NT Home Page::The Precursors to Neo-Tech
Poker: A Guaranteed Income for Life 		 
Google
Search WWW Search neo-tech.com

Neo-Tech Home Page
The Ultimate Leverage for Riches

Next Page | Contents | Feedback for Valuable/New Information | Previous Page

Appendix B
Bibliography

Early poker literature tried to establish firm rules for the game. Unlike other card games in being a uniquely dynamic game (a competitive money-management game rather than a routine card game), poker could never be bound in rigid rules. Continuously changing within a loose framework of traditions, poker remained a versatile, living game always subject to modifications and variations (over 150 varieties of poker are described in the literature).

As early as 1674, Cotton's Complete Gamester's (published in England) described a card game called Post and Pair, a predecessor to Bragg, which, in turn, was a predecessor to poker with a full deck. Bragg and the art of bluffing were first described in Cotton's 1721 edition. Poque, a French card game that directly influenced the development of poker, was described in the eighteenth-century editions of Acadence Universelle des Jeux.

Until 1850, there were no printed rules for poker.[ 47 ] Neither of the two American Hoyles then in print (George Long, New York, 1825, and G. Cowperthwait, Philadelphia, 1838) mentioned poker. The English Hoyle (Bohn's Handbook of Games) made no reference to poker in either its 1850 or its 1887 edition. But the 1850 American reprint of Bohn's book mentioned poker in an addendum. Also in 1850, Hoyles' Games (H. F. Anners, Philadelphia) had a brief note about poker that described a full deck, ten players (therefore, no draw), and a bonus paid for any hand of trips or better. In 1857, Thomas Frere's Hoyle (T. W. Story, New York) described poker without referring to a draw.

The first mention of draw poker appeared in the 1867 edition of Hoyles (Dick and Fitzgerald, New York). Also, that edition was the first book to mention an ante, a straight (which beat two pair, but not trips), and the straight flush (which beat four of a kind). The 1875 edition of Hoyles (Dick and Fitzgerald, New York) mentioned jackpot poker and the joker used as a wild card.

The first printed poker rules in England were written by General Robert E. Schenck, the United States minister to England. He introduced poker to the guests at a country house in Somersetshire. The hostess, a prominent duchess, persuaded him to write down the rules. In 1872, the duchess privately printed those rules for her court. The game caught Queen Victoria's fancy, and the popularity of poker spread through Great Britain. Poker in England soon became known as "Schenck poker,"

In 1875, a description of poker appeared in Cavendish's Round Games of Cards (De La Rue & Co.).

After 1875, books about poker appeared regularly in America, England, and Continental Europe. Data on all poker books (whose locations and dates of publication are known) published in the one hundred years between 1875 and 1975 have been tabulated below.

Number
of Books		 % Country
Where Published
93 72.6 United States
22 17.2 England
8 6.2 France
2 1.6 Italy
1 0.8 Germany
1 0.8 Holland
l 0.8 India
-----
128		 -----
100.0		 (for 1875-1965)

Years
(in 10-year intervals)		 Number of
Poker Books Published
Up to 1875 2
1876-1885 13
1886-1895 18
1896-1905 13
1906-1915 11
1916-1925 9
1926-1935 9
1936-1945 4
1946-1955 11
1956-1965 17
1966-1975 20
-- -----
127

[Note: From 1976 to 1980. an additional 20 poker books were published.]

The Addendum Bibliography at the end of this Appendix B reviews each poker book published since 1968.

