Rating: 
Summary: John Patricks Advanced Blackjack
Review: Although I found some of his strategies and advice concerning splits (dont split two aces??? You have a 2 or 12!) to be questionable, there is NO QUESTION concerning the value of his money management and discipline theories. I LIKE the idea of wrapping up a profit after the first hand of a series, and playing with the casinos money after executing his "Up and Pull" method. After reading his book(s) (Craps for the Clueless also) my wife and I are both more disciplined and confident players at the BJ tables. This book has equaled winning much more often for me. Four Stars just for the Money Management and Discipline chaptors alone.
Rating: 
Summary: Not good
Review: Boy, is this Patrick guy bad. In fact, he is quite well-known now for his bad blackjack advice. The problem is, he writes in a style that sounds convincing and "common sense".People, you cannot use "common sense" in blackjack. Some of Patrick's plays are just plain wrong. These plays cannot be judged right or wrong because you happen to win some hands by playing that way. There are HUGE variances in blackjack, and any play or money management system can win in the short term. The only way to know if a play is correct, in terms of probability and long term winning percentage, is by mathematical proof or large computer simulations. Otherwise, you're just wishing it to be true. There's a very good reason casinos make billions of dollars every year. Patrick's book does 2 things
1) makes him money
2) ensures that the casinos stay in business so he can make more money selling more blackjack books. Is everything in this book wrong? No, most of it is right. But why buy a book like this when there are many more that get it ALL right? Read Wong, or Schlesinger, or Griffin, or Uston, or other proven authors. It really doesn't matter how easy this book is to read if it gives bad plays. And it doesn't matter that you went into the casino and won using Patrick's methods, because in this game your experience is too short to count as valid and meaningful in terms of probability. If you don't understand that, there's no hope for you anyway. Can you explain why you are more likely to get a blackjack with 1 deck than 6? Do you understand why preferential shuffling can hurt you? Do you understand why you should hit your 16 against the dealer's 7, even though you will probably lose the hand? If you understand all that, then you sure don't need this book. If you don't, then go find another book that explains the REAL fundamentals of blackjack. Anyone can win at blackjack - even total idiots - in the short term. Only a few actually play the game with a mathematical advantage though.
Rating:
Summary: Not good
Review: Boy, is this Patrick guy bad. In fact, he is quite well-known now for his bad blackjack advice. The problem is, he writes in a style that sounds convincing and "common sense". People, you cannot use "common sense" in blackjack. Some of Patrick's plays are just plain wrong. These plays cannot be judged right or wrong because you happen to win some hands by playing that way. There are HUGE variances in blackjack, and any play or money management system can win in the short term. The only way to know if a play is correct, in terms of probability and long term winning percentage, is by mathematical proof or large computer simulations. Otherwise, you're just wishing it to be true. There's a very good reason casinos make billions of dollars every year. Patrick's book does 2 things
1) makes him money
2) ensures that the casinos stay in business so he can make more money selling more blackjack books. Is everything in this book wrong? No, most of it is right. But why buy a book like this when there are many more that get it ALL right? Read Wong, or Schlesinger, or Griffin, or Uston, or other proven authors. It really doesn't matter how easy this book is to read if it gives bad plays. And it doesn't matter that you went into the casino and won using Patrick's methods, because in this game your experience is too short to count as valid and meaningful in terms of probability. If you don't understand that, there's no hope for you anyway. Can you explain why you are more likely to get a blackjack with 1 deck than 6? Do you understand why preferential shuffling can hurt you? Do you understand why you should hit your 16 against the dealer's 7, even though you will probably lose the hand? If you understand all that, then you sure don't need this book. If you don't, then go find another book that explains the REAL fundamentals of blackjack. Anyone can win at blackjack - even total idiots - in the short term. Only a few actually play the game with a mathematical advantage though.
Rating: 
Summary: All Words No Numbers
Review: Don't listen to the people who give poor reviews to Patrick's books. Patrick has been around the casino tables for nearly 40 years and has plenty of experience. His playing methods are very sound and mathematically accurate. For the average player, his strategy can be invaluable, especially when it comes to money management and how to bet. If you guys don't feel comfortable with not doubling down on 11 vs. every dealer hand, go ahead and chart your progress. Chart how many times you win on dealer 2, 9, 10, or A. Until then, don't give this good book a bad review. This book is filled with good Blackjack principles!
Rating:
Summary: A Good Book Deserves a Good Review
Review: Don't listen to the people who give poor reviews to Patrick's books. Patrick has been around the casino tables for nearly 40 years and has plenty of experience. His playing methods are very sound and mathematically accurate. For the average player, his strategy can be invaluable, especially when it comes to money management and how to bet. If you guys don't feel comfortable with not doubling down on 11 vs. every dealer hand, go ahead and chart your progress. Chart how many times you win on dealer 2, 9, 10, or A. Until then, don't give this good book a bad review. This book is filled with good Blackjack principles!
