oliver galang

Has anyone read his book and can you tell me about it?

'I Want To Quit Winners' by Harold Smith, Sr., for example, being about the purest look into the soul of the degenerate that anybody ever wrote.

We have some very "carpet joint" type members inside. If you never read this you are missing a part of your gaming experience.

Cobbson

how do i forget dostoevsky? i don't qualify as a redchipper.

i don't qualify as a guy who only backcounts - strictly out of abstract curiosity - and never sits down to start betting no matter which way the count goes.

BTW, I enjoyed your book also.

Cobbson

Thanks very much! And I will cop to being a fan of FD. "And why are you so firmly, so positively convinced that only the normal and positive, in short, that only well-being, is profitable for a man?"

Good stuff.

On the insanity tip, right here is an act which will cause you to get down anywhere.

but I don't think the majority of APs walk a fine line between compulsive and advantage play. Wouldn't that define an oxymoron?

Great job on the book. Left out a whole lot but it didn't turn out to be the book you were writing many years ago.

I would love for you to tell the story of the team in a book but maybe that is beneath your talent level. You do have serious talent. Please write again.

BTW I met you in LV after telling you "hello" on the coast.

Josh-
If it's o.k. to do so please tell evryone here what happened when you returned to the casino in La Center Washington. 'Ya gotta love it!

I've read just about every blackjack book out there, and vowed not to buy anymore. I saw an article in the NY Times about this book and I'm more interested in the psychological aspect of BJ than the technical part at this point, so I thought I'd give it a shot. I found the first 100 pages or so excruciatingly slow and boring. The second half was much better. Josh berates himself for his lack of writing skill and in many parts, he was right. Other parts were well written. It's almost like there were two authors. At times he uses pretentious words for no reason and at others he is dropping more F*** bombs than in shock and awe. The most exciting parts of the book are his encounter with a duck family and some big split/DD hands. Maybe this was written for ploppies rather than advantage players (there are sure a lot more of the former so that would make sense), but we should have had some clues as to how he was "made" in certain casinos so early in his career. The last chapter on card counting was well-written and straight-forward. Great for beginners. Seems like it was written by yet another author. Seems to me he should have gone back to BJ instead of (SPOILER ALERT) blowing it all on online poker. Maybe he gets the last laugh and makes millions on the book. He said he had a PR job at one time. Maybe he should stick with that. My copy is available for $12 including S&H. Same for Katrina Walker's Spanish 21. Other book prices available upon request. I do hope the book does well but it was way below my expected value.

and an advantage player can become a problem gambler very quickly.

I'm sure your response is very clever, but I don't understand it.

while compulsive gambling is one. Just because a professional gets excited about an activity in which s/he engages, does not mean, imo, that the professional borders on some type of compulsive disorder.

I get a similar excitement when I am trying to close a deal. Even though my "deals" only happen if I am helping someone else, the client doesn't always know that until later. They have to either trust me or be persuaded to move forward even with some doubts. They will later learn that my advice was beneficial.

This convincing part provides some adrenaline and rush, similar to blackjack. I hold the knowledge and I seek to earn money by convincing the other party to "part" with their funds. They aren't parting permanantly, but it could be long term. Sometimes, I may have to employ a bit of psychological play to help the client relax and do the deal. Sometimes I fail and sometimes I "win". I consider this the variance of my profession. I'm very pleased when I win and a bit miffed when I don't. I don't get overly disappointed because I know I will come out ahead over time, uh, the long run.

Maybe it would be more accurate to state APs walk a fine line between being natural born salepeople and being APs. Many of you are academicians, from what I can tell, and may not believe you could sell a product or service. But, if you can put in the time to learn effective AP skills and then implement them, you could also do the same and learn to be perfectly comfortable selling.

The nice thing about AP work is that there is no customer service to bother you. So, get a sales job with a company that provides all the customer service. You may want to try something transactional, which is more in line with cards, ie, many smallish transactions repeated repeatedly (lets see if DS is reading).

Disclaimer: I'm not a psychologist. I'm not even a very good salesman but I like it.

but "problem", as in compulsive, no.

I will admit Josh's style of writing is what may be called "in your face", a bit rough and for sure, not politically correct. I can only compare it to a lecture I attended a while back at UNLV. The speaker was Steve Cyr, casino host and subject of the book "Whale Hunt in the Desert" For what it's worth, I enjoyed both immensely and find that style of speaking, and writing if one can pull it off, very enjoyable and without pretense. But then, I am a city boy. I can understand how someone from a small town or rural area might find it offensive, irritating or just plain poor taste.

Cobbson

Gotta get out of that small town of Manhattan (NY, not Kansas). I'm as politically incorrect as can be and am not easily offended, but there was no reason for all of the f words. That was really just a small reason for not liking the book. These are all just our opinions and tastes, so there is no right or wrong, although I happen to be right in this case. ;)