A bibliography of all known poker books is tabulated below:

Books on Poker in The Library of Congress

Catalog Number Subject Heading "Poker"
Library of Congress Card Information
(verbatim)
1. GV1251
A15		 Abbott, Jack. A treatise on Jack pot poker, with the game of sancho pedro, when played for stakes. New Orleans, Clark & Hofeline, printers, 1881. 64 pages
2. GVl258
A43		 Allen, George W. Poker rules in rhyme, with chances to improve the hand by drawing. St. Louis, Mo., 1895. 74 pages
3. GV1251
B6
(other editions)		 Blackbridge, John. The complete poker player. A practical guidebook to the American national game: containing mathematical and experimental analysis of the probabilities at draw poker. New York, Dick & Fitzgera1d, 1880. 142 pages
4. GV1253
B8
1916
(other editions)		 Brown, Garrett. The autocrat of the poker table, or, How to play the game to win. 3rd ed., Boston, R.G. Badger, 1916. 105 pages
5. GV1251
C15		 Cady, Alice Howard. Poker: the modern game. With passing description of its origin. New York, American Sports Publishing Company, 1895. 37 pages
6. GV1251
C65		 Coffin, George Sturgis. Fortune poker: a world-wide roundup of the traditional American game. Complete with new laws according to Hoyle. With a forward by Ely Culbertson. Philadelphia, D. McKay Co., 1949. 198 pages
7. GV1251
C67		 Coffin, George Sturgis. The official laws of poker. Baltimore, Ottenheimer, 1956. 64 pages
8. GV1251
C68		 Coffin, George Sturgis. Pocket guide to the play of poker. Baltimore, Ottenheimer, 1956. 64 pages
9. GV1251
C95		 Curtis, David A. The science of draw poker; a treatise comprising the analysis of principles, calculation of chances, codification of rules, study of situations, glossary of poker terms necessary to a complete understanding of the great American game. New York, D. A. Curtis, 1901. 216 pages
10. GVl253
D62		 Dowling, Allen Nicholas. Confessions of a poker player by Jack King (pseud.). New York, I. Washburn, Inc., 1940. 209 pages
11. GV1253
D62		 Dowling, Allen Nicholas. Under the round table by Jack King (pseud.). Philadelphia, Dorrance, 1960. 219 pages
12. ?      Edel, Edmund. Poker ein spieler--roman. Charlottenburg, E. Beyer, 1912. 176 pages
13. GV1253
E26		 Edwards, Eugene. Jack pots; stories of the great American game. With over fifty original pen and ink illustrations. Chicago, Jamieson-Higgins Co., 1900. 342 pages
14. GV1251
F5		 Fisher, George Henry. How to win at stud poker . . . instruction for the novice, principles of strategy, problem hands, hand valuation, card probabilities, complete set of rules, history of the game, etc. Los Angeles, The Stud Poker Press, 1933. 111 pages
15. GV1251
F83		 Florence, William Jermyn. The gentleman's handbook on poker. New York, London, G. Routledge Sons, Ltd., 1892. 195 pages
16. GV1251 Foster, Robert Frederick. Practical poker. New York, Brentano's 1905. 253 pages
17.GV1251
G47		 Gilkie, Robert J. Experimental drawing at poker from five thousand hands. Dorchester, Mass., 1886. 13 pages
18. GV1251
G5		 Girardet, Philippe. Philosophie et mathematique du poker. Paris, M. Senac, 1929. 160 pages
19. GV1251
G77
(other editions)		 Gray, E. Archer. Hints on poker. Washington, D.C., 1886. 16 pages
20. GV1251
H2		 Hardison, Theodore. Poker: a work exposing the various methods of shuffling up hands, as well as other ways of cheating that are resorted to by professional gamblers, also embracing the cardinal principles by which every sleight-of-hand trick known with cards may be played. St. Louis, Hardison Publishing Co., 1914. 120 pages
21. GV1251
H4		 Heineman, Walter Raleigh. Draw poker, a compilation of rules governing the game of "Jack pots," by Jack Pot (pseud.). New York, Chrisholm Printing Co., 1923. 48 pages
