Book Reviews

Last update: Aug. 24, 2010

Here are my personal reviews of a whole host of gambling books. I hope they motivate you to learn more about how to prepare yourself to face the casinos. If you do wish to buy any of these books just click the link and you'll go straight to the Amazon order page.

Books about Craps

Craps: Take the Money and Run (Henry J. Tamburin): The only thing I don't like about this book is the title. I do like the author's "just the facts" approach, explaining all the rules, the etiquette, and the house

Golden Touch Dice Control Revolution (Frank Scoblete and Dominator): This book goes over a host of subjects relating skilled dice throwing. The target audience is beginning level throwers. Topics include proper grip, strategy at the table, bankroll management, team play, and stories from the authors’ own experiences. I’m still skeptical about dice control in general, but assuming it is true, the advice in the book looks sound.

John Patrick's Craps (John Patrick): While I only skimmed the book in the book store I can't recommend it because the author advocates the any craps bet as a hedge. The any craps bet has a house edge of 11.11% and should not be made for any reason. However following his advice will result in less short term bankroll volatility.

Winning Craps for the Serious Player (J. Edward Allen): This book will tell you everything you need to know about craps. The author takes the reader though all the various bets, explaining the odds and house edge, while mixing in stories and examples to make the reading more colorful. My only complaint is the overdoing it with the promises of beating the casinos on the cover.

Wong on Dice (Stanford Wong): Although I'm still skeptical of the entire topic of dice setting this is an honest presentation on the topic. Topics include evidence and history thus far that it works, various dice settings, the throw of the dice, what to bet on and how much. The book is no substitute for actual lessons and a lot of practice.

Books about Poker

Dirty Poker (Richard Marcus): It isn't often I say this about gambling book, but I enjoyed every page of this book. However, after reading it, I'm going to be afraid to play poker again with strangers.

Get the Edge at Low-Limit Texas Hold'em (Bill Burton): This book covers the basics of hold'em. Targeted to beginners, it is easy to read and has lots of stories and examples from the author's own experience. Unlike another poker book I read it isn't heavy on memorizing hands and how to play them but rather understanding the reasons behind the plays.

Books about Roulette

Spin Roulette Gold (Frank Scoblete): This book correctly says that there is no way to beat a fair game of roulette with a betting system. It goes go into detail about beating unfair games of roulette by various means. In my opinion, the only humanly possible way to beat roulette, without cheating, is to find a biased wheel, which this book does address. There have been a few documented cases of this being done. However, in the modern casinos, I believe the wheels are too well made to have an exploitable bias. Finally, I believe the wheel bias confidence chart on page 58 to be flat out wrong, and will result in a high chance of a false positive. Don't be fooled by the title, if it is possible to beat roulette, it would be VERY hard to do so.

Books about Sports Betting

Sharp Sports Betting (Stanford Wong): Wong discusses how to improve your odds on everything from straight bet to exploiting many unusual bets such as parlays and teasers. It is rather math heavy so Wong provides sample problems and solutions. This one is certainly one of the most worn out of the many gambling books on my shelves.

The Smart Money — How the Worl's Best Sports Bettors Beat the Bookies out of Millions (Michael Konik): This is an interesting and informative look inside what is probably the biggest U.S. sports betting syndicate. The names have been changed to protect the characters, but it is commonly rumored to be about the Billy Walters organization. They let the author into their trust as a beard (someone who makes bets for others) for several years. The book is about his adventures betting millions of dollars a year on sports. Don't expect to learn much about handicapping, but the book should be a very enjoyable read for those with an interest in the topic. I don't say this often about gambling books, but it was hard to put down.

Books about Video Poker

Million Dollar Video Poker (Bob Dancer): Dancer milked video poker for all it was worth and this is the story of how he did it, from a bankroll of a few thousand to over a million. Video poker today is not as lucrative as it was in the nineties but it is still informative and an enjoyable read.

The Secret World of Video Poker Progressives (Frank Kneeland): I have never seen the topic of this book discussed much before, let alone an entire book about it. The book itself is the size of a small phone book, so packs a lot of content. It is a mixture of video poker math and stories about the author's experiences leading a video poker progressive team. I've never paid much attention to progressives personally, because I know when they get good a team will quickly take them down, so I skimmed over lots of the book. However, if progressive hunting is something you do, or think you might do, I think this book is must reading.

