The Remarkable Journeys of Barry Meadow
A short review of the life of Barry Meadow reads almost like a scam – Vietnam veteran, professional gambler, sitcom writer, player in the Indian tennis circuit, stand up comedian, publisher, successful handicapper and journalist.
His remarkable professional career in gambling began with a focus on horse racing and writing about his successes and failures at the track. In 1967 he wrote “Success at the Harness Races” which led to a career in editing a racing magazine. He continued to earn significant income from his handicapping, and during the 1980s it served as his only income for about five years.
During that same time he developed his own publishing venture, TR Publishing, which today sells many of Meadows’ books and pamphlets about finding success at the race track, casinos and the “pick six” game.
From his time as a handicapper he was able to author “Professional Harness Betting” in 1987, which was a successful and well received publication. In it Meadow laid out the plan for anyone to follow in order to become a full-time gambler, and earn a decent income from their efforts.
Only a year later he published “Money Secrets at the Racetrack” which is the perfect companion piece to the earlier publication as it shows players where and when to place the most effective bets, how best to manage their gambling capital and financial resources in order to pursue the pastime as a career.
While perfecting his money making skills with handicapping at the horse racing track, Meadows was also analyzing the casinos and games that are frequently played in them. He authored “Secrets of the Pick 6”, a booklet that is backed up by the author’s own success with game – he has hit the one hundred thousand jackpot, twice!
From his interest in casino gaming came the inspiration for his two next publications. First came the “Guide to Nevada Racebooks” which allowed Meadows to visit every single racebook in the state. He lists everything a visitor needs to know, from house rules to how to get free daily racing forms.
He also took to the road for his next work “Blackjack Autumn: A True Tale of Life, Death and Splitting Tens in Winnemucca”. Published in 1999 this hilarious book covers a Blackjack game in every casino in the state of Nevada. In order to write it Meadow set out on a two-month journey, with eight thousand dollars and a pocket recorder as his only tools.
After that he began to build a web site for the TR Publishing Company, which today makes all of his books available for purchase. In 2003 he published “Crushing the Internet Casinos” which teaches players of online games how to win against casinos in this new environment. He covers every important topic, including identifying scams, and selecting a good casino to a player’s skills.
His celebrity in the gambling world earned him a spot on the popular television program “The Ultimate Blackjack Tour” as well as coverage in the documentary film “Players: Blue Collar Gambler” in 2007.