Truth be told, players have gotten smarter over the years. And it is with some amount of pride I can point to the founder of Gambler's Book Shop, John Luckman, as the shepherd who led the flock to the river. John was the head librarian, publisher and editor of most of the first wave of contemporary gambling books in the 1960s through the late 1980s, a time frame which paralleled the American gambling explosion. Most of the books published since owe a large debt to the Luckmans and their intelligence, imagination and innovative ideas. Currently that figure has dwindled to about 12 percent, a diminished return I attribute to informed decisions from education.
Greater challenges lie ahead.
The authors and card counters of the last 40 years have proven blackjack can be beaten. Casinos introduced measures and technology to counter the positive edge gained by an educated player. It remains to be seen what, if anything, can be done by players to regain an advantage. In the next few weeks we will examine some of the new literature to learn if there are any sharp insights on the homefront.