Jason Fisch

Jason Fisch

Bringing Down The House
Ben Mezrich
Non-Fiction/Gambling
Just Right/Challenge
Page 154

 

1. I am currently reading, Bringing down the house, by Ben Mezrich. I'm at the part where the three main members of the MIT blackjack team, Martinez, Fisher, and the main character Kevin are going to meet with their team founder and main investor Micky. Its Halloween night 1995 in Boston. They are going to meet Micky because they want to talk about him no longer investing in the group. They don't want him to invest anymore because he has been getting the most of the money and that is not okay with Fisher and Martinez. Another reason why they don't want Micky investing any more is that he has been to so many of the casinos to count cards. This is bad because if he goes on the gambling floor the casino staff will immediately kick him out. In the end Micky says that he will not invest any more in the group.
2. I think this book is one of the best books I have ever read. This is because it is such an amazing book and it has so much detail. When I read this book I can imagine him actually on the casino floor of some of these casinos. Also the suspense is crazy because of how much money is at stake during the book. What I also think is really cool is that this actually happened in real life. It is amazing that 6 MIT students came up with this idea to go to Vegas and count cards.
3. I think this team to this book would definitely be suspense. This is because it is very suspenseful 1 he is sitting at the blackjack tables and is in the middle of the hand. Another example of suspense was when Martinez's casino hotel room was broken into by Casino staff in the middle of the night. It was suspenseful because after they broke in the brought him down to the basement. In the basement they told him to get up against the wall so they could take a picture of him. This was so that if he ever came back they would notice him and kick him out. He refused and I did not know what they were going to do to him.
4. My favorite character would be Martinez. This is because he always knows what to do in situations. For example, whenever the team goes on trips to Vegas he is always the leader because of his decision making skills. These help him whenever the team gets into trouble. Like when they were in the casino and they had to evacuate the casino he signaled emergency call and they all met in a nearby bar so that they'd be safe to talk without being near the casino. Without his decision making skills the team would not be as good.
5.  My least favorite character would be Micky. This is because he is just an old man who does not help much. All he does is invest in the team because he can't play because he has been kicked out of too many casinos. Also he is sort of a trader because he also works with other blackjack teams other than theirs. I am glad that they decided to not work with him anymore.
6. I predict that by the end of the book Kevin will become the leader of the Blackjack team. This is because they keep on switching leaders from Micky to Martinez I think that he has ranked up pretty high in the time that he has been there. Also he has already been promoted to a big player. That is the highest rank in their teens it means that you actually count the cards while playing with very large amounts of money. I also predict that Kevin will tell his parents about his blackjack talent.