TURNING THE TABLES ON LAS VEGAS

Readers, delight! You don't have to be a gambler to admire the swift cut and cool front to Andersen's style--he writes with the grace of a Zen master turning loss into comedy. This may be a how-to-win book, but it is even more a text on how to banish despair and come on like Bert Lahr and Dale Carnegie in Vegas. Using Andersen's counting method, you can win at blackjack consistently. The real job is getting the casino to allow you to go on playing. Once they see you're a winner, they don't care what your system is--you're almost automatically 86'd. The trick is to get the dealer and his pit boss on your side with boobery, buffoonery, and gifts--not letting them think that such an emotional and likeable stupe could have the brains to be counting the deck while making such dreadful plays (on low bets). Your every facial muscle cries Help met Help me! What you are not is a subzero IBM performing the worst sin in Nevada: counting. In brief, how to con the house into playing for you, not against you. The Buddha smiles, nodding.