Lotteries Books

Kokoris does something unusual with this book: he captures the core of people that you probably know (at a minimum, their personalities will be familiar), and shows them in a sweet, compelling story. The boy's-eye view works to a T. The Dad is a delightful introvert, neither simple nor heroic . . . . the result is a novel that will win you over.

This book was very well written and captured my interest from the beginning. It was interesing to see how people make a decision and the ramifications just continue on through the years.

"The Rich Part of Life" depicts the good, the bad and the ugly that befalls the Pappas family after winning the lottery for $190mm. Theo, the family patriarch hits it big playing his deceased wife's lottery numbers. Upon revealing that he is the holder of the winning ticket, Theo is bombarded by request for financial assistance from strangers, neighbors and family. Socially introverted and emotionally reclusive, Theo is faced with the challenge of managing the celebrity of his new found wealth in the midst of the resurrection of a long forgotten adversary whose demands of Theo threatens to destroy the Pappas family.

"The Rich Part of Life" is filled with genuinely likeable and detestable characters portrayed in clean, crisp language that uniquely sets them apart. The only character disappointment for this reader was the unimaginative portrayal, usage really, of the Maurice character. Although I never discounted his importance to the novel, I wanted to know more about him than was broadly revealed by the author. Ultimately, the novel is successful in its exploration of the dynamics of chance. What are the odds of winning the lotto? What wonderful or dreadful situations await us when the stars are perfectly aligned or the comets collide? What's likelihood of a middle aged recluse starting a family with a young dancer? This is an excellent debut novel that reconfirmed for me that it's not money, but people that's at the root of all evil. Enjoy!

You will laugh, you will cry...but you will not put it down... A great read...can't wait for the movie Jim K.

I'm a little late getting to read this wonderful book, published in 2001, but am oh so glad I found it on the shelves.

What a delightful read, couldn't put it down. When you laugh out loud and also shed a few tears you know you found the perfect book.

Good Job, Jim KoKoris...keep 'em coming.

Penny Burke
Mt Laurel, NJ

This book is great. I found it to be written so that anyone could understand retirement planning and immediately use the information to change the way you see retirement planning.
I've read dozens of books and this is one of my top pic's!

This is a GREAT book on retirement investing that readers can actually use. It takes the "mystery" out of retirement plans and investing. I walked away with a better understanding of my retirement plan options and a good strategy for investing the money. I was able to take what I learned and change my 401k investments with confidence.

The book includes discussions of the types of retirement accounts (401k, IRAs, Roth IRAs, SEP-IRAs, etc) and how they work. The author includes information for all income levels ("do you earn too much for an IRA"; "advice for low-income people").

The best part of the book explains how to create a diversified portfolio of retirement investments. The book explains different types of mutual funds (large-cap, mid-cap, etc) and how to pick a good balance. Then the author shows how this can be applied to pretty much any 401k plan. There are discussions on "dollar-cost-averaging" (which she recommends) and "timing the market" (which she doesn't recommend).

Besides being full of great information, the book is also very readable (not too dry and boring). This is a book that even the novice investor can use to get started and I highly recommend it.

This the best investing book that i have read.Clearly explained and to the point.Buy this book, the advise that you get will be worth it bigtime.

I have learned so much about retirement funds! I am recommending it to my children,colleagues and friends.

What I like best about this book is that it offers specific, detailed advice about how to divide up your retirement portfolio amongst different types of assets - and explains why you should divide it that way, and how to adjust the proportions over time. The author provides historical trends and an explanation of the global stock markets so that you can understand for yourself why she offers her advice, meaning that you're not just taking her at her word. Best of all, after you read this book, you really just need to implement her advice and then rebalance your portfolio every year. I loved it and have recommended it to everyone I know.

I found this little book to be /Inspirational/Funny/Sad/I wonder is that how God really is. Bob seems to have a much better undestanding of the "spiritual world" than most.That is why I enjoy reading his writtings so much.Thank You again Bob

I liked a lot of things about this book. It's a short read in that it's a series of statements by folks with 'answers' from God in bold below them. Each statement/answer then is a stand-alone thought that can be read and appreciated for itself. I think that God watches Judge Judy on occasion. One person says, "God, I feel like believing in you is a complete waste of my time." God answers, "I know the feeling." Another statement hit home strongly with me. A man tells God that keeping his pickup truck from starting won't stop him from going out & getting drunk that night. God tells him the truck will start after he's gone back inside to say goodbye to his mother who won't be there when he gets back from the tavern. His Mom dies in his arms, in the house, 2 hours later and the man has not had a drink since.

