Wild Cards: A Year Counting Cards with a Professional Blackjack Player, a Priest, and a $30,000 Bankroll

by Philip Reed

Philip Reed is coasting toward retirement, looking for one last adventure, when he meets Bill Palis, a professional blackjack player and former member of the legendary MIT team that took the casinos for millions.

At a blackjack table in a strip casino, Phil sees Bill win $1,600 in 20 minutes of play—and he’s intrigued. Initially, he plans to write the book as a spectator, but Bill encourages him to overcome his fears, learn to count cards, and get a piece of the action for himself. The two men form a friendship and begin traveling and playing blackjack together, often with Father Andy, who kicks in money so they can play out of a $30,000 bankroll.

Phil, who has adult ADD, and flunked math in high school, adopts the challenge of card counting as a way to banish the old ghosts of his poor self-image and build new synapses in his aging brain. With Bill as his tough mentor, Phil struggles to learn the game and secretly track the cards. As Phil's play improves, Bill teaches him to disguise his wins and avoid scrutiny from casino security and the Orwellian “eye-in-the-sky” security cameras.

Philip Reed punctuates My Piece of the Action with short, funny, informational sections on various gambling-related subjects. These sections step outside the main story and add depth by investigating different card counting systems, the danger of gambling addiction, interviews with memory experts, and secrets of dealers, pit bosses, and casino surveillance specialists. Throughout, he takes a humorous look at casino characters, even as he begins to sink into the gambling world himself.

256 pages, Hardcover

First published November 3, 2015

About the author

Philip Reed is a novelist, playwright and journalist who has been nominated for the top mystery award for his first book Bird Dog, which is currently under an option from Hollywood to be a feature film. He has also written three sports performance books including the popular golf memoir In Search of the Greatest Golf Swing. His other sports books are Free Throw, 7 Steps to Success at the Free Throw Line and Wild Cards, about learning to become a blackjack card counter. Philip has also worked in the automotive industry and went undercover as a car salesman to write the expose “Confessions of a Car Salesman.” Philip’s novels are Bird Dog and the sequel, Low Rider; The Marquis de Fraud, Off and Running and the young adult novel Ponga Boy. Working with the TV icon, he wrote Candidly, Allen Funt. He currently lives in Long Beach, California and enjoys playing tennis and golfing nearly anywhere. Born in the midwest and raised in New England, Philip also spent a year going to school in Oxford, England, where he played on the rugby and cricket teams. He was a poor student but his soccer playing ability got him into the University of North Carolina. Philip started his career as a police reporter in Chicago and Denver and then moved to California and became a playwright. His plays were staged in Los Angeles, San Francisco and Chicago. He wrote one of the first episodes of "Miami Vice." His insider knowledge about car buying, and automotive information, has earned him many national radio and television appearances.

Reviews

[Charles Reimler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Book Is An *Excellent Teacher*How Deal With YOURSELF Own Emotions While On The Roller Coaster Playing Blackjack!"***Stick Too The MATH, And Discipline Of Play!***
"All It Takes Is Two Mistakes An Hour And You've Given Up Your Advantage!"
"Don't Forget!" Book: Danielle Lapp
"You Can Expect Memory Lapses When Your Emotions Take Over And When The Situation Does Not Allow You To Sustain Attention!"
***Page 176: "Probably No More Than 125 Professional Blackjack Players In The World !! ****
*Preform Under Pressure, Despite The Well-Oiled Casino System With Its Smiley-Faced Exterior MASKING A BLACK-HEARTED, Corporate Soul!
*Stress Is Proven Too Reduce Memory Retrieval!* Stress Significant Affects Decision Making, And Memory Retrieval! *
*Blackjack Is Like LIFE One Long Session!*
Casinos Are Physical Manifestation Of Greed-Temples Of Greed!
**Blackjack Is Mathematically Solid With Genuine Discipline Practice Able LEARN Too COUNT CARDS, But This TRUE Life Story Is Lessons In ART Of Blackjack PLUS Dealing With OWN Emotional States!