Reading is always a great choice of spending your time. If you want to improve skills in casino games, online live casino or sports betting – learn more about gambling history, or read books with casinos and gambling as a theme, here is a list of great books and guides that will be a real treat to read.
Mensa Guide to Casino Gambling: Winning Ways by Andrew Brisman
Mensa is an organisation that gathers people with high IQ from around the world. Their book about gambling tactics is kept in style, forcing you to think like a genius. It describes most of the popular casino games. It was published in 2004, and following that, some parts are a little bit dated after almost two decades, but it is still a great piece to read and learn from.
The Theory of Poker: A Professional Poker Player Teaches You How to Think Like One by David Sklansky
Many professional poker players will recommend you this book if you ask them about their favourite guide. It features every aspect of the game, including attack, defence and bluffing. There are most of the poker variations described, and there is also a glossary of poker terms. Generally, you can become a great poker player after studying this one guide only.
The Man with the $100,000 Breasts and Other Gambling Stories by Michael Konik
This is not a guide. It is a collection of anecdotes and stories connected with casinos and gambling. Maybe you will learn something from them, but in general, it was made to entertain. The story from the title is one of the most interesting ones, but I will keep its details a secret since you need to read a book to understand it best.
Molly’s Game by Molly Bloom
It is somewhat autobiography of the author. She tells us a story about how she became successful running one of the biggest and richest underground poker tables. It is interesting because of how she approached her “customers” who were compound from mafia, criminals, thugs, and other people with no moral compass. What is so unique in how did she deal with them, that she didn’t need to use violence to keep interesy in her business and to prevent from taking it from her. However, there isn’t anything “soft” and “ feminine” in her history.
Titanic Thompson: The Man Who Bet on Everything by Kevin Cook
The book is a story about a man whose deeds has been romaticized through the years. Titanic Thompson took on underground establishment in New York. He was betting millions dollar, losing them, and after a while winning them back. He set up a lot of sport outcomes to win his bets. He didn’t really care about winning money, for him it was important to be able to orchestrate a game. That gave him confidence and feeling of being powerful. Titanic Thompson was odd person, and Cook’s approach to his story is very accurate, but also as a book about gambling, worthy time to spend on it.
Squares & Sharps, Suckers & Sharks: The Science, Psychology & Philosophy of Gambling by Joseph Buchdahl
In this piece we can explore the labirynth of human mind with psychological approach to gamblin. Why some are better than others when the odds are random? Chance plays indeed massive role in gambling, but people have certain habits that pre-determine how people will act in particular situation. Let’s take poker. Tactics is a huge part, but you need to unsolveable secret when people look at you. They can’t guess if your hand is perfect or terrible. Joseph Buchdahl shows how gambling infulences our psyche and how to deal with it.
Beat the Dealer by Edward O. Thorp
Author of this book is a math genius, inventor of the first wearable computer and father of card counting. His book from 1962 proved mathematically that it is possible to overturn the house edge in twenty-one. Almost all of the card counter read or at least hear about this book. The book features chart with essentials easy to understand, memorize and use, no matter whether you are professional or beginner. Moreover, strategies described by O’Thorp can be used in online gambling so it is really treat.
Scarne’s New Complete Guide to Gambling by John Scarne
The author is known as the most authoritative gambling expert ever. Suprisingly, he isn’t even a gambler. He manipulates cards, do magic tricks with them, but generally he became expert in card games. He has written number of books about gambling. In this guide there he game included from rules, through tactics, to house edge and odds. Book features every game ad sports that involve betting is described with details and provided with tips and advice.
Burning the Tables in Las Vegas by Ian Andersen
Book is a little bit old, but it is still relevant. It features all the basics, tactics and tips how to play, but also it takes psychological approach and describe how to identify bluff, keep you emotions controlled. Moreover it features behaviour guide, so you will learn how to dress, act, and tip dealers in the casino.
Conclusion
It is obvious that these are only the small piece of all of the books out there. There are numbers of guides, countless stories with gambling and casinos as a theme, biographies and autobiographies of famous figures in gambling world and funny books with anecdotes straight from the casino world. It is your choice for which of them you will reach and spend your time reading it.