Video Poker Optimum Play (Dan Paymar): This 198 page book contains a close to perfect strategy for jacks or better, deuces wild, and joker poker. There are also chapters briefly covering other games as well as a host of video poker related topics. The writing is a bit dry but the math seems very solid. This is the best overall book on video poker I have seen.

Books about other games

How to Win Millions Playing Slot Machines...or Lose Trying (Frank Legato): Great title. This could just as easily be classified as a humor book as a gambling book. Among other topics the book explains how slots work and debunks the numerous myths that abound with slot players. Looking for a way to beat slots? You won't find it in this book, or anywhere. However I found the information accurate and enjoyable to read. On the other hand there was a lot of fluff and filler. The essential information could have been boiled down to something 10% the size.

The Lottery Book (Don Catlin): I'm not big on playing the lottery but if you do have an interest this book covers the topic quite thoroughly. The author is a former math professor and gives the topic a professional treatment. The book features a chapter on how to calculate lottery odds, stories about past winners, explanation of the various kinds of lotteries, and a state by state breakdown of the house advantage of each game. There isn't too much more to say about lotteries in my opinion.

Mastering the Game of Caribbean Stud Poker (Stanley Ko): Just about everything there is to say about Caribbean Stud Poker.

Mastering the Game of Let it Ride (Stanley Ko): Just about everything there is to say about Let it Ride. Includes a strategy on how to adjust your strategy based on other player's cards you can see.

Mastering the Game of Three Card Poker (Stanley Ko): Just about everything there is to say about Three Card Poker. Includes information on how to play if you can see one of the dealer's cards.

Optimal Strategy for Pai Gow Poker (Stanford Wong): As usual anything by Stanford Wong is about as good as it gets. The book explains why the rules in southern California are the best for playing pai gow poker and his strategies are designed for playing against other good players, as opposed to the casino house way. The 160 pages also contain a complete optimal strategy, an abbreviated one that will cover the vast majority of hands correctly, and 29 pages of practice hands.

Fiction

God Doesn't Shoot Craps (Richard Armstrong): Normally it takes me months to finish a novel but I this page turner only took me three days. The story begins as a con man puts out a mass mailing for a worthless betting system based on Parrando's Paradox, which I address myself in the December 13, 2005 Ask the Wizard column. To prepare for the inevitable questions by disgruntled buyers he gives it a test run in Atlantic City, and it appears to actually work! From there he cancels the mailing and attempts to milk it for all it is worth. I found the book a very enjoyable read and mathematically honest.

The Counter (Kevin Blackwood): The story follows the character of Raven as he falls from his Baptist faith and deep into the life as a professional gambler. He starts out as a card counter but once he wears out is welcome in Las Vegas he takes up with some dubious characters in other more dangerous and illegal gambling schemes. The author is a former card counter and his depiction of the technical elements of counting and other advantageous strategies is honest and accurate, based on my own limited experience and knowledge. The book was a good page turner but I didn't care for the ending.

Dice Angel (Brian Rouff): This 222 page novel follows the story of Jimmy, a cynical Las Vegas bar owner, and his efforts to save his bar. After a robbery and embezzlement by his accountant Jimmy must come up with a lot of money on short notice or lose the bar to the IRS. As a last resort he turns to the "dice angel" who promises to turn his luck around at craps. The way the story is told is the best part. Every scene is rich in humor as Jimmy encounters everything ridiculous about Las Vegas at every turn. I found myself laughing from beginning to end.

Sex, Lies, and Video Poker (Bob Dancer): This book is told from the point of view of Chris, who follows in the footsteps of his new Girlfriend as a professional video poker player. If you are new to video poker you'll learn a lot along the way too. Meanwhile a sex scene from time to time keeps things interesting. Nothing too graphic, the wording is somewhat veiled, like a trashy romance novel. This isn't Hemmingway but rather an enjoyable easy read.

More Sex, Lies, and Video Poker (Bob Dancer): Between this sequel and the original I thought the original was a little better. In this book Chris is living in Las Vegas where new characters enter his life. The video poker scenes revolve mostly around the Palms.

I also have reviews of:

Books about gambling in general
Books about blackjack

I also recommend Nick Christenson's reviews of gambling books.

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