Kevin Blackwood is a gambling author associated with Play Blackjack Like the Pros and Casino Gambling For Dummies. His published work can be evaluated as instruction and commentary; biographical anecdotes or reported winnings are not proof that a reader can reproduce an edge.
Documented publications
The author information printed with the earlier Wiley book credits Blackwood with Play Blackjack Like the Pros and the blackjack novel The Counter. Wiley’s record for the 2022 second edition of Casino Gambling For Dummies lists Kevin Blackwood and Swain Scheps as its authors.
Publication credits establish authorship, not the accuracy of every strategy for every modern game. Rules, conditions and software can change after a book is published.
How to use an author’s advice
- Separate standard basic strategy from card-counting or tournament material.
- Match any chart to decks, soft 17, doubles, splits, surrender and hole-card procedure.
- Reproduce mathematical claims with a current calculator or simulation.
- Treat personal bankroll and profit stories as anecdotes unless independently documented.
Instruction, general guidance and fiction
Play Blackjack Like the Pros focuses on blackjack. Casino Gambling For Dummies covers several forms of gambling, so its general discussions should be distinguished from a specific blackjack chart or counting method. The Counter is a novel: its characters and plot are fiction, not a record of actual wagers or a tested strategy.
A practical study question is whether a recommendation belongs to ordinary blackjack, counting with information about remaining cards, or a tournament where relative chip position matters. These settings have different objectives and information. Advice for one should not be transferred to another without its assumptions.
A payout example when checking a book’s assumptions
Suppose a winning natural blackjack pays 3:2 in one game and 6:5 in another. On a $10 stake, the first produces $15 profit and $25 total returned; the second produces $12 profit and $22 returned. The difference is $3 for that paid natural. It does not mean a $3 loss on every hand, because most hands are not paid naturals.
That difference cannot be repaired merely by following the same chart more carefully. Playing decisions and the payout schedule are separate parts of the game. Other rules also matter, so compare the complete conditions with the rule-comparison tool rather than treating a familiar book title as proof that the game matches its examples.
After learning the rules and the matching basic strategy, use free practice blackjack to rehearse decisions. Practice results show what happened in those hands; they do not establish a sustainable edge or a guaranteed route to professional play.
Publication sources
- Wiley — second-edition authors and contents
- Earlier Wiley book — publisher’s author information, hosted by Google Books
Further reading
Use published material as a study source, verify its assumptions and keep play within affordable limits.
