2 comments about The Greatest Gambling Stories Ever Told: Thirty-One Unforgettable Tales of Risk and Reward (Greatest).

1. This is a fun book all the way. If you want to sit back, kick off your shoes, and discover the best that gambling has to offer, this is a book for you.
   
   Frank Scoblete: author of Golden Touch Blackjack Revolution! and Golden Touch Dice Control Revolution!



2. This book contains excerpts from many books that I've already read. If you are looking for a good "gambling" book, avoid this one as all the stories are ones that you probably already know if you are an avid gambling reader.
   
   Plus, many do not focus on casino gambling, but instead focus on weird bets. For example, the book contains an excerpt from Huckleberry Finn - the famous frog race. If I wanted to read about the frog race, I would have read it back in high school.

No comments about Traveller: Spinward Marches.

No comments about Arkham Horror: Kingsport Horror Expansion.

2 comments about Making Mathematics with Needlework: Ten Papers and Ten Projects.

1. Knowledgeably compiled and deftly co-edited by Sarah-Marie Belcastro (Co-Director, Hamshire College Summer Studies in mathematics and Visiting Assistant Professor of Mathematics at Smith College) and Carolyn Yackel (Mathematics Instructor, Mercer University), "Making Mathematics With Needlework: Ten Papers And Ten Projects" is unique in that it combines mathematics papers with fiber arts project instructions. Each chapter showcases a particular project and that project features sections on mathematics and mathematics education along with detailed instructions for completing the needlecraft project. The featured projects include a Quilted Mobius Band (making a mobius quilt); Diphantine Equations (making a bi-directional hat); Sierpinski Variatins (making a Sierpinski shawl); a Two Knit Stiches Tours; Symmetry Patterns in Cross-Stitch; Algebraic Structure (making algebraic socks); Fortunatus's Purse; (K)Not Cables and Braids (making a pillow of Braid Equivalence); The Graph Theory of Blackwork Embroidery (embroidering a Holbeinian Graph); and making Hyperbolic Pants. Profusely illustrated, the text is fully accessible to non-specialist general readers with an interest in needlecraft, in the mathematics underlying needlecraft, as well as having a very special attraction for math students and fiber art enthusiasts alike.



2. Ok, I'm a bit of a math geek -- I have my masters in math. And I'm addicted to knitting books and yarn (as a quick perusal of my review history will demonstrate). So I ordered this book. Each chapter presents a new concept and a new project. The projects are not your typical fiber arts projects but they are all beautiful. They also should give even the most math-phobic individuals a new appreciation of the math.
   
   I have taught math online to adult college students and this would be perfect "supplemental reading" to show people that math doesn't have to be scary.

5 comments about Ghosts at the Table: Riverboat Gamblers, Texas Rounders, Roadside Hucksters, and the Living Legends Who Made Poker What It Is Today.

1. "The wild weird money world of professional gamblers is illustrated with stories from the riverboats to Vegas. Your own way to learn all about the World Series of Poker but for the price of this book instead of the ten thousand dollar buy in."



2. a must have book for anyone who has the slighest interest in poker or gambling. a really great book!!



3. Wilson starts his book with a helpful preface that divides poker into four ages: the initial frontier stages, that lasted from the game's introduction to the US to the closing of the frontier, which in poker terms correlates with the last mineral booms in the 1890s/1900s.
   
   The second age starts much later, with the heyday of the Texas road gamblers in the 1950s. This is a short era that is followed by the Las Vegas era, which symbolically began with the first World Series of Poker held at Binion's Horseshoe in 1970.
   
   The final age of poker is the current boom, fueled equally by television and the Internet, which most people would date to 2002.
   
   It's a good division, though it neglects the "rank and file" of poker in some ways. The thousands of backroom poker games that sustained the "sport" during the first half of the 20th century, for example, are nowhere here. There's good reason for that-they were mostly undocumented, and little heralded. For good reason. There is nothing exceptional or heroic about them. But history is rarely exceptional or heroic.
   
   The book properly begins with Wilson checking into the Bullock Hotel in Deadwood, South Dakota, and learning that a real ghost lives there-the spirit of Seth Bullock, the original proprietor, who frequently shows his disgust over the current staff's lassitude by shaking the odd plate or turning on a random blender.
   
