If you are a middling player and are keen to advance, this book will show you the way forward. David Bird has taken ten key areas in bidding and play and has applied his considerable skills as a player and critic to prove how results can be gained. The topics covered range from bidding the opponents' suit and battling for the part-score to support doubles and redoubles, and splinter bids and fit jumps. The essential points to remember are summarised at the end of each chapter and there are problems to solve which will show how much you have taken on board. Why wait any longer? Your opportunity to become a better player is here!

* Are you a social or recreational poker player? * Would you like to improve your game and win a bit more often? * Do you have 30 minutes a day to spare? Then this is the book for you. There is a lot of material available for players trying to improve their poker game. However, much of the advice is rather advanced. It can be complicated and not always easy to implement at the table. Winning Poker in 30 Minutes a Day is different. It keeps the advice simple and direct and enables you to learn the basics of winning at no-limit hold'em with the help of over 30 appropriate and creative exercises. The aim of this book is not to turn an already very good player into an expert. The aim is to take a regular Joe (or Jane) and make him or her good enough to beat social and recreational games. Poker is a lot more fun when you are winning and this book will give you the tools to enable you to win.

This entertaining and instructive book uses the author's own tried and tested training methods and is ideal for any player in the 100-160 BCF (1400-1900 ELO/USCF) grading range.

Chess players are known to be obsessed by openings. However, world champions have recommended that up-and-coming players should actually begin by studying the endgame first. This is because only by studying simplified positions can one fully develop an understanding of how chess pieces work - both in isolation and with each other. It is also the endgame where the true depth and subtlety of chess is revealed. In this instructive and entertaining book, renowned endgame expert Steve Giddins selects 50 of the finest examples of endgame play in the history of chess. Giddins examines each example in great detail and uses them to demonstrate the essential principles of high-quality endgame play. This book is full of essential guidelines and tips which all players should follow if they want to become a successful endgame player.

This collection of all-new essays approaches the topic of immersion as a product of social and media relations in the 21st century. Examining the premises and aesthetics of live-action and tabletop role-playing games, reality television, social media apps and first-person shooters, the essays take both game rules and the media discourse that games produce as serious objects of study. Scholars of social psychology, sociology, role-playing theory, game studies, and television studies all examine games and game-like environments like reality shows as interdependent sites of social friction and power negotiation. The ten essays articulate the importance of game rules in our analyses of contemporary media products, and demonstrate methods that allow us to see those game rules in action during the contested process of play.

Part two features the play of champions Max Euwe (1935-1937) Mikhail Botvinnik (1946-1957, 1958-1961 and 1961-1963), Vassily Smyslov (1957-1958) and Mikhail Tal (1960-1961). These books are more than just a compilation of the games of these champions. Kasparov's biographies place them in a fascinating historical, political and cultural context. Kasparov explains how each champion brought his own distinctive style to the chessboard and enriched the theory of the game with new ideas. All these games have been thoroughly reassessed with the aid of modern software technology and the new light this sheds on these classic masterpieces is fascinating.

When chess masters Louis Charles Mahe de la Bourdonnais and Alexander McDonnell met at London's Westminster Chess Club in 1834, the occasion was notable for a number of reasons. Hard-earned reputations were zealously protected, and masters of equal standing seldom faced each other on even terms. The chess world was watching closely, but it was the actions of bystander William Greenwood Walker, who carefully recorded each move of the 85 games, that would have the greatest impact on the future of chess. The recording and publication of game scores from a series of matches between masters was a first in chess history. The event irrevocably altered the game, giving birth to modern chess theory. Once based upon composed, abstract exercises, studied in isolation, theory now became concrete and measurable. Practice replaced contrivance, and tactics could be studied and honed in light of the avalanche of match records that followed. Louis Charles Mahe de la Bourdonnais and Alexander McDonnell played six chess matches in 1834. Biographies of the combatants illuminate their place in the game's history, and their historic venue is examined. The 85 games are analyzed using modern theory; there are numerous diagrams and previously published commentary. The merits of the openings, middle- and endgame maneuvers of the two are weighed. Nine appendices present selected games against other opponents; excerpt a contemporary account of the games' ambience; provide other interesting documents; present statistics; and provide a schematic of mistakes made by both contestants. Bibliography, notes, indexes.