Unfortunately, for me personally, there are several examples of answers from 'God' that perpetuate the 'fire and brimstone,' "You're going to burn in Hell forever" God that turned me off to Him years ago. Fundamentalist Christians will love them but I tend to take that kind of statement with a grain of salt and look for the loving message that I know underlies it if it's really from God. I highly recommend this book as something to have handy for a quick pick-me-up since you can open it almost anywhere and find a useful inspiration of some kind. Even the ones I disagree with make me think and that's not all bad. It was worth the price to me.

I am an avid reader.Having read many books through the years Christian and Non-Christian.I have been helped and blessed by some,entertained by others,but I found this book to be Inspired.I could give this to my teenaged grandsons,best friends,or my mother and all would be able to enjoy and relate to it. It is refreshing and insightful.It will allow you to chuckle,touch your heart and your soul.Give you peace of mind and spirit. Each home would profit by having this book accessible to family members and friends.Its message is profound and I would recommend it as a wonderful gift .

A friend knowing my feelings about God, sent me this book. Be it a real or an imaginary God in this book, it is a God I can believe in. It feels good not hating television evangelist. It was the first time anyone had laid it out so clearly.

There are advantages of being a fulltime pastor for forty-three years. Then there are the disadvantages. I try as best I can not to dwell on the disadvantages. But the one that did bother me the most, was not being able to answer the questions of children. Adults seldom ask really hard to answer questions, like, “What is God’s favorite color?” or “Are their toys in heaven?” or “Why is everything that is fun to do a sin?” I remember this one well, “Why did God choose the Jews instead of us?” Forty-three years I have been talking about God, only to learn that I knew very little about Him. This book is The Spirit at work. A Minister who has not read this book is unlearned regardless of their education.

Great read! Keeps your interest from start to finish. You just have to know how it all comes out. It's funny and clever. I highly recommend it to all. Look forward to more of Todd Gleason and his antics.

Pittman's "London Frog" can only be described as a sarcastic murder mystery with more twists and turns that even politicians would be proud of. He truly has a knack for keeping the reader's attention and I look forward to being held captive by more of Todd Gleason's adventures in the future.

The omniscient narrator of "London Frog" has the kind of voice the narrator of Dickens' "A Christmas Carol" has -- you feel like you're sitting in a pub while your inveterate storyteller friend tells you about the adventures of this guy he heard about, right, and you wouldn't believe the mess he got himself into ...

The guy in the story is Todd Gleason, small-time con-man. Todd is possessed of a rapid wit and a sense that anyone who wins the Lottery can afford to share their wealth -- especially when that winner is already married to a wealthy businessman. Of course, Todd's latest con does not go smoothly, and we get to see him improvise under pressure (sometimes successfully, sometimes not so). We meet a lot of interesting characters, but Todd is the heart and soul of the story, a truly likable (almost lovable) con-man with a conscience. The story is fast-paced with plenty of twists, turns and reversals and a question mark over the murder scene that keeps you guessing until the very end.

"London Frog" is apparently the first of a series -- here's hoping there's more Todd Gleason on the way soon.

Joseph Pittman's "London Frog" is a clever romp with an appealing con man at its core. Todd Gleason is the kind of guy who can't resist making a snarky comment, even if it means he's going to get slapped around by a bad guy. He's made a career of preying on the greed of lottery winners, and he's followed recent winner Elise Procopio and her husband Henri to London to make one last big score-- but of course, things don't work out quite as expected. If you like your crime witty, you'll like "London Frog."

Neil Plakcy, author of Mahu Surfer: A Hawaiian Mystery (An Alyson Mystery)

This book was not only a great thriller/mystery but quite a comedy too. I'm a thriller fan mostly and really love Crais, Lee Child, Grippando, Harlen Coben to name a few. Joseph Pittman just made my list of TO READ books. Todd Gleason, a con, gets into shenanigans and situations that are one minute comical, next minute desperate, but always surprising. The whole phlethora of characters here are three dimensional, and they all have contributions comical and dastardly. There's more than one mystery, many twists and surprises, and enough LOL moments to keep you up at night, highly entertained. Oh just where does the frog fit in? Right where you'd expect, but even he is a bit of a mystery with hidden talents. I'm glad I bought the hard back edition of this one. It will be a treasure in my personal library.

