Rating: 
Summary: A Great Read, But Not Perfect
Review: Got this book a few days ago for Christmas. While the writing style leaves a little something to be desired (feels a little shallow at times), the content of the story and the experiences of the characters was riveting throughout. Like many other reviews have already indicated, I couldn't put the book down. I'm usually a slow reader, sometimes taking weeks to finish a book, but I finished this one in just a couple of days. I suspect that the entire book is not as factual as it could be. It seems a little too unbelievable at times. I suspect that the true events did not happen as dramatically as described in the book. Probaby had some embellishment thrown in to add suspense and drama. But one thing's certain ... this version of the story is very exciting and entertaining! I would love to see a movie made out of it.
Rating: 
Summary: Wait for the Paperback
Review: "Bringing Down the House" tells an interesting story about several young kids chosen to learn card counting methods and entrusted with hundreds of thousands of dollars in an attempt to take casinos for all they are worth. The pace of the story is often frenetic and it is a quick read, both of which are nice for a plane ride or quick holiday book, but this isn't something that will stick with a reader. The title leads readers to believe that this describes epic events in Las Vegas, but instead it is a bunch of kids who legally take advantage of the rules of black jack and win a lot of money for themselves. It is amusing and actually amazing, but nothing that will leave a lasting impression. It also doesn't really teach effective lessons about counting cards. It describes some basic techniques, but certainly isn't a "how-to" guide. I don't know that all readers are looking for these characteristics, but if you are, look elsewhere. It is a good book that is a fun, quick read, but it isn't one you will want to keep on your shelves forever and come back to time and again.
Rating: 
Summary: One-dimensional telling of an unremarkable story
Review: It really comes to me as a surprise that this book received such high ratings. In my opinion there aren't much to be praised. First, the story itself is unremarkable. It is about a group of post MIT students trying to make quick money from playing blackjack at casinos and living double lives. It would be unfair to criticize a book for not meeting my personal expectations, but reading the title, I expected something more spectacular -- for e.g., a towering event that led to literally "bringing down a house," or an ingenious betting scheme that would leave no one unimpressed. The book had neither, not even a build up. Well, the last 1/3 of the book, which covered the cracking down of the team, may be seen as a build up, but even the crack down was not a result of the team posing a serious challenge to the "system." The team had simply been making more money than the casinos had wanted (the protagonist, Kevin, later reveals that they had more than 30% return on investment for each of the 5 years he played). The story telling also leaves much to be desired. I really doubt that any of the team members was in it "for the game itself," as the author puts it. Other than their appearance, ethnicity, and credentials readers get little information about the characters involved. Finally for the team's scheme, which happened to be my primary motivation for reading this book. As mentioned earlier, there is nothing new in the betting scheme itself. "Counting cards" literally mean keeping track of the cards dealt, although in a cumulative way: cards numbered two to six are counted as 1, ten and face cards -1, and the remaining 0. Roughly stated, players place high bets when the running count is high (which directly implies that there are more ten & face cards remaining in the shoe). The scheme the team actually used is only slightly complicated than this -- read the final chapter subtitled "An Essay by Kevin Lewis" at a bookstore if you are interested. The scheme worked for the team not because there was anything special about it but because the team worked as a team. It doesn't take a MIT graduate to figure this out.
Rating: 
Summary: 5 Stars For The Suspense
Review: I picked up this book in the airport even though I was only slightly interested in what I thought would be a technical slog on how to beat the house in blackjack. Wow -- it exceeded my expectations and that's why I'm giving it 5 stars. I couldn't put it down. The writer excelled at developing the suspense of the story -- he competently built a sense of looming danger or disaster, even though the entire time I believed that, because this is non-fiction, the likelihood of a truly dangerous climax was slim (i.e., Hollywood-style mob hits), otherwise it would have been made into a TV movie of the week already. Even given that, I could not wait to read how it all ended. However, one big caveat -- the writing is very clumsy and the characters are thinly sketched. Moreover, I think the writer wants you to care about them, which is hilarious considering that he could not have painted more unlikeable, money-grubbing, shallow, elitist characters if he tried. Read for the excitement only -- you won't be disappointed.
