Your favorite book about gambling?

I'm looking for an extra book or 2 to fill my cart at Amazon to get free shipping. I was purchasing the 2011 ACG for my upcoming trip to the Golden Nugget in May. I know there are scattered references to books people have read in many different threads. I couldn't find any thread that specifically asks the above question.

The only other relevant thread was the one asking "what is your favorite gambling movie?"

Fact or Fiction, what's your favorite?

The Theory of Poker Book - David Sklansky

I stand corrected.

After searching further, I did find this gambling-books-top-50-gambling-books-of-all-time

It mention's "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" by Hunter S. Thompson, "Gambling 102' by our own Michael Shackleford and Ben Mezric's' "Bringing Down The House" as being in the top 10.

Any others?

I can't think of a single book that stands out above the rest when it comes to gambling. As you might expect, I easily find fault in gambling books, including my own. Without calling it my favorite book, I'd like to put in a good word for Dice Angel by Brian Rouff. Here is a review I wrote years ago.

Favorite movie -- I'm going to go with Rounders.

Recently mentioned in a Panama related thread is Fool Me Once by Rick Lax. Its not as much about gambling as about gamblers and other denizens of Vegas such as models, magicians, ... and others who all try to fool him far more than once. Its new and entertaining, but its also a very small pat of margarine spread quite thin.

Its probably out of print now, but that book Eudeamion Pie about clocking roulette wheels with a timing device was enjoyable. It was a Stanford versus MIT book too, I believe.

Beth Rayner's Lay The Favorite, now in film development, was a nice memoir of growing up in a gambling household.

I think Annie Duke or a sister wrote a book about growing up in a gambling family. A Girlhood Amongst Gamblers or something like that.

I hear one guy wrote a gambling book with strange page numbers: -1, -2, -4, -8. It was entitled Double Up To Catch Up.

Favorite book (now old) is the one I started with. It is Revere's "Playing Blackjack as a Business". I learned what the game was all about. What a lack or glut of face cards and aces really mean, and how to play accordingly. The use of color charts (the first use) made learning basic strategy much easier.

Favorite gambling movie (there are many) is "Hard Eight", with "California Split" running secnd.

Quote: docsjs

Favorite book (now old) is the one I started with. It is Revere's "Playing Blackjack as a Business".

That book was extremely influential on my life. A counter loaned it to me before I was 21, and I devoured it. That is the book was the first I even knew there was such a thing as card counting or advantage play. However, it is very dated now.

It's not a book, but Fritz Leiber's short story "Gonna Roll the Bones" is my favorite fiction piece on gambling. Watch out for Joe Slattermill's Opponent, all you precision shooters! I liked the Craps scene from Harry Harrison's "Deathworld", also.

'American Roulette', you won't be able to put it down. Its about roulette cheaters who never got caught. 'You've Got Heat', a BJ players Vegas diary. Super read. 'Gambling Wizards', you must have this book. I've read it 10 times at least.

Quote: Wizard

Favorite movie -- I'm going to go with Rounders.

You just love Oreo's..

"Double Down: Reflections on Gambling and Loss" by Rick and Stephen Barthelme.

I've never read it, but I have heard the baccarat scenes in Ian Fleming's "Casino Royale" are really good. But in the recent movie, they changed it to Texas Hold 'Em.

Quote: dudestupid

I've never read it, but I have heard the baccarat scenes in Ian Fleming's "Casino Royale" are really good. But in the recent movie, they changed it to Texas Hold 'Em.

Yep. They are. There is also a little appendix at the front of the book explaining the rules of baccarat. By the way, the game he plays allows the player to decide whether or not to draw the third card.

Before my first trip in 2001, I checked out Max Rubin's "Comp City." It was an interesting read, even though I couldn't afford to play anywhere near the level required to get the good stuff.

It's probably mostly good for historical interest now.

Favorite: When The Mob Ran Vegas. Complete with lots of B&W photos and gripping tales of true events. You don't want to put it down.

Close 2nd: The Undeniable Truth About Video Poker -:)

Any book written by Lyle Stuart.