22. GV1251
H52
(other editions)		 Henry R. J. Poker boiled down . . . the latest authentic rules ... on the great national game ... 1st edition. Boston, Massachusetts, Tourist Publishing Company, 1890. 13 pages
23. GV1233
H8
(temporary entry)		 History and anecdotes of card games (especially poker). 43 cuttings from newspapers, etc.... bibliographical notes in ms ... Gift of Prof. Brander Matthews
24. GV1251
J2
1947
(other editions)		 Jacoby, Oswald. Oswald Jacoby on poker, with a forward by Grantland Rice, and an introduction by William E. McKenney. Rev. ed. Garden City, New York, Doubleday & Company, Inc., 1947. 175 pages
25. GV1251
J22		 Jacoby, Oswald. Winning poker. New York, Permabooks, 1949. 189 pages
26. GV1251
K59		 Keller, John William. The game of draw poker. Including the treatise by R.C. Schenck and rules for the new game of progressive poker . . . New York, White, Stokes & Allen, 1887 84 pages
27. GV1251
M15		 MacKenzie, Collins. Jack pots. A collection of poker stories. By A. Pair (pseud.). Chicago, the Illustrated Publishing Co., 1887. 160 pages
28. GV1251
P32		 Patton, F. Jarvis. How to win at draw poker. Showing all the chances of the game. New York, Dick & Fitzgerald, 1896. 45 pages
29. GV1253
P6
(Office)		 Unknown. Poker as it was played in Deadwood in the fifties. Palo Alto, California, Wheatstalk Press, 1928. 5 pages (A reprint from an article in Hutching's California magazine in August, 1858-Vol. III, pg. 85)
30. GV1253
P77
(Houdini Collection)
(other editions)		 Poker: how to play it. A sketch of the great American game with its laws and rules, and some of its amusing incidents. By one of its victims. London, Griffith & Farran, 1882. 109 pages
31. QA/273
P96		 Proctor, Richard Anthony. Chance and luck: a discussion of the laws of luck, coincidences, wagers, lotteries, and fallacies of gambling; with notes on poker and martingales. London, Longmans, Green & Co., 1887. 263 pages
32. GV1251
R3
(other editions)		 Radner, Sidney H. The key to playing poker and winning. Owing Mills, Maryland, Ottenheimer Publishers, 1964. 189 pages
33. GV1251
R37		 Reese, Terence. Secrets of modern poker. New York, Sterling Publishing Co., 1964. 148 pages
34. GV1251
R4		 Renaudet, G. Le poker; regles completes et commentaires, L'art de gagner au poker, poker a 52 cartes; a 48, 44, 40, 3 et 32 cartes; freeze out; la partie a la cave; calud des probabilities; le blugg, physiologie du jeu. Paris, S. Bornemann, 1922. 31 pages
35. GV1253
R47		 Rhoades, William Morston. Poker, smoke, and other things; fun and pictures. Rules of poker, recipes, toasts, mixed drinks. Chicago, the Reilly & Britton Co., 1907. 69 pages
36. BF21
A7
(other editions)		 Riddle, Ethel Maris. Aggressive behavior in a small social group; bluffing, risking, and the desire to beat . . . studied by the use of a poker game as an experimental technique. New York, 1925. 19 pages (Also published as a Ph.D. thesis in psychology, Columbia University)
37. GV1251
R65		 Rottenberg, Irving. Friday night poker, or, Penny poker to millions, by Irv Roddy (pseud.). New York, Simon Schuster, 1961. 222 pages
38. GV1251
S32		 Schenick, Robert Cummings. Rules for playing poker. Brooklyn, New York, Private printing, 1880. 17 pages (1st edition, 1872)
39. GV1251
S32
1881
(Toner Collection. Office)		 Schenick, Robert Cummings. Draw poker. Published for the trade, 1880. 8 pages
40. GV1251
S5		 Smith, Russell A. Poker to win. El Paso, Texas, 1925. 110 pages
41. GV1251
S68		 Seig, Irwin. Common sense in poker. New York, Cornerstone Library, 1963. 188 pages
42. GV1251
