John Vorhaus

A straightforward, often humorous workbook approach to comedy writing as creative problem-solving. In it, veteran Hollywood comedy writer John Vorhaus offers his tools of the trade to writers, comics, and anyone else who wants to be funny. Among these indispensable tools are Clash of Context, Tension and Release, The Law of Comic Opposites, The Wildly Inappropriate Response, and The Myth of the Last Great Idea. Readers will learn that comedy = truth and pain (the essence of the comic situation), that fear is the biggest roadblock to comedy (kill the ferocious editor within and rich, useful comic ideas will flow), and much more.

How to be Funny Even If You're Not

The Comic Toolbox

Annie Duke

Poker is a game of table position, flop texture, players in a hand, personalities, and so much more. This book teaches you how to identify and analyze those variables, become a great strategist, and have confidence in any poker situation. Decide to Play Great Poker is written by Annie Duke, the world's most renowned woman poker player, with John Vorhaus, himself a winning poker player and prolific author.

A Strategy Guide to No-Limit Texas Hold 'Em

Decide to Play Great Poker

Handwerk Humor

Looking for a scam opportunity that will set him up for life, playboy con artist Radar Hoverlander falls for the sassy Allie Quinn, whose innocence is so absolute that Radar's hapless sidekick, Vic Mirplo, suspects she is a con artist of unprecedented talent. By the author of Under the Gun.

A Novel

The California Roll

Like all of John Vorhaus's books on writing (The Comic Toolbox, Creativity Rules; that list goes on), Comedy Writing 4 Life makes the creative process easy, fun and accessible to absolutely everyone. Whether you're into stand-up, sketch or improv, situation comedies or comic screenplays, cartoons, video, blogging, whatever, you're going to find so much value in this slim volume that your head will literally explode. Literally. Pieces of it will be found for miles around. You'll learn the fundamental secret of comedy (no secret; comedy is cruelty), how to use filters to create comic characters, simple storytelling shortcuts, and just tons more. With pithy advice like, "Fail big!" and plenty of entertaining exercises that you can do as you go, CW4L presents a simple, effective guide to success in comedy writing and beyond. If you're serious about being frivolous, this little book will change your comedy writing for life.

Comedy Writing 4 Life

A revolutionary new approach to a revolutionary game Since the 2003 publication of the groundbreaking "Killer Poker Online, " the Internet game has exploded and the online poker landscape has completely changed. More than 150,000 people are logged in and playing online for real money every day. What does this mean for you? Lots of opportunities to take serious money from novices. Update your Internet play now and make sure you get your share. In "Killer Poker Online/2" You'll learn how to: Understand and exploit the patterns, tendencies, and weaknesses of online players Play winning strategies that are not possible in real-world games Beat the unique sit-and-go tournament Vanquish foes in heads-up play Recognize the pitfalls of online cash games Navigate and dominate full-field online tournaments The online game these days is both easier and harder to beat, and with "Killer Poker Online/2, " you'll learn the latest strategies to bring home the cash. Praise for John Vorhaus and Killer Poker "Are you ready for a revolution? John Vorhaus will lift your mind to a higher poker plane." --Russ Hamilton, 1994 WSOP Champion "Like a latter-day Aesop, Vorhaus weaves pearls of wisdom into each of his witty and clever tales. He rests secure in his position as one of poker's premier teachers." --Barry Shulman, publisher, "Card Player" magazine "Don't lend this book to anyone--you'll never get it back!" --Annie Duke, 2004 WSOP Tournament of Champions winner"

Advanced Strategies for Crushing the Internet Game

Killer Poker Online 2

Mastering the Most Difficult Hands in Hold'em Poker : a Poker Single

The Middle Zone

Writing situation comedies isn’t really that hard. So much of what you need to know is already defined for you. You know that your script needs to be a certain short length, with a certain small number of characters. You know that your choice of scenes is limited to your show’s standing sets and maybe one or two swing sets or outside locations. You know how your characters behave and how they’re funny, either because you invented them or because you’re writing for a show where these things are already well established. Sitcom is easy and sitcom is fun. Sitcom is the gateway drug to longer forms of writing. It’s a pretty good buzz and a pretty good ride, a great way to kill an afternoon, or even six months. And now, thanks to comedy writing guru John Vorhaus (author of THE COMIC TOOLBOX: HOW TO BE FUNNY EVEN IF YOU'RE NOT), writing situation comedy is easier than ever. In THE LITTLE BOOK OF SITCOM, you'll find a whole trove of tools, tricks and problem-solving techniques that you can use -- now, today -- to be the sitcom writer of your wildest dreams. Ready to write? Ready to have fun? THE LITTLE BOOK OF SITCOM is the big little book for you.