Blackjack Autumn by Barry Meadow. Great book of author (who uses one of the more complex counting systems) taking 2 months to play BJ at every casino in Nevada. Funny and informative.
--Joe

'Doyle Brunson's Super System'. Brunson has said writing this book was the stupidest thing he ever did, in hindsight. Imagine how big his ego must be to give away all his secrets in a book. He admits there are a lot more games now because of it, but its also a lot harder to win. Never wise up the chumps, you'll always get the short end of the deal.

My fav is Mike Cappelletti's "How to win at Omaha High-Low Poker" - it is plainly written, has excellent strategies and techniques and good stories. He explains it simply and shares his secrets that will have you raking in pots immediately. Because of this book, Omaha H/L is my fav consistent money making game.

Rise above oneself and grasp the world - Archimedes

And a shoutout for Gambling 102, by the Wizard!

I recently read Diary Of A Mad Poker Player: A Journey To The World Series Of Poker, by Richard Sparks. I have to give it two thumbs up, it is very good. It's from 2005, so some of the hard information about online poker and online poker sites is dated, but the feeling is exactly where it should be. AND, since it is available for $1.33, + $3.99 shipping, even if you don't like it it won't break your bank.

Not a gambling book, but a fascinating biography and account of the times, is The Last Greatest Magician in the World: Howard Thurston versus Houdini & the Battles of the American Wizards by Jim Steinmeyer. Today we remember Houdini, but in the early quarter of the 20th century Thurston was the most famous magician in the world. I loved this one. It can be a little flat, but I forgive that for all the rest of the time that I was enthralled by it.

And my search for the links in the previous post led me to Titanic Thompson: The Man Who Bet on Everything. This one is only a few months old, and people seem to like it; I'm ordering it.

I find that most gambling books are like sports books, i.e. great potential but poorly written. If I had to pick just one from my bookshelf that I could keep, at the expense of all the others, it would be:

The Gambler's Companion
edited by George C Blakey

It's a great anthology of gambling stories from good writers.
Very entertaining and lots of historical interest.

Quote: DeMango

Any book written by Lyle Stuart.

End of discussion

Released:
No Work All Play

Press Release

Las Vegas, NV, November 14, 2011 --(PR.com)-- Roger Wagner announced today the release of No Work and All Play, Audacious Chronicles of a Casino Boss, published by Outskirts Press. A forty-five year veteran of the gaming and hotel management industry, Wagner offers a solid primer from the lowest to the highest levels of casino hospitality positions while also entertaining his readers with his anecdotes about the forgotten and the famous of this fascinating world.

It's a little dated, but mine is Scarne's Complete Guide to Gambling - although mainly for the "esoteric" sections (things like carnival games, detecting cheats, and overseas gambling (although parts of it are now severely dated - for example, there hasn't been an "Irish Sweepstakes" since 1986); you know a book is old when Sic Bo is still called "Grand Hazard").

"The Boardwalk Jungle" by Ovid Demaris.

see ... boardwalkjungle

A look into the legal and political shenanigans in NJ when Casinos Came To Town.

A good read.

Guess it was an actual book. Read it for free on one of the Vegas sites, about the two guys who bought the Golden Nugget along with other investors (Andre Agassi, for one), and resold in maybe 2008 for a huge profit. Talk about perfect timing. Very entertaining.

Quote: dm

Guess it was an actual book. Read it for free on one of the Vegas sites, about the two guys who bought the Golden Nugget along with other investors (Andre Agassi, for one), and resold in maybe 2008 for a huge profit. Talk about perfect timing. Very entertaining.

Were these the guys who were the "stars" of the Fox "reality" series The Casino? (I put "reality" in quotes as it smacked of scripting; for example, some episodes began with video of somebody headed into Vegas, and the episode had something to do with trying to get that person to come to the GN, but if they didn't have the whole thing arranged in advance, then how did the video camera (and operator) get there in the first place? There was nothing new about this; Fox's series The Princes of Malibu, about Bruce Jenner's two sons (who were living with their mother and (I think) her new husband, and their attempts to make money, listed "day players" in the credits.)

Don't know about the show, but it happened. They bought the casino and sold about a year later and made $80 million or so. Not sure exactly. They had originally started maybe the first hotel room booking site and sold that at a big figure and then parlayed up to casino ownership.

