About this title: This true story recounts how a group of MIT students used their intellectual skills to beat the system at various casinos. Supplied with hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash by several anonymous investors, the students used role-playing, verbal clues and tics, and card counting to win millions of dollars.
Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is described below.
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Free Press
Date Published: 10/2002
ISBN-13:9780743225700ISBN:0743225708
Description: Very good in very good dust jacket. Very Good, In very good dust jacket. Sewn binding. Cloth over boards. With dust jacket. 272 p. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Free Press
Date Published: 10/2002
ISBN-13:9780743225700ISBN:0743225708
Description: Very good in very good dust jacket. Very Good, In very good dust jacket. Sewn binding. Cloth over boards. With dust jacket. 272 p. read more
"This was an interesting one I caught on audiobook. (It's the story behind the movie "21".) I didn't expect at least one pretty unsavory scene that I would rather have avoided.
First of all, just for fair warning, after doing a little reading regarding this book, it evidently has some factual problems. For example, some events never happened and some of the characters are composites of people the author interviewed. (I didn't know that until after I read the book.) The writing is not exactly great or pristine.
On the other hand, it was interesting. It centers around a team of card counters recruited from MIT students, trained to use an elaborate system of signals and team play and an ingenious method for calculating the probabilities of getting winning hands of blackjack. It's an interesting take on what the Vegas lifestyle and card counting did to the lives of the characters on the team."
This book certainly seconds the notion. The story is full of intrigue and suspense, a lot of social issues like racism and fraudulent identity are discussed, and the main character was bold to reveal his true identity and write an essay on card counting. It is suspenseful from the start, what with the card counters were almost caught. It's fascinating to read about a truth-to-life story about unlikely gamblers and how they made money by just being smart, having a good memory, and superior mathematical skills. The plot is linear, from present to past to present, the author gives us a fresh perspective by doing the hands-on card counting, the second person point of view was very effective. So if anyone is interested in gambling in Vegas specifically, be sure to grab a copy as this is quite a tutorial. This book simple doesn't want to be put down."
"Lately I've been reading a ton of nonfiction, but this one takes the cake. I've been special ordering it for people for over a year, but a book about Vegas and blackjack didn't really appeal to me until I saw the movie. The story is so exciting and dramatic that I HAD TO KNOW which parts were true and which were artistic license. When I read the book, I wasn't disappointed--the story of these six MIT kids is at least as awesome as the movie implies, if not more so.
The MIT blackjack team led double lives for years: by day they were college students, businessmen, and nerdy Asian-Americans. By night (or, actually, on the weekends) they were Vegas high-rollers with all manner of disguises, alter egos, and impressive connections. They won tens of thousands of dollars every night. And they did it all with math.
You can't really believe this stuff until you've read it. Mezrich's writing is the perfect blend of narrative, interviews, and personal experience. I can't wait to read his new one, Accidental Billionaires, about the guys who invented Facebook."
"Terrific read! Compelling, intriguing, this one captures the sweeping wonder of Vegas, and leaves room for a fascinating true story about card-counting. The protagonist, Kevin Lewis, an MIT alumnus, becomes heavily involved in a group of math whiz-kids who've devised (with the help of a savvy former professor) a virtually fool-proof method for beating Las Vegas blackjack at its own game.
The fun of this book is that it makes you think, if only for a minute, that you might be able to do just what these kids did; in principle, the "hi-lo" method of card counting is relatively simple. The book then proceeds to laugh away the idea of less-than-professionals attempting the feat, which requires lightning-fast math. But, as the book preaches, the majority of the skill comes from one's ability to bland in with their surroundings, playing their "part" well without giving away their true motives.
The book is exciting, would keep anyone reading, and the fact that it was real makes it utterly fascinating. If you have even a mild interest in cards (or simply the glitzy intrigue of Vegas), check this one out.
A NOTE ON THE FILM ADAPTATION: I saw "21" before reading this book, upon which the film is LOOSELY based, and I think I did things in the right order; the film is exciting in its own way, but abandons almost every aspect of this story consistent with reality, in favor of more exciting "formula" Hollywood elements. That being said, the Vegas visuals that accompany the film were still in my mind while reading "Bringing Down the House", and may have supplemented Mezrich's sparse Vegas imagery."
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