Money-spinners: How Professional Gamblers Beat the Casinos at Their Own Game (Paperback)

"Whoever he may be, ‘Black Jack’ emerges as an engaging kind of guy. If I bump into him at the Victoria Casino, I hope he will make himself known - if not, alas, across the green baize." - Anthony Holden (author of Big Deal), Sunday Express, April 18 1993

"This book is a compulsive read. There are numerous historical vignettes (usually of spectacular and rare successes) which are something of a joy to behold. An epilogue extends gambling theory into other fields - offering a novel reading of the career of Margaret Thatcher. And various appendices will ensure that you will at least be very knowledgeable when you hit the streets." - Frank Kuppner, Glasgow Herald, April 21 1993

"Black’s speciality is blackjack, a game that requires mathematical talent and card-money as well as strategy. The most interesting parts of his book are his arguments in favour of equal rights for card-counters, the protection of compulsive gamblers against themselves, and his proposal that ‘casinos should become places of entertainment where any two or more individuals may sit down together to challenge each other to a non-physical game of chance or skill played for money.’ There are also interesting appendices on the mathematics of blackjack." - Al Alvarez (author of The Biggest Game in Town), Daily Mail, April 29 1993

"Professional gamblers are prepared to lose thousands without flinching. They are unquestionably a people obsessed. Any book on the subject written by a professional cannot fail to be touched by that obsession.....There is little doubt that ‘Black’ has not merely studied his methods with mathematical precision - as one might expect from his successes - he has also learnt from the ultimate practitioners of the art....The Moneyspinners does provide a revelatory insight into this powerful demi-monde." - Tom Rhodes, Times, May 20 1993

"The only casino game that players can legitimately win is blackjack or twenty-one. The Moneyspinners rehearses in detail the experience of the experts in this field. The Moneyspinners draws judiciously on a variety of well-known gambling sources. Gambling in casinos yields great pleasure, but it is only when the player can deliberately turn the odds in his favour - by judgement and experience - that gambling becomes profitable. As far as straight casino gambling goes, there is no such thing as easy money." - David Spanier (author of Easy Money: Inside the Gambler’s Mind), Independent, May 20 1993

"Jacques Black has frequented the world’s gaming watering holes and knows a thing or two about gaming in general, which he studies assiduously, So good is he at Blackjack that he has been barred from most London casinos for card counting. What is more, his scenario of scams and characters unfolds with the deadpan facts that comprise a fascinating read." - Robin Lloyd, Odds On, July 1993

"Jacques Black was for a short spell the scourge of London casinos. Recognising quickly that roulette promised only poverty, Black became a blackjack king. He mastered the difficult art of card-counting, regarded by casino bosses as modern-day necromancy, and made a comfortable, if anti-social living. The Moneyspinners is a terrific read. It quickly delivers the bad news - that long term we haven’t a hope in hell of winning at roulette - but softens the blow with the sweetener that it is possible to make blackjack pay. The only snag is you’ve got to be dedicated; you’ve got to be determined; and you’ve got to be damned clever. Card-counting is the key, but camouflage is also critical.....Black certainly knows his stuff and his book is essential reading for anyone trying to make casino betting pay." - Derek McGovern (Sports Editor), Racing Post, March 7 1999

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