The Zen of Gambling: Lessons from the World's Greatest Gambler [Hardcover]

Wayne Allyn Root (Author), Paul Pease (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 23, 2004

In The Zen of Gambling, the star of Spike TV's Wayne Allyn Root's WinningEDGE(tm) shows readers why-be it in the casino, on the playing field, or in the boardroom-it is so vital to take risks in life. Wayne Allyn Root lives an American Dream: he makes tons of money sitting on his couch watching sports on television. In fact, as CEO of GWIN Inc., America's only publicly traded sports handicapping firm, Root has made a lot of people a lot of money and in this book he reveals the spiritual principles behind his consistently winning hand.

Says Wayne Allyn Root:

"Risk is what separates life's winners from losers-the survivors from the thrivers! Success all comes down to a series of gambles: your ability to make positive choices at pivotal moments and to thrive on challenge and high levels of stress. Sending out a resume; going on a job interview; asking that stranger on a date; the courage to pick up the phone and make a call that could change your life for the better-all of life's big decisions and defining moments require a talent for (and a willingness to) risk".

Turning popular conceptions of the chain-smoking, overweight, "down and out" Casino denizen on their head, Root shows readers how to cultivate tranquility in the face of the stressful, life-defining moments and to bring a Zen consciousness to taking risks. Presenting a unique Contrarian approach to gambling that involves never following the masses and always taking the lead in life, Wayne Allyn Root shows readers how to successfully navigate the many gambles in life.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Wayne Allyn Root is the founder and CEO of GWIN Inc. GWIN Inc. is America's only publicly traded sports handicapping company. (GWIN specializes in developing and marketing sports handicapping advice and information via television (The Winning EDGE(tm)), radio, and the Internet.) A former host and star of sports gaming programs on USA Network, CNBC, PAX, Comcast Sports Network, and Fox Sports Net, Wayne will star this fall on a pre-game Spike TV show titled Wayne Allyn Root's WinningEDGE(tm). This show aired for the last two football seasons on Fox Sports Net.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 336 pages
• Publisher: Tarcher (September 23, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1585424021
• ISBN-13: 978-1585424023
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #569,123 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Wayne Allyn Root is one of the most charismatic, colorful, passionate, fiery, and outspoken political personalities in America today. Wayne was the 2008 Libertarian Party Vice Presidential nominee. A college classmate of Barack Obama at Columbia University (Class of '83), he is now the face and voice of Libertarian-conservative politics in the mainstream national media. The media calls him "the Anti-Obama." Wayne calls himself a REAGAN LIBERTARIAN- modeled after his heroes Ronald Reagan, Barry Goldwater and Thomas Jefferson.

He is regular guest on many of the biggest television and radio networks in America including: FOX News Channel, FOX Business Network, CNBC, and radio shows like Glenn Beck, Michael Savage, Jerry Doyle and Mancow Muller. Wayne recently added his own radio talk show, "W.A.R: The Wayne Allyn Root Show."

Wayne's political and business careers have been profiled by CNBC, CNN/Money, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, TIME magazine, Newsweek, Fortune, Equities, The Financial Times, Millionaire, Success, Entrepreneur, Worth, The Robb Report, and even Emmy magazine (among many others).

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Lack of attention to detail, December 24, 2004

By 

Michael A Rinaldi (APO, AP United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Zen of Gambling: Lessons from the World's Greatest Gambler (Hardcover)

In terms of good information to learn as far as sports betting is concerned, this book was pretty good. It does a good job of explaining a *value* approach to sports betting. I enjoyed the book when I felt it kept true to its purpose. However, I felt the comparisons he makes between the stock market and sports gambling were downright moronic. Dont get me wrong. I picked up this book with the perspective that there are many comparisons to be made regarding sports vice stocks. However, his chapter on stocks that talks about buying low and selling high was a waste of time. What inspired me to actually write about this book was his lack of attention to detail. I swear about 10% of the book repeats itself word for word. He would start a chapter on football betting for one concept...then literally use the same exact paragraph word for word to explain the same concept when dealing with stocks. I really didnt appreciate the fact that this book was 323 pages long. Granted, its expected that authors will give longwinded explanations why you should buy into whatever theory they are pushing...that is the norm. It justifies their book...however, Ive never read a book where the author literally copied the same paragraph literally 3+ times within the same book. Ill give credit where its due...I found his thoughts on value investing interesting....however, his arrogant, I am everying Las Vegas really got old....and then to notice he didnt take the time to individualize each theory to the appropriate topic was the last straw. Bottomline, read it for the sports gambling chapters, even though it claims to be applicable to life and stocks and everything under the sun...please consider the source.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Offers good sound advice, September 26, 2004

By 

Kat Bakhu (Albuquerque, NM United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Zen of Gambling: Lessons from the World's Greatest Gambler (Hardcover)

When I picked up this book, I did not realize that it was so literally about sports betting (though it does wander over to stock picking for a short chapter as well); and if I had, I wouldn't have bought it.

But I'm not disappointed. It's a great read and Root's Contrarian approach (find out what the mass asses are doing and make a beeline to do the opposite) has great appeal.

In the second half of the book he gives blow by blow, very specific criteria to follow where you bet for the underdog while (Root claims) having the odds on your side. Frankly, I found it fascinating.

At the least, it makes for an entertaining read! I did learn a lot from it and had an enjoyable afternoon reading it as well. Root has a GREAT attitude and it really shines through in his book.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Provides a wealth of information and motivation, October 1, 2004

By 

Joseph J. Freda (Waltham, MA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Zen of Gambling: Lessons from the World's Greatest Gambler (Hardcover)

I was impressed by "The Zen of Gambling". The focus of this book is mainly describing techniques used to win at sports betting. Root also shares stories from his past about how taking big risks at the right times made him successful.

Before reading this book, I always viewed Root as a loudmouth salesman tout on television just marketing his sports predictions to suckers that get pressured into buying them. But this book will make you think differently about Root and see other sides of him. He honestly admits that not every sports bet he makes is a winner and that losing streaks do happen.

Even though I consider myself to already be a "sharp" sports gambler, I found that this book reinforced a lot of what I have found profitable when it comes to sports betting. Root stresses the importance of having the confidence to bet underdogs and going against what everyone else is saying. I agree that this is how to find value and beat your bookmakers in the long run.

It is also an entertaining read with Root throwing in a few pages with tips on health and building self esteem. He also reinforces that casino gambling cannot be beat in the long run and explains the kinds of tricks used by casinos for making people lose money.

Although sports betting has its own "house edge" with what's known as "vigorish", it is not based on a mathematical formula as casino games are so it can be beaten with the right skills and money management. Root teaches that risking everything you have on one bet you feel strong about or parlaying a series of plays is wrong and that you have to grind money out with a few carefully selected wagers each week.

I would recommend this book to anyone who bets on sports regularly or who is considering doing it. Beginners will probably get more out of it than sharper players, but even sharper players will find parts of it interesting. Once you read this book, you will have the motivation to believe in the calculated risks you take - even if you have been in slumps with gambling or other areas of your life before.