the little book of SITCOM

A revolutionary new approach to a revolutionary game Since the 2003 publication of the groundbreaking Killer Poker Online, the Internet game has exploded and the online poker landscape has completely changed. More than 150,000 people are logged in and playing online for real money every day. What does this mean for you? Lots of opportunities to take serious money from novices. Update your Internet play now and make sure you get your share. In Killer Poker Online/2 You'll learn how to: • Understand and exploit the patterns, tendencies, and weaknesses of online players • Play winning strategies that are not possible in real-world games • Beat the unique sit-and-go tournament • Vanquish foes in heads-up play • Recognize the pitfalls of online cash games • Navigate and dominate full-field online tournaments The online game these days is both easier and harder to beat, and with Killer Poker Online/2, you'll learn the latest strategies to bring home the cash. Praise for John Vorhaus and Killer Poker "Are you ready for a revolution? John Vorhaus will lift your mind to a higher poker plane." --Russ Hamilton, 1994 WSOP Champion "Like a latter-day Aesop, Vorhaus weaves pearls of wisdom into each of his witty and clever tales. He rests secure in his position as one of poker's premier teachers." --Barry Shulman, publisher, Card Player magazine "Don't lend this book to anyone--you'll never get it back!" --Annie Duke, 2004 WSOP Tournament of Champions winner

Killer Poker Online/2: Advanced Strategies For Crushing The Internet Game

What can you do with a million random words? Crikey, what can’t you do? Create “exquisite corpse” poetry. Seed your creativity by using some random number of random words as the basis for your next short story. Invent delightful party games. Tell fortunes. Give as a gift to your wise-ass Scrabble friends. Or just read aloud and laugh yourself stupid. The possibilities are endless (well, no, actually, they end at a million) when you buy and own your own copy of A Million Random Words. With this ebook on your smart phone or dumb phone or device, you’re never more than a tap away from an astounding new collection of uniquely assembled words and phrases. Can you say, “Waving plateglass forename salp, duckwalked supertonic guilty librettists?” You couldn’t before, but now you can! A Million Random Words was created using a proprietary algorithm and has been meticulously copy-edited and vetted by the finest linguistic scholars. Attractively priced at just $4.99 – less than $0.000005 per word – it offers a better cost-to-word than any book in the history of print, so order your copy today. The sooner you do, the sooner you can say, “Cathartic thrill columbic superwives pushrods” with the full courage of your conviction.

A Million Random Words

Master con artist Radar Hoverlander is getting out of the life...unless his old man drags him back in. After their last big con netted them a nice chunk of change, Radar Hoverlander and his grifter girlfriend, Allie Quinn, have vowed to go straight. But Radar's fragile commitment to clean living is put to the test when an oddly hefty lady in red shows up and stalks him through the streets of Santa Fe. Except that's no lady-it's Radar's dad, Woody Hoverlander, a world class con artist in his own right.Radar correctly figures if his dad is in drag, he must be in trouble. Woody is on the lam, with a Vegas hard guy after him and a large debt to clear. To help him, Radar must break his vow to leave cons behind-and risk losing Allie, who is determined to protect their nest egg and steer clear of bad influences.Radar's best pal, the usually hapless Vic Mirplo, had started creating art as a con, but now he's coming into money as his sculptures start to sell. When Radar needs someone to flash some cash in Vegas and play the reckless gambler so that he can get his father off the hook, he reinvents Mirplo as the ultimate high roller--the Albuquerque Turkey--and dangles him as bait.Art fraud, casino cons, love, loyalty, and plenty of double- and triple-crosses...they all prove that the odds of what happens in Vegas staying in Vegas are about as long as Radar Hoverlander staying straight.

