Jun 15, 2026 · 50 min · 12 segments
Our guest today is Jake Jacobs, on to talk about his new book, "Have Bets Will Travel." The book is an autobiography focused on his 40+ years as a professional gambler. **Show Notes** \[00:00]…
Okay, before we talk about your second autobiography, how'd you get started gambling?
Well, uh, I mean, I played games for money, but I wouldn't really call that gambling.
Uh, I mean, you know, probably everybody in America has played poker for at least pennies at some point.
So, you know, I'll, I'll distinguish gambling from playing, you know, for a living.
And I got started, uh, because Munch called me up one night and he said, "Are you interested in moving to Las Vegas and learning to count cards? Because if you are, I know a team that is looking for players, and they're taking on people with no experience." And I said, "Oh, yeah." It was winter in Chicago, and I was more than ready to move to Las Vegas.
So, uh, it, uh, just to add to that story, um, I told him, "Read this book and look at this chart and, you know, learn these index numbers for, uh, you know, when the, when the count is over zero, you, you stand on 16 against a 10," you know, things like that.
And, uh, he got there and, um, you know, I, I, I said, "So you did that?" And he's like, "Yep, yep, I did that and I learned it and I've got the numbers." And I was like, "All right, well, so, you know, tell me, tell me the index numbers." And he's like, "Uh, you hit 17 against a deuce at minus 24." [laughs] I'm like, "What?" [laughs] I'm like, "What? You don't need to know those numbers."
A, a funny thing that, you know, relating to that, though, when writing the book, I, um, was telling a story.
You know, I, I'd mentioned that most blackjack hands are just not very interesting.
I had a pair of threes against, um, a seven and, uh, it was right not to, uh, split.
And so I hit and I caught a, uh, 10, and of course, if it was, uh, right not to split, it was also right not to hit, so I now stood on 16 against a seven.
And this actually happened to me twice a year apart, so I had the identical hand and the identical parlay twice.
But I was talking to Munchkin, I think, and I said something about it and he said, "Well, you know, there's, there's no number, you know, for not splitting threes when the count gets high." And I said, "Oh yeah, I'm sure there is." And I looked in Wong and it's not in Wong, so I had to go out and buy a copy of, uh, Julian Braun's book, the book that I learned from.
And in Julian Braun's book, if you're playing four decks, dealer stands on soft 17, which is what I would've been playing back in 1982, there is an index number and, you know, so you do stand on threes against a seven if the count is, uh, greater than plus 12.
Okay, before we talk about your second autobiography, how'd you get started gambling?
Well, uh, I mean, I played games for money, but I wouldn't really call that gambling.
Uh, I mean, you know, probably everybody in America has played poker for at least pennies at some point.
So, you know, I'll, I'll distinguish gambling from playing, you know, for a living.
And I got started, uh, because Munch called me up one night and he said, "Are you interested in moving to Las Vegas and learning to count cards? Because if you are, I know a team that is looking for players, and they're taking on people with no experience." And I said, "Oh, yeah." It was winter in Chicago, and I was more than ready to move to Las Vegas.
So, uh, it, uh, just to add to that story, um, I told him, "Read this book and look at this chart and, you know, learn these index numbers for, uh, you know, when the, when the count is over zero, you, you stand on 16 against a 10," you know, things like that.
And, uh, he got there and, um, you know, I, I, I said, "So you did that?" And he's like, "Yep, yep, I did that and I learned it and I've got the numbers." And I was like, "All right, well, so, you know, tell me, tell me the index numbers." And he's like, "Uh, you hit 17 against a deuce at minus 24." [laughs] I'm like, "What?" [laughs] I'm like, "What? You don't need to know those numbers."
A, a funny thing that, you know, relating to that, though, when writing the book, I, um, was telling a story.
You know, I, I'd mentioned that most blackjack hands are just not very interesting.
I had a pair of threes against, um, a seven and, uh, it was right not to, uh, split.
And so I hit and I caught a, uh, 10, and of course, if it was, uh, right not to split, it was also right not to hit, so I now stood on 16 against a seven.
And this actually happened to me twice a year apart, so I had the identical hand and the identical parlay twice.
But I was talking to Munchkin, I think, and I said something about it and he said, "Well, you know, there's, there's no number, you know, for not splitting threes when the count gets high." And I said, "Oh yeah, I'm sure there is." And I looked in Wong and it's not in Wong, so I had to go out and buy a copy of, uh, Julian Braun's book, the book that I learned from.
And in Julian Braun's book, if you're playing four decks, dealer stands on soft 17, which is what I would've been playing back in 1982, there is an index number and, you know, so you do stand on threes against a seven if the count is, uh, greater than plus 12.
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