1) OK, I'll nominate any book by Michael Konik.

2) Also, I liked the story of the owner of the Stratosphere, Bob Stupak,
in the book NO LIMIT.

3) I'm surprised there wasn't more about Bringing Down
the House, the book about the MIT counting team, in this
thread.

4) Positively 5th Street, by James McManus. A mix of a first hand
view of the WSOP mixed with the trial of the couple accused of
killing Ted Binion.

I just thumbed through a copy of "24/7: Living It Up and Doubling Down" by Andres Martinez. It chronicles a month he spent in 1998 Las Vegas living the high roller life on his publisher's $50k advance. From the Luxor to the Golden Gate, winners and losers, he drinks it all in, and keeps a log of his gaming win/loss totals.

Hi All -

Am a newbie here but longtime casino gambler with most of my action taking place in Asia, where I lived for several decades for my work. Lots of time at the tables at Genting, Macau, Walker Hill and Manila.

I love this old thread and wanted to revive it and see if we could update it. I feel I've probably read or seen every work of fiction that touches on the casino experience. So here is my list of all-time favorites, plus a new one I just stumbled upon.

"Double Down - Reflections on Gambling and Loss" by Frederick & Steven Barthelme
A harrowing, amazing memoir written by two guys who should have known better. They are both college professors and well known in the literary world. The writing is tight and compelling and it just drags you along. Hard to put down. The book details how they blew their inheritance over the course of two years, as they made trips to the Gulfport casinos. They start small and eventually lose really big. The entire time, as you are asking yourself how can they keep doing this to themselves, they are asking that same question also. They describe the vibe and experience in the casino so true to real life you can feel the chips in your hand. Fantastic book.

"Fools Die" by Mario Puzo
Before Puzo wrote "The Godfather" and changed his life, he was a degenerate gambler in Las Vegas. And after he wrote "The Godfather", he followed this up with one of the best novels about gambling and Vegas every written. Fun book and the first two chapters, about 34 pages in the paperback edition, describe how it feels to go on a hot streak better than anything else that I've ever read. You are along for the ride as Jordan just can't miss and his partners, who just hooked up in the casinos the past couple weeks, go along for the ride. Your heart will pound, it is so real. For those of you who remember the greatest gambling movie of all time, "California Split", it's like when George Segal goes on his run at the end of the film, but better.

"Winning at Casino Gambling" by Lyle Stuart
One of the great characters of gambling literature, this book by Lyle Stuart features him at his best. He has anecdotes and advice for everything about beating casinos. Lots of good practical advice in there, too. Don't read this looking for algorithms -- rather, he talks about keeping emotional control, how to manage your money, some practical ways to track what's going on, etc. Many books like this, but Lyle's is very readable and enjoyable. A close runner-up is his work dedicated to a single game, his favorite, "On Bacarrat".


"Positively Fifth Street" by James McManus
Nicely written memoir by a magazine writer who is sent to cover the World Series of Poker before it became the big deal it is now. This is before Texas Hold'em tournaments became something to be televised. So, he took his magazine advance and played in a satellite tourney and got into the WSOP and went a long way. Thrills and chills abound. Lots of fun and a classy work of writing.

"Bob the Gambler" by Frederick Barthelme
A brilliant work of fiction by one of the brothers cited in the first book, above, and clearly he put his experiences to good use. Some of the scenes recall scenes from reality, in the nonfiction work. A short, fun-to-read book. One-nighter.

"Owning Mahoney"
This 2003 film is called "Owning Mahowny" and stars Philip Seymour Hoffman as a young assistant bank manager in Toronto who gets the gambling itch and starts embezzling funds from Canadian Int. Banking Corp to finance his trips to Atlantic City and Las Vegas. Starts slow but gets extraordinarily big. Well woven story which shows the development of this man's gambling disease from his point of view, but also from the POV of the casino management, who notice this guy who starts showing up with pockets full of hundreds of thousands of dollars, cash, to gamble. By the end, they are flying him in, enabling his fraud, etc., while the authorities are also trying to nail him. Great acting and story. Should be available on Netflix or at your library or eBay.