   That's when I realized that the ghosts of the title aren't a metaphor: for Wilson (and for poker players) the legends of the past really are ghosts, who still have an incorporeal presence and can still do us harm.
   
   As Wilson admits in the preface, this is not an exhaustive history of poker as a historian would write it, chronological narrative interspersed with hard-won quantatative data about numbers of card decks sold, arrest for poker-playing, and the like. Instead, it's an impressionistic journey-literally-through the past and into the present of poker.
   
   Wilson's strategy is to revisit the scenes of past poker greatness, from Tombstone to Texas to Binion's Horseshoe, and through research, interviews, and observation, try to recover what is lost. Luckily, many of the figures of the last three eras are still alive, and those that have passed on are survived by friends, rivals, and associates. There a real richness of detail here, and no matter what your previous knowledge of poker, your insight into its history will be enriched Ghosts at the Table.
   Two sections that stand out are Wilson's conversation with Amarillo Slim, probably the most controversial poker figure in its modern era, and his investigation into the disappearance of 1979 WSOP champion Hal Fowler.
   
   Wilson's writing on Slim has a balance that is rare-most people either love or hate the lanky rounder-and the facts that Wilson's unearthed about Fowler, while in the end a bit underwhelming, are a neat bit of detective work, and show an inquisitiveness that's too rare in most students of the game. Ditto for his questioning of the Johnny Moss/Nick Dandalos proto-WSOP 1949 match, which has attained apocryphal, if not mythic status.
   
   One of Wilson's strengths is to integrate the present of poker into its past. The reader really sees how today's players slowly took control of the game from the legends of the near past. In the future, historians will be grateful for such an immediate account by a knowledgeable observer of the earliest days of online poker, and of the proliferation of poker in Europe.
   
   As an active narrator, Wilson himself becomes a character in the book. This has the potential for disaster-should the writer show up as a swashbuckling hero, the reader might be turned off by the braggadocio. But Wilson appears as an honest, curious, student of the game, who's taking a trip and bringing a few close friends-including you, the reader-along with him. He's the foil to some of the game's legends and rising stars, driving Amarillo Slim's ranch and listening to his act, seeking out Bobby Hoff in a California card room, and almost invisibly eliciting recollections from other poker icons. When he does step into the frame-in the book's coda-it is for him to try his luck at the 2007 World Series of Poker. Since he's humble without being self-effacing, the reader can't help but root for him.
   
   Don't view this as a narrative-see it as a collection of stories told to you as you're driving down a dark, endless Texas highway (or English road) on the way to your next big game. If you are a poker player or are just curious about this quintessentially American game (and its ghosts) you should definitely read Ghosts at the Table.



4. WELL WRITTEN, EXCELLENT PICTURE OF POKER SINCE THE 1800S. VERY ACCURATE WITH PLENTY OF NEW MATERIAL.



5. 2008 World Series of Poker starts May 30 and runs through July 17, 2008. The biggest event in poker today is described in this anthology of United States players from old western gaming in Arizona, Texas, and Nevada. We are swept along the trail from North Dakota and meander down the gold and silver rush towns to now ghost towns. As time passes in the twentieth century we are told of the exploits of Wild Bill Hickok and how he played poker with his six shooter. In response to a full house, Wild Bill said that he had 3 Aces over 2 sixes, when the other player said he saw only one six Hickok put his pistol on the table and said here is the other six. He won the hand!
   
   This anecdotal form of writing is most interesting as Des Wilson takes us through the portals of moments when ghosts are visited in many poker parlors as he tries to imagine what it was like to have lived in that bygone era. Brief skirmishes are recounted as he tells of battles which were fought and the connection to poker is related in all of them.
   
   His description of the gun fight at the OK Corral is wonderful, and the fact they all played poker the night before is fascinating.
   
   The book seems to be two books in one; Wilson is so enamored with the WSOP that the second half tells of the personalities of the players of today. He does relate the formation of the event by Benny Binion at his famous Horseshoe in Las Vegas in 1970 and touches upon his ghost. Those players who will pay $10,000 to enter Harrah's Rio, the situs of the 2008 contest, owe their opportunity to play to the ghosts of the past and those of the present. Being lucky and getting good cards is only part of winning in Texas Hold 'Em, winning the gold bracelet is exemplified as being a paragon of the bluff.
   
