2 comments about Gin Rummy at Its Best from Beginner to Expert: From Beginner to Expert.

1. Having written a book on learning how to play gin rummy I naturally read all the books on that topic before adventuring into the field myself. George Fraed's book paralled my strategy so closely that I wanted to someday meet this fine gentleman. It was my good fortune to be able to not only meet him but play against him in a gin tournament in Las Vegas. Having read his book I was in for no surprises. He beat me anyway. I went back and read his book again. An extremely well-written book, with lots of interesting anecdotes of his experiences in playing in tournaments. This book is a MUST for anyone who is serious about becoming a better player.



2. This is the same book as his later titled Gin Rummy: How to Play and How to Win.

1 comments about Scarne on Card Games: How to Play and Win at Poker, Pinochle, Blackjack, Gin and Other Popular Card Games.

1. This is a Dover reprint of the 1965 edition of Scarne on Cards. However, the photos showing card cheating techniques are missing. Also, the reprint is the abridged paperback version by Mass Paperbacks. While Dover is famous for printing its books on high quality paper that are signature-stitched so that it can last a lifetime (and possibly be rebound), none of this is present. The paper it's printed on is like the paper of a low-quality paperback and not signature-stitched. I was hoping that it would have come out much better and unabridged.

2 comments about The Gin Game by D.L. Coburn.

1. Winner of the 1978 Pulitzer Prize, the Best Production Award from the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle, the Tony and Drama Desk Awards for Best Actress for Jessica Tandy, and the L.A. Drama Critics Circle acting awards for both Tandy and her husband Hume Cronyn, this play was a winner from the day it opened. Written by D. L. Coburn, it focuses on two elderly residents of an old-age home as they come to terms with each other and themselves.
   
   Initially, Fonsia Dorsey (Jessica Tandy) appears to be genteel and reserved, a woman who is offended by any hint of profanity, a perfect lady whose consignment to this welfare home is the source of her sorrow. Weller Martin (Hume Cronyn) is a tougher sort, a failed businessman who now keeps himself busy playing cards. Both characters maintain their dignity by avoiding the other residents of the home, "a warehouse for the intellectually and emotionally dead."
   
   Quickly learning to play gin, Fonsia meets with Weller to play over the course of two weeks. Gradually, they reveal their pasts, hiding their failures and their tragedies within protective stories which preserve their images of themselves. As Fonsia repeatedly wins at cards, Weller, in frustration, begins to pick away at her cover, forcing her to look at herself realistically. She, in turn, begins to taunt him, making him confront his failures, and a violent argument ensues.
   
   Tandy plays Fonsia as vulnerable but also manipulative. Cronyn is gruffer and more defensive. As Tandy tries not to gloat about winning and Cronyn tries (only slightly) to hide his frustration, their card games become episodes of psychological warfare, and the gin game becomes the game of life, with both players trying to determine whether winning is a matter of luck, Divine Intervention, or personal skill.
   
   Tandy and Cronyn are perfect foils, using visual humor, gestures, sidelong glances, signs of discomfort, and all the other nonverbal signals that many elderly people have developed to perfection. As Cronyn slaps down a card that he is sure is a winner and Tandy tentatively reveals a better card, the humor reaches its height, and when Cronyn taunts her and Tandy finally responds by using the F-word, the dramatic irony reaches its peak.
   
   Powerful, realistic, and filled with an ironic humor which sets the play's poignant messages into sharp relief, this video, an actual live performance, conveys the excitement of a great Broadway play starring the greatest of actors in one of the best and most satisfying productions ever mounted. Mary Whipple



2. I saw The Gin Game with Jessica Tandy and Hume Cronyn years ago on TV. I loved it. It was perfection. I taped it and then lost the tape, so this is a happy day for me. I have been searching for years. The other production with Mary Tyler Moore and Dick van Dyke just missed the boat. It lacked the finesse and pathos so witty and moving in the Tandy and Cronyn version. When I read that it was to be done with MTM and DvD I thought,"This is going to be awful". I was not disappointed. They even made changes that just begs the question, "If it ain't broke, why fix it?" They shouldn't have. Those of you who purchase this one will not regret it.

No comments about Cohen's complete book of gin rummy.

1 comments about The gin game: A tragi-comedy in two acts.