J. Blaine Lewis, Jr. was fired in 1989 from his post of Connecticut state lottery chief. This is the story of his ten year legal battle against the state in which we gain an insight into the politics of lottery management, the courage and integrity of a man in a David and Goliath scenario, and the failure of the legal system to provide justice. It is also a love story of a devoted wife, who in memorium, is driven to vindicate her husband. The message conveyed deserves national attention. What a great story for TV or the large screen.

This book is an inside look at the politics of state run funtions and the effects on honest employees. A must read book!

This book is the story of a man with principles, written by the wife who loved him to the end, and loves him still. It is the factual account of a man who was ordered to lie by his bosses and refused, and was then hounded out of his job by men more concerned with kickbacks than doing what was right. The author backs every word up with transcripts and documents-not a word of it is unsubstantiated. In this little book is a magnified look at the workings of government. Read it and weep.

What is it about Tina Lewis's "Justice Denied" that so fascinated me? I couldn't put it down. I had to know the outcome of a man's decision to remain true to himself and to tell the truth-no matter the consequences. Blaine Lewis was that man and he accepted the disastrous results of that decision. His principles, however, remained in tact. Blaine Lewis could live comfortably with himself. Tina Lewis's book lovingly chronicles his life and their lives during that period. Great and fascinating factual reading.

J. Blaine Lewis, Jr. was fired in 1989 from his post of Connecticut state lottery chief. This is the story of his ten year legal battle against the state in which we gain an insight into the politics of lottery management, the courage and integrity of a man in a David and Goliath scenario, and the failure of the legal system to provide justice. It is also a love story of a devoted wife, who in memorium, is driven to vindicate her husband. The message conveyed deserves national attention. What a great story for TV or the large screen.

No nonsense, brilliant and fascinating. Gives me an appetite for more. The best book I have ever read on the subject. Harry's software is fantastic too. It is a real eye-opener.
A MUST read for any serious lottery player.

I enjoyed this book very much and read it in about 2.5 hours. Written by a programmer-mathematician, I learned how to improve the odds of winning by using a well-tested checklist which helps you reduce & eliminate silly mistakes and redundancies when creating your number sets. I'm using this book as a foundation because I also realize that intuition and developing your own gaming style is also a part of winning, as well as other variables.

And one of the biggest challenges is keeping organized. Simplicity works best. I generally create my draws, check them, fill out a lottery number form, check it, then submit it.

My gaming style, to date, includes numerous ways of generating draws and I've won small pots from working a mathematical approach, using Quick Picks, and following my hunches which led me to picking 4 out 6 numbers once. Besides winning money, playing the lottery is fun if you want to improve your math skills. I don't play more than $2-$4 a week (sometimes less, or on occasions, a bit more). Sometimes I get pools started.

I found this book to be concise and to the point. Written by a mathematician but in plain, easy to understand English. I read it in one sitting. I was so impressed by the book that I ordered his Lottery software program the following day. It's a smart investment if you're serious about winning the Lottery.

Sick of the hype of lottery systems for sale but still want something that works? Do you want a system that is based on scientific fact but is also easy to use and understand? Then this is the book for you. I love this book! I spoke to the author on the phone and he exudes honesty and sincerety. Also his software is so easy to use. It does all the figuring of his scientific system that is based on statistics. Though the book is a must! So you can understand the system. And you can choose your numbers from the easy instructions in the book. You dont have to have the software. You owe it to yourself to buy this book, if you buy lottery tickets.

Well done Harry Schneider. Your lottery book and software are very impressive. Simple design and layout with effective easily understood results. Saw your comments on the opening screen of the software and closing comments in the book. It's if I had written them myself - brilliant! You have put in a lot of work to produce your book and software and it will certainly meet all my own needs. On the one hand I am depressed that I had not written this book and software myself but on the other hand I don't have to go through all the work and headaches that you have gone through developing it. The pro's are what all gamers want:- Handy sized book - not too onerous; Small file to download; simple design; no gimmicks; No reading through pile of other peoples' winning anecdotes - gives me the impression that I'll be telling my own winning story! Does the job exactly as designed very effectively; very fast; extremely powerful filters; a pleasure to read and use. As I said before - WELL DONE HARRY!