   Clark Isaacs
   Reviewer

2 comments about Fantastic Locations: Fane of the Drow (Dungeon & Dragons Roleplaying Game: Rules Supplements).

1. buy it with an open mind, good for beginners. advanced players can skip this...



2. The maps included work great with miniatures and classic D&D game scenarios. The module that comes with the maps is not that great, is a fair adventure scenario for new players. First: The enemies are just that... enemies, no twists or interesting plot that might hook the players more than killing guys. Second: It doesn't motivate the players or Dungeonmaster to work on the characters. It's just Hack and Slash. But the maps are GREAT! Two of them are favorites among my players.

5 comments about Killer Poker By the Numbers: Mathematical Edge for Winning Play (Killer Poker).

1. Tony Guerrera takes the science of poker to a new level. Recommend for all players!



2. Just finished the book and feel it is an excellent analytical tool. The author has given the reader an excellent framework for decision making. Other books I've read have not covered the subject as thoroughly as this book did. The emphasis is on reading your opponent's past play and then using that information to assign probability to current holding. I think the book is a useful addition to your poker library.



3. This is my new favorite poker book. It took my poker thinking to a new level.
   
   Most books give you general rules of thumb. For example, they recommend continuation betting 1/2 to 2/3 of the pot. To follow up they might give an qualitative explanation saying "it give you 2 ways to win..."
   
   However, Tony Guerrera explains poker problems qualitatively and quantitatively. By going thru the problem mathematically, you really go deeper and start to understand what's going on under the hood. He also teaches you a framework to solve poker problems/situations yourself. In fact, at the end of chapters he gives you homework to solve yourself. Highly recommended to players who want to improve and are willing to spend the time to do homework and study (reading the book more than once).
   
   Odd that this book hasn't had many reviewers. I guess it won't win any popularity contests, but the book gave me more poker tools than any TwoPlusTwo book has.



4. This book shows you the mathematics behind poker in great detail. This is an advantage, but a disadvantage as well.
   You really should have a strong interest for mathematics and some background on calculation probabilities. If not, the book, even though written in an easy-to-read manner, will be hard to understand for you.
   What you also should know is that to redo the calculations yourself, you will need, besides a calculator, additional software. So for some sections, you should be sitting in front of your computer when reading the book.
   
   I have never seen a poker book describing the mathematics of poker in such a detail. Whereas many of us just use the simple 2/4 rule for calculating pot odds, the author shows us the mathematically correct way to do it.
   Whereas this is theoretically interesting, I often missed the practical use or generalisation of the results.
   
   The reason why I gave this book 3 instead of 4 stars is from a sentence in the foreword: The author says that his mother, who neither understands much of poker nor of mathematics, was able to read and understand this book. And this I definitifely cannot comprehend.



5. This book is must for your poker collection if you are serious about improving the math part of your game. Portions of it are a little more complicated then some have suggested but nothing overwhelming.
   There are also many great tables dealing with probabilities of specific scenarios occurring.

No comments about The $1.00 Word Riddle Book.

No comments about What Is Dance?: Readings in Theory and Criticism (Galaxy Books).

3 comments about The New York Times Easy Crossword Puzzle Omnibus Volume 3: 200 Solvable Puzzles from the Pages of The New York Times (New York Times Easy Crossword Puzzle Omnibus).

1. I frequently do crossword puzzles and am always buying the New York Times Easy Crossword Puzzle books. This one is really disappointing, it has many of the same puzzles as The New York Times Crosswords for a Lazy Afternoon : 200 Easy, Breezy Puzzles
   . It was a waste to spend money on this book when it has the same puzzles as the other book. It sucks to open up to a random page and have the puzzle be exactly the same as one I have already done. I wanted an easy crossword book, that just makes it too easy.



2. I felt compelled to write a review because the only other one gives it 1 star because it had puzzles from another book!
   
   The puzzles in this book are well done, easy but not too easy (I've only finished a few alone). The book is well made and sturdy and holds up well in the bathroom where we keep it.
   
   If you are looking for great puzzles to work the mind and don't own every other crossword book by Will Shortz this is the crossword puzzle book for you.



3. The NYT puzzles start out easy on Monday and grow progressively more challenging through the end of the week. This is a Monday-Tuesday book of puzzles.