The King On The Road

This book will teach a systematic approach to winning tournaments that we will be able to apply to any format, independent of context. While our focus will be on winning tournaments, much of what we talk about can be applied in a broader sense and the scope of what is written extends to many disciplines. We will take from areas such as philosophy, economics, psychology, business, and many of my own personal experiences as a player. The first section of the book will introduce the framework that we will build on throughout the book. Patrick Chapin's "Theory of Everything" is commonly used as the framework for card theory. We are going to start off by taking a look at it, but then we are going to get into some of the problems with using it as a guiding framework. After discussing the problems it has, we are going to attempt to build a better guiding framework. The second section of the book will focus on self. Much of this section will focus on what it means to be rational. We will begin by ensuring that we have the proper tools to make good decisions at our disposal. Next we will explore the various biases that cloud our judgments. Then we will discuss ways we can guard ourselves against these biases and come up with some ways of thinking about things that can better guide our decisions. The final part of this section will deal with properly motivating ourselves to do what it takes to see success. The third section will focus on developing our circle. Our circle is our team. These are the people who will help us see success and who we will help see success. We are going to talk about the tools our circle will use and how to get the most out of those tools, as well as discuss the kind of people we want in our circle. In the fourth section we're going to get down to the ins and outs of technical play. We are going to be talking about the different kinds of resources within a game and about how our role varies within a game. Then we are going to discuss different approaches we can take with our plays to ensure that we are getting the most out of them. The final part of this section will talk about the right approach to have to tournaments to make sure we are on top of our game when the big day comes. The fifth section is going to focus on the mental aspects of the game. We are going to start off by talking about how to gauge our opponents' skill level so that we can adjust our plays and make them more effective. Then we are going to talk about how to get a read on our opponent's card and how to effectively get information out of them. After that we're going to talk about different ways of persuading our opponent into making the moves we want them to make. In the sixth section we will discuss effective deckbuilding. We will start off by discussing the deckbuilding philosophy and the first principles of deckbuilding. We will then discuss the various role cards can play in a game and talk about some shortcuts for evaluating them. Then we're going to talk about how probability affects our deckbuilding. After that we're going to build on the first principles of deckbuilding by introducing some deckbuilding rules to build consistent and powerful decks. We are also going to discuss deckbuilding curves that we can use to guide our choices. Finally we are going to discuss how to effectively side deck. In the final section we will discuss metagames. We will talk about how to identify shifts in the metagame and then move on to discussing some tournament strategies we can take to overcome the metagame. In the final chapter, we will come to understand how we can influence the format and plan for incremental development, so that we will be able to succeed throughout a format.

The highest-rated reality show ever to hit History Television, Ice Road Truckers follows the heart-pounding adventures of the tough-as-nails truckers who risk peril every day to deliver goods and supplies in Alaska and across Canada's frozen north. Alex Debogorski shares tales of his adventures, and misadventures, in the north, and explains, in his own entertaining voice, how he got to where he is today—a working-class hero, bona fide celebrity, and the improbable star of a smash-hit television show. Debogorski is a natural storyteller who knows how to spin tales about his colourful life growing up in the backwoods. Whether he's recounting tales about his hair-raising confrontations with bears, calculating the strength of newly formed ice, divulging the secrets of providing security in a barroom full of combative, drunken miners, or saving the life of another trucker, he keeps readers wanting more. King of the Road gives fans of Ice Road Truckers a deep look inside the life and times of the show's biggest rising star.

'Absolutely magical... Always intriguing' Richard Adams author of Watership Down. Behind the realm of man lie the wild roads. Weaving through time and space, these hidden pathways carry the natural energies – the spirits, the dreams – of the world. No creature can slip into the shadows and travel the wild roads better than the cat. For millennia, cats have patrolled the tangled paths, maintaining balance and order, guarding against corruption and chaos. It is dangerous territory: for those who control the wild roads hold the keys to the world. Amid a struggle between the purest good and the darkest evil, here are tales of duty and destiny, of courage and comradeship among the extraordinary creatures who brave the wild roads... Secure in a world of privilege and safety, Tag is happy with life as a house cat – until the dreams begin. Hazy dreams of strange pathways, of a mission he must undertake and of a terrible responsibility he will bear. Armed with the cryptic message, Tag must bring the King and Queen of cats to Tintagel before the spring equinox. Meanwhile, a man known only as the Alchemist doggedly hunts the Queen for his own ghastly ends. And if the Alchemist captures her, the world will never be safe again...