Next, here's my contribution to the list. A promising newcomer:

"Pacific Dash (From Asia Vagabond to Casino King)" by Chet Nairene
This last novel has just popped up on Amazon and tells the fictional life story of Dash Bonaventure, a young American who for decades wanders the vice dens and jungles and beaches of Asia. He winds up working on an illegal casino boat on the high seas, offshore from Singapore, and later goes one to 'invent' the VIP junket business in Macau. The book has a lot of the casino gambling experience (esp the Asian version, mainly baccarat) and also history of Macau gambling's development. Book also has Taiwanese mob princesses and crime bosses, vagabond experiences at Asian backwaters, even some 1970s Hippie Trail stuff. I just finished this and it's a good read. Breezy and fun.

Okay, that's it for me.

Anybody else have new ones to offer?

The Biggest Bluff: How I Learned to Pay Attention, Master Myself, and Win by Maria Konnikova, 2020

A very relevant recent book. Maria Konnikova is a behavorial psychology researcher who had never played poker. She convinced poker pro Eric Seidel to first teach her and then coach her on poker. She eventually plays against top-level professionals and, after some failures, starts winning some major tournaments. Her outsider's view of the poker world is fascinating as is her discussion of the psychological aspects of poker. And the description of Seidel, an unconventionally intellectual poker pro, is also must-read stuff. By far, the best written and most interesting book on poker in decades,

Thanks for that tip, Gordon. I'll check out Konnikova. As you point out, the real challenge here is in unearthing the newer, more recent books. Another one that I really liked, from 2017, was "Queen of Spades" by Michael Shou-Yung Shum. This is a very good psychological thriller novel about a casino dealer and his personal life. Pretty dark but I really enjoyed it.

Oh and I should add ... about that other really enjoyable new novel I earlier recommended, "Pacific Dash, From Asia Vagabond to Casino King", here's the link. It's got a really cool cover, too, which you can see here. Pacific Dash link via Amazon

By far the best literary work describing overall high stakes winning play and strategy , resort comps, entertaining personal experiences with verified winning session tickets ( verified by the highly esteemed and respected WIZARD OF ODDS ) is THE ADVENTURES OF MDAWG !!

"Positively Fifth Street" is a great book, and "Owning Mahoney" is one of my favorite movies. Phillip Seymour Hoffman is spectacular; should have gotten some award for that.

Okay, I'm a sports bettor and handicapper, so I am going to give two off-the-wall recommendations. The first is ancient but still relevant today.

1) "The National Football Lottery" by Larry Merchant -- former NYPost and Sports Illustrated writer is given a 10K advance (if I remember correctly) to write the book back in 1973. The only trick -- he decides he has to gamble his entire advance to make it real. If you read it cover to cover, you'll discover that things like "Wong teasers" were a thing long, long before people claim Wong "discovered" them. Part of the fun of this book is that the author bets with the legal books in LV, but also bets with the illegal bookmakers in LV (yes, there were many) and around the country. So you get a taste of all that.

(Four bucks on Amazon; can't beat that)


2) "Addiction by Design" by anthropologist Natasha Dow Schull. This is hands down the best book I've ever read about the science and psychology and anthropology of machine gambling. It brings you up to date on every aspect of research up to its 2014 publishing. Spectacular and frightening book. The author spent much time in LV. Has Las Vegas history; machine gambling history; lots of research from many fields. Necessary reading, in my opinion, for anybody playing machines.

I well remember "The National Football Lottery" ... at least I remember the book, physically, even the cover.
The rest is gone from the memory banks.
So maybe it will be like reading it anew! I'll get right onto that ...

The other one is new to me. Sounds chilling but a must-read. Will do. Thanks!

Quote: Xpatri8

Oh and I should add ... about that other really enjoyable new novel I earlier recommended, "Pacific Dash, From Asia Vagabond to Casino King", here's the link. It's got a really cool cover, too, which you can see here. Pacific.

Might you be, by any chance, the author of said new and enjoyable book?

Haha, pretty funny, unJon ... but no.
I also didn't write any of all those other books I recommended, nor that movie screenplay.
I'm a reader, not a writer. :)

So back to our regularly scheduled programming: anybody else have any fresh recommendations of new/recent gambling fiction or memoir?

I've got nothing else new, but can toss in another oldie-but-goodie.