Over 2,000 of the best Darts questions and answers The Sun Darts Quiz Book is the definitive darts quiz book packed full of 2,000 quality questions. Ranging from easy to difficult levels and covering all aspects of the game, quiz yourself over the basic rules of the game, the results, the politics, the history, the venues, the winners, the losers, the teams and the players. As the only darts quiz book available this is the perfect source of wisdom and trivia for Darts fans everywhere.

Philip Orbanes, master of all things Monopoliana, traces the remarkable story of the world's most famous board game, from its origins as a collegiate teaching tool in the early twentieth century through Monopoly's explosive growth in the postwar decades, to the game's current status as a fixture in homes across the globe. Along the way, Orbanes includes memorable Monopoly personality portraits, surprising Monopoly legends and lore, and an extraordinary tour of the ingenious advertising that contributed to the game's rise in popularity. This is the first and only book to cover comprehensively the origin, growth, and global reach of the game that has become a universal and everyday cultural icon.

This book portrays British chess life in the nineteenth century through biographical studies of ten players who shaped the modern game. From Captain Evans, inventor of the famous gambit, to Isidor Gunsberg, England's first challenger for the world championship, personal narratives are blended with game annotations to reassess players' achievements and character. The author has combined deep reading in primary sources with genealogical research to reveal new facts and correct previous misunderstandings. Major chapters on Howard Staunton and William Steinitz, in particular, highlight the tensions between Englishmen and immigrants, amateurs and professionals. The contrasting long careers of Henry Bird and Joseph Blackburne provide a thread of continuity. The lives of several other important figures in Victorian chess are also presented. More than 160 chess games (with position diagrams), several annotated in detail, 50 photographs and line drawings, appendices include career records for all ten, notes, bibliography and indexes.

Around 1860 a wave of talented youth intensified the Berlin chess scene. Within a short time Berthold Suhle, Philipp Hirschfeld and Gustav Neumann ranked among the best players in the world. After a few years, Suhle went on to become an authority in ancient Greek, and Hirschfeld proved a successful businessman (while remaining a sparring partner of Johannes Hermann Zukertort). Neumann retained a fascination for the game and grew into one of the world's strongest players. Despite their achievements little has been known about their lives and games. Drawing on a range of sources, the authors fill this gap, providing games with both old and new analyses. An introductory chapter on Berlin chess before 1860 and an appendix on Bernhard von Guretzky-Cornitz complete the book.

Considered by pros the BEST POKER BOOK EVER WRITTEN. This is the classic book on every major no-limit game played today and is considered by the pros to be one of the best books ever written on poker! Jam-packed with advanced strategies, theories, tactics and money-making techniques - no serious poker player can afford to be without this essential book! For the first time ever in paperback edition, Super System is packed with 608 pages of hard-hitting information and including fifty pages of the most precise poker statistics ever published, this is truly a must-buy for aspiring pros. Super System features chapters written by game's superstars, the best theorists and the best poker players in the world, such as Dave Sklansky, Mike Caro, Chip Reese, Bobby Baldwin and Doyle Brunson. Three world champions and two master theorists cover the essential strategies and advanced play in their specialties and provide no-nonsense winning advice on making money at the tables. These poker superstars cover the important money games in depth: You'll learn 7-card stud, draw poker, lowball, 7-card low stud (razz), high-low split (cards speak), high-low declare, and the most popular game today, hold'em (limit and no-limit). The important winning concepts and strategies are clearly outlined and explained so that you'll become a big money winner. Serious poker players must have this book. This is mandatory reading for aspiring poker pros, tournament players or those ready to play no-limit and is ideal for players moving to higher stakes games. This is the best poker book every written - period - acknowledged by pros and knowledgeable players alike as the classic book on every major no-limit game played today. Absolutely indispensable reading for any player.

Using the same format as The Pocket Guide to Bridge, this book will provide a handy pocket summary of the popular 2/1 bidding system. In a concise but readable manner, it goes over the basic ideas for Standard players who want to make the switch. The contents are based on Thurston's 25 Steps to Learning 2./1 which was the American Bridge Teachers Association Book of the Year in 2003.

This thoroughly updated and revised edition of the highly acclaimed 1986 reference work provides a definitive history of all championship events in the United States through April, 2011. Both the games and the occasions are covered in depth, including biographical details, descriptive settings, anecdotes, tournament drama, unusual games, and grandmaster analysis. Included in this edition are 13 new tournaments, 40 new diagrams and 13 additional crosstables.