7		 Steig, Irwin. Poker for fun and profit. New York, McDowell, Obelensky, 1959. 181 pages
43. GV1251
T2		 Talk of Uncle George (pseud.) to his nephew about draw poker. Containing valuable suggestions in connection with this great American game. New York, Dick & Fitzgerald, 1883. 50 pages
44. GV1251
U55		 United States Playing Card Co. Poker official rules and suggestions, endorsed by Association of American playing card manufacturers. Cincinnati, Ohio, The United States Playing Card Company, 1941. 64 pages
45. GV1251
W3		 Walter & Philip (pseud.) Il poker familiare, come si giuoca in Italia. 2nd edition, Milano, U. Hoepli, 1945. 81 pages
46. GV1253
W4		 Webster, Harold Tucker. Webster's poker book glorifying America's favorite game; a handy volume for the hearthside consisting of fifty portraits; informative and diverting text on the joys, rules, love and pitfalls of poker; sideline suggestions and interpolations; authoritative data on the history and technique of poker; including hints from Hoyle and a forward by George Ade; together with a compartment containing a set of poker chips and a pad of I.O.U. forms ready for instant use. New York, Simon & Schuster, 1925. 126 pages
47. GV1251
W5
1944
(other editions)		 Wickstead, James M. How to win at stud poker. Louisville, Kentucky, Stud Poker Publishing Co., 1944. 115 pages
48. GV1251
W55		 Winterblossom, Henry T. The game of draw poker, mathematically illustrated; being a complete treatise of the game, giving the prospective value of each hand before and after the draw, and the true method of discarding and drawing with a thorough analysis and insight of the game as played at the present day by gentlemen. New York, W.H. Murphy, 1875. 72 pages
49. GV1251
X3		 Xavier, Francois. Le poker, sa technique, sa psychologie, suivi d'une etude sur le stud poker. Paris, B. Grasset, 1955. 222 pages
50. GV1251
Y3		 Yardley, Herbert Osborn. The education of a poker player, including where and how one learns to win. New York, Simon & Schuster, 1957. 129 pages
51. GV1243
C8		 Culbertson, Ely. Morehead, Albert H. and Goeffrey, Matt Smith. Culbertson's Hoyle: the new encyclopedia of games, with official rules. New York, Gray stone Press, 1950. 656 pages
52. Reference Encyclopedia Britannica. Poker. Volume 10, pg. 128, Chicago, William Benton, 1965. 4 pages
53. GV1251
F79		 Fox, Richard K. Poker, how to win, together with the official rules. New York 1905. 90 pages
54. GV1243
F85		 Frey, Richard L., ed. The new complete Hoyle: an encyclopedia of rules, procedures, manners, and strategy of games played with cards, dice, counters, boards, words, and numbers. Philadelphia, D. McKay Co., 1947. 740 pages
55. GV1239
J3		 Jacoby, O., et al. The fireside book of cards. New York, Simon & Schuster, 1957. 364 pages
56. PZ3
L628P		 Lillard, John F. B., ed. Poker stories, as told by statesmen, soldiers, lawyers, commercial travelers, bankers, actors, editors, millionaires, members of the Ananias club and the talent, embracing the most remarkable games, 1845-95. New York, F. P. Harper, 1896. 251 pages
57. GV1243
D8		 Ostrow, A. A. The complete card player. New York, McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc., 1945. 771 pages
58.GV1291
P6		 Poker-bridge; een nieuw kaartspel. Amsterdam. A. J. G. Strengholt, 1954. 32 pages
59. AP2
W64		 Poker Chips, a monthly magazine devoted to stories of the great American game. New York, F. Tousey, June-Nov. 1896.243 pages (continued as the White Elephant magazine)
60. GV1247
S37		 Scarne, John. Scarne on cards. Including a photographic section on cheating at cards. Revised, New York, Crown Publishers, 1965. 435 pages