Three months ago, a major freelance reviewer confided that "perhaps most of the great new voices are now found with smaller presses." This is a major change from even five years ago when small presses were a haven for new writers, veteran authors on the decline, and esoteric books of limited appeal. It appears that the major publishing world has broadened their spectrum to the flavor of vanilla. They now prepackage writers by genre, style, and even race--but they all somehow look the same. Furthermore, books are meant to be read and tossed aside before the ink dries, and by tossed aside, I mean forgotten, erased from one's mind because they pose no challenge, not even a mere question, to one's life or way of thinking. It's little wonder that devoted fans of the big ten authors purchase the same book in a different cover and then take twenty pages or more to realize they've read it already.

On the other hand, THE WINNERS CIRCLE is an old story in a bracing new update for our times that comes on sneaky fast and works beneath your skin for a lingering aftertaste of thought and emotion. No surprise, it's from a small press--Hopewell Publications. No surprise again that I'd never head of them, but as I jumped the Internet and reviewed their catalogue, I discovered that they were the home of not only a handful of intriguing titles but also of that irascible author Robert Gover (One Hundred Dollar Misunderstanding) and the American genius Eric Hoffer (The Ordeal of Change). Wow! It was great to see these books still in print, and wow, I guess I was getting old. But back to Klim...

Christopher Klim is an author whose titles you cannot resist taking into your hands (i.e. JESUS LIVES IN TRENTON & EVERYTHING BURNS), and at first glance, they suggest biting satire or at least commercial madcap wit, but I forget that the publishing bureaucracy isn't printing books like his any longer. So if you want to find the Klim's of the world, you better get digging. And digging I did, and I'm glad for it.

THE WINNERS CIRCLE, named for an AA-like therapy group for lottery winners, shows the life and times of Jerry Nearing after he scores millions in one of those all-to-prevalent interstate lotteries. From the moment that he gathers enough money choke a dozen horses, the world comes to his door to help him out of his riches. With Klim's eye for realistic dialogue and over-the-top scenarios, Jerry Nearing rides the rapids of wealth and loses everything important in the process, or does he? I cannot spoil the ending that is just as believable but unpredictable as the story. Kudos, Klim, I'm going to check out your other titles. I think I'll begin with JESUS LIVES IN TRENTON.

Final Note: I am highly suspicious of the Publisher's Weakly review. It reads as if they didn't get beyond the first three chapters. And I wouldn't be surprised. (See my review of Klim's WRITE TO PUBLISH.) If you are looking for an enjoying and at times all out laughter of a read, do not hesitate to pick up this title, which should have been a bestseller and still just might become one. At least, Klim will. You can count on it.

The Winners Circle by Christopher Klim is a clever and witty depiction of just how winning the lottery may not have strictly beneficial factors for the winner. For unemployed Jerry Nearing, winning the lottery seems to be the perfect resolution to many of the problems in his life that need solving. Perhaps though, to his surprise, winning the lottery seems only an excuse for the karma coming toward him for some kind of cosmic payback just when everything seems suddenly so perfect. In losing his money to con artists, and other complications, Jerry may lose what is more important to him -- the love of his life. Clearly establishing author Christopher Klim as an author of considerable storytelling talent, The Winners Circle is perfect reading for those who enjoy the irony of satire.

Readers of Klim--dubbed the "New Jersey chronicler" by none other than Publishers Weekly and Time Out--have been waiting for Klim to blend his unique insight, comedy, and sense of the absurd into an entertaining story. The Winners Circle is just that. I'd like to say that each scene is funnier than the next, but that would be belittling the novel as a mere laugh fest, which at times it indeed is. ... Jerry Nearing is unemployed and down on his luck, who resorts to shoveling horse manure for a living, and if that's not bad enough, he wins millions in the interstate lottery. Why would that be bad? You have to understand that most people who win the lottery wind up bankrupt sooner rather than later. True. Add to the losing equation a parade of conmen, heartbreak, and lovable losers who flock to Jerry life flies to sugar. It all works out, but as in real life, not like we expect. ... Klim's previous novel, Everything Burns, was a dark tour into the soul of a compulsive fire starter. The book's drastic change in style, although a coveted read in cult mystery circles, managed to drive his fan base into the woods. We're all glad to see him back to form. Bravo!

