PLAY IT RIGHT: Available May 2022!

All around the world, the words “Wall Street” conjure up a powerful image. For some, it is the center of America’s capitalist system and the engine of its economic growth. For others, it is the home of rapacious bankers and reckless traders whose greed would lead to a global financial crisis. For an Indian-born blackjack player, Wall Street represented something else entirely; a chance for him to play in the largest casino in the world.

Kamal Gupta’s improbable journey, from a wide-eyed Indian immigrant to an ultimate insider in the rarefied world of investment banks and hedge funds, is a uniquely American story. Nowhere else would it have been possible for a scrawny computer scientist to enter the world of high finance solely on the basis of his gambling abilities. 

After spending seven years creating an investment methodology, Kamal went on an incredible run, generating an unprecedented 103 consecutive months of positive returns while managing money at large hedge funds. His success did not go unnoticed, and he found himself under constant pressure to take bigger risks to make even more money. He refused and always played it right, knowing that there was such a thing as “enough” money, something very few, if any, of his Wall Street peers understood. 

THE OPPOSITE OF CHESS: Adventures in Negotiating from Behind the Scenes

Kamal’s second book recounts his quarter-century battle against corporate America, fought from behind the scenes on behalf of scores of individuals. Interwoven through the stories is an in-depth look at Kamal’s negotiating philosophy, The Opposite of Chess. He has long believed that the optimal strategy for a business negotiation is the exact opposite of how chess is played. The key to a successful outcome is a single-minded focus on the next move, and only the next move. 

While the majority of Kamal’s dealings have been conducted in the world of high finance, he has successfully deployed his negotiating principles in a wide range of industries (finance, technology, real estate, media, and medicine) as well as across several continents. In today’s world, where the playing field is hopelessly tilted against individuals and in favor of corporations, The Opposite of Chess aims to give the reader a fighting chance in the contest.