Chapters 1, 2, 3, and 4 Summary and Analysis

From c. June 1994 to c. June 1998 Kevin Lewis, an MIT graduate student, joins forces with other MIT students to operate an organized card-counting team. The team makes weekend trips to Las Vegas and other casinos and uses a variety of strategies to beat the casinos at their own game. Lewis and the other team members split the winnings and make a fortune, until they are identified by casino security and invited to leave the premises for good.

The book incorporates numerous elements commonly found in fiction but atypical for non-fiction biographical writing. For example, Chapter 1 of the book opens in medias res, with Kevin Lewis gambling in a Las Vegas casino and taking betting cues from Jill, a card-counter and spotter. The opening chapter consists of fictionalized dramatic action meant to capture the experience of counting cards while playing...