Blackjack is one of the world’s most popular casino games. The aim of the game is to get as close to 21 as possible without going over and beating the dealer’s hand. While for most people, blackjack is just a hobby, some have made it their profession! In fact, some players have gone on to write books to help the average player improve their game.
If you are also looking to improve your blackjack game, we’ve got you covered. Here is our ultimate list of the absolute best 30+ blackjack books you should have in your library. You’ll be playing like a pro in no time!
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1. THE WORLD’S GREATEST BLACKJACK BOOK
BEST BLACKJACK BOOK TO START WITH
- Great product!
- Humble, Lance (Author)
- English (Publication Language)
The World’s Greatest Blackjack Book is a classic for a reason! This book was published in 1980 by Crown and written by Lance Humble and Ken Cooper. Lance is one of the co-creators of the Hi-Opt I and II card counting strategies, while Ken is a professional consultant with expertise in speaking and training. Together, the two authors have created an in-depth and comprehensive look at the game, with guides on how to play blackjack, what to look out for in the casinos, and in-depth card counting strategies. If you’re looking for an all-in-one book that gives you everything you need to know about 21 and how to beat it, this is the book for you!
2. MODERN BLACKJACK
BEST BLACKJACK BOOK FOR BEGINNERS AND PROS
- Used Book in Good Condition
- Wattenberger, Norm (Author)
- English (Publication Language)
Published thirty years later, Modern Blackjack explores the current state of blackjack in casinos. The author has a keen interest in blackjack and wrote Modern Blackjack to give a detailed look at blackjack in the late 2000s. It covers everything from basic to modern counting strategies and the conditions for it in casinos. The book has been revered by blackjack experts such as Don Schlesinger and is well worth a read for anyone who wants the most up-to-date strategies for beating blackjack. Modern Blackjack is an easy read, perfect for beginners, but it also provides valuable insight for pro players as well.
3. BEAT THE DEALER
BEST FIRST BLACKJACK BOOK FOR STRATEGY
- Thorp, Edward O. (Author)
- English (Publication Language)
- 220 Pages - 04/12/1966 (Publication Date) - Vintage (Publisher)
The first easily accessible book on how to beat 21, Beat The Dealer, was written by American mathematician Edward Oakley Thorp and was published in 1962. And if you’re really serious about the game, you know that math and probability play a huge role in learning how to play to win! Edward is known as the father of card counting and mathematically proved that blackjack was winnable. The book explains the game’s rules, the first counting strategy ever devised, how to beat the casino’s counter-measures, and how to spot cheating. The information in the book is just as relevant today as it was in 1962 and is an essential piece of blackjack history.
Head to our post on blackjack strategy for other some tips and tricks to improve your play!
4. BLACKJACK BLUEBOOK II
BEST BLACKJACK BOOK FOR LEARNING
- Fred Renzey (Author)
- English (Publication Language)
- 229 Pages - 04/10/2017 (Publication Date) - Blackjack Mentor (Publisher)
If you’re looking for a blackjack book that will read like a student’s handbook and take you through blackjack strategy step-by-step, you should check out the Blackjack Bluebook II. This book teaches you how to play and how to win at casino 21, including color-coded charts, visual scenarios, and unique strategies and maneuvers to employ when playing. The book starts with the absolute basics and slowly moves to more complex methods, including advanced strategy. But best of all, this book explains the “why” behind the strategies so that you fully understand the edge you get by using these explained strategies.
5. BLACKBELT IN BLACKJACK
BEST BLACKJACK BOOK FOR A NEW PERSPECTIVE
- Snyder, Arnold (Author)
- English (Publication Language)
- 328 Pages - 02/01/2005 (Publication Date) - Cardoza (Publisher)
Blackbelt in Blackjack looks at blackjack as a martial art. It’s a serious game for you to win serious money with the right strategies under your belt. Arnold Snyder, the author, is a high-stakes professional gambler who has written some of the best books on casino games over decades! Featuring 21 chapters (get it?), Blackbelt in Blackjack reveals tips and tricks used by the pros you would have never expected. Of course, Snyder also covers the strategies you’ll need to beat blackjack in a realistic manner. It gives you the tools to succeed but emphasizes there are no shortcuts.
6. THE BIG BOOK OF BLACKJACK
BEST COMPREHENSIVE BLACKJACK BOOK
- Snyder, Arnold (Author)
- English (Publication Language)
- 400 Pages - 05/08/2018 (Publication Date) - Cardoza (Publisher)
Another Arnold Snyder masterpiece, The Big Book of Blackjack is one of the first books that come to mind when listing the best blackjack books of all time. The Big Book of Blackjack is a comprehensive blackjack book that will take you through literally everything you need to know about this casino game. In fact, this book is so comprehensive that even seasoned players will discover something new in this book. In The Big Book of Blackjack, you’ll learn not only how to win blackjack, but also how to win various variations of the game, including Spanish 21 and Blackjack Switch.
7. PLAY BLACKJACK LIKE THE PROS
BEST BLACKJACK BOOK TO LEARN FROM A PRO
- Blackwood, Kevin (Author)
- English (Publication Language)
- 288 Pages - 03/29/2005 (Publication Date) - William Morrow Paperbacks...
