Beginning with a female pool shark named Booboo, this anthology goes through a litany of stories that not only deal with games of chance, but more intensely with the people who play, why they take part, and what they gain besides the gratification of winning, or the discontent of losing. Included are tales of humor, anxiety, love, war, and magic. When asked to name his favorite, the author replied, "That's impossible. One day I would say the western, the next it could be the baseball story, and then the third day it would be The Chess Match, or The Dice Shooter, or any of the other tales. However, with all of my writings, I would have to say that this collection has been one of my favorite undertakings. The variety of scenarios and the colorful mixture of characters inspired me to complete the compilation, while enjoying every day of writing and re-writing." Out of a collection of 64 short stories, the author chose this group as ten of his very best. 114 Pgs.