Katarina Walker

[mickeymouse]

RIP.
Ms Walker's book spawned a whole generation of Pontoon APs in Australia, real and imagined, such that viable Pontoon games have been removed from all but a handful of houses in the country, and certainly none remain in any of the mainland capitals.

Even where it is available it may not be a profitable game despite excellent penetration. I have lost nine of the last 11 sessions playing it and have shown a net loss from my previous 300 hrs of play.

[Tarzan]

So sorry to hear about this. She was still quite young making it that much more tragic.

[ZenMaster_Flash]

The tragic aspect of death is not that paradoxical.

It is directly proportional to the age at which it occurs.

The death of a centenarian is often a time for celebration.

The spectre of the death of my son as a teenager was a

tragedy that I have had to visit daily for the last dozen years.

My canine pseudo-son, Boss, (a Shiba-Inu) is about 3 yrs. old

and I expect to share my life with him for another 11 years or so.

[DSchles]

"The tragic aspect of death is not that paradoxical.
It is directly proportional to the age at which it occurs."

I suspect you meant to write that it is inversely proportional!

Don

[Freightman]

"The tragic aspect of death is not that paradoxical.
It is directly proportional to the age at which it occurs."

I suspect you meant to write that it is inversely proportional!

Don

Word wizards at odds - I'm gobsmacked!

[dharmaprija]

i miss being here on the site. glad to be home.

[ZenMaster_Flash]

Yes indeed. Inversely proportional. Thank you.

One needs to note that death (and what is, or is not, "tragic");
and perhaps, foremost in my reflections, the depth of a tragedy
varies greatly.

There are rituals galore and even professional mourners,
and belief systems that celebrate death.

In the final analysis I hold that tragedy is psychologically, culturally
(and religiously) determined.

[metronome]

Well put Flash

Forty-nine in my book qualifies as too darn soon to go... Sad indeed

As an aside, would her book still be recommended for the SP21 found in the U.S.

[Freightman]

Well put Flash

Forty-nine in my book qualifies as too darn soon to go... Sad indeed

As an aside, would her book still be recommended for the SP21 found in the U.S.

I would tend to think the only thing not current in it would be count system. The tables are if to much value, though there may be some updates in that.

[davethebuilder]

And could have passed for much younger. Silly, but I'm hoping this is some hoax or error.

This is no hoax or error. Following the publication of the book in 2008 most Australian casinos either removed the game or began dealing it from a CSM. I'm not sure about Spanish 21 conditions in the USA but these days Australian Pontoon should only be played for entertainment.

[Norm]

Casinos were scratching their collective heads when she was playing. They knew the game couldn't be beaten and they knew she was beating it. They called in casino consultant and ex-AP MB. Michael watched her play in multiple casinos and couldn't figure out what she was doing. But, she was definitely winning. He had someone pose as an ex-AP, engage her in conversation, and got a copy of an early draft of her book. The early draft was more complex. They still didn’t quite understand why the system worked, but knew she was counting. Also, her original strategy was damned difficult. They started cutting her off.

Funny thing is that Kat and Michael lived within blocks of each other at the time. (MB has since moved.)

[Three]

That count in her book is pretty weak. I didn't think that would be good enough to cause the casinos concern. Is her original count something that is available? I am sure today's custom counts are far stronger but it would be interesting to see what she used.

[Norm]

If I remember correctly, same count. Just pages of indices by number of cards.