[Note: The Library of Congress does not catalog books about poker under the subject of "Gambling." The 375 books listed under "Gambling" include books on blackjack, boule, cards (nonpoker), cardsharping, craps, fero, horse-race betting, parimutuel betting, probabilities, raffles, roulette, speculation, trente-et-quarante, and wagers . . . but none on poker. Apparently, the Library of Congress does not consider (classify) poker as gambling.]

Seventy-two other poker books not found in the Library of Congress are listed below:

  1. Allan, L., The Laws of Poker, Mudie, 1929.
  2. Ankeny, Nesmith, Scientific Poker, Harper, 1967.
  3. Ante--I Raise You Ten, Jamieson-Higgans.
  4. Arnold, F. and Johnston, H., Poker, Routledge, 1929.
  5. Bergholt, E. G. B., Poker, De La Rue.
  6. Browning, H. S., Royal Auction Bridge and Poker, Routledge, 1920.
  7. Carcini, Nick, A Course in Professional Poker Playing, Memphis, Tennessee, Edall Publishing Co., 1965.
  8. Carleton, Henry Guy, Thompson Street Poker Club, Dick & Fitzgerald, 1888.
  9. Coffin, G. S., Poker Game Complete, Faber and Faber, 1950.
  10. Coffin, G. S., Complete Poker Game, Wehman.
  11. Crafton, A., Poker: Its Laws and Principles, Wyeil, 1915.
  12. Crawford, John R., How to be a Consistent Winner Most Popular Card Games, New York, Doubleday, 1953.
  13. Curtis, D. H., Queer Luck, New York, Brentano's, 1900.
  14. Dalton, W., Pocket Guide to Poker Patience, De La Rue, 1909.
  15. Davis, A. D., An Analysis of Five and Seven Card Poker, Philadelphia, 1959 (Mimeographed Master's Thesis).
  16. Debebian, D., Game of Poker, New York, 1889.
  17. Decisions on Moot Points of Draw Poker, New York.
  18. Diehl, Charles Vidol, Poker Patience and Progressive Poker Patience, London, The Advanced Publishing Co., 1909.
  19. Draw Poker, Dick.
  20. Draw Poker, Fitzgerald Publishing Corporation.
  21. Draw Poker, London, i884,63 pages.
  22. Draw Poker and Spoil Five, London, Routledge & Sons, 1884.
  23. Ellinger, M., Poker, Faber, 1934.
  24. Erdnase, S. W., The Expert at the Card Table, London, Stationers' Hall, 1902.
  25. Fisher, G. G., Stud Poker Blue Book, Los Angeles, Stud Poker Press, 1934.
  26. Football Poker, Brentano's.
  27. Foster, J. H., Traite de Jeu de Poker, Paris, 1889.
  28. Foster, R. F., Pocket Laws of Poker, De La Rue, 1910.
  29. Gilbert, Kenneth, Alaskan Poker Stories, Seattle, R. D. Seal, 1958.
  30. Guerndale, Richard, Draw Poker without a Master, Dillingham.
  31. Guerndale, Richard, The Poker Book, London, I. Upcott Gill, 1889.
  32. Habeythe, Jeu de Poker, Paris, 1886
  33. Hirst, E. deF., Poker as Played by Skilled Professional Gamblers, 2nd ed., 1902.
