Blackjack Author Lawrence Revere: A Legend of the Game

The late Lawrence Revere was a true professional and an expert on casino Blackjack. He spent 30 years in the gaming industry, and then began to teach individuals how to win consistently at "21." Revere was the first author who made his living from both sides of the table, as opposed to many who wrote or taught based upon theory. I actually had the opportunity to be one of his students he taught in person, and I have also written two other articles, "Can You Make Money Consistently by Playing Blackjack?"and "Professional Blackjack: 6 of the Most Exciting and Unusual Plays."

In 1969, Revere had printed the first edition of his book, "Playing Blackjack as a Business." It was the most talked about book in the Blackjack world and for years sold more copies than any other gaming publication. Subsequent editions have come out and the book can be found easily on Amazon.com. Although playing conditions have changed over the years, most of his wisdom still applies. Please refer, however, to my article, "Can You Make Money Consistently by Playing Blackjack?" for a more current report on casino conditions.

Revere Taught the Principles of the Game:

The Basics

Lawrence Revere had a compelling, disciplined style that was more teaching than writing. His readers are drilled in the importance of a regimented, correct way to play every hand, as well as what to expect in actual casino conditions. Basic Strategy was the foundation of his instruction, and it is presented in the form of easy-to-understand, color charts. In fact, all of his methods are simple and they enable the player to understand the game with little effort. Material is also provided for proper practicing techniques, in order to develop speed and accuracy.

Revere had stressed the importance of not playing hunches and explained why every move was correct. He made sure everyone was aware of the mathematical probabilities in regard to overall play. This is important for building a foundation before progressing to more advanced techniques. For the beginner, I have not seen better training methods.

The Intermediate

"Playing Blackjack as a Business" includes progressive techniques for those who have mastered Basic Strategy and had achieved enough discipline to use it consistently. Most notably, he presented a simple "5-Count" technique that only involved watching the number of 5's already dealt and adjusting the betting and playing strategy accordingly. He also had included a very effective, but simple Plus-Minus strategy in his book, which was a little more advanced than the 5-Count.

The Advanced

The Revere Point Count is an accurate strategy that appears in "Playing Blackjack as a Business," for serious players. It consists of a more complex count and index chart. There is also an Advanced Plus-Minus strategy and his Advanced Point Count available separately, the latter of which is the most sophisticated and highly developed system around.

Lawrence Revere used to conduct real-life training sessions when he was living. I can testify that he was a dedicated teacher and was very committed to building strong, professional Blackjack players.

Additional Information

In "Playing Blackjack as a Business," Revere tells about the entire casino environment and also expresses a certain amount of contempt for various personnel. He explains why Blackjack is the only game in which a player can gain a long-term edge by applying mathematical principles, but also points out why most other systems do not work.

This book is recommended for serious players. I still advocate, however, to seek more worthwhile pursuits and to not become involved in casino games.