1. Winner of the 1978 Pulitzer Prize, the Best Production Award from the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle, and the Tony Award for Best Actress for Jessica Tandy, who starred in the play with her husband Hume Cronyn, The Gin Game, by D. L. Coburn, focuses on two elderly residents of an old age home as they come to know each other and themselves. Initially, Fonsia Dorsey appears to be genteel and reserved, a woman who is offended by any hint of profanity ("I never heard my papa say a curse word in his life."), a perfect lady whose consignment to this welfare home is the cause of her initial tears. Weller Martin is a tougher sort, a businessman who lost his business and now keeps himself busy playing cards. Both characters maintain their dignity by avoiding the other residents of the home, "a warehouse for the intellectually and emotionally dead."
   
   Weller sees in Fonsia a potential partner in gin rummy, and she, "learning" the game from him, quickly catches on and wins several games. As they continue to meet and play over the course of two weeks, they gradually reveal their pasts, hiding their failures and their tragedies within protective stories which preserve their images of themselves. As Fonsia continues to win at gin, Weller becomes more and more frustrated, and he begins to pick away at her protective cover, identifying her weaknesses, attacking her credibility, and forcing her to look at herself realistically.
   
   The play builds its themes slowly, hiding their serious nature behind the veneer of comedy, much of which is visual during the card games. The characters are both lonely and vulnerable, and their jokes about their lives and the lives of other residents ring true, full of universal humor. Their comments, however, betray their own concerns about their future. The gin game, symbolic of the game of life, consumes them as they try to determine whether winning is a matter of luck, Divine Intervention, or personal skill. A powerhouse of a play, using humor to set its poignant messages into sharp relief, The Gin Game is theater at its best. Mary Whipple

1 comments about How to play and win at gin rummy.

1. This is a book by a winner of a gin tournament in Las Vegas in 1958. Mr. Wander takes you step by step to how he would play a game to 200 using Oklahoma rules and his random card hands. He definitely plays the hands a little different than most people on certain types of hands. I would suggest this and Jacoby Gin Rummy All American Roundup as must reads for every gin player. This is the same book as the hardback by Wander titled Expert Guide to Winning at Gin which was published in 1965. This is the paperback reprint from 1974.

5 comments about How to Win at Gin Rummy: Playing for Fun and Profit.

1. A concise introduction to the fundamentals of gin rummy are provided as background for even the novice. The author then gets into techniques for the experience player that wants to improve skills. Practical methods are provided for diagnosing the gin hand as well as the cards held by your opponent. For the serious player the author provides a section on how to remember cards played and how to use this information to analyze your opponents most likely melds and other cards held.



2. The authors have presented an analysis of gin rummy that serves as a critical reference tool, for anyone wishing to improve their game.



3. I bought this book, largely based on reviews I had seen on the internet. I was very excited about the "computer studies."

   I'm sorry to report that there are many elementary errors, and substandard probabilistic thinking, in this book. The author does present some useful information and some impressive looking charts. But when you delve into the actual material, it is flawed. Starting almost on the first page, there are serious mistakes.

   And there are no computer simulations. No real data to back up (MHO) the author's somewhat dubious advice. I don't know what his (her?) Ph.D. is in, but I doubt it's in mathematics or game theory.




4. This book has a lot of statistical information in it. It is a lot better than most modern gin rummy books. Read this book plus Jacoby and Wander's books to get started on the right track in gin.



5. I purchased this as a Christmas gift (and was shocked at the price and the fact there are NOT any Gin Rummy specific books out there!)...
   The recepient of the book LOVES it and says it is a great book and has really helped.... So it was worth the money:)

1 comments about Winning at Gin.

1. This is the same book as How to Play and Win at Gin Rummy by Chet Wander. See my review of it. This is the hardcopy version. This is one book that you want to read. If you have a choice the writing in this book is larger than the paperback.

5 comments about Play Gin To Win.

1. It has been over a year since I made some comments about my book.
   Since then I have gone from winning at 68% to 73% and continue to be the leading percentage player in World Play Case's Ladder, and no one has broken my 37 game winning streak record. Charley Killebrew



2. I found this book to be frustrating, mostly because it becomes apparent that while the author enjoys the challenge of pulling one over on a live opponent, this book is really the author doing the same thing to the consumer. I agree with the other reviewer who was put off by the overly large type. I also note the consumer clip art on the cover. I should have known better.
   
