About 10 years ago, I was very serious about playing blackjack. I memorized Basic Strategy, learned how to count cards, and generally wanted to take my game to the next level. So I purchased as many blackjack books as I could get my hands on, including Blackjack for Blood by Bryce Carlson.

In Blackjack for Blood, Carlson presents a counting strategy called the Advanced Omega II. It’s a Level 2 counting system and is supposed to give the player a 1.1% advantage in a four-deck game. (Get used to those small percentages; the thing about counting cards is that you do an awful lot of work for very slight gains.) Carlson provides all the usual charts about which plays to make in which situations, and you’re supposed to memorize these plays so thoroughly that they become second nature to you.

I’d been playing blackjack for a long time prior to studying the Advanced Omega II, so I wasn’t intimidated by all the charts. Most of the plays were intuitive, so I just had to memorize a few of the more unusual ones. Although I did pretty well in practice sessions at home (playing at a VERY slow pace), I could never keep track of the count under casino conditions, so the system ended up being worthless to me. Would a more seasoned player have better luck with the Advanced Omega II? Possibly; but to tell you the truth, I’ve never heard anyone talking about Bryce Carlson or his system, so who knows?

Besides presenting the counting system, Carlson gives some advice on how to be a successful pro blackjack player. Some of the tactics he suggests are hokey, while others are just downright cheating. For example, he tells readers to use wigs, fake mustaches, hats, glasses, etc. so that pit bosses don’t recognize you as a professional. Pretty cheesy, if you ask me. And he tells readers how to stack their chips on a double down instead of placing them alongside the original bet in order to get a chance at quadrupling their original bet.

Overall, I think there are better blackjack books out there than this one. I give it 6 stars out of 10 and recommend that beginners skip this book altogether.