Burning the Tables in Las Vegas Reviewed

Burning the Tables in Las Vegas (Revised and Expanded) by Ian Andersen

Review by Arnold Snyder

Ian Andersen’s first book, Turning the Tables on Las Vegas, was original and important enough to make him one of seven nominees in 2005 for the Blackjack Hall of Fame.

The book was the first to deal with beating blackjack as a dual with people, specifically casino personnel, rather than strictly a mathematical entity.

Andersen updated his early work and released it as Burning the Tables in Las Vegas in 1999. Most of the text of this book is the same as in the 1999 edition. Three new chapters have been added. Should you get this expanded edition? Let me briefly describe the new material.

In one new chapter, Andersen tackles the problems faced by green chip players, by going himself into Las Vegas casinos to play at the green chip level. He discusses the problems of how crowd conditions affect game conditions, and he attempts to employ a fairly aggressive betting/playing strategy with minimal camouflage. His results are successful, and he describes the experience in detail.

In another chapter, he discusses playing strategy camouflage, beyond what he described as his “Ultimate Gambit” in the first edition of this book. Specifically, he discusses what he calls “crazy surrender,” how he applies the strategy, what it costs, and how he tested it, etc. As with the Ultimate Gambit, I would not advise most players to copy this particular camo strategy to the letter, but rather to use Andersen’s philosophy of camouflage in developing your own unique style of play.

In the third added chapter, Andersen discusses the psychology of casino management, how they view players, and how players can use their understanding of what casinos expect from them to their advantage. There is also a discussion of loss rebates at high-stakes baccarat in this chapter, which would be of little practical value to most BJ players, except that it is always enlightening to see how the top pros think about advantage play in every form.

So, if you have the first edition, should you get this one? In my opinion, it’s worthwhile. If you don’t have the first edition, I recommend this book highly for its insights into dealing with casino personnel.