The Albuquerque Turkey

Meet Radar Hoverlander, a witty, gifted con artist with the mind of David Mamet, the voice of Tom Robbins, and the morals of a sailor on shore leave. What do the Merlin Game, the Penny Skim, the Doolally Snadoodle, and the Afterparty Snuke have in common? They’re all the work of world-class con artist and master bafflegabber Radar Hoverlander. Radar’s been “on the snuke” since childhood, but he’s still looking for his California Roll, the one big scam that’ll set him up in sushi for life. Trouble arrives in the stunning, sassy package of Allie Quinn—either the last true innocent or a con artist so slick she makes Radar look like a Quaker. Radar’s hapless sidekick, Vic Mirplo, a lovable loser who couldn’t con a kid out of a candy cane, thinks Radar’s being played. But if love is blind, it’s also deaf, dumb and stupid, and before Radar knows it, he’s sucked into a vortex of double-, triple-, quadruple-crosses that’ll either net him his precious California Roll or put him in a hole in the ground. As timeless as a perpetual-motion machine, as timely as a Madoff arraignment, The California Roll brings you deep inside the world of con artistry, where every fact is fiction and the second liar never has a chance.

Giving Voice to Profound Disability is devoted to exploring the lives of people with profound and multiple learning difficulties and disabilities, and brings together the voices of those best placed to speak about the rewards and challenges of living with, supporting and teaching this group of vulnerable and dependent people – including parents, carers and teachers. Along with their personal insights the book offers philosophical reflections on the status, role and treatment of profoundly disabled people, and the subjects discussed include: Respect and human dignity Dependency Freedom and human capabilities Rights, equality and citizenship Valuing people Caring for others The experience and reflections presented in this book illustrate the progress and achievements in supporting and teaching people with profound disabilities, but they also reveal the challenges involved in enabling them to develop their full potential. It is suggested, also, that these challenges apply not only to this group, but also to people who, through sickness, accident and old age, face equivalent levels of dependency and disability. Giving Voice to Profound Disability will be of interest to all those involved in the lives of severely and profoundly disabled people, including parents, carers, teachers, nurses, therapists, academics, researchers, students and policymakers.

Dignity, dependence and human capabilities

Giving Voice to Profound Disability

Life is a problem -- a problem you can solve! All you need are some simple, insightful ways of looking at yourself and your world, plus frank, straightforward tools for developing your philosophy, addressing your feelings and clarifying your goals. And they’re all here for you – in abundance – in John Vorhaus’s down-to-earth guide to lofty concerns, How to Live Life. Using the plain-spoken, exercise-driven approach of his many successful writing books, How to Live Life offers no magic solutions, just practical strategies for advancing your self-awareness, acquiring self-acceptance and closing the gap between the person you are and the person you want to be. If spiritual matters matter to you, if you want to make your life rise, and if you wish to gain a better grasp of the questions that confront us all, this little book will have a great big impact on you.

how to live life

World-class con artist Radar Hoverlander is back, with his crew in tow—this time in Austin. The snuke is on!

The Texas Twist

After their last big con netted them a nice chunk of change, Radar Hoverlander and his grifter girlfriend, Allie Quinn, have vowed to go straight. But Radar’s fragile commitment to clean living is put to the test when an oddly hefty lady in red shows up and stalks him through the streets of Santa Fe. Except that’s no lady—it’s Radar’s dad, Woody Hoverlander, a world class con artist in his own right. Radar correctly figures if his dad is in drag, he must be in trouble. Woody is on the lam, with a Vegas hard guy after him and a large debt to clear. To help him, Radar must break his vow to leave cons behind—and risk losing Allie, who is determined to protect their nest egg and steer clear of bad influences. Radar’s best pal, the usually hapless Vic Mirplo, had started creating art as a con, but now he’s coming into money as his sculptures start to sell. When Radar needs someone to flash some cash in Vegas and play the reckless gambler so that he can get his father off the hook, he reinvents Mirplo as the ultimate high roller--the Albuquerque Turkey--and dangles him as bait. Art fraud, casino cons, love, loyalty, and plenty of double- and triple-crosses…they all prove that the odds of what happens in Vegas staying in Vegas are about as long as Radar Hoverlander staying straight.

Vorhaus has created a workbook for anyone who wishes to learn to play the game. Features a Foreword by Annie Duke, the leading woman money winner in World Series of Poker events.

John Vorhaus

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