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This is important because this is when Kevin was admitted to the MIT blackjack team, which set the path for the rest of the book and Kevin's double sided life.

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"'It's not magic. Just math. It's called shuffle tracking. It's a basic probability-distribution exercise. You can even calculate the percentage of low-card infiltration into the run, caused by the dealer's shuffle. After that, it's just a matter of practice. Really good players can track a group of fifteen cards through a six-deck shuffle without breaking a sweat.'"

This is important because this strategy is what the team uses in various casinos across the country to make as much money as they can.

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"'One last thing,' Micky said, as the three of them rose from the couch. 'The most important decision a card counter ever has to make is the decision to walk away.'"

This is important because this advice that Micky Rosa gives the team is very handy towards the end of the book.

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"She was the epitome of the Vegas girl, the sort of woman you saw on the arm of a celebrity in the high-stakes pits of whisking through a VIP line at a trendy nightclub."

I think epitome means stereotype, because it shows that she fits in a certain profile thus being the stereotype of that profile.

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"I can be a tough little bitch. And at first Martinez was the worst sort of chauvinist."

I think chauvinist means someone being over-loyal to someone or something.

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"Micky's stories about the old days stirred Kevin's imagination and fueled his respect for the old guard of card counting."

This is personification as an imagination can't actually stir and someone's respect can't actually be fueled.

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"Martinez grunted. 'Getting crushed like a carton of eggs.'"

This is a simile, as Martinez is connecting his losing pattern to a carton of eggs as they are both being "crushed".

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Connection with movie (No page number or quote possible)

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Connection with movie (No page number or quote possible)

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I think the plot of this book is similar to the movie Ocean's 11 and the show Money Heist. In all 3 plots, the main characters are a group of 5-15 people trying to cleverly earn money. In this book, it's from the casinos via card counting. In Money Heist, it's from the Royal Mint of Spain and the National Bank. In Ocean's 11, it's from a bank vault and casinos. In all the plots, they succeed and earn a lot of money. All the characters are really smart people, using their talents in a creative way to earn them some money.

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Bill Kaplan speaking at Harvard University

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Real World Connection (No page number or quote possible)

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Real World Connection (No page number or quote possible)

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This book is from the story of the MIT Blackjack team led by Bill Kaplan. They were a group of students from nearby colleges that won over 60 million from casinos, using very sophisticated card counting techniques.

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Discussion Question 3 - Would you tell your father, a studious man who doesn't like gambling, you go to Vegas every weekend if you were Kevin Lewis? (No page number or quote possible)

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Discussion Question 3 - Would you tell your father, a studious man who doesn't like gambling, you go to Vegas every weekend if you were Kevin Lewis? (No page number or quote possible)

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I would, especially because Las Vegas is a big city and I would want my parents to know where I am in the country in case something bad happens. I would also give some of my money to them so they can relax a bit.

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Discussion Question 2 - Do you think card counting should be illegal? (No page number or quote possible)

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Discussion Question 2 - Do you think card counting should be illegal? (No page number or quote possible)

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I don't, because it isn't wrong to use a talent you have to make money. If someone is able to track cards so well in a shoe of 6-8 decks of cards, they should be rewarded. It's just someone simply noticing and being aware of their surroundings.

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Discussion Question - Would you live a double life like Kevin Lewis? Why or why not? (No page number or quote possible)

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Discussion Question - Would you live a double life like Kevin Lewis? Why or why not? (No page number or quote possible)

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I would, only if it were legal. I find it exciting to fly to a big city like Vegas and earn my salary in one night. In my opinion, it is a win-win. I get to work a normal life during the week and a fast-paced money-making life on the weekend.

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"Then his stomach dropped as the dealer turned over his bottom card to reveal a six. The dealer flipped the next card, a ten, for a twenty-one. Kevin's ears rang as the dealer swept his fifty thousand dollars off the table."

Throughout the story, whenever the team is in a casino winning a lot of money, it creates a sense of excitement. There's excitement building up to see what the next hand is, how much he wins or loses, and if he gets caught.  When Kevin is described as "king of the paddleboat", there's a lot of hype as everyone is crowded around him and making a lot of noise in the Vegas environment.

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Thematic concept (No page number or quote possible)

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Thematic concept (No page number or quote possible)

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I think a theme of this book is to not gamble too much. Kevin and his team had many close encounters. Martinez had been back-roomed, they were chased by the police, and they were kicked out of many casinos. Dylan was also robbed, indicating many bad things happened because of gambling.

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"'But you're going to, Fisher, because I deserve an answer. Are you kicking me off of the team?'"

Kevin and his team got caught by a few casinos and started getting chased. They escaped, but it was very close. It was a nerve-wracking moment. Also, Kevin's team members didn't believe he didn't care enough about blackjack so they decided to kick him off the team. The team split into 2, one led by Fisher, the other by Kevin. They became competitors and after a member of Kevin's team, Dylan, his apartment was robbed and so were all the chips.

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"But the team was riding so high from the past six months that not even the fear of an Indian jail could dissuade them."

Kevin and his blackjack team were in full swing hitting Vegas or other cities each weekend making a solid profit of around 50k each weekend. They were enjoying it and started forgetting about the risks. They were making so much money that they could pay for their rent after one night of playing.

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"His father was still trying to convince him to quit the MIT Swim Team so he could spend more time on his research. More time with the goddamn test tubes."

At the beginning, Kevin was described as a really smart kid attending MIT University. He came from a good background and his family urged him to pursue a career in sciences and math. He spent so much time in his lab, studying chemicals, that no one including him could have imagined he would be a full time gambler in a while.

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"Twenty-five thousand dollars in hundreds, strapped to each thigh. Another fifty thousand in a Velcro bag taped to my chest. Fifty thousand more stuffed into the pockets of my jacket. A hundred thousand nestled against the small of my back. I felt like a cross between the Michelin Man and a drug dealer. Bulging and nervous, I pushed through the revolving glass door and entered Logan Airport. Refrigerated air smacked me full in the face, and I paused, getting my bearings."

I think it is a really good opening, because its cool to see how a person with so much money is going to get through security at Boston Logan International. I think the author drops the reader right before the line about refrigerated air. When I read these lines, I was instantly hooked.

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At the beginning of chapter one of this book, the author says, "Chapter one - modern day," which means that the events in that chapter are happening at that time. At the beginning of chapter two of this book, the author says, "Chapter two - 1994," which shows this happened before and there was a flashback. This flashback was used to show how Kevin Lewis got introduced by his friends to gambling a long time ago and why he is living a double life.

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Why I chose this book - Bringing Down the House: The Inside Story of Six MIT Students Who Took Vegas for Millions (No page number or quote possible)

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Why I chose this book - Bringing Down the House: The Inside Story of Six MIT Students Who Took Vegas for Millions (No page number or quote possible)

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I chose this book because this winter break, I visited Las Vegas. I saw huge casinos and a lot of gambling. I wondered why so many people gambled because most people lose all their money anyways. Or so I thought. At the library, I saw this book on the shelf and decided to check it out.