Winning 42: Strategy & Lore of the National Game of Texas

By Dennis Roberson

Book Overview

There are two types of people in Texas: those who play 42 and those who need to learn. Winning 42 is written for both. A team game that no one tires of, 42 does not rely mostly on luck or memory. Skill and strategy separate the best from the rest. Veterans who relish the logic of each domino played will find challenge in the advanced chapters and fascination in the history and lore. Many who've grown up with 42 are nonetheless surprised by its utterly Texan heritage, reaching back over a century and a quarter. Beginners will find easy instruction in all the basics, from bidding a hand or setting an opponent to the challenge of the 84 hand, and can advance at their own pace. Replete with championship statistics and stories from veteran players and strategists--including many celebrities from astronauts to presidents--Winning 42 illumines a cherished tradition that links Texans from all walks of life.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1682830578
• ISBN13: 9781682830574
• Release Date: March 2020
• Publisher: Texas Tech University Press
• Length: 204 Pages
• Weight: 0.60 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 6.4" x 8.9"

Customer Reviews

You need this book!

If you need to know how to play 42 or sharpen your skills, this is the book. Everything about the game in absolute clarity and a good read to boot. For Texans, a bit of Texas cultural history. For everyone else, an excellent guide to the great game of 42.

One and Only on Texas 42

I'm a native Texan and both my parents are native Texans from the east part of the state. So this means that the 42 tradition runs deep in my family. This is the game that I watched "the elders" play at family reunions, weddings, birthdays, and probably even a funeral or two when I was growing up. When I was about 32, I was finally invited to to play with the "big boys". My dad and his brother were partners and me and one of my other uncles were partners. I was paired with this particular uncle because he is known as "the best damn 42 player in Texas" among my family and I was but a lowly rookie. Despite their generosity in pairing me with a known 42 shark, my dad and his brother proceeded to skunk us seven hands to zero twice in a row. Even though I had been taught to play years ago, am a fairly good spades player, and have a natural talent for math and statistics, I could not even come close to pulling my own weight at this game when it came to real competition with veteran players. How was I to find the skill required to compete with the hard-core 42 players in my family? Enter "Winning 42" by Dennis Roberson. In "Winning 42", Mr. Roberson lays it all on the table. He begins with a brief introduction to the rules and terminology of the game. He then jumps into one of the most difficult aspects of the game, bidding, and handles it with an ease and clarity that belie the difficulty of the topic. If you master this 14 page chapter alone, your game will take a quantum leap. He then spends a chapter discussing basic strategies for playing out your dominoes once you have won the bid. He then devotes two chapters to helping your partner and setting the bidder. In these 45 pages (five chapters) Roberson gives you the essentials for becoming a solid 42 player who will seldom make a glaring mistake at a 42 table and who would be a respectable 4th among a table of veterans. These five chapters also demonstrate one of the fantastic features of this book, namely that each chapter builds perfectly upon the preceding material and gives the reader information that will be immediately useful in 42. Reading this book in order, one could easily finish a chapter, put down Roberson's book, and be a better 42 player from that point on. Roberson's systematic approach to the basics of the game free one from the necessity to master the entire book before reaping it benefits and make its first five chapters alone easily worth the price. The next six chapters cover several intermediate topics. Two of the most essential of these chapters teach one how to recognize and play an 84 hand, how to help your partner make an 84 bid, and how one sets an 84 hand. The other essential chapter teaches one how to recognize, bid, play, partner, and set "doubles as trumps" hands and "follow me" hands. Though the above numerous topics are presented in only three chapters, the topics are covered sufficiently to enable one to play confidently and correctly in these situations. Chapter

Excellent book

Excellent book. Very well explained. I never played this version of Dominoes and I really like to do it. I like to contact Mr. Roberson in order to share some thoughts. My emails are: gtejeira@panamacom.com gtejeira66@yahoo.comSincerely,Gabriel Tejeira

One of the best instructional books ever written

Dennis did a great job on this one. This one is perfect for a beginner, novice, or so-called "expert". He explains the 42 terms perfectly assuming nothing. I recommend this to anyone who wants to learn a great new game. My hat's off to you, Dennis.

A must read introduction to "42" for any non-Texan novice

When I moved to Texas two years ago, many of my new friends played an unfamiliar game of "42". I hesitated joining their parties since "42" meant nothing to me. Then I found Dennis Roberson's book, "Winning 42". After reading cover to cover my confidence built and I am now part of the party and looking forward to the next session. The book does contain a few 'typos', but they force you to think and reflect on the game. If you want to learn "42" and its history, this is a MUST READ. book.