Rating:
Summary: trashy fun
Review: I enjoyed this book as a cheap thriller. I liked the way that Mezrich details the mechanisms of team play, and I enjoyed watching this machine of team play in action. Other reviewers are right on the book's shortcomings: ho-hum prose, shallowly conceived characters, a sometimes didactic and uninteresting "blackjack educational filmstrip" voice, cheesy dialogue and the annoying and unnecessary chapters involving the author in interviews with present-day vegas types. I am going to add another to this litany of charges: Mezrich's "immaturity," specifically his tendency to offer colleges attended and academic majors as characterization. He has an annoying way of introducing new characters by emphasising where they went to school and what they majored in, instead of their personal qualities. I guess that what distinguishes these characters really might be their college majors - they seem otherwise so united in cynicism. Indeed, one of the unexpected and unsettling insights of this book is that students at places like Harvard and MIT, unattracted to intellectual life, only imagine themselves as better equipped to satiate their greed. I would hope that most men and women, by the time they reach the ages of the characters in this book, have outgrown such identities. That they haven't in Mezrich's book is either a remark about real "MIT kids" or a sign of his limited world view. But I did enjoy this book, mostly because of its richness in detail on the team's tactics.
Rating:
Summary: Interesting story but the writing slogs along
Review: I picked this book up at an airport right before I got on a plane for about 16 hours. I liked the premise of kids beating Vegas at its own game and that part of the book is quite compelling. You will like the kids in the book - smart, clever, resourceful and all that you would expect from a group of MIT students, drop outs, and grads. Unfotunately the author takes what seems like for-ev-er to get to the meat of the story. The last 20 - 30 pages of this book are really the good part but the pages leading up to that are slow with metaphors and similes that read too much like a college creative writing class for my liking. It was easy reading for a long plane ride and I was engaged enough to finish the book but had I not been stuck on that plane for all those hours, I'm not sure I would have stuck with it.
Rating:
Summary: Great read & interesting stroy.
Review: I loved this book. Read it cover to cover in one night. Bringing Down the House is a fast paced story of a group of MIT brainiacs who try to beat the casinos using complicated and highly coordinated wagering techniques. You really get caught up in the team's adrenalin rushes and their inevitable crashes. A great insider's look at the Las Vegas lifestyle and the inner workings of the casinos. The author did a great job on his main character's ongoing moral dilemma: Is it acceptable to gamble using methods that while not illegal are definitely considered cheating by the casinos.
Rating:
Summary: M.I.T. is S-M-A-R-T
Review: Great book. interesting topic, great characters, ambigious ending. Well played all around. The scams the MIT kids pull in Vegas seem smart but simple, allowing the rest of us simpletons to dream of doing something similar. Vegas baby, Vegas. My only complaint might seem somewhat petty but hey that's what on-line reviews are for. These were obviously some really smart kids, working fairly hard to earn a hundred or a couple hundred grand a year. If they had done anything else they could have made millions. I guess there's the allure of being the big-shot at the casino, but only a few members of the team got to really party it up. Perhaps it was that the activity was on the legal edge, that has to add a couple extra thrills. Perhaps it was sticking it to the man, that has to be an extra shot of fun. But in the end I still felt everyone would have been better off playing the stock market.
Rating:
Summary: Watch out Vegas!!!!
Review: This book was amazing. I was never interested in gambling until i bought this book. For about a week this book consumed my life, it's that hard to put down. Mezrich makes you want to gamble more and more with every word. He really does a fantastic job of getting you into the book. If the "team" was gettin heat from the pitboss my heart would start beating faster and faster or every once in a while if a team member won a hand for $50,000 i'd catch myself cracking a huge smile. All of a sudden, I want to start my own Blackjack team and everyone i've talked to who read this book feels the same. Watch out Vegas, you don't have to be a M.I.T. grad to take you for millions. Definately buy this book!!!
Rating:
Summary: Riviting page-turner that will keep you on edge
Review: Very enjoyable quick read. Anyone who has ever lost in a casino will appreciate seeing the house get taken, particularly as a result of their deep-seated prejudices. Most of the critics are off base and don't know jack about blackjack. For example, the reason they exceed the 1-5% advantage of most counters is that they only play when the deck is rich, whereas most counters must play whether the deck is rich or poor. By playing big money all the time, these counters turned the tables on the casinos.
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