   The book is edited and published by the author's friend. I am sure Mr. Killebrew is an interesting person and a pleasure to be around. Why else would so many people enjoy playing him and getting beaten by him? But the impression I get is one of a sleazy braggart of a con-artist. A small publishing house is fine, but usually there is a reason a regular publishing company does not pick up one's manuscript: it just isn't quite good enough. Looking at the other items Swan Pub. and his editor Pete Billac has come out with, they almost all involve the same things about which we get spammed. Having read the Bicycle books on hearts and spades by Joseph Andrews, one sees how a book on a card game should be written.
   
   I was also lured in by the positive reviews. I should have listened to the negatives this time. I should have noted that several of the glowing reviews are written by the author (ckill2015). I also note that the anonymous reviews were written soon after the book's publication, many of which were posted on the same day.
   
   As to the quality, there just isn't much here, certainly not enough to justify a $9.95 price tag. Gin Rummy is not THAT complicated a game to warrant an extensive treatise, but Gin Rummy How to Play and Win, in fewer pages and with a much lower price, covers FAR more information on the game, variations and strategy. This book covers a lot of the author reminiscing about himself and his life and how wonderful a player he is.
   
   To echo the problem with the chapter on "Percentages," it is true the book doesn't deal with it. It is also the second shortest chapter in the book at nearly a page and a half. However, on the back of the book the first item in the list of "Learn How To" features is "Play Percentages." That's just false advertising, also known as lying. My apologies for being too personal here, but since he brings it up in the "about the author" section, I expect better of a Marine.
   
   There are good points to the book: his chapter on cheating is interesting; he does offer good advice on playing a live opponent, and after all the smack-talk similar to the play of bid-whist, he does offer excellent advice on courtesy.
   
   Nor am I one for political correctness, but something about this line just rubs me the wrong way and is indicative of the whole book: "Against the very good players (the ones who play the game as I play it) you have to maintain discipline and never give in to hunches or impulses. I know this is useless information to give to female players because their intuition is so much more acute than mine is..."
   
   At $9.95, this book is far too expensive for what one gets. The practical advice could fit nicely into a well-thought-out brochure. Please leave out the extensive writing on the "card gods" and use of telepathy and telekinesis. I would rather have learned from and lost to the author in person than been cheated by this book.



3. This guy may be a good gin player, but he's really full of himself.
   
   His advice is excessively basic.
   
   Also, he admits that he cheats at cards for money.
   
   Finally, reading this book will not make you a good gin player.



4. I am a poker player, and I am used to read the very best books about gambling (mostly from twoplustwo publishing). This book striked me as being very unprofessional, compared to what I am used to.
   
   The author brings out fallacious ideas like you have to "think about the card you want and it will make you more likely to get it". This won't help the author's credibility. A good publisher would have never let him publish such non-sense.
   
   Also, the overall tone of the writing does not inspire confidence. I was not looking for a novel, but I like it when the author sounds professional.
   
   I am not in good position to judge the rest of the book. But that's the scary part! I won't be able to tell the good from the bad!
   
   
   I only recommend that book because I couldn't find many other books about Gin. I advise the reader too be cautious reading this book.



5. i would've given the book 5 stars if it had more pages with illustrations and quiz material.
   yep, he seems to be full of himself. doesn't need to be. just get the material across and the book sales will come.
   the illustrations were clear as well as the layout of the book too. he can thank his publishers for that.

5 comments about Gin Rummy: How to Play and Win.

1. More of a booklet than a book - only 59 pages - but it's the most cogent of the lot. I can't speak about the Killebrew book, which has had many positive reviews - but I've read the rest, and this is the best.



2. This book is great for the beginner or the intermediate player of any experience level. The rules are clearly explained; even if you have not played before you can learn easily. It offers great strategy that's easy to understand. Although not a lengthy book, it sure is a helpful one. It has helped me improve my game, and it can do the same for you.



3. Good intro to gin, but not enough in-depth material. Good for anyone new to the game.



4. This is a good book for gin beginners. Probably, the first book you should read on gin.



5. This is a clear and concise (59 pages) overview of Gin Rummy with excellent advice on general play and strategy. Compared to Fraed's book on Gin Rummy, this was an absolute pleasure to read and although it is short, it packs in far more useful information than many larger books do. I'm no Gin master (yet), but i am a professional writer and I can tell you that this book is worth buying.