For those needing to grasp the fundamentals of sound bidding and play, Ron Klinger's BASIC BRIDGE is the answer. GUIDE TO BETTER ACOL BRIDGE is intended for the large majority who are ready to advance beyond the basics. While GUIDE TO BETTER ACOL BRIDGE emphasises better bidding, each chapter contains examples of play, which highlight areas of winning declarer technique and defence. At the end of each section, a revision test enables the reader to measure the rate of progress. The book can be used by teachers conducting courses, or as a self-teacher.

'One of the best introductory books I have come across is Basic Bridge. I recommend it to beginners and teachers alike' The European 'By far the best' Bridge Plus This is a definitive Acol textbook, equally valuable to rubber or duplicate bridge players. Set out as a course which can be used in conjunction with bridge classes or as a self-teacher, the book covers all the basic principles of bidding and play and is packed with exercises and quizzes on everything that has been taught. Recommended as the ideal textbook for learning the game, Basic Bridge will continue to be the standard beginner's guide to rubber and duplicate bridge for the foreseeable future. If you only ever buy one bridge book it has to be Basic Bridge.

The French Defence is one of the most popular and reliable responses to 1.e4. This book covers the most critical variation of the Winawer, which occurs after the opening moves 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e5 c5 5.a3 Bxc3 6.bxc3 Ne7 7.Qg4. This volume presents three contrasting ways of meeting Whites aggressive opening system: 7...cxd4 leading to the notorious Winawer Poisoned Pawn; 7...00 8.Bd3 f5, a solid yet strategically complex system; and 7...00 8.Bd3 Nbc6, which leads to a tense, full-blooded battle.

Gaming books are hugely successful e.g. "Play Poker Like the Pros". This work features reviews in poker magazines and on poker websites. It will appeal to readers of rags-to-riches stories. It features reviews in men's magazines. Even if you don't follow poker, you'll love and appreciate this story. A humble, married accountant who never played poker in his life, starts playing, and after about three years, he enters an online tournament and wins $80k. A few weeks later in early 2003, he enters his first live tournament - the incredible World Series of Poker, and forks over the $40 entrance fee, and ends up winning $2.5 million, instantly becoming the envy of poker players around the world. This is the story of Chris Moneymaker and this is his real, Rocky-to-riches story. Poker continues to take the world by storm, with bestsellers like "Positively 5th Street", "Play Poker Like the Pros", and "Bringing Down The House". Nobody has a story quite like Chris Moneymaker, and in his book, he's not only going to give you his personal saga, but he's also going to show us all how the average Joe can transform their lives, pay off their mortgages, send kids to university, and continually play poker and win, in this amazing memoir/how-too book that's going to appeal to just about everyone - from mass media to the entire poker community.

For everyone who plays - or is interested in the international phenomenon that is the world of bridge In RIGHT THROUGH THE PACK AGAIN, joint winner of the INTERNATIONAL BRIDGE PRESS ASSOCIATIONS'S 2009 BOOK OF THE YEAR AWARD, each card tells the story of its importance in a particular deal and in so doing the book pays homage to the original concept in the bridge classic RIGHT THROUGH THE PACK. The Old Master is in a coma and the cards attempt to bring him back to consciousness, to revive him with their tales of derring-do. Not only are the deals themselves entertaining, but they are instructive too. You can test yourself on the problems and then go to the solution later in the book and thus improve your own game.

This follow-up to "WPT: Shuffle Up and Deal" from poker professional Antonio Esfandiari with contributions from other stars of the World Poker Tour provides the next level of poker strategies and insights for today's poker players. Cash Games are the most commonly played version of Texas Hold'em; in fact at this very moment thousands are playing this non-tournament style of Hold'em in casinos, home games and online. This will be a must have for all poker enthusiasts.

Do you need to freshen up your chess openings? Stun your opponents with new and exciting ideas! Dangerous Weapons is a series of opening books which supply the reader with an abundance of hard-hitting ideas to revitalize his or her opening repertoire. In this book, three opening experts team up and take a contemporary look at the Ruy Lopez, one of the most popular chess openings. Instead of analysing the well-trodden main lines they concentrate on fresh or little-explored variations, selecting a wealth of 'dangerous' options for both colours. Whether playing White or Black, a study of this book will leave you confident and fully-armed, and your opponents running for cover! *A modern study of the Ruy Lopez *Packed with original ideas and analysis *Ideal weapons to shock your opponents