  34. Hoffman, W., Draw Poker, the Standard Game. Dutton, 1913.
  35. How to Play Poker, Wehman Bros.
  36. How to Win at Draw Poker, Dick.
  37. How to Win at Draw Poker, Westbrook.
  38. Hoyle (pseud.), How to Play Poker, Ogilvie, 1916.
  39. Jackpot, Poker-Patience, International Card Co., 1909.
  40. Lamenti, C. E., Il Poker, Milano, A. Corticelli, 1929.
  41. La Shelle, Kirbe, Poker Rubaiyat, Phoenix, Arizona, Bunder Log Press, 1903.
  42. Laugher, A. B., Poker, C. Goodall, 1913.
  43. Laugher, A. B., Poker, London, 1889.
  44. Laun, Jeu de Poker, Paris, Watilliaux, 1897.
  45. Major, The Poker Primer, New York, 1886.
  46. Matthews, J. B., "Poker Talk" (p. 187 of Penn and Ink), New York, Longmans, Green & Co., 1888.
  47. Meehan, C. H. W., The Rules for Playing Draw Poker (Game of Euchre), Philadelphia, T. B. Peterson, 1877.
  48. Morehead, Albert Hodges, New Complete Hoyle, Toronto, Doubleday, 1956.
  49. Morehead, Albert Hodges, My Secret: How to Play Winning Poker, Los Angeles, W.R. Mathews and Sons, 1957.
  50. Morehead, Albert Hodges, The Complete Guide to Winning Poker, New York, Simon and Schuster, 1967.
  51. Moss, John (pseud. for Jack Potter), How to Win at Poker, Doubleday, 1955.
  52. Mott, Street Poker Club, Dick.
  53. Nabot, Jeu de Poker, Paris, Henri Gautier, 1893 (contains many probability tables).
  54. Pardon, C.F. (Raudon Crawley), Poker, London, Chas. Goodhall & Sons, 1889.
  55. Percy, Alfred, Poker: Its Laws and Practice, Allahabad, India, Pioneer Press, 1879.
  56. Phillips, Hubert, Profitable Poker, Arco Publications, 1960.
  57. Philpots, E. P., A Treatise on Poker, London, 1904.
  58. Poker: The Nation's Most Fascinating Card Game, Cincinnati, United States Playing Card Company, 1950.
  59. Poker, Heines Publishing Co., Inc., Minneapolis, Minnesota.
  60. Poker, How to Play It, London, 1882.
  61. Poker Primer, Platt & Nourse.
  62. Potter, Jack, How to Win at Poker, Garden City Books, 1955.
  63. Primer, Excelsior.
  64. Proctor, R. A., Poker Principles and Chance Laws, New York, Dick & Fitzgerald, 1883.
  65. Rander, S. H., How to Play Poker and Win (Key), Assoc. Booksellers, 19B5.
  66. Reese, Terence, and Watkins, Anthony, Poker: Game of Skill, Wehman, 1962.
  67. Reynolds, A., Poker Probabilities Calculated, Sheffield, 1901.
  68. Rules of Poker, London, 1882.
  69. Sinclair, E., Poker, Arco Publications, Ambassador, 1964.
  70. Strong, Julian, How to Play Poker, London, New York, W. Foulsham, 1928.
  71. "Templar," Poker Manual, Warne.
  72. Welsh, Charles, Poker: How to Play It, London, Griffith & Farren, 1882.
  73. Virt, L. H., Traite' Complet du Jeu de Poker, Paris, 1913 (contains only rules).

