Your favorite book about gambling?

Quote: teliot

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.

Our loss.

Quote: billryan

Our loss.

Many years ago I approached 2+2 publishing about my blackjack book. The response from Mason Malmuth I got back was that the average total volume of sales of a blackjack book was 200-300 copies. I don't fault these publishers at all.

Maybe some day I'll be inspired to upload it to Kindle Direct Publishing. It just takes a short afternoon to do the work to self-publish if you've got the document ready to go (which I do). We'll see ...

Not a book, but others mentioned movies in here. I watched "Win It All" on NetFlix last night. Not a bad gambling movie. The plot went pretty much as expected. Still a decent 90 minutes of entertainment IMO.

Arnold Snyder’s new book Radical Blackjack is finally out.
It covers a lot of subjects Holecarding , shuffle tracking and edge sorting and loss rebates.
It’s not really a how to book but gives brief descriptions with a lot of interesting stories. If you can read between the lines there is some good info.

Quote: gordonm888

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

I always thought the best persona for a professional poker player would be to speak as little as possible. Always dress the same. Never express any kind of emotion. Look at your cards the exact same way every time with the exact same movements. Never socialize with other players. Nobody would be able to read you because there's nothing to read.

Quote: EvenBob

Quote: gordonm888

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

I always thought the best persona for a professional poker player would be to speak as little as possible. Always dress the same. Never express any kind of emotion. Look at your cards the exact same way every time with the exact same movements. Never socialize with other players. Nobody would be able to read you because there's nothing to read.

Many poker players try to do exactly that. But "the Biggest Bluff" is not much about reading other players, its more about "paying attention and thinking," mastering your own emotions and being aware of your how you are perceived by others.

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published in 1980 when $50K was a lot more money than today

there's just nobody like Beyer - who dropped out of Harvard to bet horses

he's a joy to read - so insightful - even though I don't like to bet longshots like he does

Quote: lilredrooster

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published in 1980 when $50K was a lot more money than today

there's just nobody like Beyer - who dropped out of Harvard to bet horses

he's a joy to read - so insightful - even though I don't like to bet longshots like he does

A friend gave me that when I bought a bar next to a NYC OTB. I read half of it, just enough to be able to carry on a conversation with horseplayers.

I'm sure I don't have an all-time favorite gambling book. I've enjoyed too many over the years and no single book stands out. However, all of the ones below I own and have enjoyed at one time or another: (Several have been mentioned previously.)

The Man With the $100,000 Breasts And Other Gambling Stories by Michael Konick
The Hand I Played: A Poker Memoir by David Spanier
Total Poker by David Spanier
The Odds Against Me by John Scarne
Confessions of a Racetrack Fiend by Maurice Zolotow
Turning the Tables on Las Vegas by Ian Andersen
The Big Player by Ken Uston
Cowboys Full by James McManus
Covering the Spread: How to Bet Pro Football by Gerald Strine and Neil D Isaacs
Positively Fifth Street by James McManus
Poker: A Guaranteed Income for Life by Using the Advanced Concepts of Poker by Frank R. Wallace
Telling Lies and Getting Paid: More Gambling Stories by Michael Konik
Playing Blackjack as a Business by Lawrence Revere
The Smart Money: How the World's Best Sports Bettors Beat the Bookies Out of Millions by Michael Konik
The Professor, the Banker, and the Suicide King: Inside the Richest Poker Game of All Time by Michael Craig
Bringing Down the House: The Inside Story of Six M.I.T. Students Who Took Vegas for Millions by Ben Mezrich
Amarillo Slim in a World Full of Fat People: The Memoirs of the Greatest Gambler Who Ever Lived by Amarillo Slim Preston

I've read several of the early 21 books. When AC-NJ and CT opened I was more than ready. Nonetheless, with Stand-17 rules even A's and 5's were a fun distraction. I got curious and ordered CVBJ version 3 and analyzed A-5. At 6 decks it was/is +0.165% when surrender was offered (CT- not NJ). That was back in 2003-4. I had already been playing it for 23 yrs. I thanked those that posted what I read.

I also played the horses from '81-88. Wow... I missed 3 10G+ triples in a photo for show. But the resulting 500-800 for the exacta helped ;). I was really good on the DD's, and always threw some coin at the 9th race triple/exacta when ahead. CT-OTB here and within walking distance of work. Quite a few guys went there for lunch.

I would advocate that while not a book, the Daily Racing Form- The Telegraph belong in the highly recommended list.

Am nearly finished reading "No Work and All Play" and am enjoying this story of a career in the gambling industry.

Probably a little disappointed it doesn't include a lot of stories about bad beats or runs at the dice tables that he witnessed ... but the author never seemed to be in that end of things, more a management type.

Still fun reading. Thanks to forum member who recommended that one.

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I also see that new book I was recommending ("Pacific Dashj") is on a three-day promotion, right now ... As in FREE downloads!
Can't beat that price, haha.