Winning 42: Strategy and Lore of the National Game of Texas (Third Edition) [Paperback]

Dennis Roberson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 15, 2004

San Antonio Conservation Society Award Winner A perennial bestseller and a must for beginners and strategists alike There are two types of people in Texas: those who play 42 and those who need to learn. Winning 42 is written for both. A team game that no one tires of playing, 42 relies on neither luck nor memory. Skill and strategy definitely separate the best from the rest. Yet those who think they’ve mastered the game will find challenge in the advanced strategy chapters and fascination in the history and lore. Many who’ve grown up with 42 are nonetheless surprised by its uniquely Texan history, reaching back nearly a century and a quarter. Beginners will find easy instruction in all the fundamentals, from the intricacies of bidding a hand, or setting an opponent, to the challenge of the exciting 84 hand, and can proceed to advanced strategies at their own pace. Replete with championship statistics and stories gathered from veteran players and strategists—including many celebrities from astronauts to presidents—Winning 42 illumines a cherished tradition that links Texans from all walks of life. Played casually by those who enjoy socializing or intently by those who relish the logic of each domino played, 42 is perhaps the most widely acknowledged cultural expression in Texas.

Product Details

• Paperback: 184 pages
• Publisher: Texas Tech University Press; 3 Exp Upd edition (September 15, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0896725413
• ISBN-13: 978-0896725416
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,430,586 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must read introduction to "42" for any non-Texan novice, October 25, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Winning 42: Strategy and Lore of the National Game of Texas (First Edition) (Paperback)

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.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One and Only on Texas 42, November 24, 2007

By 

James Stroud "Macaholic" (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Winning 42: Strategy and Lore of the National Game of Texas (Third Edition) (Paperback)

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!

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best instructional books ever written, March 21, 1999

By 

J. Batsell (Texas, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Winning 42: Strategy and Lore of the National Game of Texas (First Edition) (Paperback)

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.