Addendum Bibliography
of Poker Books Published
since 1968
(through 1980)

  1. Anno, James N., An Encyclopedia of Draw Poker, New York, Exposition, 1973. Shows mathematical calculations of various poker odds and probabilities. Some errors. Not much value. Interesting history of poker.
  2. Anthony, Ross, Get Rich Playing Poker, Birmingham, Alabama, RAM Enterprises, 1975. Author is objective and honest. Valid advice for low-stake games with poor players. Good tips for running profitable house games.
  3. Brunson, Doyle, How I Made Over $1,000,000 playing poker, Las Vegas, Nevada, B & G Publishing Co., 1978. A monumental work on public professional poker. Reveals not only the strengths and secrets of the best traditional professionals in public poker, but their flaws and weaknesses that will allow any Advanced-Concept player to beat them.
  4. Caro, Mike, Bobby Baldwin's Winning Poker Secrets, Las Vegas, Nevada. B & G Publishing Co., 1979. Mainly a fictionalized, biography that is embarrassingly personal and rather ludicrous, but provides a useful list of poker tips for various games.
  5. Castle, J. L.. How Not to Lose at Poker, Boston, Little, Brown and Company, 1970. Perpetuates many of the erroneous clichés about poker. Goes deep into probability mathematics. Little value.
  6. Dangel, Philip N., Poker Poker, Las Vegas, Nevada, Gambler's Book Club, 1977. Little new information. Mainly theoretical and mathematical. An unrealistic approach to poker.
  7. Dowling, Allan ("Jack King"), Play Winning Poker, Las Vegas, Nevada, Gambler's Book Club, 1974. Good history of poker. Some interesting observations about opponents and table-stake games. But littered with fallacies.
  8. Fox, John, Play Poker, Quit Work, and Sleep Till Noon, Seal Beach, California, Bacchus Press, 1977. Poorly written. Borrows, uses, and distorts various Advanced Concepts of Poker. Contains some original and useful ideas about draw poker in public card clubs. Worthwhile for serious players who can sort the useful information from the misleading material.
  9. Gibson, Walter, Poker Is the Name of the Game, New York, Barnes & Noble, 1974. Instructions and "rules" for eighteen basic variations of poker. Little new or useful information. Some erroneous concepts.
  10. Hamilton, Mark, Poker Answers, Las Vegas, Nevada, I & O Publishing Company, 1978. An exclusive interview with Frank R. Wallace. 250 new questions about poker are answered.
  11. Jacoby, Oswald, Penny-Ante and Up, Garden City, New York, Doubleday & Company, Inc., 1979. Mostly rules for various poker games. Reveals such a naive and faulty understanding of poker that one wonders if someone other than Oswald Jacoby wrote this book.
  12. Livingston, A. D., Poker Strategy and Winning Play, Philadelphia, J. B. Lippincott Company, 1971. Little new information except for two tables of odds for hold 'em poker.
  13. Montgomery, John, How to Play and Win at Poker, Santa Barbara, California, Cameron and Cameron Publishers, 1978. Little valuable information. Many erroneous concepts.
  14. Percy, George, 7-Card Stud, The Waiting Game, Las Vegas, Nevada, Gambler's Book Club, 1979. Best primer available for seven-card stud. Well written and adopts many Advanced Concepts that apply to stud. A few errors. Helpful section on casino poker.
  15. Preston, Thomas Austin ("Amarillo Slim"), Play Poker to Win, New York, Grosset & Dunlap, 1973. Interesting poker anecdotes. Some useful tips about hold 'em and lowball.
  16. Rubins, J., Win at Poker, New York, Funk & Wagnalls, 1968. Well written, but based on many of the fallacious concepts advanced by other poker books.
  17. Scarne, John, Scarne's Guide to Modern Poker, New York Simon & Schuster, 1979. Nothing new. Repeats old errors, but still useful to read.
  18. Silberstang, Edwin, Winning Poker Strategy, New York, David McKay Co., Inc., 1978. The best primer on poker. Few errors. Recommended for all beginners and losers.
  19. Sklansky, David, Hold 'em Poker, Las Vegas, Nevada, Gambler's Book Club, 1978. The first book to offer detailed information about hold 'em poker. Some errors.
  20. Sklansky, David, Poker Theory, Las Vegas, Nevada, Gambler's Book Club, 1978. A recasting of certain Advanced Concepts into theoretical forms that are often impractical or flawed. Some value. Interesting game-theory chapter.
