If you’re a serious blackjack player, you’ve probably heard of the books of Arnold “The Bishop” Snyder. He is one of the game’s most prolific authors, who has written numerous articles and strategy guides on the game.One of those books is “Blackjack Wisdom”, which is frequently recommended on gambling forums, or are included in the reading list for anyone who is interested in the game.

“Blackjack Wisdom’ was released in1997 by RGE Publishing, at the retail price of $19.95. Many of the chapters are based on articles he wrote for various gambling periodicals, but which may not have been accessible to the public because of their small circulation. RGE Publishing took all of those great, but little-known nuggets of wisdom and turned it into this book, sold in all major bookstores and even by the online giants Amazon.

Snyder made the articles to be as useful and user friendly as possible. It is divided into 12 chapters, so readers can skip to the topic that they’re most interested in, or easily brush up on the techniques that they would like to practice in their next game.

The books is best for beginners who want an overview of the game, and need reinforcement of basic principles as they go from chapter to chapter. Intermediate players may find the articles too easy, although there are many “classics”—such as the chapter “Bachelor of Counting Series”—that would be of interest to even experienced players, if only because they’re part of the Canon of gambling literature.

One of the weaknesses is the book is that it seems to be repetitive. This is an inevitable limitation of being a compilation of articles, and of course, some concepts are so intrinsic to the game that it’s impossible to discuss a technique or a strategy without making any reference to it.

Readers should prepare themselves for this, and rather than be annoyed, simply adapt to the format by treating the chapters as individual pieces rather than a connected flow of thought.

In fact, some readers would find this to be a welcome benefit, since you don’t have to read the book from cover to cover. It’s easy to squeeze in a chapter even on the busiest of days. Even if you only have 20, 30 free minutes—perhaps during a coffee break, or while waiting for dinner to cook—there’s always time to read a few pages. Great for gambling aficionados who’d rather be playing blackjack than reading about it, or those who find themselves buying several blackjack books but losing interest in it after a few pages.

Synder writes very well, and his articles are entertaining. Even when he delivers a serious point, or runs through a rather dry step by step of a blackjack technique, he infuses his text with his typical sense of humor and insight.

While there are other books that give better tips on strategy and game play, Synder’s text has a light approach that won’t intimidate beginners or bore readers. Fun for a blackjack break.