Looking for a book written by one of the world’s top card counters? Get your hand on a copy of Kevin Blackwood’s Play Blackjack Like the Pros. In this tell-all book, Blackwood reveals his million-dollar strategies for beating 21. As a true modern blackjack book, Play Blackjack Like the Pros covers every type of blackjack imaginable, including high and low stakes casino, online, tournaments, as well as shoe games. Starting with the basics, Blackwood quickly moves onto his personal card-counting method that has helped him to win over a million dollars over the years!
8. BRINGING DOWN THE HOUSE
THE MOST ENTERTAINING BLACKJACK BOOK
- Great product!
- Mezrich, Ben (Author)
- English (Publication Language)
You may already know about this story. Have you heard of the absolutely incredible real-life story of the MIT blackjack team, a group of students who used card-counting techniques to beat blackjack in casinos around the world? In this NYT Bestseller, Ben Mezrich tells this thrilling story from the point of view of Kevin Lewis, an MIT grad who was invited to join this group. This book details the club’s success in taking millions of dollars from casinos in less than two years! It also follows the corporate Vegas drama that follows them afterward due to counting cards (which is a totally legal strategy that is frowned upon by casinos). Bringing Down the House is truly the best blackjack book to get you into the glamorous world of casinos.
9. BLACKJACK FOR BLOOD
BEST BASIC BLACKJACK BOOK
- Bryce Carlson (Author)
- English (Publication Language)
- 224 Pages - 02/01/2017 (Publication Date) - Huntington Press (Publisher)
Blackjack strategy can get you in and over your head if you’re not a huge fan of math. But this is where Blackjack for Blood comes in. This book by Bryce Carlson provides a comprehensive strategy for beating blackjack in casinos. Blackjack for Blood starts with the absolute basics, including how to bet properly and how to place your hands. It will also start with basic strategy that beginner blackjack players would appreciate. But even as it goes into the more advanced strategies, Carlson’s strategies are easy and only require basic math!
10. THE 21ST CENTURY CARD COUNTER
BEST BLACKJACK BOOK ON CARD COUNTING
- Amazon Kindle Edition
- Jones, Colin (Author)
- English (Publication Language)
Here’s the thing: Blackjack has changed a lot over the past few decades. Specifically, casinos have been trying their best to discourage card counting, but with the right knowledge and strategies at hand, you can still beat the system. This is where The 21st Century Card Counter comes in. The author Colin Jones, a blackjack pro who has earned his living by beating the casinos over decades, has written this tell-all book on how to beat blackjack despite these changes. To keep the book interesting, The 21st Century Card Counter is also scattered with real stories and interviews that will further help you in becoming a professional card counter.
11. BLACKJACK ATTACK
BEST BLACKJACK BOOK FOR CARD-COUNTING EXPERTS
- Schlesinger, Don (Author)
- English (Publication Language)
- 576 Pages - 04/04/2023 (Publication Date) - Huntington Press (Publisher)
Looking for a book that covers more advanced strategies for serious players? Don Schlesinger’s Blackjack Attack is a massive and important book, perfect for blackjack aficionados. This book has been praised by pros over the years – and for good reason. Blackjack Attack is loaded with answers to crazy and difficult mathematical questions raised by blackjack players over the years, so if math makes you queasy, try something more beginner-friendly first. You should already have a good understanding of counting cards before you dive into this book or else it’ll go in over your head. But for those card-counting pros, this is an incredibly valuable and serious resource.
12. PROFESSIONAL BLACKJACK
BEST BLACKJACK BOOK FOR SERIOUS PLAYERS
- Used Book in Good Condition
- Stanford Wong (Author)
- English (Publication Language)
Another great book that serious blackjack players should have in their arsenal is Professional Blackjack. At its core, this book explains how to win without getting kicked out of the casino. The strategies outlined in this book have been tested in casinos around the world with success. Although Professional Blackjack may not be the most modern book, it is still an incredibly useful book that is any professional blackjack player’s bible. The author, Wong, details a more advanced view of blackjack using a lot of math and statistics, but as long as you have a basic understanding of statistics, you should be able to understand this book and employ Wong’s strategies to beat the game.
OTHER TOP BLACKJACK BOOKS YOU SHOULD CHECK OUT
There are literally so many blackjack books out there, but it can be hard to decide which books you should go for. While the 13 I have highlighted above are some of the standouts, here are some other top books you should definitely consider as well!
- Blackjack: Play Like the Pros
- Radical Blackjack
- Beat Blackjack Now!
- Blackjack Secrets
- Turning the Tables on Las Vegas
- Burning the Tables on Las Vegas
- Million Dollar Blackjack
- The Theory of Blackjack
- Blackjack Wisdom
- Comp City: A Guide to Free Las Vegas Vacations
- Modern Blackjack II
- Advanced Advantage Play
- Winning Casino Blackjack for the Non-Counter
- Playing Blackjack as a Business
- Knock-Out Blackjack
- Sklansky Talks Blackjack
- Repeat Until Rich: A Professional Card Counter’s Chronicle of the Blackjack Wars
- Basic Blackjack
- Blackjack Blueprint
- Blackjack: The Basic Strategy Book – 1001 Problems and Drills
BEAT THE DEALER!
No matter if you are trying to learn how to play blackjack from scratch or if you’re looking to improve your blackjack game, there are plenty of helpful books that offer detailed explanations of all you need to know, from basic strategies to more advanced techniques. Any one of these 30+ blackjack books should help you become a better blackjack player and take your game to the next level!
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