You've all seen the movie but have you ever read "The Cincinnati Kid" by Richard Jessup?
Pithy and a quick read and you can easily visualize Steve McQueen and Edward G. Robinson in their iconic roles.
Jessup does a great job of drawing a picture of a gambler on a rush and the psychological motivations driving one.
You can find this on Amazon for $1.99 on Kindle. But physical books, which I prefer, are harder to find for a reasonable price.
But there are some on eBay and used on Amazon, too.

Of the many Blackjack books I've read, I found Ian Anderson's "Turning the Tables on Las Vegas" the most entertaining. I think our own Elliot Jacobson's "Blackjack Zone" might be the best book for a beginner but Mr. Anderson's book was just a fun read.

Quote: billryan

Of the many Blackjack books I've read, I found Ian Anderson's "Turning the Tables on Las Vegas" the most entertaining. I think our own Elliot Jacobson's "Blackjack Zone" might be the best book for a beginner but Mr. Anderson's book was just a fun read.

Thanks! I give the PDF away for free on my website advancedadvantageplay.com but the book is out of print.

Tommy Hyland bought several cases and would keep them in the trunk of his car for whenever someone would ask him about blackjack who was a beginner. He said he often gave them way after a round of golf.

Quote: teliot

Tommy Hyland bought several cases and would keep them in the trunk of his car for whenever someone would ask him about blackjack who was a beginner. He said he often gave them way after a round of golf.

Great minds think alike. How'd the book get out of print? Did you self publish?

The Adventures of MDawg

"Self published."

ISBN: 97803WOV***** (non fiction)


Add all those posts up and you have the equivalent of a book. Isn't that the way Fear and Loathing in LV came to be? a series of shorter pieces.

Quote: docsjs

Favorite gambling movie (there are many) is "Hard Eight", with "California Split" running secnd.

Halfway through "Hard Eight" today (available free on Amazon Prime) and really enjoying it. Never saw before so many thanks for the tip.

Also have to agree: "California Split" is a classic. All-time wonderful, one of my favorites and just behind "Rounders" for A-1. Have watched it many times. Elliot Gould and George Segal are just fantastic. Not easy to find (not on Netflix) so years ago I just bought a DVD on eBay. But just checked now and it is available to rent for $2.99 on Prime Video.

Has anyone read: Molly's Game: The True Story of the 26-Year-Old Woman Behind the Most Exclusive, High-Stakes Underground Poker Game in the World, 2017

Is it any good?

Quote: gordonm888

Has anyone read: Molly's Game: The True Story of the 26-Year-Old Woman Behind the Most Exclusive, High-Stakes Underground Poker Game in the World, 2017

Is it any good?

Yes, I read it twice. When it first came out and again when the film came out.

Quote: billryan

Great minds think alike. How'd the book get out of print? Did you self publish?

My publisher got ALS and died in 2019. She tried but failed to get someone to take over her business. So all of my books were delisted when her business closed. She gave me all of the documents and I can self-publish anytime I want, I did that with Advanced Advantage Play but haven't bothered yet with the other two books.

Quote: teliot

My publisher got ALS and died in 2019. She tried but failed to get someone to take over her business. So all of my books were delisted when her business closed. She gave me all of the documents and I can self-publish anytime I want, I did that with Advanced Advantage Play but haven't bothered yet with the other two books.

Have you considered going with Anthony Curtis? The blackjack zone is too important to let languish. I think it is the perfect book to pick up at an airport prior to flying to Vegas. It's one of the few books that simply reading it will improve your game. No studying, no charts, required.

Quote: billryan

Have you considered going with Anthony Curtis? The blackjack zone is too important to let languish. I think it is the perfect book to pick up at an airport prior to flying to Vegas. It's one of the few books that simply reading it will improve your game. No studying, no charts, required.

I had a contract to write a book for Anthony on baccarat when I retired. He was all aboard for me to write the definitive baccarat treatise and would certainly welcome a book from me on the topic if I ever felt like writing it (which I never will). I wrote about 100 pages of the book, some of which I published in articles on my website.

That said, I have never considered Anthony for my blackjack book. Honestly, there are way too many blackjack books and even the best publisher out there has trouble selling a single copy of most of them.