Reading recommendation

(By the way, wouldn't it be good to have a topic on book reviews?)

I just bought a book called Luck by English cricket champion Ed Smith.
Here is the first paragraph:
"For most of my life, I haven't believed in luck at all. I thought that talking about luck was an admission of weakness. I confidently - or naively - believed that you made your own luck. If you were good enough for long enough, you got what you deserved. I bridled at the suggestion that 'we all need some luck'. Luck was for 'other' people."

The author distinguishes what he calls nonrandom luck, i.e. the privileges that come with being born and educated in the right surroundings, from random luck, i.e. what makes some successful in their professional or other enterprises and others unsuccessful.

Interesting from a political point of view (I, personally, am led to conclude that right-wing people tend to not believe in luck or bad luck, only in merit, while left-wing people tend to think one should not suffer because of bad luck).
Interesting from our gambling point of view, with all those system players and the way some persons here view what Advantage Playing is.

A good read.

The previous book made me think of N. N. Taleb's books Fooled by randomness and The Black Swan.

People who succed tend to ascribe it to their talent and effort ("merit"), even though they may be the one in a hundred of a one in a hundred chance enterprise. Taleb is especially concerned with success in the financial wolrd.

My two favorite gambling related books are "Whale Hunt in the Desert" and "The Boardwalk Jungle."

I saw a guy on a cable show named Colson Whitehead, who wrote a book called The Noble Hustle. He entered the 2012 WSOP and wrote about his experience; he's an author associated with the New York Times and other publications. It was readable, mostly funny and anecdotal, but he kind of came off like Jeff in Fast Times at Ridgemont High, not really knowing what he was doing. He mentioned a book called Positively Fifth Street, by James McMahon, who was an English teacher and freelance writer on assignment to cover the 2000 WSOP for Harper's Magazine. Instead, he entered it, and I'm not going to tell you more than that. THAT book is one wild ride, and not for the underage reader. It's also the best trip report I've ever read; I'm 70% done with it.

There's a mystery author named James McSwain who has written several good (and several adequate) books on being a gambling PI. Fiction but fun.

Some guy wrote some book called gambling 102 that's supposedly pretty accurate.

Quote: beachbumbabs

There's a mystery author named James McSwain who has written several good (and several adequate) books on being a gambling PI. Fiction but fun.

I think its James Mc Swain.

Quote: FleaStiff

I think its James Mc Swain.

I think you're right, thanks.

Quote:

He mentioned a book called Positively Fifth Street, by James McMahon.

errata.

It's James McManus

I always recommend God Wants You To Roll, a true story of two teenage kids who perpetrated a multi-million dollar "miracle car scheme" targeting church goers, which lasted years and the money was laundered in various casinos in Pai Gow. It also was made into an episode of AMERICAN GREED.

Not a book, but as I remembered there was a pretty good piece online from the New Yorker "God of Gambling" (about 8 pages).

http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2012/04/09/120409fa_fact_osnos

Quote: kubikulann

The previous book made me think of N. N. Taleb's books Fooled by randomness and The Black Swan.

There's a great chapter about casinos in The Black Swan.

Quote: MrV

errata.

It's James McManus

Think I was cross-eyed tired when I wrote that post; messed up everybody's names. Thanks for the correction.

Quote: beachbumbabs

Quote: MrV

errata.

It's James McManus

Think I was cross-eyed tired when I wrote that post; messed up everybody's names. Thanks for the correction.

Yeah, you and Mickey both.