Rating: 
Summary: Still making money with John Patrick's methods!
Review: For all the people that gave this book a negative review, they definitely did not get his style of writing. Not once does he ever mention playing hunches which one reader wrote. Also, he never mentions "playing with the casinos money" as someone else wrote. Once you win that money it's your money. The casino doesn't say they're playing with your money when they win. I have been winning consistently for many years using John Patrick's methods. I have become an emotionless robot when I play. Every move I make is pre-determined (no hunches) and every bet I make is pre-determined. It may not be as much fun playing the game, but the three hour ride home is great knowing how much more money is in my pocket. He is the only author to say you don't always have to split Aces and Eights. I have read the other reviewers talking about computers and statistics. My degree in finance has me familiar with both, but it was only John Patrick's common sense explanations that stopped me from getting burnt anymore playing those hands. How many times have you split these hands only to get killed? But, it was the thing that you were "supposed to do". He makes you look at why you should be making moves in a logical sense, not because the computer said that you should and that's the way it has been handed down. In conclusion, I can only say that this book has totally changed the way I look at blackjack and has definitely made me a winner, sometimes in less than twenty minutes. If you are open to new methods and want to win consistently, then read this book. If you are closed minded, need computer print-outs and statistics, or just don't feel that you will ever have the dicipline to be a winner, then don't read this book.
Rating:
Summary: Still making money with John Patrick's methods!
Review: For all the people that gave this book a negative review, they definitely did not get his style of writing. Not once does he ever mention playing hunches which one reader wrote. Also, he never mentions "playing with the casinos money" as someone else wrote. Once you win that money it's your money. The casino doesn't say they're playing with your money when they win. I have been winning consistently for many years using John Patrick's methods. I have become an emotionless robot when I play. Every move I make is pre-determined (no hunches) and every bet I make is pre-determined. It may not be as much fun playing the game, but the three hour ride home is great knowing how much more money is in my pocket. He is the only author to say you don't always have to split Aces and Eights. I have read the other reviewers talking about computers and statistics. My degree in finance has me familiar with both, but it was only John Patrick's common sense explanations that stopped me from getting burnt anymore playing those hands. How many times have you split these hands only to get killed? But, it was the thing that you were "supposed to do". He makes you look at why you should be making moves in a logical sense, not because the computer said that you should and that's the way it has been handed down. In conclusion, I can only say that this book has totally changed the way I look at blackjack and has definitely made me a winner, sometimes in less than twenty minutes. If you are open to new methods and want to win consistently, then read this book. If you are closed minded, need computer print-outs and statistics, or just don't feel that you will ever have the dicipline to be a winner, then don't read this book.
Rating:
Summary: Valuable to the beginner in one area
Review: For the novice blackjack player interested in learning basic strategy and then how to count cards, this is not the book to buy. Still, Patrick's one worthwhile contribution to the world of blackjack education is important, and it's in here.I'm talking about discipline and money management. Patrick's book before this one, called John Patrick's Blackjack, is actually the better of his two blackjack books. Yes, his "conservative" basic strategy chart, which he teaches in both these books, is off here and there, and winds up costing you money. But it so happens that his first book was the very first blackjack book I ever bought and read, and you can do a lot worse.Patrick bangs you over the head again and again with his advice on discipline and money management, and after reading 15 other blackjack books since these two, and hitting the tables for four years, I conclude it's great advice. The hardest lesson for any blackjack player to learn is that how long you have to gamble on any particular trip to the casino is the one thing that should have absolutely no influence on how long you stay. Pay attention to Patrick's comments on win goals, loss limits, playing with excess and charting tables ... yes, charting tables. He is definitely helping you win money here. There are many other better blackjack books that don't do as good a job as Patrick at preaching fiscal responsibility, something every beginner should hear, and loudly.For how to play, basic strategies, learning to count, etc., you're much better off with Best Blackjack, by Scoblete, and the World's Greatest Blackjack Book by Humble and that other guy, in addition to five other good blackjack books. Read 'em all, I say, because after a while you can tell who's right on and who's way off.
Rating:
Summary: New 30yr BJ player
Review: I couldn't put this book down. Loaned to me during a pool tournament & I read 1/4 of it that night. I knew what he was saying and had lost money for 30 years by being each of the people he describes but I knew there was something basically I was not doing. He describes and teaches how to consistently be a winner through money management and discipline with allowances for individual assessment of the situation.
Rating:
Summary: Written by a throwback to the uneducated days of gambling
Review: I found the book utterly unreadable, I have read many blackjack books and have enjoyed most of them. I have always leaned towards the authors with a more technical background but I have also enjoyed Silberstang's work because of his wealth of blackjack playing experience. Mr Patrick writes like a clown and even brags about his ignorance of computers and their use in basic strategy construction. His book is a defintie throwback to the days before computer and statistical research
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