The Winners Circle is a great, fun read with believable, engaging characters that you care about, a story that gives you a taste of what sudden wealth may bring, and subtle messages woven in-between all the clever dialog and amusing action.

J. J. Jennis

While JESUS LIVES IN TRENTON and EVERYTHING BURNS sparked the desire for more, THE WINNERS CIRCLE is sure to cinch Christopher Klim's place among the top humor novelists of the day. He skillfully performs the difficult task of blending humor and pathos while telling a lively tale peopled with a variety of enjoyable characters.

Jerry Nearing was drifting through his life, married to Chelsea (his grade school sweetheart), living on a run-down farm, collecting and selling manure for a living, and getting sick and tired of jokes about his lousy job. Then fate intervenes and he wins the lottery --- not just the measly state lotto but the $32 million grand prize. Jerry is the kind of guy who probably would have fixed up the farm and simply continued to live his life as before. But Chelsea has other ideas and is soon getting face-lifts and boob jobs, ready to abandon the farm and head for the high life.

Enter Haskell Cogdon, a lottery winner groupie who charms his way into their lives and is soon making moves on the new and improved Mrs. Nearing. As a result, Jerry gets involved in The Winners Circle, a weekly group therapy session for lottery winners run by Dick Leigh, a psychologist who personally understands the pitfalls of sudden wealth. There he meets and befriends Tom Veris, who already has lost most of his fortune through bad investments and several disastrous mistakes.

Throw in a lovely, lascivious, licentious nurse with designs on Jerry, his cagey old codger of a neighbor named Jacob, and Christopher Klim's unique way of mixing them all together with poignant stories from his childhood and laugh-out-loud paparazzi chases, and you have one delightful story. His humorist's eye for detail and his writer's skill are sure to make THE WINNERS CIRCLE a well-deserved success.

--- Reviewed by Maggie Harding, a substance abuse counselor in Phoenix, AZ who wanted to be Brenda Starr before life intervened. She reviews for www.faithfulreader.com and www.womenonwriting.com. [...]

Drawing from more than ten years of professional involvement in the pulltab instant win ticket industry, Don D. Basina's The Insider's Guide Instant Win Tickets (Pulltabs): How To Win, How To Sell, How To Profit is a unique, thorough, expert, instructional reference about how to sell and profit from instant win tickets, and also how to better understand the odds of playing instant win games. Simple diagrams, basic advice and direct training form a wealth of information about the ticket industry. The Insider's Guide Instant Win Tickets is highly recommended reading for those on both sides of pulltab ticket gaming.

Until I read Mr. Basina's book, I would never have purchased a pull-tab. I generally won't purchase something I am not familiar with. His book provided concise information that I found to be very useful. I will definiately begin purchasing pull-tabs every opportunity I get.

Until I read Mr. Basina's book, I would never have purchased a pull-tab. I generally won't purchase something I am not familiar with. His book provided concise information that I found to be very useful. I will definiately begin purchasing pull-tabs every opportunity I get.

I enjoy reading an informational book that can summarize exactly what I am looking for. The "games-for-a-profit" field is new to me and I searched for a straight to the point book. THANK YOU!

I would recommend this book for anyone that sells and plays pulltabs. The author gives detailed information on how to sell more pulltabs. Determining the odds of winning for each cash prize helped me win more often!

Excellent book. Very well explained. I never played this version of Dominoes and I really like to do it. I like to contact Mr. Roberson in order to share some thoughts. My emails are: gtejeira@panamacom.com gtejeira66@yahoo.com

Sincerely,

Gabriel Tejeira

I'm a native Texan and both my parents are native Texans from the east part of the state. So this means that the 42 tradition runs deep in my family. This is the game that I watched "the elders" play at family reunions, weddings, birthdays, and probably even a funeral or two when I was growing up. When I was about 32, I was finally invited to to play with the "big boys". My dad and his brother were partners and me and one of my other uncles were partners. I was paired with this particular uncle because he is known as "the best damn 42 player in Texas" among my family and I was but a lowly rookie. Despite their generosity in pairing me with a known 42 shark, my dad and his brother proceeded to skunk us seven hands to zero twice in a row. Even though I had been taught to play years ago, am a fairly good spades player, and have a natural talent for math and statistics, I could not even come close to pulling my own weight at this game when it came to real competition with veteran players. How was I to find the skill required to compete with the hard-core 42 players in my family?

