Educators are hearing and seeing evidence of problems with youth and gambling - this book addresses the issue very well.

If you have any interest in Native American lore, especially the "hand game" this is the book for you. Not only is there a lot of information on Native American lore, but it is a fascinating mystery story as well. Highly recommended.

This is such a great book. It's the kind of book that you can't put down. If you love golf you will love this book.

Easy-to-understand nuts-and-bolts of casino gambling. Of invaluable use is the section on craps, the forgotten casino game. Explains odds, payouts, strategies. I bought this book over fifteen years ago, and I still refer to it.

This is a good basic book for beginners and good advice for seasoned players who continually lose and want to improve their game. Interesting stories and experiences as told by the author are found throughout the book. Purchased as a result of reviews by others in the gaming field.

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Mr Border presents some very practical information on the mechanics of managing your wagering dollars. He covers everything from straight betting to the exotics, in easy to follow fashion. Very good discussion on how to pick contenders, and how to make high probability bets without having to create your own speed ratings or track variants, etc. Most profitable book I've read all year.

This is the best system I've read about in craps. I disagree that it requires a big bankroll; believe me, I use this system and am no high roller.

Personally, I found all the stories about the Captain boring, but the Supersystem is easily worth the price of the book.

Two warnings: (1) the system is NOT a winning system, because no such thing exists in craps. Scoblete is honest about this and the mathetmatics presented are sound. It's a superior system because it minimizes losses. Therefore, with comps from the casino, a player could use this system and come out ahead. (2) The system is unusual and requires both attentiveness and the ability to deal with casino personnel who will question the player's strategy. Again, Scoblete deals with this fully and forthrightly.

I don't think the basic explanation of the game is especially good in this book. The novice player would probably do better elsewhere, but this is an excellent choice for those who understand the game and are looking to cut their losses and stay at the table longer.

I have read many craps books. The better ones will tell you to stay on the pass and come lines and place odds bets. This is you're best strategy. You really should ignore everything else because the house odds are too great on them. While you can't completely remove the house's odds, Frank Scoblete's book helps you to reduce them to an even smaller fraction. His 5 count system preserves your back roll but it is with the do/don't system that I think this book really hits on target. Using the do/don't system, I'm able to play in Caesars' with little actual money at risk and I usually walk away a winner. What's the do/don't system? Buy the book and find out. I have won thousands using his methods and I spend very little time gambling.

This book can take an individual from someone who knows nothing about craps to someone who is playig one of the stongest methods ever created. The first chapters thoroughly describe how the game is played and shows you why some bets are good and others are a waste of your money. The very worst bets are called "crazy crapper bets" because you have to be crazy to make them.

The book then goes into the methods of playing invented by the Captain, a great craps player from Atlantic City. You will learn how to use the five count and several systems of betting to go along with the five count. This section of the book will take a little bit of study but believe me it is worth it. I have played this system for well over a year now and I am ahead at craps.

Once you have mastered the material in this book, you can read Scoblete's follow ups to it; The Captain's Craps Revolution and Forever Craps. These are much more advanced books and should be read in that order.

I think that Scoblete is a great author of gambling books and you really can't go wrong reading his material, and you can win some money!!!

I too thought this was a good read, although it did slow down a little bit towards the end. The premise of taking 50 grand to Vegas to play with for a month is an intrigueing prospect to any of us who like to place a wager from time to time. True, Frank Scobletes writings are a bit more strategicly oriented, but Martinez's tome give us that novice gambler's frame of mind that we all were at, at one time in our gambling career. Overall I enjoyed the book, and would recommend it to anyone who loves gaming in general, or Las Vegas in particular. If there is one thing you can take away from this book,gambling wise, it's to learn one or two games well, perfect your play, and have a good time. Andres,...thanks for a good read.....and..next time....stay the hell away from baccarat, and stick to blackjack....because it'll be your "own" money next time.

Having read virtually every gambling book and every book on Las Vegas I would have to rate Martinez book at or near the top. Here's a guy with a $50,000 bankroll reading "The Idiots Guide to Gambling" on the plane to Vegas. Gotta love that.

More than just a gambling book, this book delves into all aspects of Las Vegas from the exploding population to the rest room attendant at a strip club.

Martinez has a great sense of humor and this book is very well written. It made me laugh out loud several times. Whether you're a gambler or not this book is entertaining. Highly recommended.

I read this book as part of a 'homework' assignment before my first trip to Las Vegas. The most intriguing thing about this book is the subtle humor Andreas uses throughout its entirety. And the fact that he thoroughly reasearches not only the hotels and the town, but the people of Las Vegas as well, makes it fascinating. He befriends a tennis instructor, an old casino 'regular' and even ends up at a gambler's anonymous meeting. The characters he ends up meeting are quite intriguing. Every time he would recount his gambling experiences, I would be applauding his wins or feeling sorry for his losses. This book is a definitely one to take with you on the plane as it certainly kept me laughing out loud and snickering to myself in the airport! I can't wait for Mr.Martinez to write similar books for every vacation destination! His writing will not tire you out....

This is a great story. I bought the book on Amazon for my brother after reading an excerpt in Wired Magazine and, after dipping into the first chapter, I felt compelled to stay up most of the night to read it straight through, before shipping it off the next day. The basics of the story -- a bunch of smart kids outwit the big bad casinos and walk away with lots of money (before the inevitable occurs) -- have a pretty much universal appeal. Whether or not all of this stuff actually happened as it's portrayed here: Who cares? The explanations of blackjack strategy are lucid and, unlike most of what you read about this kind of stuff, actually pass the mathematical sniff test. But the real fun is in the execution of the strategy: how this group of kids in their twenties worked in teams, 'casing' the blackjack pits to identify situations were the odds were in their favor, and then swooped in for the kill. And out again. All the while adopting various roles and 'personalities' to take advantage of casinos' own techniques to profile bettors (and 'cheaters') to beat the big houses at their own game. The story is well plotted, fast paced, and would make a fine movie.

Like other reviewers, it only took me a several hours to read. I like gambling stories (I'm a poker player) and I've read both of Michael Konik's books, which are also great. I would consider this a one of the top gamblers' story out there, not quite up-there as Alvarez' "The Biggest Game in Town" or Konik's "More Gambling Stories", but close.

I thought his writing was very smooth and really put you in the "action". I entirely believe the details of Kevin Lewis' life as a counter as I worked for a software company based in Lincoln, MA and was told many times that the co-founders - all of Asian decent and MIT grads! - were part of the MIT blackjack team. (I don't know which one but their stories are similar to what Lewis tells.) So, I just had to read this book since I knew some of the MIT team personally.

As I read the stories, it was not hard to imagine that they could've been on the very team he was on!

So, if you like gambling stories, add this book to your collection . . . .

As a physician I have my fill of non-fiction with an abundance of journals so when I read for relaxation I want a story that keeps me excited, interested and sleepless until it is finished. Bringing Down the House is such a book and reads like a Clancy or Pollock with a little lower body count, but with no less excitement.

Ben Mezrich is superb writer and story teller with the amazing ability to weave the excitement of a Las Vegas casino, the mathmetics of card counting with enjoyable interpersonal dynamics so that this is a consuming story with people you care about. His description of the high roller lifestyle in Vegas takes you to the tables playing sums you watch others wager with the adrenaline rush like you were part of the team. I bought the book in Boston having just missed him at a book signing and had a hardtime finishing the conference. I found myself in the room reading a book I could not put down instead of going out in one of the towns in which the story was set. It was that engrossing.

My Christmas list now contains all of his previous writings as this is an author who knows how to tell a story.