Customer Reviews

How to gamble at the casinos without getting plucked like a chicken

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How to Gamble at the Casinos Without Getting Plucked like a Chicken is really a great book. It is so frank and honest that at times it is startling. In several places, like in the section about Gambler's Ruin, it is like someone just turned on the light. It becomes absolutely clear why some people win and most people don't. Although the book provides some really basic information, it doesn't talk down to the reader. It reads like a letter from a friend.

The book is worth the price just for the video poker cheat sheets. These tables give you the best play combinations for twelve different video poker games. These would cost more than the book if you bought them separately. For each game, they answer questions like: Should I hold the pair or go for the flush?

At first, the section on Blackjack seems incomplete. It doesn't go into the deep intricacies of card counting, like varying your play as a function of the card count. However, when you think about it, the book gives you enough information for you to be successful without making you work harder than it is worth. Since varying your bet is worth twice as much as varying your play, you really only have to learn one set of best play rules. The book provides you a realistic sense of perspective. It's like that for all the casino games. It tells you what is really important and what isn't.

Even the humor is instructive. On your first reading, it catches you off-guard and always makes or emphasizes a point that is worth remembering. Beyond that, the entire tone of the book makes it clear that gambling is supposed to be fun. You don't have to be a robot to be an expert gambler. It is ok to enjoy yourself and be yourself in a casino. After reading this book, you will know enough to be able to relax and have a good time while trying to do to the casinos what they are trying to do to you.

"How to Gamble in a Casino..." is an excellent, well-written book. Unlike most casino gambling guides, this one does not promise victory at games such as craps, baccarat, and blackjack (without counting cards) like many other books do. Ford splits the universe of casino games into the good, the bad, and the ugly. The only good games are blackjack and video poker. Ford has a simple basic strategy chart and a nice introduction to card counting. He also tells the reader which video poker machines pay more than 100% and has strategy tables for those. The bad games are craps and baccarat. These are games that cannot be beaten, but if bet properly, the house's edge is minimized. The ugly games are roulette (with its greater than 5% advantage for the house on all bets), and many of the newer, faddish games like Let It Ride, Caribbean Stud, and even War.
This book is for someone who wants to go to the casino and basically buy entertainment. Ford tells you how to have a good time without losing your shirt.

If you are only going to read one book on gambling, this is the one you should read. It covers just about every casino game of any consequence and gives you the essential information about each game with a minimum of blather.

This book doesn't promise to make you rich, but it sure can keep you from looking like an idiot. The best part is that it is a pleasant read. It makes the details easy enough to understand so that you can become a competent gambler without having to have a PhD in mathematics.

Even if you don't go to casinos to gamble, this book explains the factors that make it possible to win more often than you lose - for all kinds of games. That's why you really should read this book.

"How to Gamble at the Casinos Without Getting Plucked Like a Chicken" is as good as gambling books get. It is packed with solid information on which casino games give you the best odds and how (or how NOT) to play them correctly. It is an absolute classic and belongs in every gambler's library along with:

"Doyle Brunson's Super System"
"Harrington on Hold'em" (both 1 and 2)
"Beat the Dealer" and
"Professional Blackjack"

All Hail Dr. Ford for his breakthrough book on the realities of gambling. I so needed to read this book before throwing away money to the Casinos. I've tried reading other books, but rarely end up finishing them, as I'm swimming in miniature odds tables. This books has them, but Ford cuts through all the blah, blah, blah and tells it like it is. If you don't have alot of time to devote to learning how to seriously gamble, the is the one book you should read. Written with humor and honesty, this was easy to pick up and put down when I had the time and I didn't have to take a statistics course to understand it!

This is a great book! I read it before my last trip to Las Vegas and it really helped me. Rather than wasting my time and money on sucker games, I followed the advice and played the games that gave me the best odds. Not only did I come out ahead for the trip, but the casino comped my room!

I find that going gambling is a lot more fun when you win. This book can really improve your chances. It sure has helped me.

This book gives you a lot of good information about how to gamble, and it's funny, too. When I read the section on Keno, I couldn't stop laughing. I'd swear that I've seen that drunk playing Keno more than once. Most parts of the book will elicit a smile or maybe even a chuckle, but there are a few parts that are downright hilarious.

Seriously though, there is a lot of meat in this book. The humor just gives it some flavor. My friends have been merely amused by this book, but it cracked me up. I can't wait for the movie to come out.

Funny title; serious book. This is the first gambling book that truly tells it like it is. There are many other books that contain sound information on strategies and percentages but they all fail to point out the reality of gambling. The author does an excellent job of describing "Gambler's Ruin" and which games you should absolutely not play. The math and statistics are as good as any other gambling book but the read and comprehension are made easier thanks to a little humor which does not keep this from being a serious reference. If you only have one gambling book in your library, this is it!!!

Perfect book for those who are looking to enjoy gambling in Vegas without losing a ton of money by playing games in which the odds are stacked against you.

Although "How to Gamble at the Casinos Without Getting Plucked Like a Chicken" isn't just about blackjack, it is currently the best blackjack book available. In about 30 pages, it tells you everything you really need to know to become a proficient card counter. It explains that you don't need to be a genius. You just need to pay attention.

The effectiveness of card counting in blackjack rests on the fact that it is more favorable for the player to make bigger bets when the remaining undealt cards contain a higher than average proportion of large cards, principally 10's and Aces. When the undealt cards contain a smaller than average proportion of big cards (more small cards), the game is more favorable for the house, so the players should make smaller bets then, or stop playing. Any number of methods for keeping track of the ratio of high cards to low cards will serve as an effective method of card counting.

Check it out with one of the really good old blackjack books like:
"Professional Blackjack" by Stanford Wong,
"Theory of Blackjack" by Peter Griffin, or
"Beat the Dealer" by Edward Thorp.
The information in these books is absolutely correct, but they come from the stone age of card counting. Although their information is rock solid, they spend so much time marveling over the minute details that they leave the impression that card counting is a bigger deal than it really is.

"How to Gamble at the Casinos Without Getting Plucked Like a Chicken" blows away all the fog in just a few pages by telling you what is really important and what isn't. For example, it tells you not to play lousy varieties of blackjack, like 8 deck blackjack or 6-5 blackjack or Spanish Blackjack, but to stick to single deck and double deck games with good house rules (to go where the food is). You should read this book, relax, have fun and become a first rate player without having to wade through all the bs.