Enter "Winning 42" by Dennis Roberson. In "Winning 42", Mr. Roberson lays it all on the table. He begins with a brief introduction to the rules and terminology of the game. He then jumps into one of the most difficult aspects of the game, bidding, and handles it with an ease and clarity that belie the difficulty of the topic. If you master this 14 page chapter alone, your game will take a quantum leap. He then spends a chapter discussing basic strategies for playing out your dominoes once you have won the bid. He then devotes two chapters to helping your partner and setting the bidder. In these 45 pages (five chapters) Roberson gives you the essentials for becoming a solid 42 player who will seldom make a glaring mistake at a 42 table and who would be a respectable 4th among a table of veterans.

These five chapters also demonstrate one of the fantastic features of this book, namely that each chapter builds perfectly upon the preceding material and gives the reader information that will be immediately useful in 42. Reading this book in order, one could easily finish a chapter, put down Roberson's book, and be a better 42 player from that point on. Roberson's systematic approach to the basics of the game free one from the necessity to master the entire book before reaping it benefits and make its first five chapters alone easily worth the price.

The next six chapters cover several intermediate topics. Two of the most essential of these chapters teach one how to recognize and play an 84 hand, how to help your partner make an 84 bid, and how one sets an 84 hand. The other essential chapter teaches one how to recognize, bid, play, partner, and set "doubles as trumps" hands and "follow me" hands. Though the above numerous topics are presented in only three chapters, the topics are covered sufficiently to enable one to play confidently and correctly in these situations.

Chapter 12 covers "Advanced Bidding and Playing" and is what I consider the third major part of the book. The hands and play discussed in this chapter are illustrative of key points Mr. Roberson feels are critically important. Because these hands are illustrative, they do not appear to be typical hands and so may not be terribly engaging to the average 42 player. But if you have grasped the material of the preceding 11 chapters, you will easily understand the importance of chapter 12. Moreover, and perhaps more importantly, in chapter 12, Mr. Roberson demonstrates his masterful ability at 42 analysis. Anyone who has observed veteran 42 players analyze hands after they are played will know that analysis is one of the cardinal components of 42 culture.

Chapter 13 covers the "optional" topics of nel-o, sevens, and plunge. This material may help one depending on who he finds himself in a game with. Mr. Roberson is not fond of these variations, so he presents them in a cursory manner. I don't think this is a weakness of the book, however, because none of these variations are found in any official or tournament rules of the game.

Chapters 14 and 15 provide one with a flavor of the game's culture. The reading in these chapters is pretty good, but I don't think Mr. Roberson has really captured the essence and pervasiveness of 42 culture that must have existed in certain parts of the state during the last century. Its true that 42 has mostly been a pass-time and is "just a game", but for many families in rural Texas, it must have been much more than that. I'm sure my family is not unique in that almost every person a generation older than me is an expert 42 player--as are their parents and grandparents. So 42 may not have been so much a pass-time for some families as it was an important cultural glue. I've seen family members who were at odds sit down at a 42 table for hours and play in perfect harmony with plentiful discussion and analysis. What other cultural expression could achieve this? But Mr. Roberson's book appears to be mainly about instruction and not history, so these chapters really have no bearing on its value as a work of literature, which is tremendous.

The last chapter of the book gives some critical statistics about the game. It would probably be helpful for one to memorize these numbers if he has a head for that sort of thing--but I don't think that memorizing these statistics is a sufficient substitute for the understanding and intuition one might gain from mastering the first 12 chapters of the book and plain-ol' 42 experience.

In summary, Winning 42 is not only a unique book in that it is the only one ever written about the game, but it is also a masterwork of instruction. I'm not sure what Mr. Roberson's profession is, but if he is not writing instructional books full time, it is likely that he has missed his calling.

Finally, if you play or are thinking of playing 42, read this book. I'm sure I can speak for any 42 player out there when I say that it is more fun to loose to good 42 players than it is to beat bad ones. That's the magic of 42!

This is a wonderful book for out-of-state Texans. You find yourself saying, "Yeah, I remember 42 scenes and parties like that growing up as well!" The book has a very thorough description of straight 42 and its rules.

I must say that I found the author's total dislike for and two-page description of Nel-o very disappointing. He even says, "it is an eminently uninteresting way to play, requiring little or no strategy". He goes on to say, "In fact, to play Nel-o, there is absolutely nothing in any of the preceding chapters that is any use at all. There is no strategy."

