Gambling is one of the most rapdily spreading forms of addiction. In response, the biomedical addictions establishment has responded in its typical fashion of first denial, then quick evaluation whether these "new" patients can make the practitioner more financially comforable. Following this comes the inevitable third generation of turf squabbles, where various segments of the addictions and other interested communities attempt to cut themselves the largest portion of pie they can.

McCown & Chamberlain are brutally honest with this grim reality, as they are equally blunt regarding the multi impediments anyone with a gambling problem faces. While their review of the literature is not academically pedantic, it is sufficient to cause the run-of-the-mill clinician or even parent to give serious consideration to the idea that gambling may be the crack of the next quarter century.

However, these authors are not pessimists! Nor are they idealogues with a turf to defend. Instead they insist that only a unified campaign from the biological, behavioral, and social sciences will help those whose gambling has crossed the line from harmless hobby to life threatening addictions.

These authors argue from a morally neutral tone-despite having witnessed the horror of gambling disorders first hand. They admit that a major limitation of the effort is the mental health community has committed so resources into treatment that we lag behind progress made in other fields of addiction be a half century or more. McCown & Chamberlain are not afraid to attempt to experiment and to admit failures. They are open when they are stymied by our social policy and lack of treatment technology. Yet in the best spirit of scientist/clinicians they have faith that progress is always possible and site just enough science to make the reader convinced.

In addition to the above, their outstanding case studies, sensitivities to women and minorities, scientific ecclecticism and almost missionary sense of calling the scientific community to arms makes this book most readable.

Finally, their continued explorations into addictions as nonlinear constructs, often with a family sytstemic root, remains one of this books most fascinating hypotheses. We can only hope that these researcher scratch time somewhere to continue practicing both good science and good clinical practice.

With all due respect to Marten Jensen, he does not deliver the simplification and consolidation promised in the book. I bought the book for 2 reasons: (1) I'm a new Las Vegas resident who wants to enjoy the casino scene, but I want to play intelligently; and, (2) having graduated with a degree in Mathematics, I am curious how the odds and payouts work in these machines.

I will focus my comments exclusively on Jacks or Better Video Poker content (my game of choice, and as far as I read, once I realized the shortcomings of the book. )

Mr. Jensen identifies play strategies based on the various payout amounts of machines, collapsing 12 possible payout schemes to 2 strategies (excluding the Not Recommended to play strategy.) After an hour of analysis, I concluded the two play strategies are identical -- the only differences that I found are that the same hand is given different descriptors between the two strategy charts (what is described as JQ, JK, QK and JA, QA, KA as 2 separate hands in one strategy is simply described as 2 High Cards in the other, each with the same play strategy), and that he omitted a possible hand in one of the strategies (he describes what to do with a 4 card Inside Straight with 3 or 4 high cards, but he neglects to offer advice for any other type of 4 card Inside Straight.) My conclusion -- if Mr. Jensen recommends a Jacks or Better machine at all, he really means to tell me to play them all the same.

He further advises taking his book to the casino with you to match payout schemes on the machines to the charts in his book, rather than taking the time to reduce the various play/no-play strategies to a simple list of questions. I was able to reduce 12 charts to 3 simple questions to determine if (using his approach) you should play a machine or pass on it.

Finding such puzzling omissions and inconsistencies in this book makes me question the fundamental validity of his numbers and his strategies. He may be absolutely right (I'm not going to bother to do the math to double-check his assertions,) but I am left with enough lingering doubt that I'll pass on his advice and buy a different book and see what it says.

I'm sorry I every bought this one. This will be the last time I purchase a book that hasn't been reviewed.

Frankly, any book with as many typographical errors as this hapless little volume contains would result in some editor's head being lopped off. This book evidently had no quality control exercised over it. But that isn't the main problem. The book is an information lightweight. The author's fundamental message is something to the effect that workouts can be informative as to a maiden's condition. I found the few-and-far-between nuggets of information rather generic and hardly earth-shattering. A newcomer to the sport, only about three years' worth of handicapping experience, I kept the book as a curiosity, but I could hardly recommend it to anyone except as perhaps a good laugh. Well, there are one or two interesting tidbits in it and after all it is a contribution to the meagre handicapping effluvia. Yet Mr. Reo has done better (i.e., Finding Hot Horses). If you find it on sale somewhere, it's worth a couple bucks. Otherwise, spend the money on a beer. The post-guzzle belch will satisfy you a lot more than this book will, alas.