How to Gamble at the Casinos without Getting Plucked Like a Chicken Paperback – August 9, 2004

If you play at the card game tables, the book appears to be helpful in teaching the best-use techniques and how to determine the House's edge.As a Slot Games player, the information presented in the book was not informative or anything new that I did not already know fromexperience.

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!!!

I liked the way the author wrote. It was an easy read. The video poker section maybe outdated by now because casinos change machines so often.

book is best on gambling ive read in long time.

This book is very enjoyable because the author is very frank about what you can expect in a casino and what your chances of winning really are. A lot of people go into casinos with high and unrealistic hopes about their chances of winning. If you follow Mr. Ford's advice, you will enjoy yourself more and perhaps make a few bucks in the bargain.

What a depressing book. If you can get past all the charts and graphs, the basic message of the book seems to be "Don't Gamble!" And if you do, you aren't going to win because everything is stacked against you. I got plucked good in buying this turkey..

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.

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.