  21. Sklansky, David, Sklansky on Razz, Las Vegas, Nevada, Gambler's Book Club, 1980. Some new and useful information on Razz (seven-card-stud lowball) that is not covered in other books.
  22. Smith, Al, Poker to Win, Las Vegas, Nevada, Gambler's Book Club, 1975. Good outline of cheating techniques used in poker. But presents many erroneous views about poker.
  23. Smith, Brian, Pineapple Hold 'em, Las Vegas, Nevada, Gambler's Book Club, 1979. The only book dealing with pineapple hold 'em (players receive three hole cards and then discard one). A valuable book that reflects a good understanding of poker.
  24. Spanier, David, Total Poker, New York, Simon and Schuster, 1977. Mainly history and anecdotes about poker. Devotes a dozen pages to the Advanced Concepts of Poker. Interesting reading, but not a how-to-play book.
  25. Taetazsch, L., Winning Methods of Bluffing and Betting in Poker, New York, Drake Publishers, 1976. Limited value. Uses some of the Advanced Concepts of Poker.
  26. Thackrey, Ted, Jr., Dealer's Choice, Chicago, Henry Regnery Co. 1971. Fairly well organized. Some valid ideas about elementary poker strategy. Other ideas are in error.
  27. Wagner, W., To Gamble or Not to Gamble, New York, World Publishing, 1972. Interesting anecdotes and facts about casino, club, and private poker. Spoiled by unsubstantiated assertions and false conclusions.
  28. Wallace. F. R., Hamilton, M. and William S., Neocheating--The Unbeatable Weapon in Poker, Blackjack, Bridge, and Gin, Las Vegas, I & O Publishing Company, Inc., 1980. A definitive treatment of Neocheating in poker.
  29. Wallace, Frank R., Poker, A Guaranteed Income for Life by Using the Advanced Concepts of Poker, Las Vegas, I & O Publishing Company, Inc., l968-1976. New York, Crown Publishers, Inc., 1977. Warner Books, 1980, paperback.
  30. Wallace, Frank R., An Obituary for the Public Professional Poker Player, Las Vegas, Nevada, I & O Publishing Company, Inc., 1979. A special report showing how the Advanced-Concept player can bankrupt today's public poker professionals.
  31. Wallace, Frank R., Poker Power. To be published in 1981.
  32. Wallace, Frank R., and Savage, Eric, Poker Troubleshooting Guide and Answer Book. To be published in 1980.
  33. Winfield, T. D., If You Are Going to Play Poker . . . Win, McLean, Virginia, the Kingsway Company, 1971. Some practical information, but laced with fallacious cliché's about poker.
  34. Zachary, Hugh, Wild-Card Poker, Brattleboro, Vermont, Stephen Greene Press, 1975. Recognizes the added skill needed to play wild-card games. Little new information. Contains erroneous concepts.
  35. Zadek, Norman, Winning Poker Systems, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, Prentice-Hall, 1974. Heavily oriented to a mathematical approach. Interesting and moderately useful, but not a valid approach to poker.
  36. Zahrobsky, Robert F., The Computer Guide to Hold 'em Poker, Las Vegas, 1979. A misleading emphasis on mathematics. Still worthwhile--some unique and interesting tables of data for hold 'em percentages. Almost nothing on strategy and other crucial aspects of poker.

Notes:

  1. The most complete source of poker and gambling books (both in and out of print) is Gambler's Book Club, 630 South 11th Street, Dept. PB, Las Vegas, Nevada 89101. A free catalog listing over 700 titles on poker and gambling is available.
  2. The University of Nevada (Las Vegas) library has a special collection of nearly 2000 gaming books, including more than 83 different titles on poker. Many historic poker books were donated by I&O Publishing Company.

Next Page | Contents | Feedback for Valuable/New Information | Previous Page

Footnotes:

[ 47 ] The common reference "poker according to Hoyle" is curious because the English writer and lawyer, Edmund Hoyle (1672-1769), never heard of poker: he died sixty years before the game originated. Hoyle was a famous whist player. His original book described three card games--whist, piquete and quadrille. But his authority for card-game rules grew until all card and board game rules became known as "Hoyles." Since many different "Hoyles" now exist, "poker according to Hoyle" depends on the editor and publisher of that particular Hoyle.

Next Page | Top of Page