RECOMMENDED
The items on this list are a combination of several of my own favourites, and random samplings that are on my mind for one reason or another lately. Some of these will remain here, other will be rotated/replaced every so often. Enjoy.
Fast Jack, The Last Hustler - by John Farrell
Available at www.amazon.com
The Devil's Staircase - by Greg Chapman
Available at www.thedevilsstaircase.com
Faro Fundamentals - by Greg Chapman
Available at www.thedevilsstaircase.com
A book on artifice and entertainment with cards
Foreword by Sal Piacente, President of UniverSal Game Protection Development, Inc.
"This is an outstanding book and one which I feel all card men should study.
Highly recommended."
- Michael Vincent, author of Close-up Classics
Poker Cheats Exposed DVD - by Sal Piacente
Available at www.salthehitman.com
Gambling Scams - by Darwin Ortiz
Available at www.amazon.com
The Phantoms of the Card Table - David Britland and Gazzo
Details of Deception - by Greg Chapman
"Chapman treats his material with almost obsessive detail. The material ranges from intermediate to expert in ability and experience — this is not "My First Book of Card Magic." In particular, his memorized deck work, his extensive essay on estimation and his treatise on the second deal caught my attention. Well written, and well illustrated, "Details of Deception" is a throwback to the golden age of pre-video magic literature. This book is a feast, including gems for your performing repertoire as well as catalysts to your own creativity." - Richard Tuckerman
My Review - Gambling Scams
If you don't have it do yourself a favor, click the GoTo button and get to Amazon to get your copy now. This classic book has the work on a MASSIVE quantity of great scams, not just using cards but just about anything you can imagine. If there is a way to make money from something then it's probably in this book. Learn cheating techniques, bar bets, carnival hustles, proposition bets and legendary hustles like the three card monte. I first learned the game of NIM from this book, and have had more fun with (and perhaps won more money playing) this little scam than any other. Perhaps the best reason to own this book if you entertain people with cards, is that it is a great resource for presentational ideas. It's easy to find a copy and to buy it new will cost about as much as a drink at your local. If you're that way inclined you'll make the price of the book back with the first prop bet you try.
IOTA - by Pit Hartling
Available at www.magicbookshop.com
The Art of the Con - by R. Paul Wilson
Available at www.amazon.com
How Gamblers Win,
93 pages - hardbound book with dust Jacket
A copy of an early edition of this book recently sold on the Potter and Potter auction site for $600/900. Thanks to Magicana you can read and own this great book for around 30 bucks.
Here's an excerpt from the introduction by Steve Forte...
"How Gamblers Win or the Secrets of Advantage Playing Exposed is an important contribution to early American card-sharping literature. The earliest American expose on cheating is An Exposure of the Arts and Miseries of Gambling with the author listed only as a"An Adept." The third major contribution to this body of information was How Gamblers Win or the Secrets of Advantage Playing published in hard cover in 1865 and attributed to Gerritt M. Evans. When republished in soft cover a few years later. Evan's name was omitted and the author was simply listed as "A Retired Professional." Why the sudden need for anonymity? One can speculate that Evans may have experienced heat from the gambling/card-cheating fraternity (as did Green), but no one knows for sure.
The first thing that grabs you with how Gamblers Win is the graphically stunning jacket design featuring a devil standing on a giant die with cards in one hand and a dice cup in the other. The caricature is spectacular and the cover alone make this title a favorite with collectors of antique gambling books. Next is the terminology "Advantage Playing" in the subtitle, employed by cheaters. Although Green and An Adept both referred to the advantages practiced by cheats, neither used the catch-all phrase of Advantage Play or Advantage Players as synonymous with cheating or cheaters. Evans was the first, I believe, and the terms were later adopted by other authors.
How Gamblers Win presents a comprehensive treatment of the different advantages practiced by the professional sharper in short cards, banking games played with cards and dice, and gambling cons. There's some limited history along with a "brief analysis of legitimate play" as stated on the title page. All of the popular games of the day are addressed with one striking omission. Faro, a game covered in detail by both authors previously mentioned...
..How Gamblers Win is a curious, revealing and important early card-sharping title that will make you want to pick up a deck of cards and explore the technical possibilities, or pick up another book on cheating to make historical comparisons. It's loaded with more than enough gambling moves to satisfy the technicians; plenty of historical relevance to appeal to the historians; and for those who read for entertainment, the work is replete with amusing metaphors, anecdotes and showy terminology. How Gambler's Win is a bonafide classic and a cinch to become a showpiece in any gambling or card-sharping library."