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Gaming Book Reviews
by Nick Christenson
| Title: The Hand I Played |
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Author: David Spanier
Publisher: University of Nevada Press
Date: 2001
ISBN 0-87417-490-2
Pages: 246
Price: $18.95 |
Last year the poker world lost one of its greatest advocates. In his books, magazine, and newspaper articles David Spanier entertained both those who regularly patronize the world’s poker rooms and folks who have never set foot in one. Spanier is one of the few poker authors who are writers first and foremost, and this is readily apparent in his books. They are a true pleasure to read. Just before his death, the University of Nevada press decided to publish what will be his last contribution to poker literature, the eerily appropriately titled book, The Hand I Played.
The Hand I Played is mostly a collection, and often an elaboration, of articles that Spanier had written for various publications, although several pieces appear in this book for the first time. The stories contained within these pages are universally enjoyable. They are well written, in good humor, and always contain at least one interesting point. I especially enjoyed Spanier’s chronicle of his odyssey to play in the final event of the World Series of Poker, as well as his description of the events in his early life that led to his fascination with the game.
The Hand I Played won’t help one’s poker game very much, but I greatly enjoyed reading it. Spanier’s observations about the game are insightful and his descriptions are entertaining. The one objection I have with the book is its price. It’s unfortunate that the University of Nevada Press thinks that it needs to charge nearly $20 for a book that most other publishing houses would sell for closer to $10. Even though this book costs more than I think it should, it is entertaining enough to be worth it. I recommend this book.
| Title: 101 Casino Gambling Tips |
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Author: John Marchel
Publisher: Four Suits Publishing
Date: 1998
ISBN 0-9665167-0-2
Pages: 160
Price: $14.95 |
101 Casino Gambling Tips is two books in one. First, as its title suggests, it provides suggestions intended to improve a player’s gambling experience. Second, it contains casino contact information: a list of toll-free telephone numbers for most of the casinos in the United States and a list of Internet casinos and their URLs.
Most of the tips Marchel lists are good ones. Unfortunately, too many of them contain bad advice. For example, Marchel advises players to stay away from slot machines with more than three reels and to always play the maximum coins. Today’s slot machines hit various pays according to the results of their random number generators. Just because a five-reel machine has more combinations than a three-reel machine doesn’t mean that its top pay is more or less likely to hit. Also, I still see slot machines that have a jackpot payout that is exactly proportional to the number of coins in play, in which case one expects the house to have the same edge regardless of the number of coins played. In both cases, as is the case in many other tips that I won’t cite here, the information the author provides is, at best, likely to mislead players.
The casino contact information seems pretty thorough, although I’m curious as to why places like the Alexis Park and the St. Tropez in Las Vegas are included. Also, the Commerce Casino in southern California is listed, but the other big card rooms aren’t. Presumably, if it’s gaming related and has a toll-free number it was listed, but this seems to be pretty arbitrary, and there are still some notable omissions.
The biggest downside is not the information in the book, but the niche in which it is competing. Steve Bourie’s excellent American Casino Guide contains what I believe to be much better and more thorough gambling advice and has much more information on casinos.
It includes not just the phone number, state, and city, but the number of hotel rooms and approximate prices, what games are available, casino floor space, plus additional information. Further, a new edition of American Casino Guide comes out every year, which makes it more up-to-date, and both books have exactly the same cover price. Therefore, I can’t recommend 101 Casino Gambling Tips because there’s a better book out there at the same price.
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