An updated and expanded edition of Max Decharne's hugely acclaimed King's Road book. The King's Road in Chelsea was at the epicenter of not one but two worldwide cultural shifts. In the mid-sixties, it became a focal point and shop window for the new 'swinging' London, encompassing music, the visual arts, fashion and much more. It remained continuously at the forefront of developing trends throughout the following decade until it was the key breeding-ground for punk rock, whose sound, look and attitudes continue to shape global notions of youthful rebellion almost thirty years later. In short, it was the place to be. As a laboratory and showcase for the emerging youth-orientated scene, it became the favored habitat of several generations of pop-culture prime movers. Decharne's book charts the social and cultural history of the area and stands as the definitive book on the subject.

R.S. Belcher, the acclaimed author of The Six-Gun Tarot and The Shotgun Arcana launches a gritty new urban fantasy series about the mysterious society of truckers known only as, The Brotherhood of The Wheel. In 1119 A.D., a group of nine crusaders became known as the Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon--a militant monastic order charged with protecting pilgrims and caravans traveling on the roads to and from the Holy Land. In time, the Knights Templar would grow in power and, ultimately, be laid low. But a small offshoot of the Templars endure and have returned to the order's original mission: to defend the roads of the world and guard those who travel on them. Theirs is a secret line of knights: truckers, bikers, taxi hacks, state troopers, bus drivers, RV gypsies--any of the folks who live and work on the asphalt arteries of America. They call themselves the Brotherhood of the Wheel. Jimmy Aussapile is one such knight. He's driving a big rig down South when a promise to a ghostly hitchhiker sets him on a quest to find out the terrible truth behind a string of children gone missing all across the country. The road leads him to Lovina Hewitt, a skeptical Louisiana State Police investigator working the same case and, eventually, to a forgotten town that's not on any map--and to the secret behind the eerie Black-Eyed Kids said to prowl the highways. At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

They are the Brotherhood of the Wheel: a secret society of truckers, bikers, nomads, and others who defend America’s roads and rails from unnatural threats lying in wait for unwary travelers. Now a missing-person case leads to a string of roadside murders and mutilations that stretches back decades—and to a cult of murderous clowns who are far more than mere urban legends. Greasepaint and lunatic grins are the last things their victims ever see. And as if that’s not trouble enough, trucker Jimmy Aussapile and his allies must also cope with a violent civil war within an outlaw biker gang long associated with the Brotherhood, as well as run-ins with a rival gang led by a fierce werewolf biker chick who fights tooth and claw to protect her pack. From Depression-era hobo camps to a modern-day trailer park hiding unearthly secrets, fear lurks just beyond the headlights for the Kings of the Road. At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

Features five of the author's best early stories: title selection plus "The Phantom Rickshaw," "Wee Willie Winkie," "Without Benefit of Clergy" and "The Strange Ride of Morrowbie Jukes."

Legendary Rat Pat singer and actor Dean Martin has perhaps become even more respected since his death. Today fans of all ages download his songs from the Net and purchase his recordings on CD. His extraordinary renaissance is detailed in this absorbing biography of the man the world knew as the eternal essence of cool. From his early days as a trainee boxer to work as a croupier in the local casino, where he proved to be a big hit with the women who frequented his table, this compelling biography dispels the myths about the consummate professional who worked hard to cultivate a reputation for laziness. Michael Freedland has had exclusive access to Martin's family and friends, including some who have never spoken of Dino before. Freedland takes an indepth look at Martin's career, as well as his lifelong friendship with Frank Sinatra, his chronic claustrophobia and his manic fear of hospitals. Here at last is the truth behind the iconic singer, including his three failed marriages and the reconciliation with Jeanne, his second wife.