risk when hitting any casinos and I wonder about things so differently now!

Have you ever read a book that was written so beautifully with so much action built into it that you wonder, “Did this really happen?”

It was something that I had pondered for the past few days. I held off on marking this book finished because I wanted to do my own research when it comes to novels like this. I certainly learned my lesson after The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien.

And it was exactly as I expected. While the theory behind this book was fascinating—the card counting, the secrecy behind Vegas, the symbolism behind greed—I found it incredibly disappointing to know that some of the scenes in this books was faked. The only thing I can appreciate was the little essay on card counting that Kevin Lewis provided (or should I say Jeffrey Ma).

It’s a trap that all nonfiction books fall into. Tell the truth and nothing but the truth, you risk the audience’s attention. But tell a few “white lies” and you risk huge repercussions of fabricating what is supposed to be “nonfiction”.

I realize that there was a disclaimer saying that “some” events were fabricated to make the story flow better, but putting in extremes like robberies, private corporations with shady methods, and fake characters, it almost feels like lying. I would much rather read a story with more truth in it.

Chi è cresciuto negli anni 90 ha vissuto un po' il fenomeno cinematografico di quell'epoca, dove i film ti davano l'idea che potessi diventare chiunque, che potessi diventare ricco, famoso e fare tutto. E diciamoci la verità, il nostro sogno americano è un po' questo, non quello di lavorare in un ufficio di Manhattan per 15 ore al giorno riducendosi a mangiare una barretta proteica davanti al computer (perché guess what, è cosi che succede).
Questo libro ci racconta, in forma ovviamente romanzata, il sogno un po' di tutti noi nerd smanettoni che eravamo bravi in matematica al liceo. E a parte un punto in particolare in cui il libro rallenta un po', per il resto si fa davvero apprezzare. Si percepisce la crescente dipendenza di Kevin più che verso i soldi, verso il gioco d'azzardo, che poi non è azzardo, è un meccanismo ben oliato che Kevin sa che funziona.

Fino a che qualcuno se ne accorgerà e dirà basta.

Ed ecco che Kevin è costretto a tornare alla realtà, e la sua storia si conclude con un finale un po' dolce e un po' amaro. E come per tutti prima o poi, la sua versione del sogno americano deve finire.

«Non ti ho mai detto perché ho abbandonato il MIT, vero?»
Kevin aprì gli occhi. Il soffitto scuro gli restituì l’occhiata. Aspettò che Martinez continuasse.
«Perché quello comunque non era il mio posto. Ero già stato reclutato da Micky. Sapevo che questa era la vita più adatta a me. Qualcuno potrebbe pensare che io stia sprecando i miei talenti. Io invece credo che questo sia il mio destino. Sono un contacarte, Kevin.»