Paul Thurston's bridge textbook 25 Steps to Learning 2/1 (December 2004; ISBN 9781894154468) was an instant bestseller, winning the 2003 American Bridge Teachers' Association Book of the Year award. In a tantalizing postscript to that book, he promised a sequel, one that would cover 'the rest of the story' for those who wanted to add modern sophistication to their 2/1 bidding. Here at last he delivers, and the long wait has been worth it. The book describes an understandable and playable version of today's most popular system, something that has been missing from bridge literature until now. 2/1 game forcing ('two-over-one game forcing') is a bidding system in modern contract bridge structured around various formulaic responses to a one-level opening bid. Many improving bridge players enjoy the benefits of the 2/1 system.

What are the odds against winning the Lottery, making money in a casino, or backing the right horse? Every day, people make judgements on these matters and face other decisions that rest on their understanding of probability: buying insurance, following medical advice, carrying an umbrella. Yet many of us have a frightening ignorance of how probability works. Taking Chances presents an entertaining and fascinating exploration of probability, revealing traps and fallacies in the field. It describes and analyses a remarkable variety of situations where chance plays a role, including football pools, the Lottery, TV games, sport, cards, roulette, coins, and dice. This new edition has been fully updated, and includes information on "Who Wants to be a Millionaire?" and "The Weakest Link", plus a new chapter on Probability for Lawyers.

Casino games and traditional card games have rich and idiosyncratic histories, complex subcultures and player practices, and facilitate the flow of billions of dollars each year through casinos and card rooms, and between professional players and amateurs. They have nevertheless been overlooked by game scholars due to the negative ethical weight of “gambling� – with such games pathologized and labelled as deviance or mental illness, few look beyond to unpick the games, their players, and their communities. The Casino, Card and Betting Game Reader offers 25 chapters studying the communities playing these games, the distinctive cultures and practices that have emerged around them, their activities and beliefs and interpersonal relationships, and how these games influence – both positively and negatively – the lives and careers of millions of game players around the world. It is the first of a new series of edited collections, Play Beyond the Computer, dedicated to exploring the play of games beyond computers and games consoles.

This remarkable book is based on the close observation of the solutions by the Italian Champions to bidding problems. Acute judgements produced astonishing results, which Wladyslaw Izdebski and a leading bridge coach, Wlodzimierz Krysztofczyk, have analysed to create an exhilarating text. No competent bridge player will want to miss the opportunity of following this exciting work.

Find out how to win consistently and develop an adaptive, skilled game with this guide to every aspect of Texas Hold 'Em. With clear explanations of the rules, the hands, scoring, the odds and the betting systems, it will give you all the information you need to get started. It will also help you learn how to play online, warning you of the pitfalls and helping you to better 'read' your opponents and develop strategies for success. Featuring killer insights from an author with decades of experience in every aspect of the gaming world, this is an essential handbook for anyone who dreams of being a poker king - or queen.

A complete refresher course for bridge players returning to the game in middle age, summarising the key changes to the game that have occurred over the last thirty years. Bridge is a game that people often decide to learn as empty-nesters. There are also those who learned the game when they were younger -- but while they would like to start playing again, they are nervous about how much the game may have changed. There are new ways of bidding, new conventions, and other things they will need to know before they are confident about playing even with friends. That's exactly the audience for this book -- those who are 'coming back to bridge'. It summarizes the key changes that someone who has not played for twenty to thirty years will encounter, and explains simply and clearly what they will need to know to be comfortable in the modern game. Skill level: Intermediate