This is true for the game of Sevens and would be mostly true for Nel-o where, without further variation, doubles would always be high in their suit. What isn't covered at all in this book is the option in playing a Nel-o hand of stating how doubles are to be played. The author only states that "many Nel-o players will allow the bidder the option of declaring doubles high, low, or even their own suit. This inconsistency makes it just that much easier, unchallenging, and uninteresting to play Nel-o."

Many groups that I have played in contain a large number of players not familiar with Nel-o, but of the groups that play Nel-o, I've never run into people that did NOT play all three versions of how doubles are called - High in their suit, Low in their suit, or as a separate suit. This ability to call how doubles will be played for the hand, in my opinion, makes Nel-o very interesting and requires skillful play.

As a forty-year old Texan that has played 42 for thirty years now, 42 is one of my favorite games as long as you can play Nel-o and call your doubles. I have tried "Straight 42" on numerous occasions, particularly with groups not familiar with Nel-o, and I have to say that it is one of the most boring games I've ever played and I can see where it would have been created by a 12- and 14-year old in Trappe Spring, TX in 1887 as the book states.

I was also wrankled by the statement that most Nel-o players would be totally destroyed in a straight 42 tournament for lack of skill. I contend that the opposite is even more true - a veteran straight 42 player with the rules explained to him for Nel-o and the three doubles variations would likely get destroyed in a Nel-o game, because players allowing Nel-o bidding play straight much of the time, whereas straight players never play Nel-o.

Overall, I'm glad this book was published, but it just goes to show you what I've seen at 42 parties - just like with languages, there are different dialects, so to speak, of 42 and you will probably enjoy playing more with other players that "speak" yours.

I give this book 4 stars because I appreciate that it was made. Lots of folks play Nel-o, however, and this book would be better titled: "Winning STRAIGHT 42" due to its lack of coverage of the three Nel-o bidding options for doubles.

Dennis did a great job on this one. This one is perfect for a beginner, novice, or so-called "expert". He explains the 42 terms perfectly assuming nothing. I recommend this to anyone who wants to learn a great new game. My hat's off to you, Dennis.

When I moved to Texas two years ago, many of my new friends played an unfamiliar game of "42". I hesitated joining their parties since "42" meant nothing to me. Then I found Dennis Roberson's book, "Winning 42". After reading cover to cover my confidence built and I am now part of the party and looking forward to the next session. The book does contain a few 'typos', but they force you to think and reflect on the game. If you want to learn "42" and its history, this is a MUST READ. book.

Should allow most beginners to understand important aspects of applied probability.

Mike Orkin's book explains the real odds for all the common casino games, and in the process, shows you it is generally better to leave your money in your own pocket, and just watch. Games covered include roulette, craps, Keno, slots machines, sports betting, blackjack, lotteries and horse races. A great chapter on the Prisoner's Dilemma is included, and covers thecomplex issue of when it is best to be a snicth, and when it is best to be quiet.

Casino math for the non-mathematician. If you really want to understand the math, it will take some effort to follow if you haven't dealt with probability and statistics in a while or ever. However, I am so tired of people presenting schemes on how to win at craps, roulette, etc: Martingale, anti-Martingale, D'Alembert, contra-D'Alembert, ad nauseam. No matter how you weight a negative expected return, the sum of the series is still expected to be negative. The risk to people who use these schemes unwittingly to gain a series of small "wins" is the guarantee of a single huge loss somewhere in the future - the longer you put it off, the larger it will be. If you didn't understand what you just read and want to, this book is for you. The writing is brisk, bordering on entertaining (if you're into this sort of thing) and not nearly as dull as you'd expect. The previous reviewer covered which games were presented so I won't repeat. Like Stanford Wong, this author's math is accurate - unlike many, many other authors.

If you decide to do any gambling, even a few bucks on your state lottery, consider the price of this book as your first bet. Orkin presents the real odds of most popular gambling games, at least one 'sure fire system' (yes there is such a thing, but you need deep pockets and have to be satisified with a pretty low rate of return), and the effects of the 'house edge'in an entertaining manner and with just a minimum of math. In fact, skipping the math in the book does nothing to reduce the book's usefulness nor your reading enjoyment.

Read this if you think gambling is a solution to money problems. In fact, after going through this highly readable and entertaining book you may be tempted to skip the lottery tickets and put the money in casino stock instead!